From Seals to Golden Seals to Barons and Then Gone, a History of a Defunct Organization

They never had a winning season and never made money. Moving didn't help, so the NHL merged them with the North Stars.
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[@monkeychife]

To quote my dad who played hockey in the Bay Area as a kid “I certainly didn’t get into hockey because of the seals”

[@nolinsearls]

My dad and uncle who grew up in the Bay Area are the opposite

[@michaelleroy9281]

When the LA Kings started they weren't exactly selling out the building either they had many crowds under 10, 000 in the years before they got Gretzky in the big trade, their attendance was underwhelming

[@DudeofHistory]

Sharks have held “hockey in the Bay Area” events and given out Seals shirts at games and sell merchandise sometimes. Different franchises, but both owned by Gunds at some point. Cool to see the Sharks recognize the hockey history of the area.

[@mjwatts1983]

Seals & Barrons eventually led to the Sharks as explained by UrinatingTree kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpjJqnZva5qeeq8

[@the_king__of_the_world]

Sharks 🦈 a the natural predator of seals

[@cousinit718]

@@DudeofHistory I suggested the SHARKS retire Gilles Meloche number 27 as BEST SEAL EVER.

[@Tiafa230]

Problem with Richfield Colesium, it was in the middle of nowhere. Situated between Akron and Cleveland. No restaurants, bars, nothing.

[@ronhoover5516]

They thought the Coliseum would eventually bring all that to the area, but it never really happened.

[@mikekole]

@@ronhoover5516 Nick Mileti was about 75 years ahead of time with the Coliseum

[@barkofsky11]

I've always loved an underdog, and in the '70s, when I was a kid, the Golden Seals were the most underdoggy of underdogs a guy could hope for! My family having moved to St. Louis in '72, I of course became a Blues fan. But playing goalie in grade-school recess street hockey games (complete with foam-and-cardboard pads, a homemade blocker, and a Mylec plastic goalie mask I painted-or rather markered-up) I needed a goaltender to look up to. The Blues had Wayne Stephenson, but Gilles Meloche had the more exotic-sounding name (until Yves Belanger came along, anyway), and his number 27 matched my birthday. So the beleagured Meloche became my hockey hero, and the Seals my underdog team, then they became the Barons, and then they were no more. Until I bought my first real hockey jersey in 2019 (a Blues road jersey-a Paul Stastny Reebok, $35 on Ebay-in honor of their first Stanley Cup), the only hockey jersey of any kind I'd ever owned was a Finley-era, dark green and gold, Seals wordmark jersey knockoff that I treasured throughout my tweens. The team's oddly-abstract seal logo, the trendy Oakland A's color scheme, the last-place finishes... the Golden Seals really were lovable losers, at least for a kid who lived a couple thousand miles away. Thanks, Shannon, for bringing all those fond childhood hockey memories back to me!

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

As a Sharks fan I’m happy to see this video

[@BoyNamedSue4]

My favorite Seals tid bit. Charles Schulz of Charlie Brown fame designed the mascot for them at the end in hopes of drawing a crowd. Didn’t work, but shows they were willing to try just about anything to get a people to show up.

[@TheBalloonHoax]

Holy crap! He did! I loved the colors but now I love the logo too haha

[@rlosangeleskings]

Good grief...

[@bigjohn08865]

The NHL awarded Charles Schultz the Lester Pearson award for helping grow the league in the USA in 1981.

[@MikeS29]

First NHL game I ever attended: California Golden Seals at Pittsburgh Penguins, a 1-1 tie in December of 1971.

[@mikekostrzewski7813]

I’m so glad the nhl went away from ties. No one likes to tie

[@bluebear1985]

I think I read something that the reason they stuck a team in Oakland in the first place is because the TV contract the NHL had with CBS at the time required there to be a team in northern California. They would have preferred to be in San Francisco, but the Cow Palace wasn't considered to be adequate enough to even be a temporary arena at the time (yet it was for the San Jose Sharks almost 25 years later, go figure). After the first season, there was an offer from Labatt Breweries to buy the team and move them to Vancouver, but it got turned down by the league.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Vancouver at the time was out of the question as the Canadiens and Maple Leafs didn't want to share the money from "Hockey Night in Canada." Seymour and Northrup Knox also made an offer to buy the Seals and move them to Buffalo and were turned down. By 1970, the Canadian government got involved with putting another team in Canada; and the Knox brothers really had a strong bid, so the Canucks and Sabres were born.

