1974–75 California Golden Seals season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1974–75
Year:	1974
Team:	California Golden Seals
Conference:	Prince of Wales
Divisionrank:	4th
Record:	19–48–13
Goalsfor:	212
Goalsagainst:	316
Coach:	Marshall Johnston Bill McCreary
Goalsleader:	Dave Hrechkosy (29)
Assistsleader:	Stan Weir (27)
Pointsleader:	Larry Patey, Stan Weir (45)
Plusminusleader:	Frank Spring (+1)
Pimleader:	Len Frig (127)
Winsleader:	Gary Simmons (10)
Gaaleader:	Gary Simmons (3.67)

The 1974–75 California Golden Seals season was the Seals' 8th season in the NHL. The team continued to be operated by the league until early 1975, when new local ownership led by Mel Swig, owner of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, was found. The Seals adopted new uniforms this season with new turquoise and gold colors. They recorded a 15-point improvement over the previous season. In early 1975, rumors began to circulate that the Seals would be relocated to Denver, Colorado, although this did not come to pass.

On March 28, 1975, the Seals suffered the indignity of losing at home to the expansion Washington Capitals, 5–3, providing the Caps with the only road win of their inaugural season.

Offseason

Amateur Draft

See main article: 1974 NHL amateur draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	3.	Rick Hampton		St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
1	17.	Ron Chipperfield		Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
2	21.	Bruce Affleck		University of Denver Pioneers (WCHA)
3	39.	Charlie Simmer		Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
4	57.	Tom Price		Ottawa 67's (OHA)
5	75.	Jim Warden		Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA)
6	93.	Tom Sundberg		St. Paul Vulcans (MidJHL)
7	111.	Tom Anderson		St. Paul Vulcans (MidJHL)
8	128.	Jim McCabe		Welland Sabres (SOJHL)

Regular season

On March 28, 1975, the Seals lost at home 5–3 to Washington, giving the expansion Capitals their only road win of the season.

Final standings

^[1]

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 9, 1974	4–4	St. Louis Blues (1974–75)	0–0–1
2	W	October 11, 1974	3–0	Atlanta Flames (1974–75)	1–0–1
3	L	October 13, 1974	3–7	@ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75)	1–1–1
4	T	October 16, 1974	5–5	@ New York Rangers (1974–75)	1–1–2
5	L	October 17, 1974	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	1–2–2
6	L	October 19, 1974	1–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75)	1–3–2
7	L	October 20, 1974	0–5	@ Boston Bruins (1974–75)	1–4–2
8	T	October 23, 1974	4–4	Kansas City Scouts (1974–75)	1–4–3
9	W	October 25, 1974	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75)	2–4–3
10	L	October 26, 1974	1–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75)	2–5–3
11	L	October 28, 1974	1–10	@ New York Islanders (1974–75)	2–6–3
12	L	October 30, 1974	1–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1974–75)	2–7–3
13	T	November 1, 1974	4–4	Detroit Red Wings (1974–75)	2–7–4
14	L	November 6, 1974	3–7	New York Rangers (1974–75)	2–8–4
15	L	November 9, 1974	2–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75)	2–9–4
16	L	November 10, 1974	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75)	2–10–4
17	W	November 13, 1974	2–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75)	3–10–4
18	L	November 15, 1974	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	3–11–4
19	L	November 17, 1974	0–10	@ New York Rangers (1974–75)	3–12–4
20	L	November 19, 1974	4–6	@ Washington Capitals (1974–75)	3–13–4
21	L	November 21, 1974	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1974–75)	3–14–4
22	L	November 23, 1974	1–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75)	3–15–4
23	L	November 27, 1974	1–3	Boston Bruins (1974–75)	3–16–4
24	T	November 29, 1974	3–3	New York Islanders (1974–75)	3–16–5
25	W	December 1, 1974	5–2	@ Washington Capitals (1974–75)	4–16–5
26	L	December 3, 1974	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1974–75)	4–17–5
27	W	December 4, 1974	3–1	Atlanta Flames (1974–75)	5–17–5
28	W	December 6, 1974	5–3	Minnesota North Stars (1974–75)	6–17–5
29	L	December 10, 1974	0–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75)	6–18–5
30	L	December 12, 1974	3–5	@ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75)	6–19–5
31	L	December 14, 1974	3–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75)	6–20–5
32	T	December 15, 1974	5–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	6–20–6
33	L	December 18, 1974	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1974–75)	6–21–6
34	W	December 20, 1974	5–2	Washington Capitals (1974–75)	7–21–6
35	L	December 22, 1974	4–6	Vancouver Canucks (1974–75)	7–22–6
36	W	December 27, 1974	5–2	Boston Bruins (1974–75)	8–22–6
37	W	December 28, 1974	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75)	9–22–6
38	L	December 31, 1974	3–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75)	9–23–6
39	T	January 1, 1975	3–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	9–23–7
40	T	January 3, 1975	2–2	Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	9–23–8
41	W	January 5, 1975	5–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75)	10–23–8
42	W	January 7, 1975	3–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1974–75)	11–23–8
43	L	January 8, 1975	2–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1974–75)	11–24–8
44	L	January 11, 1975	3–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75)	11–25–8
45	L	January 12, 1975	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75)	11–26–8
46	L	January 15, 1975	0–4	Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	11–27–8
47	T	January 17, 1975	4–4	New York Rangers (1974–75)	11–27–9
48	L	January 19, 1975	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75)	11–28–9
49	L	January 22, 1975	5–7	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75)	11–29–9
50	W	January 24, 1975	6–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	12–29–9
51	L	January 26, 1975	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75)	12–30–9
52	L	January 29, 1975	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	12–31–9
53	L	January 30, 1975	0–6	@ Boston Bruins (1974–75)	12–32–9
54	L	February 2, 1975	1–5	Montreal Canadiens (1974–75)	12–33–9
55	W	February 5, 1975	5–1	Washington Capitals (1974–75)	13–33–9
56	L	February 7, 1975	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75)	13–34–9
57	L	February 9, 1975	1–2	Kansas City Scouts (1974–75)	13–35–9
58	W	February 12, 1975	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1974–75)	14–35–9
59	W	February 15, 1975	3–0	@ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75)	15–35–9
60	L	February 16, 1975	4–8	@ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75)	15–36–9
61	T	February 19, 1975	3–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	15–36–10
62	W	February 21, 1975	6–4	Boston Bruins (1974–75)	16–36–10
63	T	February 23, 1975	2–2	Los Angeles Kings (1974–75)	16–36–11
64	L	February 26, 1975	1–3	Minnesota North Stars (1974–75)	16–37–11
65	L	March 1, 1975	1–6	@ New York Islanders (1974–75)	16–38–11
66	L	March 3, 1975	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75)	16–39–11
67	L	March 5, 1975	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75)	16–40–11
68	W	March 9, 1975	4–2	New York Islanders (1974–75)	17–40–11
69	L	March 12, 1975	2–7	Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	17–41–11
70	W	March 14, 1975	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1974–75)	18–41–11
71	T	March 19, 1975	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75)	18–41–12
72	W	March 21, 1975	7–4	St. Louis Blues (1974–75)	19–41–12
73	L	March 23, 1975	4–9	@ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75)	19–42–12
74	L	March 24, 1975	3–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75)	19–43–12
75	L	March 26, 1975	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75)	19–44–12
76	L	March 28, 1975	3–5	Washington Capitals (1974–75)	19–45–12
77	L	April 1, 1975	0–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75)	19–46–12
78	L	April 2, 1975	0–3	Vancouver Canucks (1974–75)	19–47–12
79	L	April 5, 1975	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75)	19–48–12
80	T	April 6, 1975	1–1	Los Angeles Kings (1974–75)	19–48–13

