1967 NHL expansion

1967 NHL expansion. The 1967 NHL expansion was a transformative event that doubled the size of the National Hockey League from six to twelve teams, ending the Original Six era that had lasted since 1942. This massive growth, the largest single increase in league history, marked the NHL's decisive move into major Sun Belt markets and fundamentally altered the geographic and business landscape of professional ice hockey in North America.

Background and context

By the mid-1960s, the Original Six—comprising the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs—faced significant pressure to grow. The rival Western Hockey League was gaining strength and openly discussed becoming a major league, while the National Football League and Major League Baseball had successfully expanded. Furthermore, television networks, particularly the CBS network which had a national contract with the NHL, desired content from more American cities. NHL President Clarence Campbell and influential owners like William M. Jennings of the New York Rangers and James D. Norris of the Chicago Black Hawks recognized that controlled expansion was necessary to secure lucrative markets, preempt rival leagues, and capitalize on the sport's growing popularity following the Stanley Cup successes of teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

The expansion teams

The six new franchises were awarded on February 9, 1966, for the 1967–68 season, each paying a $2 million expansion fee. The new clubs were the Los Angeles Kings, owned by Jack Kent Cooke; the Oakland Seals, owned by Barry Van Gerbig; the Philadelphia Flyers, owned by Ed Snider; the Pittsburgh Penguins, owned by a syndicate including Jack McGregor; the St. Louis Blues, owned by the St. Louis Arena-based group of Sidney Salomon III; and the Minnesota North Stars, owned by a group led by Walter Bush and John D. Rockefeller III. The selections strategically placed teams in key California markets, major Eastern cities, and the traditional hockey hotbed of Minnesota, while the St. Louis Blues entry was somewhat fortuitous, securing a place after the proposed Baltimore bid faltered.

Player selection process

To stock the new teams, the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 6, 1967, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The existing Original Six teams were allowed to protect eleven skaters and one goaltender, exposing all other players on their rosters. The six new franchises then selected twenty players each over forty rounds. The draft rules heavily favored the established clubs, ensuring they retained their star players like Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings and Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks. Consequently, the expansion teams were largely built with aging veterans and unproven prospects, with notable selections including Glenn Hall by the St. Louis Blues and Terry Sawchuk by the Los Angeles Kings.

Impact on the league

The immediate impact was the creation of two distinct divisions: the East Division contained the six established teams, while all new teams were placed in the West Division. This guaranteed an expansion team would reach the Stanley Cup Finals, a feat achieved by the St. Louis Blues for three consecutive years from 1968 to 1970, though they were swept each time by the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. The expansion solidified the NHL's national footprint in the United States, introducing the sport to new audiences in cities like Los Angeles and Philadelphia. It also triggered rapid arena construction and modernization, such as the Spectrum in Philadelphia and the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

Legacy and historical significance

The 1967 NHL expansion is widely regarded as the dawn of the modern NHL. It broke the Original Six monopoly, setting a direct precedent for further growth in 1970, 1972, and 1974, which included the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres. The league's successful foray into California paved the way for later teams like the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. While the Oakland Seals struggled and eventually became the Cleveland Barons before merging with the Minnesota North Stars, the other five franchises established enduring legacies, with the Philadelphia Flyers becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. The expansion fundamentally shifted the league's business model from a closed club to an open-growth enterprise, directly enabling its eventual competition with the World Hockey Association and its status as a major North American sports league.

Category:National Hockey League Category:1967 in ice hockey Category:Sports expansions