1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season

The 1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season was the first season for the Kings in the National Hockey League. The Kings qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs but lost in their first playoff series.

1967–68 Los Angeles Kings
Division2nd West
1967–68 record31–33–10
Home record20–13–4
Road record11–20–6
Goals for200
Goals against224
Team information
General managerLarry Regan
CoachRed Kelly
CaptainBob Wall
ArenaLong Beach Arena,
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena,
Los Angeles Forum
Average attendance8,084
Minor league affiliate(s)Springfield Indians (AHL)
Team leaders
GoalsBill Flett (26)
AssistsEddie Joyal (34)
PointsEddie Joyal (57)
Penalty minutesDave Amadio (101)
WinsWayne Rutledge (20)
Goals against averageWayne Rutledge (2.87)

Offseason

The Kings were one of six expansion teams, which doubled the size of the league from six to twelve. While the expected favorite bid in Los Angeles was by Dan Reeves, owner of the Western Hockey League's Los Angeles Blades and the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the league instead awarded a franchise to Jack Kent Cooke, a Canadian who also owned the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers.[1] The Kings were placed in the newly established West Division, along with the other expansion teams: the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

Prior to the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, Cooke arranged a deal with Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Red Kelly, who as a player holds the distinction of playing on the most Stanley Cup championship teams without any of them including time in Montreal, and was set for his retirement, to become the Kings' first head coach. During the draft, the Kings picked goaltenders Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge with their first picks, and once Maple Leafs' general manager Punch Imlach decided to put Kelly on the protected list on the tenth round, Cooke was forced to send one of his picks, Ken Block, in exchange for his future coach. To not rely only on the draft, Cooke purchased the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians for $1 million to bolster the Kings roster. Long-time Indians player Brian Kilrea would score the Kings' first goal.[2]

Cooke invested heavily on promoting his team, inviting Hollywood stars to the arena, and creating nicknames for most players which he enforced play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald to employ in broadcasts. Still, conditions were chaotic. For the first preseason practice in California, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour producer Saul Ilson had to bring a puck from his Hollywood office for the Kings to play, as the team's own were unreachable in storage.[1]

Regular season

The Kings played their home games in three locations during that inaugural campaign. Before the brand new arena built by Cooke and known as The Forum would become their permanent home, the team played their first two games at the Long Beach Arena, and 14 more at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena .[3] The season opener was against fellow expansion Philadelphia Flyers, a 4-2 victory in Long Beach. While the Inglewood arena was being finished, the Kings struggled to attract consistent crowds, with sellouts only when the "Original Six" visited.[1] The team still played well, only losing on the sixth game, and in the previous one winning their first confrontation against an Original Six team when visiting the Chicago Black Hawks.[1]

The Forum was opened on December 30, and in the Kings' first game ever there, they lost 2–0 to the Philadelphia Flyers, to their largest crowd that far of 14,366 spectators. Given that aside from California Seals the closest team from Los Angeles were the St. Louis Blues, the Kings had to endure long road trips for away games.[1] A new arena led to bigger and more consistent crowds, with the average of 6,045 tickets in the first 16 games rising to 9,725 at the Forum, for combined totals of 8,037 across the 37 home games. Original Six teams still brought larger audiences, with an average of 12,560 fans compared to the 7,432 when receiving fellow expansion teams.[2] The Kings were predicted by writers to finish last in the new West Division.[4] Surprisingly, the Kings finished second, just one point behind the Flyers. The division lead was taken by the Kings with four games remaining once they beat Philadelphia at The Forum, but Los Angeles slipped down one position by failing to win the final three games.[2] The Kings had the best record of any of the expansion teams against the "Original Six", going a respectable 10–12–2, including winning their first two games ever against the legendary Montreal Canadiens. The home record of the Kings was 20–13–4 in their 37 home games spread over 3 arenas. On the road, Los Angeles posted a record of just 11–20–6.

