1971–72 California Golden Seals season

1971–72 California Golden Seals
1971–72 California Golden Seals
Division	6th West
1971–72 record	21–39–18
Home record	14–12–13
Road record	7–27–5
Goals for	216
Goals against	288
Team information
General manager	Fred Glover; Garry Young
Coach	Fred Glover; Vic Stasiuk
Captain	Carol Vadnais ; Bert Marshall
Arena	Oakland Coliseum Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Gerry Pinder (23)
Assists	Dick Redmond (35)
Points	Gerry Pinder (54)
Penalty minutes	Paul Shmyr (156)
Plus/minus	Reggie Leach (+2)
Wins	Gilles Meloche (16)
Goals against average	Gilles Meloche (3.32)
	← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 California Golden Seals season was the team's fifth in the NHL. The Seals missed the playoffs again, but posted a solid improvement over the previous season and finished sixth in the West Division.

Offseason

In the amateur draft, the Seals did not have a first-round pick. For their first pick, the fifteenth pick overall, in the second round, the Seals chose Ken Baird. At owner Charlie Finley's direction, the team adopted their infamous white skates this season, which were widely ridiculed.

Regular season

Final standings

West Division^[1]
v
t
e
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	46	17	15	256	166	+90	107
2	Minnesota North Stars	78	37	29	12	212	191	+21	86
3	St. Louis Blues	78	28	39	11	208	247	−39	67
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	26	38	14	220	258	−38	66
5	Philadelphia Flyers	78	26	38	14	200	236	−36	66
6	California Golden Seals	78	21	39	18	216	288	−72	60
7	Los Angeles Kings	78	20	49	9	206	305	−99	49

Record vs. opponents

Vs. West Division

1971–72 NHL records^[2]
Team	CAL	CHI	LAK	MIN	PHI	PIT	STL	Total
California	—	1–4–1	3–2–1	1–4–1	2–4	2–2–2	0–3–3	9–19–8
Chicago	4–1–1	—	5–1	5–1	3–2–1	5–0–1	6–0	28–5–3
Los Angeles	2–3–1	1–5	—	0–6	2–3–1	1–4–1	2–4	8–25–3
Minnesota	4–1–1	1–5	6–0	—	3–1–2	4–2	4–2	22–11–3
Philadelphia	4–2	2–3–1	3–2–1	1–3–2	—	2–3–1	1–2–3	13–15–8
Pittsburgh	2–2–2	0–5–1	4–1–1	2–4	3–2–1	—	3–3	14–17–5
St. Louis	3–0–3	0–6	4–2	2–4	2–1–3	3–3	—	14–16–6

Vs. East Division

1971–72 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	DET	MTL	NYR	TOR	VAN	Total
California	2–4	3–0–3	2–2–2	0–3–3	1–4–1	2–3–1	2–4	12–20–10
Chicago	1–4–1	3–2–1	5–0–1	1–2–3	1–2–3	4–0–2	3–2–1	18–12–12
Los Angeles	1–4–1	3–2–1	2–3–1	0–5–1	0–6	1–4–1	5–0–1	12–24–6
Minnesota	0–5–1	2–2–2	4–2	1–4–1	3–1–2	2–2–2	3–2–1	15–18–9
Philadelphia	0–6	2–2–2	2–3–1	2–3–1	0–6	2–2–2	5–1	13–23–6
Pittsburgh	1–2–3	1–2–3	2–4	1–4–1	1–3–2	2–4	4–2	12–21–9
St. Louis	1–4–1	4–1–1	3–2–1	1–4–1	1–5	2–4	2–3–1	14–23–5

Schedule and results

1971–72 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 8, 1971	4–4	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	0–0–1
2	T	October 10, 1971	3–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	0–0–2
3	L	October 13, 1971	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	0–1–2
4	L	October 15, 1971	6–9	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	0–2–2
5	L	October 17, 1971	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	0–3–2
6	L	October 20, 1971	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	0–4–2
7	L	October 22, 1971	1–5	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	0–5–2
8	W	October 24, 1971	6–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	1–5–2
9	W	October 27, 1971	6–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	2–5–2
10	W	October 28, 1971	2–0	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	3–5–2
11	T	October 31, 1971	2–2	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	3–5–3

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
12	W	November 3, 1971	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	4–5–3
13	L	November 5, 1971	1–8	New York Rangers (1971–72)	4–6–3
14	W	November 7, 1971	8–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	5–6–3
15	L	November 11, 1971	2–5	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	5–7–3
16	L	November 13, 1971	1–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	5–8–3
17	L	November 14, 1971	1–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	5–9–3
18	L	November 16, 1971	2–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	5–10–3
19	W	November 18, 1971	7–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	6–10–3
20	L	November 20, 1971	1–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	6–11–3
21	L	November 21, 1971	1–12	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	6–12–3
22	W	November 24, 1971	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	7–12–3
23	L	November 26, 1971	1–2	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	7–13–3
24	W	November 28, 1971	5–3	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	8–13–3
25	L	November 30, 1971	2–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	8–14–3

