Filed under: Ducks, Penguins, NHL Draft, NHL Fans, Team USAIn this five-part series, Adam Gretz looks at the growth of USA Hockey and the number of "non-traditional" cities and regions that are now producing players in the wake of NHL expansion. This week, we'll run a new installment every day.
The NHL's roots in California date all the way back to its first major expansion in 1967, when the league doubled in size from six teams to 12. Joining Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Minnesota as new additions were the Los Angeles Kings and Oakland Seals (re-named the California Golden Seals after two seasons).
The Seals were by far, to put it mildly, the least successful of the two west coast franchises, playing just nine seasons in California with only two postseason appearances. Overall, the team won just 182 of its 698 regular season games. Following the 1976 season, the franchise moved to Cleveland (and was re-named the Barons) where it played two seasons before merging with the fledgling Minnesota North Stars (which, of course, later moved to Dallas).
The Kings, on the other hand, have been a bit more successful, qualifying for the playoffs 24 times in 42 years, even becoming the first California-based team to play for the Cup when they advanced to the '93 Cup Final. It happened in large part because of one of the biggest trades in NHL history, when in August 1988 the Kings acquired Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and a truckload of first-round draft picks. While it never helped bring the Stanley Cup to Los Angeles -- the Kings lost the '93 Finals to Montreal in five games -- and even though it's been 13 years since Gretzky last suited up for the Kings, it's a move that is still paying off for hockey in California.
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