1967 NHL expansion
Encyclopedia
The National Hockey League
(NHL) undertook a major expansion for the 1967–68 season, adding six new franchises to double the size of the league. This marked the first change in the composition of the league since 1942, when the Brooklyn Americans folded. Thus, the expansion ended the era of the Original Six
. The addition of six new teams was the result of the league's desire for a lucrative TV contract in the United States, as well as fears of a rival league.
caused by the Depression
and World War II
, the NHL owners staunchly resisted applications to expand beyond the so-called "Original Six
" clubs (Boston
, Montreal
, Toronto
, New York
, Detroit
and Chicago
). Groups representing Philadelphia (which had secured rights to the dormant Montreal Maroons
franchise), Los Angeles and the AHL
Cleveland Barons were each in turn given conflicting requirements that seemed to contemporary observers designed to disqualify the bids, and it was widely understood that the existing NHL owners wanted no encroachments upon their profits.
The NHL had been an early leader in television broadcasting, both in Canada and the U.S. However, by 1960 its TV contracts had expired, and the league had none until 1963. The owners saw that the televising of other sports had enhanced the images of those leagues' players, and feared that this would provide leverage at salary time. Already, players were starting to get legal help in negotiating contracts. Additionally, the league did not want to change game start times to suit the networks. In 1965, the NHL was told that it would not receive a U.S. television contract without expansion, and that the networks were considering televising games from the Western Hockey League
, an ostensibly minor league that had by that time expanded into several large West Coast markets and accumulated strong rosters of players excluded from the static NHL lineups of the era.
Fears of the WHL becoming a rival major league and the desire for a lucrative TV contract in the U.S., much like the ones Major League Baseball
and the National Football League
had secured, wore down the opposition; moreover, as more conservative owners retired, a younger guard more receptive to expansion, such as Stafford Smythe
in Toronto, David Molson in Montreal, and William M. Jennings
in New York, took power.
The expansion process formally began in March 1965, when NHL President Clarence Campbell
announced that the league proposed to expand its operations through the formation of a second six-team division. San Francisco – Oakland and Vancouver were declared "acceptable cities" with Los Angeles and St. Louis as potential sites. In February 1966, the NHL Board of Governors considered applications from 14 different ownership groups, including five from Los Angeles
, two from Pittsburgh, and one each from Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco – Oakland
, Baltimore
, Buffalo
and Vancouver
. Cleveland and Louisville
had also expressed previous interest but were not represented.
Six franchises were ultimately added. Four still play in their original cities, one has relocated and one ceased operations.
had been considered a lock. Politics also took a hand in the selections; the Vancouver bid was reportedly very weak, but Montreal and Toronto were not interested in sharing CBC
TV revenues with another Canadian club, and the powerful Chicago owner's
support was reputedly contingent on the creation of a St. Louis team – though no formal bid had actually been received from St. Louis – to purchase the decrepit St. Louis Arena
, which the Black Hawks ownership then also owned.
Furthermore, many traditionalists did not like the idea of expansion, claiming it would dilute the talent in the league. Even many of the proponents of expansion were worried at the idea of immediately doubling the NHL's size, instead of easing teams in gradually, as had Major League Baseball.
Most experts agreed that the new owners paid a heavy price to join the league: the expansion fee was US$ 2 million. Players taken in the very strict expansion draft came at a cost of a hefty $50,000. Thus, most expansion teams had no hope of competing successfully with the established teams in the near future.
One concession from the league, however, was that the new teams were all placed in the newly-formed West Division (somewhat of a misnomer
since the two Pennsylvania clubs were clearly not among the most western-based half of the league - never mind in the Western United States), meaning four expansion teams would make the playoffs and an expansion team was guaranteed a slot in the Stanley Cup
finals. This format was criticized by some fans who felt the first few expansion-era Stanley Cup finals were anti-climactic, pitting the league's best team against an opponent that clearly was not the second-best. An alternative proposal to put Detroit and Chicago in the West with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia going to the East was rejected by the league.
era and the beginning of a new era of the NHL
. The expansion, Bobby Orr
's record $1 million contract, and the formation of the World Hockey Association
(WHA) in 1972 forever changed the landscape of the North American professional game. It was the WHA that ended up being the NHL's chief rival during the 1970s, while the Western Hockey League
ceased operations in 1974. The NHL would later expand to 18 teams by 1974, and then merge with the WHA
in 1979. As a result, the NHL retained its status as the premier professional ice hockey league in North America; no other league successfully competed against the NHL since then.