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
26	L	December 1, 1971	1–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	8–15–3
27	W	December 3, 1971	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	9–15–3
28	L	December 5, 1971	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	9–16–3
29	T	December 8, 1971	1–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	9–16–4
30	T	December 10, 1971	4–4	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	9–16–5
31	W	December 12, 1971	4–2	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	10–16–5
32	T	December 17, 1971	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	10–16–6
33	T	December 19, 1971	3–3	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	10–16–7
34	L	December 22, 1971	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	10–17–7
35	W	December 25, 1971	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	11–17–7
36	L	December 26, 1971	2–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	11–18–7
37	L	December 29, 1971	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	11–19–7
38	L	December 31, 1971	3–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	11–20–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
39	T	January 2, 1972	4–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	11–20–8
40	L	January 4, 1972	1–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	11–21–8
41	W	January 5, 1972	6–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	12–21–8
42	T	January 7, 1972	4–4	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	12–21–9
43	L	January 9, 1972	3–10	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	12–22–9
44	W	January 12, 1972	2–0	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	13–22–9
45	W	January 14, 1972	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	14–22–9
46	L	January 15, 1972	3–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	14–23–9
47	T	January 18, 1972	1–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	14–23–10
48	L	January 19, 1972	0–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	14–24–10
49	L	January 21, 1972	0–5	New York Rangers (1971–72)	14–25–10
50	W	January 23, 1972	3–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	15–25–10
51	W	January 28, 1972	3–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	16–25–10
52	W	January 30, 1972	2–0	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	17–25–10

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
53	L	February 2, 1972	1–5	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	17–26–10
54	T	February 4, 1972	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	17–26–11
55	L	February 6, 1972	2–8	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	17–27–11
56	W	February 9, 1972	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	18–27–11
57	L	February 12, 1972	0–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	18–28–11
58	L	February 15, 1972	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1971–72)	18–29–11
59	T	February 16, 1972	1–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	18–29–12
60	T	February 18, 1972	2–2	New York Rangers (1971–72)	18–29–13
61	T	February 20, 1972	4–4	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	18–29–14
62	L	February 23, 1972	6–8	Boston Bruins (1971–72)	18–30–14
63	L	February 26, 1972	0–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	18–31–14
64	T	February 27, 1972	4–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	18–31–15

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
65	L	March 1, 1972	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	18–32–15
66	T	March 3, 1972	4–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	18–32–16
67	W	March 8, 1972	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	19–32–16
68	L	March 11, 1972	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	19–33–16
69	W	March 12, 1972	7–3	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	20–33–16
70	W	March 15, 1972	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	21–33–16
71	T	March 17, 1972	2–2	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	21–33–17
72	T	March 19, 1972	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	21–33–18
73	L	March 21, 1972	2–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	21–34–18
74	L	March 22, 1972	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	21–35–18
75	L	March 25, 1972	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	21–36–18
76	L	March 29, 1972	4–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	21–37–18
77	L	March 31, 1972	1–2	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	21–38–18

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	L	April 1, 1972	4–9	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	21–39–18

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

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
Gerry Pinder	15	74	23	31	54	59	–	–	–	–	–
Bobby Sheehan	24	78	20	26	46	12	–	–	–	–	–
Dick Redmond	4	74	10	35	45	76	–	–	–	–	–
Ivan Boldirev†	23	57	16	23	39	54	–	–	–	–	–
Carol Vadnais‡	5	52	14	20	34	106	–	–	–	–	–
Norm Ferguson	17	77	14	20	34	13	–	–	–	–	–
Stan Gilbertson	10	78	16	16	32	47	–	–	–	–	–
Joey Johnston	22	77	15	17	32	107	–	–	–	–	–
Wayne Carleton	9	76	17	14	31	45	–	–	–	–	–
Walt McKechnie	8	56	11	20	31	40	–	–	–	–	–
Paul Shmyr	3	69	6	21	27	156	–	–	–	–	–
Gary Croteau	18	73	12	12	24	11	–	–	–	–	–
Ernie Hicke	20	68	11	12	23	55	–	–	–	–	–
Gary Jarrett	12	55	5	10	15	18	–	–	–	–	–
Bert Marshall	19	66	0	14	14	68	–	–	–	–	–
Reggie Leach†	7	17	6	7	13	7	–	–	–	–	–
Marshall Johnston	2	74	2	11	13	4	–	–	–	–	–
Tom Williams‡	7	32	3	9	12	2	–	–	–	–	–
Craig Patrick	14	59	8	3	11	12	–	–	–	–	–
Rick Smith†	3	17	1	4	5	26	–	–	–	–	–
Don O'Donoghue	11	14	2	2	4	4	–	–	–	–	–
Ron Stackhouse‡	21	6	1	3	4	6	–	–	–	–	–
Tom Webster†	8	7	2	1	3	6	–	–	–	–	–
Bob Stewart†	6	16	1	2	3	44	–	–	–	–	–
Ken Baird	6	10	0	2	2	15	–	–	–	–	–
Gilles Meloche	27	56	0	2	2	6	–	–	–	–	–
Del Hall	6	1	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Al Simmons	26	1	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Jim Jones	21	2	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Frank Hughes	16	5	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Pete Laframboise	11	5	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–
Lyle Carter	1	15	0	0	0	2	–	–	–	–	–
Gary Kurt	30	16	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	GAA
Gilles Meloche	27	56	3121	16	25	13	173	4	3.32	–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Lyle Carter	1	15	721	4	7	0	50	0	4.16	–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Gary Kurt	30	16	838	1	7	5	60	0	4.29	–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--

