1972–73 California Golden Seals season

1972–73 California Golden Seals
Division	8th West
1972–73 record	16–46–16
Home record	11–15–13
Road record	5–31–3
Goals for	213
Goals against	323
Team information
General manager	Garry Young Fred Glover
Coach	Garry Young Fred Glover
Captain	Bert Marshall Joey Johnston
Arena	Oakland Coliseum Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Joey Johnston (28)
Assists	Walt McKechnie (38)
Points	Walt McKechnie (54)
Penalty minutes	Bob Stewart (181)
Wins	Gilles Meloche (12)
Goals against average	Gilles Meloche (4.06)

The 1972–73 California Golden Seals season was the California Golden Seals' sixth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Seals were hit particularly hard by defections to the new World Hockey Association, dropping 12 points from the previous year and returning to the basement of the West Division. The Seals had the second worst record in the league, the only team they finished ahead of was the expansion New York Islanders.^[1] Making things even worse was that they finished behind one of the two expansion clubs that season, the Atlanta Flames.

Offseason

Amateur Draft

Main article: 1972 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
2	22.	Tom Cassidy	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
2	28.	Stan Weir	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
3	38.	Paul Shakes	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
4	54.	Claude St. Sauveur	Canada	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
5	70.	Tim Jacobs	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
6	86.	Jacques Lefebvre	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
7	102.	Mike Amodeo	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
8	118.	Brent Meeke	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
9	134.	Denis Meloche	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)

Regular season

Final standings

West Division^[2]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	42	27	9	284	225	+59	93
2	Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	30	11	296	256	+40	85
3	Minnesota North Stars	78	37	30	11	254	230	+24	85
4	St. Louis Blues	78	32	34	12	233	251	−18	76
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	32	37	9	257	265	−8	73
6	Los Angeles Kings	78	31	36	11	232	245	−13	73
7	Atlanta Flames	78	25	38	15	191	239	−48	65
8	California Golden Seals	78	16	46	16	213	323	−110	48

Record vs. opponents

Vs. West Division 1972–73 NHL records[3] Team ATL CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total Atlanta — 3–1–1 2–4 1–1–3 3–3 1–3–1 1–4 0–3–3 11–19–8 California 1–3–1 — 0–3–2 2–4 1–4 1–3–2 2–2–2 1–3–1 8–22–8 Chicago 4–2 3–0–2 — 2–3 3–2–1 2–2–1 2–3 3–3 19–15–4 Los Angeles 1–1–3 4–2 3–2 — 0–3–2 4–2 2–4 3–2 17–16–5 Minnesota 3–3 4–1 2–3–1 3–0–2 — 2–3 3–2 2–2–2 19–14–5 Philadelphia 3–1–1 3–1–2 2–2–1 2–4 3–2 — 4–2 3–1–1 20–13–5 Pittsburgh 4–1 2–2–2 3–2 4–2 2–3 2–4 — 3–2 20–16–2 St. Louis 3–0–3 3–1–1 3–3 2–3 2–2–2 1–3–1 2–3 — 16–15–7

Vs. East Division 1972–73 NHL records Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYI NYR TOR VAN Total Atlanta 0–5 1–2–2 2–3 0–3–2 4–0–1 1–4 2–1–2 4–1 14–19–7 California 0–4–1 2–1–2 2–2–1 0–3–2 1–4 1–3–1 1–3–1 1–4 8–24–8 Chicago 3–2 3–2 3–2 3–2 4–0–1 2–2–1 2–1–2 3–1–1 23–12–5 Los Angeles 2–3 1–2–2 2–2–1 0–4–1 4–1 0–3–2 2–3 3–2 14–20–6 Minnesota 1–3–1 2–3 3–1–1 1–3–1 4–1 2–3 2–2–1 3–0–2 18–16–6 Philadelphia 0–4–1 3–2 1–3–1 2–2–1 4–1 0–4–1 3–1–1 4–0–1 17–17–6 Pittsburgh 1–4 0–3–2 0–2–3 0–5 4–0–1 2–3 2–2–1 3–2 12–21–7 St. Louis 3–2 1–2–2 3–2 0–3–2 3–1–1 0–5 2–3 4–1 16–19–5