All the 1967 expansion teams were placed in the same division in 1967–68, so their success was largely gauged relative to each other. The Philadelphia Flyers won this division in the first season for the expansion teams, and quickly built a strong club that would go on to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. The St. Louis Blues also immediately made an impact, with three finals appearances in the first three years, but have never since reached the Stanley Cup finals. The Pittsburgh Penguins were largely unsuccessful in the beginning, failing to win their division until 1990–91, but accumulated draft picks and built a strong team that would win two Stanley Cups in the early 1990s and again in 2009. The Los Angeles Kings have made one Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1993 during the Wayne Gretzky
era, but have not returned since.
Despite being in a traditional hockey area bordering Canada
to the north, the Minnesota North Stars struggled financially for much of their time in Minnesota
. They did manage to make two finals appearances in 1981 and 1991, but ended up moving to Dallas, Texas
, in 1993 to become the Dallas Stars
. The Oakland-based franchise was the least successful of the 1967 expansion teams: uncompetitive both on the ice and at the box office, the club eventually moved to Cleveland to become the Barons
in 1976, and then merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. However, the NHL would eventually return to both the San Francisco Bay Area
and Minnesota when the expansion teams San Jose Sharks
(who themselves were spun off from the North Stars) and Minnesota Wild
began play in 1991 and in 2000, respectively, bookending a new expansion period
that brought the NHL to 30 clubs.
, at the end of the 2008–09 season, which marked the 40th season for the 1967 expansion teams, the Flyers are the most successful in terms of winning percentage (57.8%) which is only second to the Montreal Canadiens in the entire NHL, number of conference finals appearances (15), Stanley Cup finals appearances (7) and playoff appearances (33). The Penguins are the most successful in terms of number of Stanley Cups (3), however they are the least successful financially (3 bankruptcies).
However, the NHL still has never fared well on American broadcast television in comparison to the NBA, MLB, or the NFL after 1967. In fact, hockey broadcasting on a national scale in the US
still continued to be spotty between 1967 and 1981; NBC and CBS
held rights at various times, but neither network carried anything close to a full schedule, even carrying only selected games of the Stanley Cup Finals. And from 1971 to 1995, there was no exclusive coverage of games in the United States. It was not until 1995 that Fox signed on to be the exclusive national broadcast network for a full schedule of regular season and playoff games, as well as selected games of the Cup Finals. But to this day, national coverage of the Cup Finals continues to be split between an over-the-air network (now NBC) and a cable channel (now Versus
).
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) undertook a major expansion for the 1967–68 season, adding six new franchises to double the size of the league. This marked the first change in the composition of the league since 1942, when the Brooklyn Americans folded. Thus, the expansion ended the era of the Original Six
Original Six
The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...
. The addition of six new teams was the result of the league's desire for a lucrative TV contract in the United States, as well as fears of a rival league.
Background
For many years after the shakeoutShakeout
Shakeout is a term used in business and economics to describe the consolidation of an industry or sector, in which businesses are eliminated or acquired through competition...
caused by the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the NHL owners staunchly resisted applications to expand beyond the so-called "Original Six
Original Six
The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...
" clubs (Boston
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, Montreal
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, New York
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, Detroit
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
and Chicago
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
). Groups representing Philadelphia (which had secured rights to the dormant Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
franchise), Los Angeles and the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
Cleveland Barons were each in turn given conflicting requirements that seemed to contemporary observers designed to disqualify the bids, and it was widely understood that the existing NHL owners wanted no encroachments upon their profits.
The NHL had been an early leader in television broadcasting, both in Canada and the U.S. However, by 1960 its TV contracts had expired, and the league had none until 1963. The owners saw that the televising of other sports had enhanced the images of those leagues' players, and feared that this would provide leverage at salary time. Already, players were starting to get legal help in negotiating contracts. Additionally, the league did not want to change game start times to suit the networks. In 1965, the NHL was told that it would not receive a U.S. television contract without expansion, and that the networks were considering televising games from the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
, an ostensibly minor league that had by that time expanded into several large West Coast markets and accumulated strong rosters of players excluded from the static NHL lineups of the era.
