1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 5th West
1967–68 record 27–34–13
Home record 15–12–10
Road record 12–22–3
Goals for 195
Goals against 216
Team information
General Manager Jack Riley
Coach Red Sullivan
Captain Ab McDonald
Alternate captains Leo Boivin
Earl Ingarfield
Al MacNeil
Arena Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance 7,405 (59.2%)
(36 games)[1]
Team leaders
Goals Ab McDonald (22)
Assists Andy Bathgate (39)
Points Andy Bathgate (59)
Penalties in minutes Leo Boivin (74)
Wins Les Binkley (20)
Goals against average Hank Bassen (2.86)
1968–69>

The 1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their first in the NHL. Pittsburgh was one of six cities awarded an expansion team during the 1967 NHL expansion.

After deciding on the "Penguin" nickname (which was inspired by the fact that the team was going to play in an "Igloo",[2] the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Center), a logo was chosen, that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which is thought to be in tribute to the "Golden Triangle".[3]

Offseason

On February 8, 1966, the NHL awarded a franchise to the Hockey Club of Pittsburgh, Incorporated: a partnership of several investors headed by Pennsylvania State Senator Jack McGregor and his friend and business associate Peter Block. McGregor became the public face of the ownership, as President and Chief Executive Officer, and representing the club at Board of Governors meetings.

Later that year McGregor and Block began assembling their new hockey team. American Hockey League executive Jack Riley was named the club's general manager, and began immediately acquiring the services of players. He signed minor-leaguers Les Binkley, Ted Lanyon, Dick Mattiussi and Bill Speer to contracts before the club had ever taken to the ice.

The name of the new team was chosen by a contest in a local newspaper: on February 10, 1967, the new team became known as the Penguins.

In the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft Riley chose experienced players, particularly former New York Rangers players. Coincidentally Penguins head coach Red Sullivan was a former Ranger player and head coach. Earl Ingarfield, Ken Schinkel, Val Fonteyne, Mel Pearson, Al MacNeil, Noel Price, Billy Dea and Art Stratton had each spent time in their careers with the Rangers, but the Penguins' most prized acquisition was former Rangers star Andy Bathgate. Bathgate, then 34 years old, was near the end of his career and deemed expendable by the Red Wings, who had previously acquired his rights.

The rest of the roster was filled with minor-leaguers, particularly members of the Pittsburgh Hornets, the American Hockey League club which had served the Pittsburgh market since the late 1930s.

Expansion Draft

The Pittsburgh Penguins made 20 selections in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft held in Montreal from June 5–7.[4]

Round # Player Position Drafted from
1 Joe Daley Goaltender Detroit Red Wings
2 Roy Edwards Goaltender Chicago Black Hawks
3 Earl Ingarfield Center New York Rangers
4 Al MacNeil Defense New York Rangers
5 Larry Jeffrey Left Wing Toronto Maple Leafs
6 Ab McDonald Left Wing Detroit Red Wings
7 Leo Boivin Defense Detroit Red Wings
8 Noel Price Defense Montreal Canadiens
9 Keith McCreary Right Wing Montreal Canadiens
10 Ken Schinkel Right Wing New York Rangers
11 Bob Dillabough Center Boston Bruins
12 Art Stratton Center Chicago Black Hawks
13 Val Fonteyne Left Wing Detroit Red Wings
14 Jeannot Gilbert Center Boston Bruins
15 Tom McCarthy Left Wing Montreal Canadiens
16 Billy Dea Left Wing Chicago Black Hawks
17 Bob Rivard Center Montreal Canadiens
18 Mel Pearson Left Wing Chicago Black Hawks
19 Andy Bathgate Right Wing Detroit Red Wings
20 Les Hunt Defense New York Rangers

Regular season

The Penguins' first general manager was Jack Riley. His team (along with the other expansion teams) was hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six." Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate and tough defenceman Leo Boivin, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor-leaguers. The club missed the playoffs, but were a mere six points out of 1st place in the close-fought West Division.

Final standings

West Division[5]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers 74 31 32 11 173 179 −6 73
2 Los Angeles Kings 74 31 33 10 200 224 −24 72
3 St. Louis Blues 74 27 31 16 177 191 −14 70
4 Minnesota North Stars 74 27 32 15 191 226 −35 69
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 74 27 34 13 195 216 −21 67
6 Oakland Seals 74 15 42 17 153 219 −66 47

