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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(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 Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

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 (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

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 1960, he organized and promoted a semi-pro Northwestern League consisting of six teams in Minn ...

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

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. 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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. 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 language, French phrase meaning "The Star of the North". It is the List of U.S. state mottos, 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 gov ...

", which is a French 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, Minnesota Bloomington is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis and just south of the Interstate 494/Inter ...

. 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 15,784. It was the home o ...

(or Met Center for short), was built in 12 months at a cost of US$7 million. The arena was ready for play for the start of the

1967–68 NHL season The 1967–68 NHL season was the 51st season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 12 teams, putting the new six in the newly created West Division, while the " Original Six" were all placed in the newly created East Division. Th ...

, 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 15,784. It was the home ...

, North Stars center Bill Masterton 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 mammals, 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 ...

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

Playoffs

The North Stars, having squeaked into the playoffs by two points (having the same number 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 () 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, and the International Ic ...

. 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'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 and

Glenn Hall Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) 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 game and was a co ...

combined for 80 saves, but Ron Schock's "Midnight Goal" in double-overtime (it would be known as the "Midnight Goal" by numerous fans) to send the Blues to the Final. 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.

Schedule and results

, - , 1, , T, , October 11, 1967, , 2–2 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 0–0–1 , - , 2, , L, , October 14, 1967, , 0–6 , , align="left", @

Oakland Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

( 1967–68) , , 0–1–1 , - , 3, , L, , October 15, 1967, , 3–5 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 0–2–1 , - , 4, , T, , October 18, 1967, , 3–3 , , align="left", @

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

( 1967–68) , , 0–2–2 , - , 5, , W, , October 21, 1967, , 3–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 1–2–2 , - , 6, , W, , October 25, 1967, , 3–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 2–2–2 , - , 7, , L, , October 28, 1967, , 2–4 , , align="left",

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

( 1967–68) , , 2–3–2 , - , - , 8, , L, , November 1, 1967, , 1–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 2–4–2 , - , 9, , W, , November 2, 1967, , 3–1 , , align="left", @

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

( 1967–68) , , 3–4–2 , - , 10, , T, , November 4, 1967, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 3–4–3 , - , 11, , W, , November 8, 1967, , 5–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 4–4–3 , - , 12, , W, , November 11, 1967, , 2–1 , , align="left",

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

( 1967–68) , , 5–4–3 , - , 13, , L, , November 15, 1967, , 1–5 , , align="left",

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

( 1967–68) , , 5–5–3 , - , 14, , T, , November 18, 1967, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 5–5–4 , - , 15, , L, , November 19, 1967, , 2–5 , , align="left", @

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

( 1967–68) , , 5–6–4 , - , 16, , L, , November 22, 1967, , 0–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 5–7–4 , - , 17, , L, , November 25, 1967, , 1–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 5–8–4 , - , 18, , L, , November 26, 1967, , 1–2 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 5–9–4 , - , 19, , L, , November 29, 1967, , 1–5 , , align="left", @

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

( 1967–68) , , 5–10–4 , - , 20, , T, , November 30, 1967, , 1–1 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 5–10–5 , - , - , 21, , W, , December 2, 1967, , 5–1 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 6–10–5 , - , 22, , W, , December 3, 1967, , 4–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 7–10–5 , - , 23, , T, , December 6, 1967, , 1–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 7–10–6 , - , 24, , L, , December 9, 1967, , 2–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 7–11–6 , - , 25, , W, , December 10, 1967, , 7–4 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 8–11–6 , - , 26, , W, , December 13, 1967, , 4–0 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 9–11–6 , - , 27, , W, , December 15, 1967, , 3–0 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 10–11–6 , - , 28, , W, , December 16, 1967, , 1–0 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 11–11–6 , - , 29, , L, , December 21, 1967, , 0–6 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 11–12–6 , - , 30, , L, , December 23, 1967, , 0–4 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 11–13–6 , - , 31, , L, , December 25, 1967, , 0–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 11–14–6 , - , 32, , T, , December 27, 1967, , 3–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 11–14–7 , - , 33, , L, , December 28, 1967, , 2–6 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 11–15–7 , - , 34, , W, , December 30, 1967, , 5–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 12–15–7 , - , - , 35, , W, , January 3, 1968, , 6–0 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 13–15–7 , - , 36, , T, , January 6, 1968, , 5–5 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 13–15–8 , - , 37, , W, , January 10, 1968, , 6–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 14–15–8 , - , 38, , T, , January 13, 1968, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 14–15–9 , - , 39, , L, , January 14, 1968, , 2–9 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 14–16–9 , - , 40, , L, , January 17, 1968, , 0–5 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 14–17–9 , - , 41, , L, , January 18, 1968, , 2–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 14–18–9 , - , 42, , L, , January 20, 1968, , 1–5 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 14–19–9 , - , 43, , W, , January 21, 1968, , 4–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 15–19–9 , - , 44, , L, , January 24, 1968, , 2–5 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 15–20–9 , - , 45, , W, , January 25, 1968, , 3–0 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 16–20–9 , - , 46, , W, , January 27, 1968, , 3–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 17–20–9 , - , 47, , W, , January 28, 1968, , 2–1 , , align="left",

