1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1967–68 1967 Los Angeles Kings West 2nd 31–33–10 20–13–4 11–20–6 200 224 Larry Regan Red Kelly Bob Wall Bill WhiteEddie Joyal Bill Flett (26) Eddie Joyal (34) Eddie Joyal (57) Dave Amadio (101) Wayne Rutledge (20) Wayne Rutledge (2.87) Long Beach Arena,Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena,Los Angeles Forum 8,084 Springfield Indians (AHL) The 1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season was the first season for the Kings in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs but lost in their first playoff series. 2 Offseason The Kings were one of six expansion teams, which doubled the size of the league from six to twelve. While the expected favorite bid in Los Angeles was by Dan Reeves, owner of the Western Hockey League's Los Angeles Blades and the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the league instead awarded a franchise to Jack Kent Cooke, a Canadian who also owned the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers.Kings have interesting, some might say colorful history The Kings were placed in the newly established West Division, along with the other expansion teams: the California Seals, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. Prior to the 1967 NHL expansion draft, Cooke arranged a deal with Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Red Kelly, who as a player holds the distinction of playing on the most Stanley Cup championship teams without any of them including time in Montreal, and was set for his retirement, to become the Kings' first head coach. During the draft, the Kings picked goaltenders Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge with their first picks, and once Maple Leafs' general manager Punch Imlach decided to put Kelly on the protected list on the tenth round, Cooke was forced to send one of his picks, Ken Block, in exchange for his future coach. To not rely only on the draft, Cooke purchased the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians for $1 million to bolster the Kings roster. Long-time Indians player Brian Kilrea would score the Kings' first goal.The Great Expansion: The Ultimate Risk That Changed the NHL Forever 2011 Bass Alan 7: Los Angeles Kings 87–96 978-1-4502-8605-3 Cooke invested heavily on promoting his team, inviting Hollywood stars to the arena, and creating nicknames for most players which he required play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald to employ in broadcasts. Still, conditions were chaotic. For the first preseason practice in California, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour producer Saul Ilson had to bring a puck from his Hollywood office for the Kings to play, as the team's own were unreachable in storage. Regular season The Kings played their home games in three locations during that inaugural campaign. Before the brand new arena built by Cooke and known as The Forum would become their permanent home, the team played their first two games at the Long Beach Arena, and 14 more at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena .KINGS ALL-TIME ARENAS: 1967 - PRESENT The season opener was against fellow expansion Philadelphia Flyers, a 4–2 victory in Long Beach. While the Inglewood arena was being finished, the Kings struggled to attract consistent crowds, with sellouts only when the "Original Six" visited. The team still played well, only losing on the sixth game, and in the previous one winning their first confrontation against an Original Six team when visiting the Chicago Black Hawks. The Forum was opened on December 30, and in the Kings' first game ever there, they lost 2–0 to the Philadelphia Flyers, to their largest crowd that far of 14,366 spectators. Given that aside from California Seals the closest team from Los Angeles were the St. Louis Blues, the Kings had to endure long road trips for away games. A new arena led to bigger and more consistent crowds, with the average of 6,045 tickets in the first 16 games rising to 9,725 at the Forum, for combined totals of 8,037 across the 37 home games. Original Six teams still brought larger audiences, with an average of 12,560 fans compared to the 7,432 when receiving fellow expansion teams. The Kings were predicted by writers to finish last in the new West Division.Brian McFarlane, 50 Years of Hockey, pp. 140–143, Greywood Publishing Ltd, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Surprisingly, the Kings finished second, just one point behind the Flyers. The division