Decline and Transition To The NHL
A year later, while the Seals were en route to missing the playoffs for the only time in their existence, the NHL announced that it planned to expand through the creation of a second six-team division - a move prompted by the desire for a new U.S. television contract, as well as rumors that the WHL and American Hockey League were considering merging to form a rival major league. The WHL and AHL would go on to play an interlocking schedule in 1965-66, but by then the NHL had made up its mind.
In February 1966, the NHL selected San Francisco-Oakland as one of the six expansion markets, along with Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Louis. Barend (Barry) van Gerbig, who had bought the team from Mel Swig, became the Seals' new owner and prospective governor for the team's entry into the NHL. By then, Poile had turned over the coaching reins to player-coach Charlie Burns; the Seals would reach the 1966 WHL playoffs and were one game away from their third finals appearance, but lost the last two games of their first-round playoff series against the eventual WHL champion Victoria Maple Leafs, who prevailed 4 games to 3.
Following the playoff defeat, van Gerbig began preparing the Seals for their move to the NHL. The team relocated from the Cow Palace to the brand-new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for their last WHL season in 1966-67, changing their name to the California Seals. Former Chicago Black Hawks coach Rudy Pilous took over as coach, alternating duties with Burns, as the Seals recorded only their second winning record (32-30-10). The Seals' six-year run in the WHL ended when they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Seattle; California's final game was a 4-1 loss to the Totems on April 15, 1967 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
Tom Thurlby, one of the first five players signed by the Seals on Sept. 7, 1961, was the only Seals player to remain with the team for all six of its seasons in the WHL. He would also play 20 games for the NHL Seals in 1967-68.
Read more about this topic: San Francisco Seals (ice Hockey)
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