The 1968–69 Oakland Seals season was the Seals' second season in the National Hockey League (NHL). For the first time in their history they qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs after finishing second in the West Division, with a record of 29–36–11. They were upset in the playoffs, losing their quarter-finals series to the fourth-place Los Angeles Kings in seven games (Oakland's three playoff game victories against Los Angeles were the only ones the franchise would get in their entire ten-year history).
Off-season Frank Selke Jr. was named general manager of the team, replacing Bert Olmstead. Selke hired Fred Glover as coach. Rumors persisted over the off-season that the team would be sold to brothers Northrup and Seymour Knox III and moved to Buffalo.
Amateur draft
Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team213.Doug Smith (C)Winnipeg Jets (WCJHL)320.Jim Trewin (D)Flin Flon Bombers (WCJHL)
Regular season Early in 1969 the Knox brothers did buy a 20% stake in the team; the remaining 80% was purchased by Trans-National Communications, a holding company based in New York City. The sale was $4.5 million: $1.6 million for Seals outright; $1.9 million in debt; the remaining expansion fee due to the NHL; a $680,000 loan to Labatt Brewery; an undisclosed sum to Hockey Investors Inc. (their role in the sale was not disclosed); and settlements to Rudy Pilous, Bert Olmstead, and Gord Fashoway.
The Seals finished the season with a record of 26 wins, 36 losses, and 11 ties, second in the West Division. Attendance averaged 4,584 per game.
Norm Ferguson scored 34 goals, tying him with Danny Grant for the most by an NHL rookie (set by Nels Stewart in 1925–26). Ferguson finished second to Grant in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie-of-the-year. Ted Hampson won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for "exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey". This would be the only major NHL trophy a Seal player would win. Hampson also finished second overall in voting for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship.
Final standings
Record vs. opponents
Playoffs The Seals made it into the playoffs and went against Los Angeles in the Quarter-finals in a best of seven series and lost in 7 games, or 3–4.
Schedule and results
Regular season
|1||October 11, 1968||1–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||0–1–0 ||
|2||October 13, 1968||4–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||0–1–1 ||
|3||October 16, 1968||1–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||0–2–1 ||
|4||October 19, 1968||1–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||0–3–1 ||
|5||October 20, 1968||4–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||1–3–1 ||
|6||October 22, 1968||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||2–3–1 ||
|7||October 23, 1968||1–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1968–69) ||2–4–1 ||
|8||October 25, 1968||2–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||2–5–1 ||
|9||October 27, 1968||2–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||2–5–2 ||
|10||November 1, 1968||5–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||3–5–2 ||
|11||November 3, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||3–6–2 ||
|12||November 8, 1968||2–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1968–69) ||3–7–2 ||
|13||November 10, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||3–8–2 ||
|14||November 12, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||3–9–2 ||
|15||November 13, 1968||2–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||4–9–2 ||
|16||November 16, 1968||3–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||4–9–3 ||
|17||November 17, 1968||3–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||4–10–3 ||
|18||November 20, 1968||0–7 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||4–11–3 ||
|19||November 21, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||4–12–3 ||
|20||November 23, 1968||2–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||5–12–3 ||
|21||November 24, 1968||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1968–69) ||5–13–3 ||
|22||November 27, 1968||3–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||5–13–4 ||
|23||November 29, 1968||5–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||6–13–4 ||
|24||December 1, 1968||4–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||6–13–5 ||
|25||December 6, 1968||4–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||7–13–5 ||
|26||December 8, 1968||1–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||7–14–5 ||
|27||December 12, 1968||6–0 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||8–14–5 ||
|28||December 14, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||8–15–5 ||
|29||December 15, 1968||4–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||8–16–5 ||
|30||December 17, 1968||3–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||9–16–5 ||
|31||December 18, 1968||2–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||9–17–5 ||
|32||December 20, 1968||0–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||9–18–5 ||
|33||December 22, 1968||2–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||10–18–5 ||
|34||December 25, 1968||3–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||11–18–5 ||
|35||December 26, 1968||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1968–69) ||11–19–5 ||
|36||December 28, 1968||4–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||12–19–5 ||
|37||December 29, 1968||2–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||13–19–5 ||
|38||January 1, 1969||3–7 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||13–20–5 ||
|39||January 3, 1969||1–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||13–21–5 ||