Transactions

The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season:

Trades

May 20, 1971	To California Golden Seals Joey Johnston Walt McKechnie	To Minnesota North Stars Dennis Hextall
May 22, 1971	To California Golden Seals Bobby Sheehan	To Montreal Canadiens cash
August 31, 1971	To California Golden Seals Marshall Johnston	To Montreal Canadiens cash
September 4, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Boston Bruins Doug Roberts
September 7, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bill Hicke
September 9, 1971	To California Golden Seals Kerry Bond Gerry Desjardins Gerry Pinder	To Chicago Black Hawks Gary Smith
October, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Montreal Canadiens Jocelyn Hardy
October, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Montreal Canadiens Mike Laughton
October, 1971	To California Golden Seals Lyle Carter John French	To Montreal Canadiens Randy Rota
October 6, 1971	To California Golden Seals Ray Martyniuk	To Montreal Canadiens Tony Featherstone
October 18, 1971	To California Golden Seals Gilles Meloche Paul Shmyr	To Chicago Black Hawks Gerry Desjardins
October 22, 1971	To California Golden Seals Tom Webster	To Detroit Red Wings Ron Stackhouse
November 17, 1971	To California Golden Seals Ivan Boldirev	To Boston Bruins Rich Leduc Chris Oddleifson
February 23, 1972	To California Golden Seals Reggie Leach Rick Smith Bob Stewart	To Boston Bruins Don O'Donoghue Carol Vadnais
March 5, 1972	To California Golden Seals cash	To Boston Bruins Tom Williams

Additions and subtractions

Additions
Player	Former team	Via
Jim Jones	Boston Bruins	free agency (1971–06)
Gary Kurt	Cleveland Barons (AHL)	Intra-league Draft (1971–06–07)
Stan Gilbertson	Boston Bruins	Intra-league Draft (1971–06–08)
Frank Hughes	Toronto Maple Leafs	Intra-league Draft (1971–06–08)
Del Hall	St. Clair College (OUAA)	free agency (1971–10)
Wayne King	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)	free agency (1971–10)
Craig Patrick	Montreal Voyageurs (AHL)	free agency (1971–10–06)

Subtractions
Player	New team	Via
Bob Sneddon	Detroit Red Wings	Reverse Draft (1971–06)

Draft picks

Amateur draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
2	15.	Ken Baird	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3	29.	Rich Leduc	Canada	Trois-Rivières Ducs (QMJHL)
4	43.	Hartland Monahan	Canada	Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
5	57.	Ray Belanger	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
6	71.	Gerry Egers	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (NOJHL)
7	85.	Al Simmons	Canada	Winnipeg Jets (WCHL)
8	99.	Angus Beck	Canada	Charlottetown (Junior A)
8	104.	Rod Lyons	Canada	Halifax (Junior)

References

^ "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1971-72 California Golden Seals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[standings-div-1] "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.

[2] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-3] "1971-72 California Golden Seals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e California/Oakland/Bay Area Seals / California Golden Seals
Founded in 1967 Based in Oakland, California Relocated as the Cleveland Barons in 1976
Franchise	Team Coaches Players Draft picks Expansion draft
History	WHL years 1967 expansion Cleveland Barons
Owners	Barry Van Gerbig Charlie O. Finley Melvin Swig Gordon Gund
Oakland/California/Bay Area seasons	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76
Cleveland seasons	1976–77 1977–78
Arenas	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena

v t e 1971–72 NHL season
East	Boston Buffalo Detroit Montreal New York Toronto Vancouver
West	California Chicago Los Angeles Minnesota Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis
See also	Amateur draft Intra-league draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Final Blues–Flyers brawl