The goaltending tandem of future hall of famer Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge allowed the team to stay in most games. The roster invested heavily on depth, with eight players having at least 25 points, and four scoring at least 18 goals. The leaders were Bill Flett, who scored 26 goals, while Eddie Joyal scored 23 goals, adding 34 assists for 57 points and was the second leading scorer in the West Division. Defenseman Bill White had 11 goals and 38 points, and had the second most penalty minutes with 100, just one behind Dave Amadio.[2]

Playoffs

The Kings faced off against the Minnesota North Stars in their first-ever playoff series. Although the Kings had home-ice advantage, the North Stars won the best-of-seven series 4–3. Los Angeles got the first two games at the Forum, lost twice in Minnesota, and had a close 3-2 victory on Game 5 to retain the lead. Afterwards, the North Stars won in overtime to force a Game 6, and dominated Game 7 at the Forum with a 9-4.[2] Doug Robinson and Lowell MacDonald led all Kings playoff scorers with seven points, while Eddie Joyal and Gord Labossiere had five points each.

Season standings
West Division[5]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Philadelphia Flyers74313211173179−673
2Los Angeles Kings74313310200224−2472
3St. Louis Blues74273116177191−1470
4Minnesota North Stars74273215191226−3569
5Pittsburgh Penguins74273413195216−2167
6Oakland Seals74154217153219−6647

Record vs. opponents
1967–68 NHL records
Team BOS CHI DET LAK MIN MON NYR OAK PHI PIT STL TOR
Boston —5–3–25–3–23–12–25–56–2–22–23–12–22–1–12–5–3
Chicago 3–5–2—4–3–32–1–13–12–6–23–4–33–0–13–12–1–12–0–25–4–1
Detroit 3–5–23–4–3—1–2–12–23–6–13–5–23–0–13–13–12–1–11–8–1
Los Angeles 1–31–2–12–1–1—2–6–22–22–24–4–25–4–16–44–3–32–2
Minnesota 2–21–32–26–2–2—1–2–10–2–25–2–33–6–13–4–33–5–21–2–1
Montreal 5–56–2–26–3–12–22–1–1—4–4–23–12–1–14–03–0–15–3–2
New York 2–6–24–3–35–3–22–22–0–24–4–2—4–03–13–0–13–17–3
Oakland 2–20–3–10–3–14–4–22–5–31–30–4—4–3–31–5–40–7–31–3
Philadelphia 1–31–31–34–5–16–3–11–2–11–33–4–3—3–4–37–1–23–1
Pittsburgh 2–21–2–11–34–64–3–30–40–3–15–1–44–3–3—4–62–1–1
St. Louis 1–2–10–2–21–2–13–4–35–3–20–3–11–37–0–31–7–26–4—2–1–1
Toronto 5–2–34–5–18–1–12–22–1–13–5–23–73–11–31–2–11–2–1—

