Turnin' Back the NHL Clock: California Golden Seals

The second article in the series will focus on one of the expansion era teams, the California Seals.

When the NHL expanded in 1967, one of the major concerns was spreading hockey to the west coast. California was given two hockey franchises—the Los Angeles Kings and the California Seals. Many hockey experts picked the Seals to be one of the best teams in their division. They couldn't have been more wrong.

The Seals attracted very few fans in their first season. Halfway through the season, they changed their name to the Oakland Seals, hoping that it would give them a distinct market and widen the fan base. The team finished dead last in their first season.

The second season was more successful. They finished in second place, even with a record of 29-36-11. They faced off against the rival Los Angeles Kings before losing in a hard fought seven game series.

The next season, the Seals made the playoffs again with a terrible record of 22-40-14. They were swept by the Penguins in four games.

When the season ended, ownership changed for the third time in as many seasons. Once again, the team name was changed. The team became the California Golden Seals.

For the next six seasons, the Seals went without a name change and played listless Hockey. They did not  make the playoffs once in the remainder of their existence.

In 1976, the team relocated and became the Cleveland Barons. The franchise was doomed from the start. The Barons lasted just two seasons.

The Seals played at the Oakland Coliseum during their nine year run.

The team also ran through eight coaches in nine seasons with the likes of Bert Olmstead, Fred Glover, Vic Stasiuk, Garry Young, Fred Glover, Marshall Johnston, Bill McCreary, and Jack Evans.

The team went through many captains including Bob Baun, Ted Hampson, Carol Vadnais, Bert Marshall, Joey Johnson, Jim Neilson, and Bob Stewart.

Overall, the franchise was a complete bust. The best record they achieved in nine seasons was 29-36-11 in the 1968-69 campaign. This was good for a measly 69 points.

It wasn't until 1991 that the NHL allowed another franchise in California.

P.S Does anyone else think that they had the worst uniforms in NHL History?