Fears of the WHL becoming a rival major league and the desire for a lucrative TV contract in the U.S., much like the ones Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
and the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
had secured, wore down the opposition; moreover, as more conservative owners retired, a younger guard more receptive to expansion, such as Stafford Smythe
Stafford Smythe
Conn Stafford Smythe was the son of Conn Smythe and president of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team from 1961–1969 and from 1970 until his death.-Early years:...
in Toronto, David Molson in Montreal, and William M. Jennings
William M. Jennings
William M. Jennings was an executive in the National Hockey League.Born in New York, New York, Jennings graduated from Princeton University and then earned a law degree from Yale University...
in New York, took power.
Expansion teams
In 1963, Rangers governor William Jennings introduced to his peers the idea of expanding the league to the American West Coast by adding two new teams for the 1964–65 season. His argument was based around concerns that the Western Hockey League intended to operate as a major league in the near future. He also hoped that teams on the west coast would make the league truly national, and improve the chances of returning to television in the United States as the NHL had lost its deal with CBS. While the governors did not agree to the proposal, the topic of expansion came up every time the owners met from then on out.The expansion process formally began in March 1965, when NHL President Clarence Campbell
Clarence Campbell
Clarence Sutherland Campbell OBE, QC was the third president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977.-Early life and career:...
announced that the league proposed to expand its operations through the formation of a second six-team division. San Francisco – Oakland and Vancouver were declared "acceptable cities" with Los Angeles and St. Louis as potential sites. In February 1966, the NHL Board of Governors considered applications from 14 different ownership groups, including five from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, two from Pittsburgh, and one each from Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Philadelphia, San Francisco – Oakland
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Cleveland and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
had also expressed previous interest but were not represented.
Six franchises were ultimately added. Four still play in their original cities, one has relocated and one ceased operations.
| Team | City/Area | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California Seals California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of... |
Oakland, California Oakland, California Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724... (San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas... ) |
Renamed Oakland Seals and later California Golden Seals. Later relocated to Cleveland, Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... as the Cleveland Barons Cleveland Barons (NHL) The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967... in 1976, then ceased operations in 1978 with merger into the Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white... . Market and ownership returned to NHL in 1991 as the San Jose Sharks San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
| Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
|
| Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white... |
Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern... (Minneapolis – Saint Paul) |
Merged with the Cleveland Barons Cleveland Barons (NHL) The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967... in 1978. Later relocated to Dallas, Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... as the Dallas Stars Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The... in 1993 |
| Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,... |
|
| Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original... |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... |
|
| St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St... |
Opposition
Many were upset over the expansion. Canadian fans were irate that no Canadian teams were added, particularly since VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
had been considered a lock. Politics also took a hand in the selections; the Vancouver bid was reportedly very weak, but Montreal and Toronto were not interested in sharing CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
TV revenues with another Canadian club, and the powerful Chicago owner's
Arthur Wirtz
Arthur Michael Wirtz was a powerful figure in sports and arena operation. He was the owner of Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls...
support was reputedly contingent on the creation of a St. Louis team – though no formal bid had actually been received from St. Louis – to purchase the decrepit St. Louis Arena
St. Louis Arena
The St. Louis Arena was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri, that stood from 1929 to 1999...
, which the Black Hawks ownership then also owned.
Furthermore, many traditionalists did not like the idea of expansion, claiming it would dilute the talent in the league. Even many of the proponents of expansion were worried at the idea of immediately doubling the NHL's size, instead of easing teams in gradually, as had Major League Baseball.
Most experts agreed that the new owners paid a heavy price to join the league: the expansion fee was US$ 2 million. Players taken in the very strict expansion draft came at a cost of a hefty $50,000. Thus, most expansion teams had no hope of competing successfully with the established teams in the near future.
One concession from the league, however, was that the new teams were all placed in the newly-formed West Division (somewhat of a misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
since the two Pennsylvania clubs were clearly not among the most western-based half of the league - never mind in the Western United States), meaning four expansion teams would make the playoffs and an expansion team was guaranteed a slot in the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
finals. This format was criticized by some fans who felt the first few expansion-era Stanley Cup finals were anti-climactic, pitting the league's best team against an opponent that clearly was not the second-best. An alternative proposal to put Detroit and Chicago in the West with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia going to the East was rejected by the league.