Schedule and results

1972–73 regular season[4]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 7, 1972 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 0–1–0 2 L October 11, 1972 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 0–2–0 3 L October 14, 1972 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 0–3–0 4 W October 15, 1972 4–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 1–3–0 5 T October 20, 1972 3–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 1–3–1 6 L October 22, 1972 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 1–4–1 7 L October 24, 1972 0–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 1–5–1 8 L October 25, 1972 3–4 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 1–6–1 9 W October 27, 1972 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 2–6–1
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 10 L November 1, 1972 2–6 New York Islanders (1972–73) 2–7–1 11 T November 3, 1972 6–6 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 2–7–2 12 T November 5, 1972 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 2–7–3 13 L November 8, 1972 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 2–8–3 14 T November 9, 1972 0–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 2–8–4 15 L November 11, 1972 2–7 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 2–9–4 16 L November 12, 1972 3–8 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 2–10–4 17 L November 15, 1972 0–4 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 2–11–4 18 W November 17, 1972 5–1 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 3–11–4 19 L November 21, 1972 2–4 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 3–12–4 20 L November 23, 1972 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 3–13–4 21 L November 25, 1972 0–11 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 3–14–4 22 W November 26, 1972 6–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 4–14–4 23 L November 29, 1972 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 4–15–4
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 24 T December 1, 1972 3–3 New York Rangers (1972–73) 4–15–5 25 T December 6, 1972 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 4–15–6 26 L December 9, 1972 1–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 4–16–6 27 L December 10, 1972 4–8 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 4–17–6 28 T December 13, 1972 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 4–17–7 29 L December 15, 1972 4–9 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 4–18–7 30 L December 16, 1972 3–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 4–19–7 31 L December 20, 1972 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 4–20–7 32 W December 22, 1972 4–2 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 5–20–7 33 L December 24, 1972 3–5 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 5–21–7 34 L December 26, 1972 3–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 5–22–7 35 T December 27, 1972 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 5–22–8 36 W December 29, 1972 5–2 New York Islanders (1972–73) 6–22–8
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 37 W January 3, 1973 11–3 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 7–22–8 38 L January 6, 1973 0–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 7–23–8 39 L January 7, 1973 0–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 7–24–8 40 W January 10, 1973 6–5 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 8–24–8 41 T January 12, 1973 3–3 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 8–24–9 42 T January 14, 1973 6–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 8–24–10 43 T January 17, 1973 3–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 8–24–11 44 L January 19, 1973 0–6 New York Rangers (1972–73) 8–25–11 45 L January 21, 1973 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 8–26–11 46 L January 23, 1973 1–8 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 8–27–11 47 W January 24, 1973 5–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 9–27–11 48 T January 26, 1973 1–1 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 9–27–12 49 L January 28, 1973 3–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 9–28–12 50 L January 31, 1973 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 9–29–12
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 51 L February 1, 1973 4–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 9–30–12 52 L February 3, 1973 1–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 9–31–12 53 L February 4, 1973 1–6 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 9–32–12 54 L February 7, 1973 3–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 9–33–12 55 L February 8, 1973 0–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 9–34–12 56 L February 10, 1973 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 9–35–12 57 L February 11, 1973 1–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 9–36–12 58 T February 14, 1973 3–3 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 9–36–13 59 T February 16, 1973 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 9–36–14 60 L February 18, 1973 2–4 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 9–37–14 61 L February 21, 1973 2–6 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 9–38–14 62 W February 23, 1973 5–3 New York Rangers (1972–73) 10–38–14 63 L February 25, 1973 0–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 10–39–14 64 L February 28, 1973 3–7 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 10–40–14
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 65 W March 3, 1973 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 11–40–14 66 L March 4, 1973 2–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 11–41–14 67 T March 7, 1973 2–2 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 11–41–15 68 L March 10, 1973 2–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 11–42–15 69 L March 11, 1973 1–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 11–43–15 70 L March 14, 1973 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 11–44–15 71 T March 16, 1973 5–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 11–44–16 72 W March 18, 1973 2–0 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 12–44–16 73 L March 20, 1973 3–6 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 12–45–16 74 L March 21, 1973 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 12–46–16 75 W March 23, 1973 7–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 13–46–16 76 W March 25, 1973 8–5 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 14–46–16 77 W March 28, 1973 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 15–46–16 78 W March 30, 1973 3–1 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 16–46–16
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
Walt McKechnie	8		78	16	38	54	58		–	–	–	–	–
Hilliard Graves	17		75	27	25	52	34		–	–	–	–	–
Joey Johnston	22		71	28	21	49	62		–	–	–	–	–
Craig Patrick	14		71	20	22	42	6		–	–	–	–	–
Pete Laframboise	24		77	16	25	41	26		–	–	–	–	–
Stan Weir	21		78	15	24	39	16		–	–	–	–	–
Reggie Leach	7		76	23	12	35	45		–	–	–	–	–
Ivan Boldirev	9		56	11	23	34	58		–	–	–	–	–
Rick Smith	5		64	9	24	33	77		–	–	–	–	–
Marshall Johnston	2		78	10	20	30	14		–	–	–	–	–
Darryl Maggs†	4		54	7	15	22	46		–	–	–	–	–
Gary Croteau	18		47	6	15	21	8		–	–	–	–	–
Stan Gilbertson	15		66	6	15	21	19		–	–	–	–	–
Bob Stewart	6		63	4	17	21	181		–	–	–	–	–
Ted McAneeley	23		77	4	13	17	75		–	–	–	–	–
Dick Redmond‡	4		24	3	13	16	22		–	–	–	–	–
Morris Mott	20		70	6	7	13	8		–	–	–	–	–
Bert Marshall‡	19		55	2	6	8	71		–	–	–	–	–
Terry Murray	26		23	0	3	3	4		–	–	–	–	–
Gilles Meloche	27		59	0	2	2	4		–	–	–	–	–
Marv Edwards	1		21	0	1	1	6		–	–	–	–	–
Pete Vipond	15		2	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Brent Meeke	25		3	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Del Hall	12		6	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		59	3473	12	32	14	235	1	4.06		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Marv Edwards	1		21	1207	4	14	2	87	1	4.32		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--