[@michaelleroy9281]

For 1974-75 they got rid of the green and gold and changed to pacific blue with gold for the final 2 seasons

[@warrenbanks5201]

I started collecting hockey cards in 77-78. I remember having a few cards for Cleveland Baron players. Then next year there were no Cleveland Barons and for a while I thought perhaps I'd accidentally mixed in cards from another league. The WHA still existed at this time so it wasn't a far fetched idea. It wasn't until I got older and found an old Hockey News article that I realised what had happened.

[@nietzschescodes]

The last season of the Golden Seals was pretty decent. They were better than not only Washington and Kansas City, but also Minnesota and Detroit. Also, they were only 2 points behind the Rangers.

[@CanadianLannister]

What I can never get over is the current “S” in the Canadian Grocer “Sobeys” is almost exactly the same as the Golden Seals logo that they started using in the 1970-71 season. Even more strangely similar since their primary colour is also green.

[@EpilepticBob]

I agree I always think the same thing lmao

[@LSA30]

Canadian Grocer Sobey’s = CGS = California Golden Seals No coincidence there, bud.

[@waterboxer87]

Montreal GM, Sam Pollock and Bruins GM, Harry Sinden were experts at dealing veteran players to expansion teams for draft picks. I wince at thinking how many times Montreal deftly took advantage of Jack Kent Cooke and the L.A. Kings.

[@tcsmith8523]

me and my family went to some of these games. they let the local amateur kids teams play before some games and my sons did play on the Oakland ice. One thing that was good for us is that we were able to see the great eastern teams. I'll never forget that I was able to see Orr play along with the great Bruin players of that era.

[@ll7868]

Technically the Sharks are the new Seals franchise, the team moved to Cleveland then folded with players merging with the Northstars. George Gund wanted to move the Northstars back to San Jose and become the Seals again but the league decided on expansion, they were going to use the Golden Seals name but decided on a new one because the Seals didn't inspire good memories, plus a predator is more intimidating than prey. That's why the Sharks got to pick apart the Minnesota roster for 14 players and 2 goalies in their expansion draft then alternated picks between the two teams for the remaining players, Guy LaFleur retired because he didn't want to play on the West Coast as a Shark. Seals went to Cleveland, merged with Minny then unmerged like a cell splitting and relocated back to San Jose.

[@erik_griswold]

This is correct

[@ll7868]

@@erik_griswold Guy LaFleur was my favourite NHL player in the 70s, he was and still is in my Top 10 All Time NHL Forwards. It was a sad day when he retired, I still remember watching his last game as a Nordique. He wanted to finish his career in Quebec, he probably would have played until 1995 when the Nords moved to Denver, Sharks should have respected that and left him alone. Still bugs me to this day.

[@GRChrzak]

Someone made the 75 Golden Seals for the Wayne Gretzky Hockey game for DOS. My dad found it on a bulletin board. The game came with the 71 Hawks and Habs and the 70 Blues and Bruins, and we also had the 88 Oilers and 89 Kings. The Seals were the team you went in and just beat up on.

[@gravelydiggs2139]

I went to a Barons game with a Navy buddy from Cleveland in January 1978 they beat the Wings iirc. It was a dim and empty place with no more than 4k in attendance.

[@BeastOfMetal1989]

Ah, the Seals. All they were good for was trading building blocks to other teams and making Shannon forget who beat them in 1970. For the record, it was the Penguins, the ones with Michel Briere as their face (before his tragic death).

[@michaelleroy9281]

When Charlie Finley bought the Seals in 1970 in the press conference he said " I know nothing about hockey"

[@ronhoover5516]

Went to a lot of Barons games on comped tickets, They were bad, but there were a few big wins for the franchise...I remember they knocked off the Montreal Canadiens at home in what had to be the highlight of their 2-year history. My 15 year old soul was crushed when the team was absorbed by the Minnesota North Stars.

[@mickbanana8999]

love the obscure franchise videos

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

Couple of favorites from other leagues: The Cleveland Spiders: 18 win season. In baseball. St Louis Browns of the ABA: Owners negotiated for TV revenue after the NBA merger. Made something like $5B or more.

[@donaldpaluga]

You mean The Spirits of St Louis

[@danhilborn1034]

Wayne Merrick , as you mentioned , went to the Islanders from Cleveland. He was the # 9 pick overall in 1972 and played a major role centering the " Banana line " with John Tonelli and Bob Nystrom . Of course , Wayne was a member of the Islanders for 4 straight Stanley Cups . Bill Torre knew what he was doing when he extracted Wayne Merrick from the Barron's roster .

