1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 1st in the National Hockey League. Pittsburgh was one of six cities awarded an expansion team during the 1967 NHL expansion. The Penguins finished 5th in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.
==Off-season==
On February 8, 1966 the NHL awarded a franchise to the Hockey Club of Pittsburgh, Incorporated: a partnership of several investors headed by Pennsylvania State Senator Jack McGregor and his friend and business associate Peter Block. McGregor became the public face of the ownership, as President and Chief Executive Officer, and representing the club at Board of Governors meetings.
Later that year McGregor and Block began assembling their new hockey team. American Hockey League executive Jack Riley was named the club's general manager, and began immediately acquiring the services of players. He signed minor-leaguers Les Binkley, Ted Lanyon, Dick Mattiussi and Bill Speer to contracts before the club had ever taken to the ice.
The name of the new team was chosen by a contest in a local newspaper: on February 10, 1967 the new team became known as the Penguins. After deciding on the "Penguin" nickname (which was inspired by the fact that the team was going to play in an "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Center)LetsGoPens.com: Why the name Pittsburgh Penguins?, a logo was chosen, that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which is thought to be in tribute to Pittsburgh's "Golden Triangle."http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/history/history.php
In the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft Riley chose experienced players, particularly former New York Rangers players. Coincidentally Penguins head coach Red Sullivan was a former Ranger player and head coach. Earl Ingarfield, Ken Schinkel, Val Fonteyne, Mel Pearson, Al MacNeil, Noel Price, Billy Dea and Art Stratton had each spent time in their careers with the Rangers, but the Penguins' most prized acquisition was former Rangers star Andy Bathgate. Bathgate, then 34 years old, was near the end of his career and deemed expendable by the Red Wings, who had previously acquired his rights.
The rest of the roster was filled with minor-leaguers, particularly members of the Pittsburgh Hornets, the American Hockey League club which had served the Pittsburgh market since the late 1930s.
==Pre-season==
The Penguins held their training camp in Brantford, Ontario.
September 29, 1967: Pittsburgh 7, Minnesota North Stars 2 @ Brantford, Ontario
September 30, 1967: Minnesota 6, Pittsburgh 1 @ Oshawa, Ontario
October 1, 1967: Oakland 3, Minnesota 2 @ Port Huron, Michigan
October 4, 1967: Pittsburgh 2, Minnesota 0 @ Belleville, Ontario
October 5, 1967: Pittsburgh 5, Minnesota 2 @ Kingston, Ontario
==Regular Season==
The Penguins inaugural jersey colours were blue, white, and black with a primarily blue home jersey and a primarily white away jersey. The jerseys had five outlined stripes on the arms and body, no names on the back and the jersey numbers were outlined. The logo was a diagonal "PITTSBURGH" that was outlined. The Penguins wore these jersey for this season only.
The Penguins' first general manager was Jack Riley. His team (along with the other expansion teams) was hampered by restrictive rules that kept most major talent with the "Original Six." Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, Ab McDonald and tough defenceman Leo Boivin, the first Penguins team was manned by a cast of former minor-leaguers. The club missed the playoffs, but were a mere six points out of 1st place in the close-fought West Division.
On October 11, 1967 Andy Bathgate of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored a goal in a 2–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. It was the first goal ever scored by a player for a 1967 expansion team. Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points.
Mel Pearson played the last 2 games of his 38 game NHL career, that spanned over eight years, when he appeared for the Penguins on February 7, 1968 versus the Oakland Seals and February 8 against the Los Angeles Kings. Pearson had an assist in the latter game.
Ab McDonald's 22 goals led the team while Les Binkley played 54 games in net for the Penguins and finished with 20 wins, just two behind second place Cesare Maniago's 22 wins. 
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
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October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)	October: 3–6–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 1–3–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	
1 	October 11 	Canadiens 	2 – 1 	Penguins 	 	 	0–1–0 	0 	
2 	October 13 	Penguins 	3 – 1 	Blues 	 	 	1–1–0 	2 	
3 	October 14 	Blues 	2 – 4 	Penguins 	 	 	1–2–0 	2 	
4 	October 18 	North Stars 	3 – 3 	Penguins 	 	 	1–2–1 	3 	
5 	October 19 	Penguins 	0 – 1 	Flyers 	 	 	1–3–1 	3 	
6 	October 21 	Black Hawks 	2 – 4 	Penguins 	 	 	2–3–1 	5 	
7 	October 22 	Penguins 	4 – 6 	Rangers 	 	 	2–4–1 	5 	
8 	October 25 	Seals 	1 – 4 	Penguins 	 	 	3–4–1 	7 	
9 	October 28 	Kings 	5 – 3 	Penguins 	 	 	3–5–1 	7 	
10 	October 29 	Penguins 	2 – 4 	Bruins 	 	 	3–6–1 	7 	
==Playoffs==
*The Penguins did not qualify for the post season.