Transactions

The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1972–73 season:

Trades

June, 1972	To California Golden Seals Barry Cummins	To Portland Buckaroos (WHL) $15,000
December 5, 1972	To California Golden Seals Darryl Maggs	To Chicago Black Hawks Dick Redmond rights to Bobby Sheehan
March 4, 1973	To California Golden Seals cash future considerations (Dave Hrechkosy & Gary Coalter; May 17, 1973)	To New York Rangers Bert Marshall

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Marv Edwards Toronto Maple Leafs Reverse Draft (1972–06–08) Ron Huston Spokane Jets (WIHL) free agency (1972–09) Morris Mott Queen's University (OUAA) free agency (1972–10–01)

Subtractions Player New team Via Ernie Hicke Atlanta Flames Expansion Draft (1972–06–06) Norm Ferguson New York Islanders Expansion Draft (1972–06–06) Frank Hughes Atlanta Flames Expansion Draft (1972–06–06) Ken Baird Alberta Oilers (WHA) free agency Gary Jarrett Cleveland Crusaders (WHA) free agency Gary Kurt New York Raiders (WHA) free agency Gerry Pinder Cleveland Crusaders (WHA) free agency Bobby Sheehan New York Raiders (WHA) free agency Paul Shmyr Cleveland Crusaders (WHA) free agency Tom Webster New England Whalers (WHA) free agency

References

• Golden Seals on Hockey Database
• Golden Seals on Database Hockey

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.169, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
2. "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
3. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
4. "1972-73 California Golden Seals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.