lead was taken by the Kings with four games remaining once they beat Philadelphia at The Forum, but Los Angeles slipped down one position by failing to win the final three games. The Kings had the best record of any of the expansion teams against the "Original Six", going a respectable 10–12–2, including winning their first two games ever against the legendary Montreal Canadiens. The home record of the Kings was 20–13–4 in their 37 home games spread over 3 arenas. On the road, Los Angeles posted a record of just 11–20–6. The goaltending tandem of future hall of famer Terry Sawchuk and Wayne Rutledge allowed the team to stay in most games. The roster invested heavily on depth, with eight players having at least 25 points, and four scoring at least 18 goals. The leaders were Bill Flett, who scored 26 goals, while Eddie Joyal scored 23 goals, adding 34 assists for 57 points and was the second leading scorer in the West Division. Defenseman Bill White had 11 goals and 38 points, and had the second most penalty minutes with 100, just one behind Dave Amadio. Playoffs The Kings faced off against the Minnesota North Stars in their first-ever playoff series. Although the Kings had home-ice advantage, the North Stars won the best-of-seven series 4–3. Los Angeles got the first two games at the Forum, lost twice in Minnesota, and had a close 3–2 victory on Game 5 to retain the lead. Afterwards, the North Stars won in overtime to force a Game 7 and dominated at the Forum with a 9–4 win. Doug Robinson and Lowell MacDonald led all Kings playoff scorers with seven points, while Eddie Joyal and Gord Labossiere had five points each. Season standings LAK Record vs. opponents LAK Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#552583 5px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 5px solid; 1967–68 regular season1967-68 Los Angeles Kings Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAK/1968_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 27, 20251967-68 LOS ANGELES KINGS http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=41005 Los Angeles Kings March 27, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20150920164230/http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=41005 September 20, 2015 y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; October Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 1 || 14 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4–2 || Long Beach (7,023) || 1–0-0 |- | 2 || 15 || Minnesota North Stars || 5–3 || Long Beach (4,289) || 2–0-0 |- | 3 || 18 || California SealsCurrier Steve The California Golden Seals: a tale of white skates, red ink, and one of the NHLs most outlandish teams 2017 University of Nebraska Press Lincoln 978-0-8032-8848-5 52 || 2–2 || Oakland (3,419) || 2-0–1 |- | 4 || 21 || St. Louis Blues || 3–3 || St. Louis (7,127)|| 2-0–2 |- | 5 || 22 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–3 || Chicago (16,666) || 3–0-2 |- | 6 || 25 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 2–4 || Toronto (15,698)|| 3–1–2 |- | 7 || 26 || Boston Bruins || 0–2 || Boston (12,973)|| 3–2–2 |- | 8 || 28 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Pittsburgh (6,536) || 4–2-2 |- | 9 || 31 || New York Rangers || 1–6 || Memorial Sports Arena (6,455) || 4–3–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; November Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 10 || 2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–3 || Memorial Sports Arena (8,012) || 4–4–2 |- | 11 || 4 || Minnesota North Stars || 2–2 || Minnesota (10,246) || 4-4–3 |- | 12 || 5 || Detroit Red Wings || 6–4 || Detroit (12,164) || 5–4-3 |- | 13 || 7 || California Seals || 5–4 || Memorial Sports Arena (5,194) || 6–4-3 |- | 14 || 9 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 4–1 || Memorial Sports Arena (9,604) || 7–4-3 |- | 15 || 15 || California Seals || 1–4 || Oakland (3,256) || 7–5–3 |- | 16 || 17 || Detroit Red Wings || 1–4 || Memorial Sports Arena (9,498) || 7–6–3 |- | 17 || 19 || Montreal Canadiens || 4–2 || Memorial Sports Arena (9,849) || 8–6-3 |- | 18 || 22 || California Seals || 3–1 || Memorial Sports Arena (5,301) || 9–6-3 |- | 19 || 24 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Memorial Sports Arena (6,458) || 10–6-3 |- | 20 || 26 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–7 || Philadelphia (11,420) || 10–7–3 |- | 21 || 29 || St. Louis Blues || 2–3 || St. Louis (5,583) || 10–8–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; December Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 