Schedule and results

1967–1968 Schedule
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins did not qualify for the 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[6]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Bathgate, AndyAndy Bathgate 74 20 39 59 –11 55
McDonald, AbAb McDonald 74 22 21 43 –4 38
Schinkel, KenKen Schinkel 57 14 25 39 –10 19
Ingarfield, EarlEarl Ingarfield 50 15 22 37 –7 12
Stratton, ArtArt Stratton‡ 58 16 21 37 –6 16
Fonteyne, ValVal Fonteyne 69 6 28 34 –23 0
Price, NoelNoel Price 70 6 27 33 –7 48
Ubriaco, GeneGene Ubriaco 65 18 15 33 –13 16
Andrea, PaulPaul Andrea 65 11 21 32 –2 2
Dea, BillyBilly Dea 73 16 12 28 –15 6
McCreary, KeithKeith McCreary 70 14 12 26 –3 44
Boivin, LeoLeo Boivin 73 9 13 22 –15 74
Dillabough, BobBob Dillabough 47 7 12 19 –7 18
Rivard, BobBob Rivard 27 5 12 17 0 4
Speer, BillBill Speer 68 3 13 16 –14 44
Konik, GeorgeGeorge Konik 52 7 8 15 –9 26
MacNeil, AlAl MacNeil 74 2 10 12 –6 58
Hicks, WayneWayne Hicks† 15 4 7 11 2 2
McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum 32 0 2 2 –2 36
Mattiussi, DickDick Mattiussi 32 0 2 2 –9 18
Pearson, MelMel Pearson 2 0 1 1 –1 0
Lanyon, TedTed Lanyon 5 0 0 0 1 4
Total 195 323 518 — 540

Goaltenders
Regular Season[7]
Player GP W L T GA SO
Binkley, LesLes Binkley 54 20 24 10 151 6
Bassen, HankHank Bassen 25 7 10 3 62 1
Total 27 34 13 213 7

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1967–68 season:

Trades

September 7, 1967 To Detroit Red Wings

Roy Edwards

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Hank Bassen

February 27, 1968 To Philadelphia Flyers

Art Stratton

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Wayne Hicks
cash

May 21, 1968 To Boston Bruins

cash

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Jean Pronovost
John Arbour

June 11, 1968 To Montreal Canadiens

Al MacNeil

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Wally Boyer

June 11, 1968 To St. Louis Blues

Ab McDonald

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Lou Angotti

Additions and subtractions

Additions
Player Former team Via
Bill LeCaine Port Huron Flags (IHL) free agency (1967–08)
Marv Edwards Nashville Dixie Flyers (EHL) free agency (1967–09)
Subtractions
Player New team Via

Roster

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
22 Canada Andrea, PaulPaul Andrea RW L 26 Undrafted North Sydney, Nova Scotia
1 Canada Bassen, HankHank Bassen G L 35 Undrafted Calgary, Alberta
9 Canada Bathgate, AndyAndy Bathgate RW R 35 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba
30 Canada Binkley, LesLes Binkley G R 33 Undrafted Owen Sound, Ontario
2 Canada Boivin, LeoLeo Boivin D L 35 Undrafted Prescott, Ontario
14 Canada Dea, BillyBilly Dea LW L 35 Undrafted Edmonton, Alberta
15 Canada Dillabough, BobBob Dillabough C L 27 Undrafted Belleville, Ontario
8 Canada Fonteyne, ValVal Fonteyne LW L 34 Undrafted Wetaskiwin, Alberta
16 United States Hicks, WayneWayne Hicks RW R 31 Undrafted Aberdeen, Washington
10 Canada Ingarfield, EarlEarl Ingarfield C L 33 Undrafted Lethbridge, Alberta
18 Canada Konik, GeorgeGeorge Konik D L 31 Undrafted Flin Flon, Manitoba
5 Canada Lanyon, TedTed Lanyon D R 28 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba
3 Canada MacNeil, AlAl MacNeil D L 32 Undrafted Sydney, Nova Scotia
5 Canada Mattiussi, DickDick Mattiussi D L 30 Undrafted Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario
6 Canada McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum D R 28 Undrafted Flin Flon, Manitoba
21 Canada McCreary, KeithKeith McCreary RW L 27 Undrafted Sundridge, Ontario
20 Canada McDonald, AbAb McDonald LW L 32 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba
23 Canada Pearson, MelMel Pearson LW L 30 Undrafted Flin Flon, Manitoba
4 Canada Price, NoelNoel Price D L 32 Undrafted Brockville, Ontario
19 Canada Rivard, BobBob Rivard C L 28 Undrafted Sherbrooke, Quebec
12 Canada Schinkel, KenKen Schinkel RW R 35 Undrafted Jansen, Saskatchewan
17 Canada Speer, BillBill Speer D L 26 Undrafted Lindsay, Ontario
11 Canada Ubriaco, GeneGene Ubriaco LW L 30 Undrafted Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Draft picks

Amateur Draft

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft.[8]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 2 Steve Rexe Goaltender  Canada Belleville Seniors
1 11 Bob Smith Center  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

References

  1. ↑ "The Civic Arena (Mellon Arena) Attendance Records". Pittsburgh Hockey. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ Michael L. LaBlanc; Mary K. Ruby (1994). Michael L. LaBlanc, Mary K. Ruby, ed. Professional Sports Team Histories: Hockey (illustrated ed.). University of Michigan: Gale Research. p. 324. ISBN 9780810388628.
  3. ↑ "Pittsburgh Penguins Logo History". Pittsburgh Hockey. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  4. ↑ "1967 NHL Expansion Draft Picks". hockeyDB. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ "1967–1968 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  6. ↑ "1967–1968 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  7. ↑ "1967–1968 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  8. ↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
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