[@simmsdn]

A big problem with the Barons is that Richfield Coliseum wasn’t close to Cleveland! It was in a ridiculously awkward area to get in/out of. Now that the AHL Monsters play in downtown Cleveland, their attendance is pretty decent. On another note, daughter plays for the Lady Barons today and those old Barons logos are still alive and well. I love the Ohio silhouette with the number on the sleeves. Great look.

[@ronhoover5516]

I realize Cleveland will never get another NHL franchise but I still think in some alternate universe the NHL could have worked in Cleveland, at least until Columbus got the Blue Jackets.

[@20thCenturyManTrad]

The Seals were sadly inept in their running of their organization. Charlie Hodge was the good thing to say about the roster, he kept their record from going down to Washington Capitals depths.

[@RolfRemlinger]

Cleveland to Richfield was over a half hour drive. If they had kept the team in downtown Cleveland where the AHL Barons had success, it might have been different. But you still need wins...

[@lussier1958]

My understanding is the NHL believed the expansion owners of the Seals were going to play at the Cow Palace in SF but ownership chose Oakland because of the bigger rink. Charlie O Findlay was a loose cannon as owner, he hired Fred Glover as VP after GM Gary Young had fired Glover as coach and made Glover Young's boss. Young, knowing his days were numbered didn't bother to sign free agent player to contracts after the 1971-1972 season, thus creating an exodus of the best players to the fledgling WHA. One of those players, Wayne "Swoop" Carleton had let his weight balloon to 250 lb while a Golden Seal which showed how serious he took things in Oaland.

[@donaldpaluga]

If only the NHL decided Jerry Seltzer would be a better owner..... M

[@billkochuk]

As I recall, the Richfield Coliseum was on just a single road. I remember one time going to a Cavs game there. It literally took longer to get out of the parking lot after the game than it did to play the game!

[@jackgreenwalt2402]

I'm from the area, I remember going to cavs games at the coliseum, it was one road from the south and north coming in a real pain to get in, and getting out was even worse. If you got in the wrong lane you end up taking the wrong road, so you had to turn around. The barons made a big mistake in Cleveland, by not being on WWWE radio at the time, which broadcast the Indians and the Cavs. But, they could have got some press if they could have went that direction. I think Cleveland did well in the WHA with the Crusaders which preceded this franchise coming to Cleveland and I remember them getting some airtime on WWWE. I would love to see an NHL franchise in Cleveland, but I don't think it will ever happen.

[@ronhoover5516]

@@jackgreenwalt2402 Not with CBJ in the picture

[@HawklordLI]

Cleveland holds the record for an AHL game drawing 19,665 for a playoff game a few years ago, so there is an interest there.

[@davidh1927]

Met a guy in Bangkok about 10 years ago who had played for the San Francisco Seals of the PHL. He was Canadian originally and then he went to Vietnam. Stayed in Thailand afterwards and settled there. Great guy..we had a few bears and talked hockey for hours.....

[@KevinWindsor1971]

The Hamilton Tigers didn't move to Pittsburgh. Their franchise was revoked after the 1924-25 season. The NHL approved a new team for Pittsburgh (Pirates, because they were too lazy to come up with their own name, apparently) to begin play the following season. They were first pro sports team in Pittsburgh to wear black and gold. They spent 5 seasons in Pittsburgh, then moved to Philadelphia to play their final season as the quakers.

[@RRaquello]

I think most of the Hamilton players ended up being the core of the New York Americans.

[@RRaquello]

Bill Torrey was GM of the Seals for a couple of years, including the only two years they made the playoffs. He actually had a plan, that was having success, in building a good team, but he quit because he couldn't get along with Charlie Finley, went to the Islanders, and we all know what happened there. When the WHA came around, half the players left for WHA contracts because they didn't want to play for Finley. The city of Oakland, in the mid-60's, made a big effort to create a major league image for their slum of a city by attracting sports teams from other cities, building a new arena and a new stadium. They already had the Raiders, got the Seals in the NHL expansion, and carpetbagged in the A's and Warriors. Now in 2022, three of the four teams are gone, the arena & stadium they built around 1966 were never replaced, the A's, the only team still left, is playing in an old sewer of a stadium and looking to get out, and two of the teams that played there were so embarrassed by being associated with the city that they wouldn't even call themselves Oakland-the California Golden Seals and the Golden State Warriors. Which shows if you're minor league, you're minor league and making a big show of being major league won't help. A big LOL.