Changes
The new teams offered a big change to the league. After seeing virtually the same red/blue/black uniforms for over twenty years, purple, green, sky blue, and orange were introduced.Aftermath
The 1967 expansion marked the end of the Original SixOriginal Six
The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...
era and the beginning of a new era of the NHL
History of the National Hockey League (1967–1992)
The expansion era of the National Hockey League began when six new teams were added for the 1967–68 season, ending the Original Six era. The six existing teams were grouped into the newly created East Division, and the expansion teams—the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals,...
. The expansion, Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
's record $1 million contract, and the formation of the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
(WHA) in 1972 forever changed the landscape of the North American professional game. It was the WHA that ended up being the NHL's chief rival during the 1970s, while the Western Hockey League
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
ceased operations in 1974. The NHL would later expand to 18 teams by 1974, and then merge with the WHA
NHL–WHA merger
The 1979 merger of the NHL and WHA was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association that resulted in four WHA franchises joining the NHL as expansion franchises for the 1979–80 season...
in 1979. As a result, the NHL retained its status as the premier professional ice hockey league in North America; no other league successfully competed against the NHL since then.
All the 1967 expansion teams were placed in the same division in 1967–68, so their success was largely gauged relative to each other. The Philadelphia Flyers won this division in the first season for the expansion teams, and quickly built a strong club that would go on to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. The St. Louis Blues also immediately made an impact, with three finals appearances in the first three years, but have never since reached the Stanley Cup finals. The Pittsburgh Penguins were largely unsuccessful in the beginning, failing to win their division until 1990–91, but accumulated draft picks and built a strong team that would win two Stanley Cups in the early 1990s and again in 2009. The Los Angeles Kings have made one Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1993 during the Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
era, but have not returned since.
Despite being in a traditional hockey area bordering Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to the north, the Minnesota North Stars struggled financially for much of their time in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. They did manage to make two finals appearances in 1981 and 1991, but ended up moving to Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, in 1993 to become the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
. The Oakland-based franchise was the least successful of the 1967 expansion teams: uncompetitive both on the ice and at the box office, the club eventually moved to Cleveland to become the Barons
Cleveland Barons (NHL)
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1976–78. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise, which had played in Oakland since 1967...
in 1976, and then merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. However, the NHL would eventually return to both the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and Minnesota when the expansion teams San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
(who themselves were spun off from the North Stars) and Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
began play in 1991 and in 2000, respectively, bookending a new expansion period
History of the National Hockey League (1992–present)
The National Hockey League has endured a tumultuous period of history in recent years. It has grown from 22 teams in 1992 to 30 today as the league expanded across the United States...
that brought the NHL to 30 clubs.
, at the end of the 2008–09 season, which marked the 40th season for the 1967 expansion teams, the Flyers are the most successful in terms of winning percentage (57.8%) which is only second to the Montreal Canadiens in the entire NHL, number of conference finals appearances (15), Stanley Cup finals appearances (7) and playoff appearances (33). The Penguins are the most successful in terms of number of Stanley Cups (3), however they are the least successful financially (3 bankruptcies).
However, the NHL still has never fared well on American broadcast television in comparison to the NBA, MLB, or the NFL after 1967. In fact, hockey broadcasting on a national scale in the US
History of the National Hockey League on United States television
The National Hockey League has never fared as well on American television in comparison to the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, or the National Football League, although that has begun to change, with NBC's broadcast of the final game of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals scoring...
still continued to be spotty between 1967 and 1981; NBC and CBS
NHL on CBS
NHL on CBS is a former television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on CBS Sports. CBS was the first American television network to broadcast NHL games.-1956–1960 version:...
held rights at various times, but neither network carried anything close to a full schedule, even carrying only selected games of the Stanley Cup Finals. And from 1971 to 1995, there was no exclusive coverage of games in the United States. It was not until 1995 that Fox signed on to be the exclusive national broadcast network for a full schedule of regular season and playoff games, as well as selected games of the Cup Finals. But to this day, national coverage of the Cup Finals continues to be split between an over-the-air network (now NBC) and a cable channel (now Versus
NHL on Versus
The NHL on Versus was the former branding used for National Hockey League games broadcast on Versus. Versus became the NHL's cable partner in the United States beginning in the 2005-06 season from previous partner ESPN, providing coverage of regular season games, playoff games, and select games...
).
See also
- 1967 NHL Expansion Draft1967 NHL Expansion DraftThe 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, in the ballroom of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the league's six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars,...