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	PIM
	9		79	25	20	45	68		–	–	–	–	–
	21		80	18	27	45	12		–	–	–	–	–
	18		73	29	14	43	25		–	–	–	–	–
	25		80	18	25	43	55		–	–	–	–	–
	17		75	19	19	38	55		–	–	–	–	–
	22		62	14	23	37	72		–	–	–	–	–
Dave Gardner^†	7		64	16	20	36	6		–	–	–	–	–
	11		56	12	21	33	8		–	–	–	–	–
	12		63	11	21	32	118		–	–	–	–	–
	2		78	8	17	25	39		–	–	–	–	–
	10		35	8	13	21	26		–	–	–	–	–
	15		72	3	17	20	56		–	–	–	–	–
	6		80	3	17	20	127		–	–	–	–	–
	4		68	5	12	17	93		–	–	–	–	–
	3		34	0	14	14	76		–	–	–	–	–
	5		47	0	13	13	73		–	–	–	–	–
	24		25	4	7	11	8		–	–	–	–	–
Frank Spring^†	14		28	3	8	11	6		–	–	–	–	–
	20		52	3	8	11	8		–	–	–	–	–
	8		65	3	7	10	48		–	–	–	–	–
	19		47	5	4	9	4		–	–	–	–	–
	27		47	0	6	6	14		–	–	–	–	–
Stan Gilbertson^‡	10		15	1	4	5	2		–	–	–	–	–
	16		3	2	1	3	0		–	–	–	–	–
Craig Patrick^‡	14		14	2	1	3	0		–	–	–	–	–
	5		9	0	2	2	8		–	–	–	–	–
	23		9	0	2	2	4		–	–	–	–	–
	8		1	0	1	1	0		–	–	–	–	–
	28		8	0	1	1	42		–	–	–	–	–
	31		34	0	1	1	26		–	–	–	–	–
	5		2	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
	16		2	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
	5		3	0	0	0	4		–	–	–	–	–
	24		4	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–

^{[2] †}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	GAA
	31		34	2029	10	21	3	124	2	3.67		–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	27		47	2771	9	27	10	186	1	4.03		–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Transactions

The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1974–75 season:

Trades

May 24, 1974	To California Golden Seals Al MacAdam Larry Wright 1st round pick in 1974 Draft (Ron Chipperfield) Future considerations (George Pesut, December 11, 1974)	To Philadelphia Flyers Reggie Leach
May 24, 1974	To California Golden Seals Mike Christie Len Frig	To Chicago Black Hawks Ivan Boldirev
June 18, 1974	To California Golden Seals John Stewart	To Atlanta Flames Hilliard Graves
June 18, 1974	To California Golden Seals Glenn Patrick	To St. Louis Blues Ron Serafini
September 23, 1974	To California Golden Seals Brian Lavender	To New York Rangers Hartland Monahan
October 1, 1974	To California Golden Seals Gary Simmons	To Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA) cash
November 11, 1974	To California Golden Seals Dave Gardner Butch Williams	To St. Louis Blues Stan Gilbertson Craig Patrick
January 9, 1975	To California Golden Seals Frank Spring	To St. Louis Blues Bruce Affleck

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Intra-League Draft (1974-06-10) Cranbrook Royals (WIHL) free agency (1974–10)

Subtractions Player New team Via Intra-League Draft (1974-06-10) Expansion Draft (1974-06-12) Expansion Draft (1974-06-12) Expansion Draft (1974-06-12)

Playoffs

The Seals did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs this season.

References

• Seals on Hockey Database
• Seals on Database Hockey

Notes and References

1. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario,
2. Web site: 1974-75 California Golden Seals Roster and Statistics.