[@donaldpaluga]

Which makes wonder if Torres would have stuck around if Jerry Seltzer was the owner

[@brucemckinlay9739]

What a crazy time it musta been as an NHL fan back then. Like a completely new 6 team league just joined your league.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

I’m not a huge fan of the Seals jerseys per se, but the Cleveland Barons jerseys were really nice. Right up there with the likes of the jerseys of the Whalers, Oilers, Nordiques, and original Jets.

[@andrewjmschroeder]

Love looking at the history of defunct teams. It's always interesting to me, especially to see any glimpses of success they may have had.

[@tbell61]

Seeing their records by season, makes me realize how bad this franchise was. They were fun when Finley was running the team. A bad kind of fun.

[@Rebel-eq7ul]

Finley was horrible he owned an A’s team who 3peated and just didn’t want to pay anybody. Even if the Seals won cups Finley would’ve shipped everyone out like he did with the A’s

[@RRaquello]

@@Rebel-eq7ul The players all left when the WHA came around. Looking at their 71-72 roster, eight of their regular players jumped to the WHA for the 72-73 season, including their top scorer (Gerry Pinder) and top defenseman (Paul Shmyr). Off an already bad team. Same thing happened, basically, with the A's in baseball, when free agency started.

[@Rebel-eq7ul]

@@RRaquello yup can’t have a cheap ass owner in any sport

[@donaldpaluga]

If only Jerry Seltzer owned the Seals.....

[@michealranex1839]

As a royals fan I think Finley was kind of a tool.

[@toddlancaster5990]

The Bruins are currently 11-1-1 (on Nov.9), two less than the entire 73-74 Seals team. Perspective.

[@thesuneversets]

The arena in Cleveland was off the highway way out of town. Between Akron and Cleveland. Think that lead to the bad attendance. I don’t see the NHL going to Cleveland again with Pittsburgh Buffalo and Columbus now in the area.

[@uncledamfee2347]

Those Oakland Seals jerseys were pretty cool actually. Loved this video! -A Sharks Fan =)

[@bryanashmus418]

an interesting tidbit to add...one of the minority owners of the Barons (and previously Golden Seals) was George Gund III. His brother, Gordon, was one of the owners of the North Stars at the time of the merger. I believe they both had a hand in the dispersal draft owning the then expansion Sharks. The Gund's might be more widely known as the brothers who bought the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) and the Richfield Coliseum, eventually moving them into a new arena in Downtown Cleveland in 1994.

[@quiricomazarin476]

Oakland~ California ~cleveland~minnesota~San Jose Full circle.

[@genx6623]

I seen Dino Ciccarelli play for the London Knights before being drafted by the North Stars.

[@MarkSmith-ho5yc]

My brother was at a local celibrity golf tournament last week and was in a team with Denis Maruk formerly of the Golden Seals.He confirmed a rumour that i had read in a book written by David Shultz over a decade ago.The Oakland coliseum had been built on farmland and some of the players complained that the arena gave off an aroma and the scent of cowdung hung over the place.

[@cousinit718]

Cow pasture in Oakland, maybe 500 years ago.

[@beholden1663]

Was the reason it was called “ Cow Palace “?

[@erik_griswold]

Video is great but as mentioned elsewhere, the San Jose Sharks are the legal descendants of the Seals/Barons. Remember also that San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland are all the same area and TV market.

[@nietzschescodes]

you forgot the part when the Seals had to wear white skates.

[@ShantyIrishman]

Oakland at one time was a four sport city and soon they could possibly have zero.

[@tbell61]

Incredible isn't it?

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

That’s crazy to think about

[@raidersfromthenorth2425]

Sad, but the Oakland Coliseum is falling apart..

[@zanemarte9877]

Nobody wants to play in Oakland. I don't blame NFL Raiders from leaving, nor the NBA Warriors. MLB Atheltics could be leaving for the Las Vegas Strip. Oakland is a crap shoot of a city. It's literally not safe to be in Oakland. Setting all that aside, the NHL did the right thing in bringing a team to the Bay Area but this time base them at San Jose.

[@MattW16]

Well that's the question. Are the warriors more of an Oakland team or a San Francisco team?