Schedule and results
1967–68 game log
October
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance[6] Record
114Philadelphia Flyers4–2Long Beach (7,023)1–0-0
215Minnesota North Stars5–3Long Beach (4,289)2–0-0
318Oakland Seals2–2Oakland (3,419)2-0–1
421St. Louis Blues3–3St. Louis (7,127)2-0–2
522Chicago Black Hawks5–3Chicago (16,666)3–0-2
625Toronto Maple Leafs2–4Toronto (15,698)3–1–2
726Boston Bruins0–2Boston (12,973)3–2–2
828Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Pittsburgh (6,536)4–2-2
931New York Rangers1–6Memorial Sports Arena (6,455)4–3–2
November
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
102Chicago Black Hawks1–3Memorial Sports Arena (8,012)4–4–2
114Minnesota North Stars2–2Minnesota (10,246)4-4–3
125Detroit Red Wings6–4Detroit (12,164)5–4-3
137Oakland Seals5–4Memorial Sports Arena (5,194)6–4-3
149Toronto Maple Leafs4–1Memorial Sports Arena (9,604)7–4-3
1515Oakland Seals1–4Oakland (3,256)7–5–3
1617Detroit Red Wings1–4Memorial Sports Arena (9,498)7–6–3
1719Montreal Canadiens4–2Memorial Sports Arena (9,849)8–6-3
1822Oakland Seals3–1Memorial Sports Arena (5,301)9–6-3
1924Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Memorial Sports Arena (6,458)10–6-3
2026Philadelphia Flyers2–7Philadelphia (11,420)10–7–3
2129St. Louis Blues2–3St. Louis (5,583)10–8–3
December
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
222Montreal Canadiens3–2Montreal (14,584)11–8-3
233New York Rangers2–4New York (14,012)11–9–3
246St. Louis Blues3–2Long Beach (4,323)12–9-3
258Philadelphia Flyers0–3Long Beach (4,624)12–10–3
2610Boston Bruins3–1Boston (13,409)13–10-3
2713Minnesota North Stars0–4Minnesota (7,749)13–11–3
2815Minnesota North Stars0–3Long Beach (7,149)13–12–3
2916Boston Bruins2–5Long Beach (6,510)13–13–3
3019Oakland Seals3–1Memorial Sports Arena (4,505)14–13-3
3121Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Memorial Sports Arena (4,013)15–13-3
3223St. Louis Blues4–0Memorial Sports Arena (4,447)16–13-3
3325Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Pittsburgh (4,002)16–14–3
3427St. Louis Blues2–4St. Louis16–15–3
3530Philadelphia Flyers0–2The Forum (14,366)16–16–3
3631Philadelphia Flyers1–9Philadelphia (5,643)16–17–3
January
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
373Minnesota North Stars0–6Minnesota (9,921)16–18–3
384Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Pittsburgh (4,202)16–19–3
396St. Louis Blues1–2St. Louis (7,186)16–20–3
407Oakland Seals0–6Oakland (4,577)16–21–3
4111St. Louis Blues2–2The Forum (6,894)16-21–4
4218Pittsburgh Penguins3–2The Forum (5,755)17–21-4
4319New York Rangers5–2The Forum (11,740)18–21-4
4421Oakland Seals0–3Oakland (3,650)18–22–4
4524Oakland Seals1–4The Forum (7,553)18–23–4
4627Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Pittsburgh (11,156)19–23-4
4728Philadelphia Flyers2–0Philadelphia (13,577)20–23-4
4831Minnesota North Stars1–6Minnesota (10,751)20–24–4
February
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
491Detroit Red Wings8–6Detroit (10,257)21–24-4
503Montreal Canadiens1–5Montreal (15,343)21–25–4
514Chicago Black Hawks3–5Chicago (16,666)21–26–4
527Minnesota North Stars2–4The Forum (7,120)21–27–4
538Pittsburgh Penguins3–1The Forum (6,195)22–27-4
5412Toronto Maple Leafs2–0The Forum (12,397)23–27-4
5514St. Louis Blues2–2St. Louis (7,652)23-27–5
5616Philadelphia Flyers7–1The Forum (9,867)24–27-5
5718Boston Bruins5–6The Forum (11,066)24–28–5
5824Chicago Black Hawks3–3The Forum (15,752)24-28–6
5925St. Louis Blues4–2The Forum (7,386)25–28-6
6029Philadelphia Flyers3–1Philadelphia (9,115)26–28-6
March
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
612Toronto Maple Leafs2–5Toronto (15,816)26–29–6
625Montreal Canadiens2–6The Forum (14,450)26–30–6
637Oakland Seals9–2The Forum (6,678)27–30-6
649Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Pittsburgh (8,176)27–31–6
6510New York Rangers4–3New York (17,250)28–31-6
6612Detroit Red Wings2–2The Forum (10,244)28-31–7
6714Philadelphia Flyers0–0Quebec City (4,116)28-31–8
6816Minnesota North Stars2–1Minnesota (13,739)29–31-8
6920Minnesota North Stars3–3The Forum (9,453)29-31–9
7022St. Louis Blues6–1The Forum (8,753)30–31-9
7123Philadelphia Flyers4–2The Forum (14,003)31–31-9
7226Pittsburgh Penguins1–2The Forum (7,057)31–32–9
7327Minnesota North Stars3–5The Forum (8,559)31–33–9
7430Oakland Seals2–2Oakland (7,055)31-33–10

1968 NHL Quarter-finals

Minnesota North Stars vs. Los Angeles Kings

DateAwayScoreHomeScoreNotes
April 4Minnesota1Los Angeles2
April 6Minnesota0Los Angeles2
April 9Los Angeles5Minnesota7
April 11Los Angeles2Minnesota3
April 13Minnesota2Los Angeles3
April 16Los Angeles3Minnesota4(OT)
April 18Minnesota9Los Angeles4

Minnesota wins best-of-seven series 4–3.