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

( 1967–68) , , 18–20–9 , - , 48, , W, , January 31, 1968, , 6–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 19–20–9 , - , - , 49, , L, , February 3, 1968, , 1–8 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 19–21–9 , - , 50, , W, , February 4, 1968, , 4–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 20–21–9 , - , 51, , W, , February 7, 1968, , 4–2 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 21–21–9 , - , 52, , W, , February 10, 1968, , 5–2 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 22–21–9 , - , 53, , L, , February 11, 1968, , 2–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 22–22–9 , - , 54, , L, , February 14, 1968, , 3–6 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 22–23–9 , - , 55, , L, , February 15, 1968, , 2–6 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 22–24–9 , - , 56, , T, , February 17, 1968, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 22–24–10 , - , 57, , W, , February 21, 1968, , 5–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 23–24–10 , - , 58, , L, , February 22, 1968, , 3–7 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 23–25–10 , - , 59, , L, , February 24, 1968, , 1–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 23–26–10 , - , 60, , T, , February 25, 1968, , 3–3 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 23–26–11 , - , 61, , L, , February 28, 1968, , 3–6 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 23–27–11 , - , - , 62, , W, , March 2, 1968, , 3–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 24–27–11 , - , 63, , T, , March 7, 1968, , 2–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 24–27–12 , - , 64, , T, , March 9, 1968, , 1–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 24–27–13 , - , 65, , L, , March 10, 1968, , 0–2 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 24–28–13 , - , 66, , L, , March 13, 1968, , 2–4 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 24–29–13 , - , 67, , L, , March 16, 1968, , 1–2 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 24–30–13 , - , 68, , W, , March 17, 1968, , 5–1 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 25–30–13 , - , 69, , T, , March 20, 1968, , 3–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 25–30–14 , - , 70, , W, , March 23, 1968, , 3–0 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 26–30–14 , - , 71, , T, , March 24, 1968, , 4–4 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 26–30–15 , - , 72, , W, , March 27, 1968, , 5–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 27–30–15 , - , 73, , L, , March 30, 1968, , 2–3 , , align="left", @

( 1967–68) , , 27–31–15 , - , 74, , L, , March 31, 1968, , 3–5 , , align="left",

( 1967–68) , , 27–32–15 , - , - , ''Legend'':

Playoffs

, - , 1 , , W, , April 4, 1968 , , 1–2 , , align="left", @

, , North Stars lead 1–0 , - , 2 , , W, , April 6, 1968 , , 0–2 , , align="left", @ Los Angeles Kings , , North Stars lead 2–0 , - , 3 , , L, , April 9, 1968 , , 7–5 , , align="left", Los Angeles Kings , , North Stars lead 2–1 , - , 4 , , L, , April 11, 1968 , , 3–2 , , align="left", Los Angeles Kings , , Series tied 2–2 , - , 5 , , L, , April 13, 1968 , , 2–3 , , align="left", @ Los Angeles Kings , , Kings lead 3–2 , - , 6 , , W, , April 16, 1968 , , 4–3 (OT) , , align="left", Los Angeles Kings , , Series tied 3–3 , - , 7 , , W, , April 18, 1968 , , 9–4 , , align="left", @ Los Angeles Kings , , North Stars win 4–3 , - , - , 1 , , W, , April 21, 1968 , , 3–5 , , align="left", @

, , North Stars lead 1–0 , - , 2 , , L, , April 22, 1968 , , 3–2 (OT) , , align="left", St. Louis Blues , , Series tied 1–1 , - , 3 , , W, , April 25, 1968 , , 5–1 , , align="left", @ St. Louis Blues , , North Stars lead 2–1 , - , 4 , , L, , April 27, 1968 , , 3–4 (OT) , , align="left", @ St. Louis Blues , , Series tied 2–2 , - , 5 , , L, , April 29, 1968 , , 2–3 (OT) , , align="left", @ St. Louis Blues , , Blues lead 3–2 , - , 6 , , W, , May 1, 1968 , , 5–1 , , align="left", St. Louis Blues , , Series tied 3–3 , - , 7 , , L, , May 3, 1968 , , 1–2 (2OT) , , align="left", @ St. Louis Blues , , Blues win 4–3 , - , - , ''Legend'':

Player statistics

Forwards

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

Defensemen

''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 held at the

Queen Elizabeth Hotel Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth () is a historic grand hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With 950 rooms and 21 floors it is the largest hotel in Quebec, and the second largest Fairmont hotel in Canada after the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. Lo ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

References

External links

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

Minnesota North Stars seasons

Offseason

Regular season

Bill Masterton

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

Forwards

Defensemen

Goaltending

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Expansion draft

Amateur draft

See also

References

External links