[@christhornycroft3686]

Let’s be honest - hockey would have never worked long term anywhere in California without Wayne Gretzky and Disney. The Kings lasted 20 years because they had Marcel Dionne. If you don’t have established star power or fast success to get people hooked on hockey in non hockey markets, you’re going nowhere. For the Seals to work as a viable franchise at that time, they needed to have kept that 1st overall pick they gave to the Habs that became Lafleur and drafted well. It’s like the Grizzlies in Vancouver. We’re not a basketball city. That’s not in our culture. So, the team needed to get good fast and they simply couldn’t. Once the novelty wore off and the improvement still wasn’t there, the business just wasn’t viable anymore. A lot of these non hockey markets are either successful or just getting by because they’ve had playoff success. Carolina won a Cup. Tampa has won 3. The Kings have a couple. Anaheim has one. If these markets didn’t have a reason to care about hockey, they’d be the Seals or the Colorado Rockies or today’s Coyotes. These franchises need to be winners to turn a profit. In Canada and northern US, if you build it, they’ll at least come and give you a chance.

[@Suburban_waste]

And yet the Sharks have 0

[@christhornycroft3686]

@@Suburban_waste California team that is there because of Gretzky and that 90s hockey movie and they’ve had good teams in the past.

[@beholden1663]

Now the Florida Panthers just won a Stanley Cup helping hockey grow even more in that region.

[@sgtbilko4814]

Fun fact- in the 1971-72 regular season the Seals beat the powerhouse Boston Bruins- twice! That's their Stanley Cup...

[@michaelleroy9281]

One was a 2-0 shutout at Boston Garden

[@Phillomania]

Wish you elaborated on this somehow... First-year coach and general manager Bert Olmstead publicly advocated a move to Vancouver, resulting in an offer from Labatt's brewery to purchase and relocate the team to the Canadian city as well as a proposal to move the team to Buffalo from the Knox brothers, who like Vancouver had been shut out of the 1967 expansion. The NHL, not wanting to endanger its TV deal with CBS, rejected both proposals. As it turned out, the league's 1970 expansion would include Vancouver and Buffalo. The Knoxes bought a minority share of the Seals in 1969, only to sell it a year later to fund the Sabres. Taken from the Seals Wiki page.

[@leftcoaster67]

Check out the book. Shorthanded. It talks about the team and the lunacy of ownership from day 1. It's a sad story of how NOT to build a NHL club.

[@adriannanaya]

Absolutely love the Golden seals jerseys! Classic. Bring the team baaaaaack.

[@soulknife20]

Who would wear it is the question.

[@JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

@@soulknife20 Hopefully the Sharks

[@thepivotguy1123]

I think they’d sooner try Atlanta for a third time

[@Ivaneus27]

They did! As the Sharks!

[@readingid5917]

I'm always here for Oakland history and never hear anyone talk locally abt the Seals. Thx to all who shared their memories in the comments!

[@vinceniederman]

This Team Was So Bad Back in The Day With Small Fan Support Even Though They Made The Playoffs Only Twice Afterwards Before Moving To Cleveland!

[@jeffthewhiff]

I had a chance to see the Barons play live against the hometown Penguins back in the day and I still have the ticket from the game and I believe the seat only cost around $6! Also, I had read many years ago that one of the main reasons why the Barons attendance was so bad was that Richfield Coliseum was located too far away from downtown Cleveland and the fans had a hard time getting to the games because of the bad weather in the winter months.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Yeah, it really was out in the middle of nowhere. It's a wonder the Cavaliers survived.

[@guiltyofwrongthink]

Richfield was a horrible place to get to for Clevelanders. But, surprisingly, the Cavs were able to draw fans to Richfield. But, really Richfield was more "Akron" than it was "Cleveland". And, while at that point, Cleveland was still considered a decent hockey town, Akron had no connection to hockey. But, basketball? Sure. Basically there was only the one way to Richfield from Cleveland... but, I assume with Akron, there were probably back ways into, and out of, the place.

[@markko17]

Yup, Marshall Johnston also has the dubious distinction of having coached the Seals and the Rockies. Ironically, the guy he replaced in Colorado, Bert Marshall (yes, Marshall was replaced by Marshall), they had both been teammates with the Seals from '71 - '72 thru '72 - '73. Between their time in Oakland and time in Colorado, they saw a lot of really bad hockey.

[@Geoff_G]

The Seals were the first team to put player's names on the jersey.

[@michaelleroy9281]

That same year Rangers Penguins and Kings put names on their home jerseys for the first time

[@jimshattock]

I was in high school and college and followed Seals closely 1970-76. I really felt something very good was on horizon after 75-76 season and last in Oakland. MacAdam, Maruk, Meloche, Merrick and Bobby Stewart crushing everything in sight. Also didn't the Seals play the Penguins in a playoff series that went seven games and not the Kings as you mentioned?? Also one year broadcaster Joe Starkey, who i still feel is always the best, left Seals for one year to do the Penquins since Seals had no radio or tv for one full season. Very frustrating times. To listen to hockey i picked up Kings broadcasts at night on KFI LA.