|40||January 5, 1969||0–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||13–21–6 ||
|41||January 9, 1969||4–8 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||13–22–6 ||
|42||January 11, 1969||4–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||14–22–6 ||
|43||January 12, 1969||1–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||14–23–6 ||
|44||January 15, 1969||4–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||15–23–6 ||
|45||January 17, 1969||1–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1968–69) ||15–24–6 ||
|46||January 19, 1969||6–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||16–24–6 ||
|47||January 23, 1969||5–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||17–24–6 ||
|48||January 25, 1969||3–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||17–25–6 ||
|49||January 26, 1969||1–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||17–26–6 ||
|50||January 29, 1969||3–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||17–26–7 ||
|51||January 31, 1969||5–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||18–26–7 ||
|52||February 1, 1969||5–8 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||18–27–7 ||
|53||February 5, 1969||5–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) ||19–27–7 ||
|54||February 8, 1969||4–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||20–27–7 ||
|55||February 9, 1969||3–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||20–27–8 ||
|56||February 12, 1969||3–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1968–69) ||21–27–8 ||
|57||February 15, 1969||4–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||21–27–9 ||
|58||February 16, 1969||2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||21–28–9 ||
|59||February 19, 1969||5–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||22–28–9 ||
|60||February 21, 1969||3–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||23–28–9 ||
|61||February 23, 1969||3–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||23–29–9 ||
|62||February 26, 1969||6–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||24–29–9 ||
|63||February 27, 1969||0–9 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1968–69) ||24–30–9 ||
|64||March 2, 1969||4–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||24–30–10 ||
|65||March 5, 1969||2–5 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||24–31–10 ||
|66||March 8, 1969||2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||24–32–10 ||
|67||March 9, 1969||3–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) ||24–33–10 ||
|68||March 12, 1969||4–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) ||25–33–10 ||
|69||March 13, 1969||1–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) ||25–34–10 ||
|70||March 16, 1969||7–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) ||26–34–10 ||
|71||March 18, 1969||2–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||26–35–10 ||
|72||March 19, 1969||4–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) ||26–35–11 ||
|73||March 22, 1969||4–0 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||27–35–11 ||
|74||March 23, 1969||5–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) ||28–35–11 ||
|75||March 26, 1969||3–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1968–69) ||28–36–11 ||
|76||March 29, 1969||7–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) ||29–36–11 ||
Legend:
Notes: Game played at Cow Palace in Daly City.
Playoffs
| 1 || April 2, 1969 || 4–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings || Kings lead 1–0 ||
| 2 || April 3, 1969 || 4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings || Series tied 1–1 ||
| 3 || April 5, 1969 || 5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Seals lead 2–1 ||
| 4 || April 6, 1969 || 2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Series tied 2–2 ||
| 5 || April 9, 1969 || 4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings || Seals lead 3–2 ||
| 6 || April 10, 1969 || 3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Series tied 3–3 ||
| 7 || April 13, 1969 || 3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings || Kings win 4–3 ||
Legend:
Player statistics
Skaters Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Regular season Playoffs Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIMTed Hampson 10 76 26 49 75 6 7 3 4 7 2Bill Hicke 9 67 25 36 61 68 7 0 3 3 4Norm Ferguson 17 76 34 20 54 31 7 1 4 5 7Gary Jarrett 12 63 22 23 45 22 7 2 1 3 4Gerry Ehman 8 70 21 24 45 12 7 2 2 4 0Mike Laughton 15 53 20 23 43 22 7 3 2 5 0Carol Vadnais 5 76 15 27 42 151 7 1 4 5 10Brian Perry 20 61 10 21 31 10 6 1 1 2 4Earl Ingarfield† 7 26 8 15 23 8 7 4 6 10 2Joe Szura 18 70 9 12 21 20 7 2 3 5 2Doug Roberts 2 76 1 19 20 79 7 0 1 1 34Bob Dillabough† 21 48 7 12 19 4 7 3 0 3 0Bert Marshall 19 68 3 15 18 81 7 0 7 7 20Francois Lacombe 4 72 2 16 18 50 3 1 0 1 0George Swarbrick‡ 14 50 3 13 16 75 – – – – –Gene Ubriaco† 16 26 4 7 11 14 7 2 0 2 2Dick Mattiussi† 6 24 1 9 10 16 7 0 1 1 6Gerry Odrowski 11 74 5 1 6 24 7 0 1 1 2Bryan Watson‡ 6 50 2 3 5 97 – – – – –Billy Harris‡ 7 19 0 4 4 2 – – – – –John Brenneman 16 21 1 2 3 6 7 0 0 0 0Gary Smith 30 54 0 2 2 7 7 0 0 0 0Len Ronson 15 5 0 0 0 0 – – – – –Charlie Hodge 1 14 0 0 0 0 – – – – –Chris Worthy 25 14 0 0 0 0 – – – – – †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Seals. Stats reflect time with the Seals only. ‡Traded mid-season
Goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average Regular season Playoffs Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAAGary Smith 30 54 2993 21 24 7 148 4 2.96 7 420 3 4 23 0 3.29Charlie Hodge 1 14 781 4 6 1 48 0 3.69 – – – – – – –Chris Worthy 25 14 786 4 6 3 54 0 4.12 – – – – – – –
Transactions The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1968–69 season:
Trades