22 || 2 || Montreal Canadiens || 3–2 || Montreal (14,584) || 11–8-3 |- | 23 || 3 || New York Rangers || 2–4 || New York (14,012) || 11–9–3 |- | 24 || 6 || St. Louis Blues || 3–2 || Long Beach (4,323) || 12–9-3 |- | 25 || 8 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–3 || Long Beach (4,624) || 12–10–3 |- | 26 || 10 || Boston Bruins || 3–1 || Boston (13,409) || 13–10-3 |- | 27 || 13 || Minnesota North Stars || 0–4 || Minnesota (7,749) || 13–11–3 |- | 28 || 15 || Minnesota North Stars || 0–3 || Long Beach (7,149) || 13–12–3 |- | 29 || 16 || Boston Bruins || 2–5 || Long Beach (6,510) || 13–13–3 |- | 30 || 19 || Oakland Seals || 3–1 || Memorial Sports Arena (4,505) || 14–13-3 |- | 31 || 21 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–1 || Memorial Sports Arena (4,013) || 15–13-3 |- | 32 || 23 || St. Louis Blues || 4–0 || Memorial Sports Arena (4,447) || 16–13-3 |- | 33 || 25 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–4 || Pittsburgh (4,002) || 16–14–3 |- | 34 || 27 || St. Louis Blues || 2–4 || St. Louis || 16–15–3 |- | 35 || 30 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–2 || The Forum (14,366) || 16–16–3 |- | 36 || 31 || Philadelphia Flyers || 1–9 || Philadelphia (5,643) || 16–17–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; January Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 37 || 3 || Minnesota North Stars || 0–6 || Minnesota (9,921) || 16–18–3 |- | 38 || 4 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–4 || Pittsburgh (4,202)|| 16–19–3 |- | 39 || 6 || St. Louis Blues || 1–2 || St. Louis (7,186) || 16–20–3 |- | 40 || 7 || Oakland Seals || 0–6 || Oakland (4,577) || 16–21–3 |- | 41 || 11 || St. Louis Blues || 2–2 || The Forum (6,894) || 16-21–4 |- | 42 || 18 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–2 || The Forum (5,755) || 17–21-4 |- | 43 || 19 || New York Rangers || 5–2 || The Forum (11,740)|| 18–21-4 |- | 44 || 21 || Oakland Seals || 0–3 || Oakland (3,650) || 18–22–4 |- | 45 || 24 || Oakland Seals || 1–4 || The Forum (7,553)|| 18–23–4 |- | 46 || 27 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 5–3 || Pittsburgh (11,156) || 19–23-4 |- | 47 || 28 || Philadelphia Flyers || 2–0 || Philadelphia (13,577) || 20–23-4 |- | 48 || 31 || Minnesota North Stars || 1–6 || Minnesota (10,751) || 20–24–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; February Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 49 || 1 || Detroit Red Wings || 8–6 || Detroit (10,257) || 21–24-4 |- | 50 || 3 || Montreal Canadiens || 1–5 || Montreal (15,343) || 21–25–4 |- | 51 || 4 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–5 || Chicago (16,666) || 21–26–4 |- | 52 || 7 || Minnesota North Stars || 2–4 || The Forum (7,120)|| 21–27–4 |- | 53 || 8 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–1 || The Forum (6,195) || 22–27-4 |- | 54 || 12 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 2–0 || The Forum (12,397)|| 23–27-4 |- | 55 || 14 || St. Louis Blues || 2–2 || St. Louis (7,652)|| 23-27–5 |- | 56 || 16 || Philadelphia Flyers || 7–1 || The Forum (9,867) || 24–27-5 |- | 57 || 18 || Boston Bruins || 5–6 || The Forum (11,066)|| 24–28–5 |- | 58 || 24 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–3 || The Forum (15,752)|| 24-28–6 |- | 59 || 25 || St. Louis Blues || 4–2 || The Forum (7,386)|| 25–28-6 |- | 60 || 29 || Philadelphia Flyers || 3–1 || Philadelphia (9,115) || 26–28-6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#552583 2px solid; border-bottom:#FDB927 2px solid; March Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record |- | 61 || 2 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 2–5 || Toronto (15,816)|| 26–29–6 |- | 62 || 5 || Montreal Canadiens || 2–6 || The Forum (14,450)|| 26–30–6 |- | 63 || 7 || Oakland Seals || 9–2 || The Forum (6,678)|| 27–30-6 |- | 64 || 9 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3 || Pittsburgh (8,176) || 27–31–6 |- | 65 || 10 || New York Rangers || 4–3 || New York (17,250)|| 28–31-6 |- | 66 || 12 || Detroit Red Wings || 2–2 || The Forum (10,244)|| 28-31–7 |- | 67 || 14 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–0 || Quebec City (4,116) || 28-31–8 |- | 68 || 16 || Minnesota North Stars || 2–1 || Minnesota (13,739)|| 29–31-8 |- | 69 || 20 || Minnesota North Stars || 3–3 || The Forum (9,453)|| 29-31–9 |- | 70 || 22 || St. Louis Blues || 6–1 || The Forum (8,753)|| 30–31-9 |- | 71 || 23 || Philadelphia Flyers || 4–2 || The Forum (14,003) || 31–31-9 |- | 72 || 26 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–2 || The Forum (7,057) || 31–32–9 |- | 73 || 27 || Minnesota North Stars || 3–5 || The Forum (8,559)|| 31–33–9 |- | 74 || 30 || Oakland Seals || 2–2 || Oakland (7,055) || 31-33–10 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs 1968 NHL Quarterfinals Minnesota North Stars vs. Los Angeles Kings Date Away Score Home Score NotesApril 4 Minnesota 1 Los Angeles 2 April 6 Minnesota 0 Los Angeles 2 April 9 Los Angeles 5 Minnesota 7 April 11 Los Angeles 2 Minnesota 3 April 13 Minnesota 2 Los Angeles 3 April 16 Los Angeles 3 Minnesota 4 (OT)April 18 Minnesota 9 Los Angeles 4 Minnesota wins best-of-seven series 4–3. Player statistics Forwards Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Eddie Joyal 74 23 34 57 20 Bill Flett 73 26 20 46 97 Lowell MacDonald 74 21 24 45 12 Ted Irvine 73 18 22 40 26 Gord Labossiere 68 13 27 40 31 Real Lemieux 74 12 23 35 60 Terry Gray 65 12 16 28 22 Howie Menard 35 9 15 24 32 Howie Hughes 74 9 14 23 20 Bryan Campbell 44 6 15 21 16 Brian Smith 58 10 9 19 33 Doug Robinson 34 9 9 18 6 Brian Kilrea 25 3 5 8 12 Jim Anderson 7 1 2 3 2 Bill Inglis 12 1 1 2 0 Mike Corbett 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Corrigan 5 0 0 0 2 Defensemen Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player GP G A Pts PIM Bill White 74 11 27 38 100 Bob Wall 71 5 18 23 66 Dale Rolfe 68 3 13 16 84 Brent Hughes 44 4 10 14 36 Dave Amadio 58 4 6 10 101 Jacques Lemieux 16 0 3 3 8 Jim Murray 30 0 2 2 14 Poul Popiel 1 0 0 0 0 Larry Johnston 4 0 0 0 4 Goaltending Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average Player GP MIN W L T SO GAA Wayne Rutledge 45 2444 20 18 4 2 2.87 Terry Sawchuk 36 1936 11 14 6 2 3.07 Jacques Caron 1 60 0 1 0 0 4.00 Awards and records Records Individual March 10, 1968: Fastest two goals, 6 seconds apart, Bill Flett at 9:14 of first period, and Eddie Joyal at 9:20. Team Fewest short-handed goals against in season, 3 Most shutouts against in season, 9 Milestones #CFECEC Player is still active or individual record solid 1px #AAAAAA Regular season Player Milestone Reached Brian Kilrea First Kings goal October 14, 1967 Transactions The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1967–68 season.https://www.prosportstransactions.com/hockey/Search/SearchResults.php?Player=&Team=Kings&BeginDate=1967-05-01&EndDate=1968-09-01&PlayerMovementChkBx=yes&submit=Search Hockey Transactions Search Results Trades June 8, 1967To Los Angeles KingsRed KellyTo Toronto Maple LeafsKen Block June 16, 1967To Los Angeles KingsTrevor Fahey Jim Murray Ken TurlickTo New York RangersBarclay Plager October 1, 1967To Los Angeles KingsCashTo Vancouver Canucks (WHL)Bill Sweeney Loan of Mike Corbett Loan of Larry Mavety Draft picks NHL draft 1967 NHL entry draft Round Pick Player Nationality 1 1Rick Pagnutti Canada right|thumb|LA Kings primary logo NOTE: Back before 1979, the amateur draft was held with varying rules and procedures. In 1967, teams only needed to select as many player as they wanted to, which is why there was only one Kings player drafted. Expansion draft Los Angeles Kings selections # Player Drafted from 1. Terry Sawchuk (G) Toronto Maple Leafs 2. Wayne Rutledge (G) New York Rangers 3. Gord Labossiere (C) Montreal Canadiens 4. Bob Wall (D) Detroit Red Wings 5. Ed Joyal (C) Toronto Maple Leafs 6. Real Lemieux (W) Detroit Red Wings 7. Poul Popiel (D) Boston Bruins 8. Terry Gray (RW) Detroit Red Wings 9. Bryan Campbell (C) New York Rangers 10. Ted Irvine (LW) Boston Bruins 11. Howie Hughes (RW) Montreal Canadiens 12. Bill Inglis (C) Montreal Canadiens 13. Doug Robinson (LW) New York Rangers 14. Mike Corrigan (LW) Toronto Maple Leafs 15. Jacques Lemieux (LW) Montreal Canadiens 16. Lowell MacDonald (LW) Toronto Maple Leafs 17. Ken Block (D) New York Rangers 18. Bill Flett (RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 19. Brent Hughes (D) Detroit Red Wings 20. Marc Dufour (RW) New York Rangers Farm teams Springfield Indians (American Hockey League) Broadcasting KNX 1070 was the radio broadcaster in all games. KTLA covered 20 of the 37 away games through a simulcast. CBS broadcast nationally the first game at the Forum.http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=730039 https://web.archive.org/web/20150919011137/http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=730039 dead September 19, 2015 A New Kingdom References Kings on Hockey Database Category:Los Angeles Kings seasons Los Category:1967 in sports in California Category:1968 in sports in California Category:1960s in Los Angeles County, California