This Day in Hockey History – September 11, 1969 – Upgrade to Expand

The addition of six new teams in 1967 seemed to go pretty well, so the NHL added two more franchises to begin playing in 1970-71. When they announced the expansion, on September 11, 1968 at simultaneous press conferences in New York and Montreal, President Clarence Campbell made it clear that Vancouver had the first shot at meeting the franchise requirements. Otherwise, the NHL would be accepting applications until December 1, and those accepted would be required to pay $6 million.

Vancouver

The primary reason for this expansion was to bring in another Canadian team. The second franchise was created simply to ensure that the league remained balanced. According to Campbell’s statement, “When the NHL doubled in size from six to 12 teams in 1967-68, no additional Canadian representation was provided for despite the fact that almost all of the playing personnel of the league is Canadian. This led to downright hostility in some parts of the Dominion because of the omission of Vancouver, British Columbia.” Further, “We could not carry on goodwill in Canada, a country which has contributed so much to the sport, unless we added a Canadian team.” He continued, “When it became apparent that expansion to include Vancouver was necessary, it was decided to bring in another city, since the league could not operate with an odd number of teams.”

Vancouver was the obvious choice since the city had hosted professional hockey dating back to 1911 (to 1926), with the Patrick brothers’ Pacific Coast Hockey Association. Although they went 50 years without pro hockey, minor league hockey kept the interest alive. The Canucks had been playing there since at least 1946 as part of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and were on the cusp of winning their sixth championship (the Lester Patrick Cup). The WHL Canucks and Vancouver mayor Fred Hume were turned down for a franchise for 1967 because their NHL-level arena was still being built and (according to them) because Toronto and Montreal did not want to share TV revenues. Since then, they had also been turned down for their offer to relocate the struggling Oakland Seals.

For these reasons, at their June 1968 meeting, the NHL governors granted Vancouver first refusal for the next expansion. Basically, they would have the opportunity to meet the NHL requirements. If they would not or could not, another British Columbia city would have the next chance. Despite the tripled fee to join the NHL, the $1.1 million they would have to pay the WHL, and the $1.5 million it would cost to operate a team, the Vancouver group was adamant. Joseph R. Crozier, coach and GM (and substantial shareholder) of the Canucks said, “The $6 million stipulation creates no problem for us. We have been waiting for this for a long, long time.” One stockholder, Frank McMahon, dropped out saying that he thought even the $2 million franchises paid in 1967 was too pricy. Max Bell (who helped finance the fledgling franchise) remarked, “Vancouver is a big-league town and it deserves a big-league hockey franchise, but at that price it looks like a civic venture rather than a business venture. There aren’t many people that civic-minded.” In the end, a group led by Tom Scallen bid and then paid the required entry fee.

The next step was to purchase the WHL’s Canucks. In anticipation of moving up into the NHL, the team already had hired former NHLers, and six of them were contracted for the new NHL team. The rest of the team mostly came from the 1970 Expansion Draft. When the NHL first announced the drafting rules, Crozier said it was a “bit of a bombshell” and would put his team at a disadvantage. According to Sam Pollack of the NHL Expansion Committee, “Parity will be reached within three years. An expansion draft will make 18 players and two goaltenders available to the new teams in June of 1970. Each old club will be allowed to protect 15 players and two goalies. The new teams will also participate fully in the universal amateur draft and should receive two players capable of stepping right into the NHL if my scouting reports are correct.” Vancouver focused on defense for their draft picks. At the subsequent 1980 Amateur Draft, they used their first pick on Dale Tallon. 

Despite their efforts to pick quality skaters, the Canucks struggled, unable to make playoffs during their first four seasons. As coach Hal Laycoe said, “Coaching an expansion club had to be the toughest job in the world because when the going gets tough, the tough don’t always get going.” In January 1971, GM Bud Poile accused Laycoe of being too soft and players for not carrying their weight. Punch Imlach (who had had part ownership in the WHL Canucks until they sold to Medicor company) called the Canucks “4F,” as in “fumbling, frustrated, futile, and folding.” However, the Canucks had one area in which they were extremely strong – the box office. Before they had even been granted a franchise, they had over 500 people trying to buy NHL tickets. For their inaugural season, the Canucks sold 98% of their seats and had to show the game on closed-circuit TV to accommodate overflow crowds.

