The 1967–68

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

season was the team's inaugural

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). They finished fourth in the West Division with a record of 27 wins, 32 losses, and 15 ties for 69 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in seven games in the Quarter-finals before losing to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

in the Semi-finals, also in seven games.

Offseason

On March 11, 1965, NHL President

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, then s ...

announced that the league would expand to twelve teams from six through the creation of a new six-team division for the 1967–68 season. In response to Campbell's announcement, a partnership of nine men, led by

Walter Bush Walter Lewis Bush, Jr. (September 25, 1929 – September 22, 2016) was an American ice hockey administrator. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1955, he helped start the Central Hockey League, which turned into one of the few successful mi ...

and John Driscoll, was formed to seek a franchise for the Twin Cities area of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Their efforts were successful as the NHL awarded one of six expansion franchises to Minnesota on February 9, 1966. In addition to Minnesota, the five other franchises were

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The "North Stars" name was announced on May 25, 1966, following a public contest. The name is derived from the state's motto "

L'Étoile du Nord ''L'Étoile du Nord'' is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North". It is the motto of the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the only U.S. state motto in French. It was chosen by the state's first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, and was adopte ...

", which is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

phrase meaning "The Star of the North". Months after the naming of the team, ground was broken on October 3, 1966, for a new hockey arena in Bloomington,

. The home of the North Stars, the

Metropolitan Sports Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home o ...

(or Met Center for short), was built in 12 months at a cost of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

7 million. The arena was ready for play for the start of the 1967–68 NHL season, but portions of the arena's construction had not been completed. Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the opening home game on October 21, 1967.

Regular season

Bill Masterton

On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Seals at the

Met Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home of ...

, North Stars center

Bill Masterton William Masterton (August 13, 1938 – January 15, 1968) was a Canadian American professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 1967–68. He is the only player in NHL history to ...

was checked by Oakland's

Larry Cahan Lawrence Louis Henry Cahan (December 25, 1933 – June 25, 1992), was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Oakland Seals, L ...

and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice damaged the

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

and caused severe hemorrhaging, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose. Masterton was taken to hospital where he died two days later, becoming the only player ever to die as a result of an on-ice injury.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

The North Stars, having squeaked into the playoffs by two points (having the same amount of wins as Pittsburgh but with two more ties) would play the #2 seed in the newly-created Western Division side of the postseason bracket, since the expansion from six to twelve teams put all the new teams in the Western that would ensure one of them to play in the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. At any rate, Minnesota would play in five overtime games in their fourteen postseason matches, winning just two of them. The North Stars, facing the chance to go to the Stanley Cup, took the lead in Game 7 on

Walt McKechnie Walter Thomas John McKechnie (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian former professional hockey centre. He played for nine teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) and four minor professional teams over a 17-year pro career. Playing career McKechnie ...

's goal with 3:11 to play. However, the Blues followed it up 31 seconds later with a goal from Dickie Moore that would mean overtime.

Cesare Maniago Cesare Maniago (born January 13, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Maniago played the majority of his National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Minnesota North Stars, for whom he stands second all-time in games playe ...

and

Glenn Hall Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) (aka Gunner Hall) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a ...

combined for 80 saves, but

Ron Schock Ronald Lawrence Schock (born December 19, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League from 1964 to 1978. His younger brother, Danny Schock, also played briefly in the NHL. Schock retired fol ...

's "Midnight Goal" in double-overtime (it would be known as the "Midnight Goal" by numerous fans) to send the Blues to the Final. Stanley Cup Quarterfinals ''North Stars win series 4–3'' Stanley Cup Semifinals ''North Stars lose series 4–3'' In the first round of the Western Division playoffs, the North Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. The second round of the playoff series would be played against the St. Louis Blues and that series would go to seven games as well. The Blues would win the seventh game and advance to face the Montreal Canadiens in the

1968 Stanley Cup Finals The 1968 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1967–68 season, and the culmination of the 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues. The Ca ...

Player statistics

Forwards

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''

Defencemen

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''

Goaltending

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average''

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Expansion draft

Amateur draft

Minnesota's draft picks at the

1967 NHL Amateur Draft The 1967 NHL Amateur Draft was the fifth NHL Entry Draft. It was held June 7, 1967, the day after the 1967 expansion draft, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Listed below are the selections in the 1967 NHL am ...

held at the

Queen Elizabeth Hotel Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth (french: Fairmont Le Reine Élizabeth) is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in the province of Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Farm teams

References

External links

North Stars on Hockey Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:1967-68 Minnesota North Stars season

Minnesota North Stars seasons