After the Toronto Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup in 1966-67, the National Hockey League began decreasing Toronto’s odds of repeating by continually adding competition. For the 1967-68 season, the NHL added six teams (Oakland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Minnesota). Over the next seven years, the league added six more, two at a time. First the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks joined, followed by the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames. Finally, the league added the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals for the 1974-75 season.
Expanding into non-hockey markets when the U.S. economy was less than stellar meant that teams would fail. The NHL saw failures in six different markets during this era of expansion. Interestingly, NHL hockey has returned to four of them, with one going extinct again.
Oakland Seals
The Oakland Seals entered the NHL during the 1967-68 expansion. The team eventually renamed itself the California Golden Seals before leaving the Bay Area after the 1975-76 season. The Golden Seals qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs on just two occasions. In 1968-69, California lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. The following year, the team was swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round. The Seals were moved to Cleveland for the 1976-77 season, where they became the Barons.
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were another of the 1967-68 expansion teams. On the ice, the North Stars enjoyed decent success. Off the ice, it was a different story. Minnesota reached the Stanley Cup finals twice. In 1980-81, they lost to the New York Islanders in five games. In 1990-91, they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six. The North Stars were moved to Dallas for the 1993-94 season to become the Stars.
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames joined the NHL, along with the New York Islanders, for the 1972-73 season. The team lasted in Georgia for just eight seasons. The Flames qualified for the playoffs six of their eight seasons but never won a playoff round. The franchise was moved to Calgary for the 1980-81 season, where they retained the Flames nickname.
Kansas City Scouts
The Kansas City Scouts joined for 1974-75, along with the Washington Capitals, and were a complete disaster. The team won just 27 of 160 games during their two years of existence. The franchise moved to Denver for the 1976-77 season and became the Rockies.
Cleveland Barons
The Cleveland Barons lasted in the NHL just as long as the Kansas City Scouts, two seasons. Over the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons, Cleveland managed just 47 wins in 160 games. The team folded and the players rights were sold to the Minnesota North Stars.
My favourite part of that Cleveland Barons team hockey card shown here is they put the shortest guy, Dennis Maruk, in the middle of the back row, just behind the tallest guy with the biggest hair standing in the second row.
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies lasted six years in the NHL, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs just once. In 1977-78, the team faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers in the preliminary round and were swept in two games. The Rockies existed from 1976-77 to 1981-82 before moving to New Jersey to become the Devils.