Buffalo

The other strong contender that was awarded a franchise that December was Buffalo. Thanks partly to their proximity to the Canadian border, they had a strong minor-league presence with the AHL Buffalo Bisons. The Bisons had played there for about 30 years and were about to win their fifth Calder Cup.

Like Vancouver, Buffalo had been asking for a franchise since before 1967 and had wanted to buy the Seals. Brothers Seymour and Northrup Knox (of the Woolworth’s variety store chain) had led both efforts. The former failed when Art Rooney talked his friends James and Bruce Norris to go with Pittsburgh instead, and the latter failed because the NHL thought it was too soon to give up on the Seals. This would be third time’s charm. The brothers held a naming contest to avoid re-using “Bisons,” and the winner was “Sabres.” They then set up a new AHL team called the Cincinnati Swords.

Much of the early success of the Sabres has been credited to their first coach and GM, Punch Imlach. He was able to put together a good team through the expansion draft and then got lucky at the amateur draft. First pick would go to Buffalo or Vancouver based on the spin of a roulette wheel. Although Campbell originally thought the wheel landed on 1 (which would have gone to the Canucks), Imlach told him to check again because it was actually on his lucky number 11. Imlach picked Gilbert Perreault who went on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.

As it turned out, 1970 was a big year in Buffalo sports. In addition to hockey, the city also gained teams in the National Football League (Bills) and the National Basketball Association (Braves). The Sabres were much more successful, so the Braves ended up relocating.

At the beginning of the season, Imlach bragged, “You can forget about Toronto and Vancouver. And the Red Wings didn’t look like any ball of fire to me. We’ll be there and you can bet on it.” At the end of the season, his tune had not changed. “I remember one guy who wrote we’d be lucky to finish the season. Another said we wouldn’t win 15 games. Well, with three to play, we’ve won 23, and we’re going to finish ahead of teams which have been in this league from four to 40 years. … But I’ll tell you this, we’re in business now, and nobody, but nobody, handles us easily, anywhere. We’re as established as any team in this league.”

Other bidders

The other city initially thought to have the strongest chance of gaining a franchise was Baltimore. Like Vancouver and Buffalo, it had just missed the 1967 expansion. In fact, most had expected Baltimore to win over St. Louis at the time. Like the other two, this city had a strong local minor league club, the Baltimore Clippers. To join the NHL, Baltimore already had plans to extend their Civic Center, however the $6-million price tag somewhat dampened their enthusiasm. Zanvyl Krieger, the chairman of the board and principal stockholder for Clippers said, “We will do everything possible to bring major league hockey to Baltimore if we think it is feasible. Remember, it is not only the franchise fee we are concerned with but also an additional outlay of approximately $2 million to cover renovations and increased seating capacity at the Civic Center, indemnification to the American Hockey League and the setting up of a farm system.”

By the time of the franchise announcement, four other towns had already submitted informal bids. They were Atlanta, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C. One paper even indicated that interest had been expressed from Phoenix, San Juan, and even Mexico City.

With the two new additions, the NHL restructured its divisions. The Chicago Blackhawks moved into the West Division with the six 1967-expansion teams. Buffalo and Vancouver joined the other five Original Six teams in the East Division. There, they finished fourth (with 63 points) and fifth (with 56 points), respectively that season.

Additional Sources:

• Mike Commito, Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice(Toronto: Dundurn, 2018), kindle edition.
• Stephen Laroche, Changing the Game: A History of NHL Expansion(Toronto: ECW Press, 2014), 170-195.
• “Canuck Brass Feels Pain in Pocketbook” and “‘Twas Day for Second Thoughts,” Vancouver Sun, 12 Sept. 1969, p. 22.
• “It’s a Stickup” and “Meanwhile Back at the Bank,” Vancouver Province, 12 Sept. 1969, p. 21.
• “Buffalo Among 3 Cities Eyed for NHL Franchises,”Elmira Star-Gazette, 12 Sept. 1969, p. 15.
• “NHL To Realign Divisions In 1970” and “Price Surprises Krieger,” Baltimore Sun, 12 Sept. 1969, pp. C1 and C4.
• https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1971.html