==Player Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G 	AST	PTS	PIM
9 	Andy Bathgate 	74	20	39 	59 	55
20	Ab McDonald 	74	22	21 	43 	38
12	Ken Schinkel 	57	14	25 	39 	19
7 	Art Stratton 	58	16	21 	37 	16
10	Earl Ingarfield	50	15	22 	37 	12
8 	Val Fonteyne 	69	6 	28 	34 	0
11	Gene Ubriaco 	65	18	15 	33 	16
22	Paul Andrea 	65	11	21 	32 	2
14	Billy Dea 	73	16	12 	28 	6
21	Keith McCreary 	70	14	12 	26 	44
15	Bob Dillabough 	47	7 	12 	19 	18
19	Bobby Rivard 	27	5 	12 	17 	4
16	Wayne Hicks 	15	4 	7 	11 	2
23	Mel Pearson 	2 	0 	1 	1 	0
===Defencemen===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
4 	Noel Price 	70	6	27 	33 	48
2 	Leo Boivin 	73	9	13 	22 	74
17, 23, 25	Bill Speer 	68	3	13 	16 	44
18 	George Konik 	52	7	8 	15 	26
3 	Al MacNeil 	74	2	10 	12 	58
5 	Dick Mattiussi	32	0	2 	2 	18
6 	Dunc McCallum 	32	0	2 	2 	36
5, 23 	Ted Lanyon 	5 	0	0 	0 	4
===Goaltending===
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
# 	Player 	GP	MIN 	W 	L 	T 	SO	GAA
1 	Hank Bassen	25	1299	7 	10	3 	1 	2.86
30	Les Binkley	54	3141	20	24	10	6 	2.88
==Awards and Records==
*The Penguins did not win any awards this season.
==Transactions==
The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1967–68 season:
June 6, 1967 	To Pittsburgh PenguinsPaul AndreaGeorge KonikDunc McCallumFrank Francis	To New York RangersLarry Jeffrey
September 7, 1967	To Pittsburgh PenguinsHank Bassen 	To Detroit Red WingsRoy Edwards
October, 1967 	To Pittsburgh PenguinsGene Ubriaco 	To Hershey Bears (AHL)Jeannot Gilbert
February 27, 1968	To Pittsburgh PenguinsWayne Hickscash 	To Philadelphia FlyersArt Stratton
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"	Additions 	Additions 	Additions	Additions	Additions	Additions	Additions	Additions	Additions	Additions
Player 	Former team 	Via 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Bill LeCaine	Port Huron Flags (IHL) 	free agency (1967–08)	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Marv Edwards	Nashville Dixie Flyers (EHL)	free agency (1967–09)	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Draft Picks==
===Amateur Draft===
Round	Pick	Player 	Nationality	Position
1 	2 	Steve Rexe	 	Goaltender
1 	11 	Bob Smith 	 	Center
===Expansion Draft===
# 	Player 	Drafted From
1. 	Joe Daley (G) 	Detroit Red Wings
2. 	Roy Edwards (G) 	Chicago Black Hawks
3. 	Earl Ingarfield (C)	New York Rangers
4. 	Al MacNeil (D) 	New York Rangers
5. 	Larry Jeffrey (LW) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
6. 	Ab McDonald (LW) 	Detroit Red Wings
7. 	Leo Boivin (D) 	Detroit Red Wings
8. 	Noel Price (D) 	Montreal Canadiens
9. 	Keith McCreary (RW)	Montreal Canadiens
10.	Ken Schinkel (RW) 	New York Rangers
11.	Bob Dillabough (C) 	Boston Bruins
12.	Art Stratton (C) 	Chicago Black Hawks
13.	Val Fonteyne (LW) 	Detroit Red Wings
14.	Jeannot Gilbert (C)	Boston Bruins
15.	Tom McCarthy (LW) 	Montreal Canadiens
16.	Billy Dea (LW) 	Chicago Black Hawks
17.	Bob Rivard (C) 	Montreal Canadiens
18.	Mel Pearson (LW) 	Chicago Black Hawks
19.	Andy Bathgate (RW) 	Detroit Red Wings
20.	Les Hunt (D) 	New York Rangers
==Trivia==
*Penguins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
**Andy Bathgate during the 3-3 tie with the Minnesota North Stars on October 18, 1967.
**Ken Schinkel during the 4-2 win over the Chicago Black Hawks on October 21, 1967.
==Gallery==
67-68NHLPittGameAd.jpg|Opening Game.
1967-Oct19-McDonald-Angotti.jpg|Ab McDonald, Clarence Campbell, Lou Angotti at the Flyers home opener, October 19, 1967.
1967-Nov22-McKenzie-Boivin-Binkley.jpg|John McKenzie, Leo Boivin, Les Binkley, November 22, 1967.
Mar667PitPenSeasonTickets.jpg|March 6, 1967 ad for season tickets.
==Notes==
==References==
* Player stats on Hockey Database
* Game log on NHL Reference
* 
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins seasons
Category:1967 in hockey
Category:1968 in hockey