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Eddie Joyal7423345720
Bill Flett7326204697
Lowell MacDonald7421244512
Ted Irvine7318224026
Gord Labossiere6813274031
Real Lemieux7412233560
Terry Gray6512162822
Howie Menard359152432
Howie Hughes749142320
Bryan Campbell446152116
Brian Smith581091933
Doug Robinson3499186
Brian Kilrea2535812
Jim Anderson71232
Bill Inglis121120
Mike Corbett00000
Mike Corrigan50002

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Bill White74112738100
Bob Wall715182366
Dale Rolfe683131684
Brent Hughes444101436
Dave Amadio584610101
Jacques Lemieux160338
Jim Murray3002214
Poul Popiel10000
Larry Johnston40004

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player GP MIN W L T SO GAA
Wayne Rutledge4524442018422.87
Terry Sawchuk3619361114623.07
Jacques Caron16001004.00

Awards and records

Individual
  • March 10, 1968: Fastest two goals, 6 seconds apart, Bill Flett at 9:14 of first period, and Eddie Joyal at 9:20.

Team
  • Fewest short-handed goals against in season, 3
  • Most shutouts against in season, 9

Milestones
  Player is still active or individual record
Regular season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Brian KilreaFirst Kings goalOctober 14, 1967

Transactions

Draft picks

NHL draft
See also: 1967 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality
1 1 Rick Pagnutti  Canada
LA Kings primary logo
  • NOTE: Back before 1979, the amateur draft was held with varying rules and procedures. In 1967, teams only needed to select as many player as they wanted to, which is why there was only one Kings player drafted.

Expansion draft
  • Los Angeles Kings selections
# Player Drafted from
1.Terry Sawchuk (G)Toronto Maple Leafs
2.Wayne Rutledge (G)New York Rangers
3.Gord Labossiere (C)Montreal Canadiens
4.Bob Wall (D)Detroit Red Wings
5.Ed Joyal (C)Toronto Maple Leafs
6.Real Lemieux (W)Detroit Red Wings
7.Poul Popiel (D)Boston Bruins
8.Terry Gray (RW)Detroit Red Wings
9.Bryan Campbell (C)New York Rangers
10.Ted Irvine (LW)Boston Bruins
11.Howie Hughes (RW)Montreal Canadiens
12.Bill Inglis (C)Montreal Canadiens
13.Doug Robinson (LW)New York Rangers
14.Mike Corrigan (LW)Toronto Maple Leafs
15.Jacques Lemieux (LW)Montreal Canadiens
16.Lowell MacDonald (LW)Toronto Maple Leafs
17.Ken Block (D)New York Rangers
18.Bill Flett (RW)Toronto Maple Leafs
19.Brent Hughes (D)Detroit Red Wings
20.Marc Dufour (RW)New York Rangers

Farm teams

Roster
1967–68 Los Angeles Kings roster

Goaltenders:

1 – Rutledge • 30 – Sawchuk • 1 – Caron 

Defensemen:

2 – Wall • 4 – J. Lemieux • 4 – Murray • 4 – B. Hughes • 5 – Amadio • 5 – Johnston • 6 – Rolfe • 9 – Popiel • 21 – White 

Forwards:

7 – Gray • 8 – Smith • 9 – R. Lemieux • 10 – H. Hughes • 11 – MacDonald • 11 – Corrigan • 12 – Campbell • 15 – Irvine • 16 – Joyal • 17 – Flett • 18 – Anderson • 19 – Kilrea • 19 – Menard • 20 – Labossiere • 22 – Inglis • 23 – Robinson • 25 – Corbett 

Owner: Jack Kent Cooke •  General Manager: Larry Regan •  Coach: Red Kelly

Broadcasting

KNX 1070 was the radio broadcaster in all games. KTLA covered 20 of the 37 away games through a simulcast. CBS broadcast nationally the first game at the Forum.[7]

References
  1. Kings have interesting, some might say colorful history
  2. Bass, Alan (2011). "7: Los Angeles Kings". The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed the NHL Forever. pp. 87–96. ISBN 1-4502-8605-4.
  3. KINGS ALL-TIME ARENAS: 1967 - PRESENT
  4. Brian McFarlane, 50 Years of Hockey, pp. 140–143, Greywood Publishing Ltd, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  5. "1967–1968 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  6. 1967-68 Season in Review
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