[@nietzschescodes]

The Barons and the Scouts had awesome jerseys.

[@luisvaldes1568]

Also part of team history- Charlie Finley and white skates!

[@The_Rat_Pack_Dayz]

Great video man. Keep up these history videos they’re great!

[@nietzschescodes]

You also forgot that they were called the Bay Area Seals for 2 games in 1970.

[@michaelleroy9281]

I have a Bay Area Seals pennant

[@nietzschescodes]

@@michaelleroy9281 wow. cool!

[@nietzschescodes]

Not to forget that the Seals and the Barons had a certain Charlie Simmer as a regular healthy scratch.

[@beholden1663]

Simmer had good years with the Kings playing along with Marcel Dionne

[@michaelleroy9281]

​@@beholden1663Dave Taylor also on that line

[@MDK2_Radio]

I know a guy from Alberta who’s a Dallas Stars fan because he decided to be a Seals fan when they first entered the league, and transferred his allegiance to the North Stars when the teams merged. I find it curious because you got a couple of teams to choose from in that province, including one that had some guy named Gretzky and a few Stanley Cups, but that’s how some people roll.

[@Bonkrr]

The California Seals joined the NHL in 1967, 12 seasons before the Oilers did in 1979. The Flames showed up (moving from Atlanta) in 1980. When your friend picked the Seals, there were zero NHL teams in Alberta.

[@michaelleroy9281]

And now there's the new Chase Center in San Francisco it this built in the mid 70s there would still be the Seals today

[@tomgorman748]

Great video. Very informative. One point to clarify - Reggie Leach came to the Flyers the year after they won their first Cup, so he technically only won 1 Stanley Cup with the Flyers, the following year. And they haven’t won one since. Loved watching that LCB line of Leach-Clarke-Barber from the mid 70’s into the 80’s.

[@cousinit718]

The attendance went up one year becsuse most of the season the tickets were half price.

[@jimshattock]

$6.50 was full price for rinkside seat to see the greats 3 times a year.

[@aphexskin]

Wild coincidence this comes out like 3 days after I commented asking for a Barons video. Thank you lord Shannon. Enjoy Vegas. Don't talk to Jack Eichel if you see him.

[@stlfatman]

I highly doubt the NHL returns to Cleveland (except for some one-off preseason games like the Blues do with KC), but the AHL's Cleveland Monsters seem to be doing well for themselves.

[@Rockhound6165]

What amazes me is that as bad as a draw that the Seals were, the WHA was considering putting a team in the Bay area in 1972. Thankfully they came to their senses and put that proposed franchise in Quebec where they became the Nordiques. That said, when the Seals moved to Cleveland it's said that the Richfield Coliseum was a logistical nightmare which didn't help matters.

[@beholden1663]

Quebec ultimately moved to Colorado in the 1990’s way after the WHA merged into the NHL.

[@Rockhound6165]

@@beholden1663 and you didn't think I knew that because...

[@beholden1663]

@@Rockhound6165 😂

[@Rockhound6165]

@@beholden1663 son, I've forgotten more about the WHA than you will ever know. If you want to challenge me on that, please.

[@FischerFan]

Just a correction to note: Reggie Leach won only one Stanley Cup with the Flyers. He was not on the team for their initial championship in 1974. He did, however, go on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1976; one of the rare times the trophy was won by a player on the team that lost the Cup final. The arrival of the WHA was a disaster for the Seals. They lost more players to the rival league than any other NHL team. That is why the dreadful seasons of 1972-73 and 1973-74 were inevitable, because the Seals had pretty much been reduced to an expansion team all over again.

[@Northcoastrails]

If Cleveland had a arena downtown went the seals move to Cleveland I think the team could had lasted

[@scottthomas7870]

Even if the Oakland front office brain trust kept the number one pick in 1971, had they the intelligence/scouting to select Lafleur? Had he gone to Oakland, Lafleur would never have blossomed there. In Montreal, there were still legends such as Richard, Dryden and other winning-tradition players who knew how to approach the game intelligently. Oakland/California had been run into the ground by amateurs.

[@NidoAce]

Its kinda weird looking back at how many teams used to fold or relocate...yet today its viewed as some insufferable event to even suggest a team move.

[@ogreman-lll-957]

One of the greatest franchises ever.

[@saltywingsandavsfan]

I bet LaFleur probably would’ve pulled a Lindros and holdout with the seals

[@Hockeynut73]

I know the Bruins got Carol Vadnais from the seals n one other guy will have to look it up ...lol great job as always 😊😊

[@slidefirst694]

Most fans in attendance were there to see the other team. The other team to miss the 67-68 Western division playoffs was Penguins. So you never know.

[@michaelleroy9281]

Reggie Leach only won one Stanley Cup with the Flyers, he wasn't on their first Stanley Cup winning team he was with the Seals for 73/74

[@JohnDoe-ff2fc]

Location, location, location. Oakland is a tough place to have a team (Oakland Raiders left there twice) when you are competing for fans in the Bay area. And the Barons played in the middle of nowhere, between Cleveland and Akron. It's bad enough to get fans when you have a crappy team AND they would have to travel (around 20 miles one way) after work to watch the losers.

[@kartzstormstool861]

Leach was acquired after the 1st Cup and i guess the Sharks ate the Seals. Would like to see you do one of these on the Islanders and how they became a force rather quickly.

[@lindacorwin9066]

The fans in Oakland booed Reggie Leach mercilessly for what they felt were his defensive deficiencies and lax play.

[@Geoff_G]

Guy Lafleur on the CGS would have allowed for some amazing comparisons with Marcel Dionne on the LAK.

[@hughjass1044]

Didn't mention the white skates.

[@donaldpaluga]

Or the possible Jerry Seltzer ownership

[@matthintz9468]

The location of Richfield was also very poor. Richfield is considerably south of Cleveland. It's still in Greater Cleveland, but is technically in the Akron metro area proper. The drive out to Richfield from Cleveland, even to this day, is not very direct, as you have to either get on multiple freeways and interchanges, or take urban state routes that give way to country roads. Even if you take the interstates, the final approach to the coliseum was through areas with limited driving route options. Even to this day, that area gets backed up with traffic from nearby Blossom Music Center. It was just not a good place for a major arena. When Gund Arena was built in 1994, it had the luxury of being located in the heart of a redeveloped downtown, with parking, better roads, public buses, the rapid transit, etc. The Barons were the wrong team that came at the wrong time. It's a shame a replacement for the old Cleveland Arena couldn't have been built downtown for the old Cleveland Barons, or the WHA Crusaders. Perhaps the old Barons could've been elevated by the NHL to check the WHA before the Crusaders arrived, or maybe the Crusaders could have stuck around long enough to be one of the teams that transitioned to the NHL. I don't know how it would have transpired, but Richfield Coliseum, and its timing in Cleveland hockey history, is one of the reasons why major level professional hockey failed in Cleveland. Bad location. Bad timing.

[@beholden1663]

I feel Cleveland would be a good hockey city with its cold winters and blue collar feel. Perhaps Columbus is now representing Ohio with the Blue Jackets?

[@Buffalosabskis]

I find it interesting that Cleveland could not support an NHL team. I live in Buffalo and my brother made a life for himself down there. Just a 3 hour drive along the lake. Buffalo has more of a hockey culture I guess. We grow up playing hockey and I am assuming being so close to Canada instilled that in us. Buffalo had the Braves and I have seen things written from the time basically saying “The Sabres Are Too Much Of A Competition”. I guess they embraced the Cavs and we embraced the Sabres. Buffalo is also smaller.

[@michaelleroy9281]

I remember, the Canadiens sent Ralph Backstrom to the Kings to make them better so they finish ahead of the Seals in the standings and then they get that #1 draft choice in 1971

[@notintohandles]

Excellent!

[@sdgakatbk]

Guy Lafleur playing for the Golden Seals? Somehow I just can't picture that. I remember Meloche as a good goaltender with mostly bad teams. It was the NY Americans who were the transplants of the Hamilton Tigers.

[@JPS47]

If they were to put a team in Cleveland, they would have done it with the Blue Jackets. I don't think Ohio having two NHL teams.

[@fractaljack210]

As a kid, I loved the Barons name. I always thought the NHL would go back to Cleveland and, for that matter, KC.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

To be fair, if there were two cities in the US that don’t have NHL franchises that should, it’s Cleveland and Kansas City. I would also throw my name at Hartford.

[@Rockhound6165]

IIRC when the Penguins were threatening to move out of Pittsburgh, KC was one of the mentioned relocation cities.

[@bmoshareholderappleshareho855]

@@Rockhound6165 If it wasn't for Lemieux, there wouldn't be a hockey team in Pittsburgh. Lemieux saved the penguins.

[@Rockhound6165]

@@oilersridersbluejays I'm not sure Cleveland could handle another sports team. For years the Indians and Cavs struggled and because Cleveland wouldn't help fund a new football stadium they eventually ran the Browns out of town.

[@gregmahaffey907]

I’m from Cleveland. I was born in 76 so obviously never saw a barons game. I became a wings fan in the early 90s. Cleveland could support an NHL team but I doubt they will ever get one

[@nietzschescodes]

Meloche and Simmons were relatively good goalies. When the Habs and the Seals were in the same division, they played often against each other and ironically the Habs had problems beating them.

[@elephantrange]

Gilles Meloche was at least 40 percent of the reason the North Stars knocked the Habs off their throne in the 1980 quarter-finals.

[@FischerFan]

@@elephantrange The majority was because the 1980 Canadiens were quickly becoming a shadow of what they were the previous four seasons. Dryden, Lemaire and Cournoyer had all retired. Scotty Bowman shuffled off to Buffalo. Then, in the 1980 preliminary round against the Hartford Whalers, Pat Boutette stuck out his knee and pulled an Ulf Samuelsson on Guy Lafleur. Lafleur never got to play Minnesota in that 1980 quarter-final. That was 50 goals out of the Montreal lineup. Pierre Larouche also missed most of the series; another 50 goals out of the Habs' lineup. It was a time of turbulence and transition in Montreal. The 1970s were over, and so was the Canadiens' dynasty.

[@O1993-f8u]

This was a fun video. Living in the Bay Area it’s interesting to see the last big team that failed. One potential follow up you could do is compare the Seals to the Sharks. Basically why did one Bay Area team failed but not the other?

[@beholden1663]

Perhaps there was no Wayne Gretzky during the Seals era? The Sharks entered after Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles which really boosted hockeys popularity in the United States.

[@MillionaireWizard]

Last Big 4 team to fold outright, as well as the only '67 expansion team to never even win an playoff round.

[@RRaquello]

All the other 5 teams have won a Stanley Cup by this time. Of the twelve teams in the NHL in that first expansion year, only two haven't won the cup since then. One is the Seals, who no longer exists, and then some other team I can't think of right now.

[@michaelleroy9281]

@RRaquello The Maple Leafs are the other team they won the Stanley Cup for 1966-67 the final season before expansion and haven't won one since

[@ChadSimplicio]

Maybe one day, we'll see the Sharks play a game or two in the Seals throwbacks. Or not.

[@nietzschescodes]

well they did in 22-23. first time was on November 26th, 2022.

[@skalin23]

Our minor league hockey team here in Cleveland has rocked the barons uniform from time to time.

[@skalin23]

The amazing thing is our misl soccer team the Force played in the same arena and averaged 13,000 a game. Some playoff games were sold out. We were desperate for a winner and the Barons weren’t it.

[@JimRosebush-g8v]

That is one beautiful kitty !!

[@jbigs65]

My grandma went to barons games. Apparently they moved stadiums in Cleveland making it harder to go to games in year 2 before they folded/merged with the northstars.

[@RRaquello]

From what I remember from so long ago, the Barons arena was out in the suburbs. Way, way out. Like 40 miles away. No one wanted to go all the way out there to see a lousy hockey team.

[@skalin23]

@@RRaquellothose winters back in the 70s were brutal, i remember leaving the coliseum for cavs games and it taking over an hour just to get back onto the freeway.

[@RRaquello]

@@skalin23 Cleveland was a big time hockey town at one time. The AHL Barons were one of the most prosperous minor league teams and came close to being the 7th NHL franchise in the 50's. The misadventures with the 70s Crusaders & Barons killed big time hockey in Cleveland.

[@michaelleroy9281]

In 1969 -70 they lost in the first round in 4 straight to Pittsburgh, not LA

[@clintscroggs65]

Sorry, I love the Seals logo...and BTW, Richfield Coliseum was a very nice building, very representative of its time. To judge it based upon 21st century building standards is unfair.

[@beholden1663]

NBA Cavaliers had some good seasons in the later 1980’s playing in Richfield I seem to remember.

[@joedimaggio3687]

I would have thought that Cleveland would be a perfect city for the NHL. Cleveland is a city that has cold winters, and it supports its pro teams. Cleveland is also not far from Canada.

[@luisvaldes1568]

67-68 I was two. Love the cap.