1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's third season in the National Hockey League. The season saw the Penguins qualify for the playoffs, for the first time in franchise history. The Penguins finished the season in second place in the West Division, 22 points behind the first place St. Louis Blues.

1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division2nd West
1969–70 record26–38–12
Goals for182
Goals against238
Team information
General managerJack Riley
CoachRed Kelly
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsKeith McCreary
Duane Rupp
Ken Schinkel
Bob Woytowich
ArenaPittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance6,998
Team leaders
GoalsDean Prentice (26)
AssistsMichel Briere (32)
PointsDean Prentice (51)
Penalty minutesBryan Watson (189)
WinsAl Smith (15)
Goals against averageJoe Daley (2.95)

Regular season

Tragedy struck the Penguins in 1970 when promising rookie center Michel Briere, who finished third in scoring on the team, was injured in a single-vehicle car crash in Quebec on May 15, 1970. His Mercury Cougar hit a frost bump and swerved off the road. It is not known if he was driving or not. Two friends who were in the vehicle with him suffered less serious injuries. After nearly spending a year in the hospital in a coma, Briere died of his head injuries. Given his junior league statistics, many hockey experts predicted that Briere would have been a star in the NHL.

Final standings
West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1St. Louis Blues76372712224179+4586
2Pittsburgh Penguins76263812182238−5664
3Minnesota North Stars76193522224257−3360
4Oakland Seals76224014169243−7458
5Philadelphia Flyers76173524197225−2858
6Los Angeles Kings76145210168290−12238

Schedule and results
1969–70 Schedule
October: 1–4–3 (Home: 0–1–3 ; Road: 1–3–0), 5 Points
November: 5–6–2 (Home: 4–3–0 ; Road: 1–3–2), 12 Points
December: 5–7–0 (Home: 3–3–0 ; Road: 2–4–0), 10 Points
January: 3–7–3 (Home: 2–2–3 ; Road: 1–5–0), 9 Points
February: 8–5–0 (Home: 5–1–0 ; Road: 3–4–0), 16 Points
March: 3–7–4 (Home: 2–2–2 ; Road: 1–5–2), 10 Points
April: 1–2–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 0–1–0), 2 Points
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins would reach the playoffs for the first time in 1970, advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the St. Louis Blues. In the Pittsburgh-Oakland series, in game one, Nick Harbaruk's goal midway through the third period was the winner as Pittsburgh won 2–1. In game two, Gary Jarrett gave Oakland a 1–0 lead, but Pittsburgh came back to win 3–1. Game three at Oakland featured a hat trick by Ken Schinkel of the Penguins as Pittsburgh won 5–2. Game four featured Oakland having 1–0 and 2–1 leads, but the Seals just couldn't hold on and the game was tied 2–2 at the end of regulation time. Overtime was necessary and Michel Briere scored the series winning goal at 8:28 of overtime for Pittsburgh. In the West Division finals, the St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

1970 Playoffs
Conference Semi-finals vs Oakland: 4–0 (Home: 2–0 ; Road: 2–0)
Conference Finals vs St. Louis Blues: 2–4 (Home: 2–1 ; Road: 0–3)
Legend:        = Win        = Loss

Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[4]
Player GP W L T GA SO
Allan Smith46152081292
Les Binkley2710131793
Thomas Daley9153260
Total2638122345
Playoffs[5]
Player GP W L T GA SO
Les Binkley7520150
Allan Smith3120100
Total640250

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records
  • Ken Schinkel became the first player to score 100 points for the Penguins. He did so by scoring a goal in a 2–3 loss to Chicago on November 23.
  • Keith McCreary became the first player to score 50 goals for the Penguins. He did so with the first of his two goals in a 4–4 tie with Toronto on January 28.
  • Bryan Watson became the first player to earn 100 penalty minutes in one season for the Penguins. He did so by receiving 26 PIMs in a 1–7 loss to Chicago on February 11.
  • Ken Schinkel became the first to play 200 games for the Penguins. He did so in a 0–2 loss to New York on March 18.
  • Michel Brière established a rookie record for the Penguins in terms of assists (32) and points (44).

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1969–70 season:

Trades
June 12, 1969 To Montreal Canadiens

1969 8th round pick

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

cash

June 12, 1969 To St. Louis Blues

1969 7th round pick

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

cash

October 28, 1969 To Detroit Red Wings

Billy Dea

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Mike McMahon Jr.

Additions and subtractions
Additions
PlayerFormer teamVia
Nick HarbarukVancouver Canucks (WHL)Inter-League Draft (1969–06)
Bob BlackburnNew York RangersIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Dean PrenticeDetroit Red WingsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Glen SatherBoston BruinsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Al SmithDetroit Red WingsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Subtractions
PlayerNew teamVia
Noel PriceSpringfield Kings (AHL)Reverse Draft (1969–06–10)
Charlie BurnsMinnesota North StarsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Marv EdwardsToronto Maple LeafsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Bill SpeerBoston BruinsIntra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Roster
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
30 Les Binkley G R 35 Undrafted Owen Sound, Ontario
4 Bob Blackburn D L 32 Undrafted Rouyn, Quebec
18 Wally Boyer C L 32 Undrafted Cowan, Manitoba
21 Michel Briere C L 20 1969 Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
1 Thomas Daley G L 27 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba
8 Val Fonteyne LW L 36 Undrafted Wetaskiwin, Alberta
11 Nick Harbaruk RW R 26 Undrafted Drohiczyn, Poland
7 Bryan Hextall Jr. C L 28 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba
23 Rick Kessell C L 20 1969 Toronto, Ontario
26 Dunc McCallum D R 30 Undrafted Flin Flon, Manitoba
10 Keith McCreary (A) RW L 29 Undrafted Sundridge, Ontario
26 Mike McMahon, Jr. D L 28 Undrafted Quebec City, Quebec
27 Jim Morrison D L 38 Undrafted Montreal, Quebec
6 Tracy Pratt D L 27 Undrafted New York City, New York
20 Dean Prentice LW L 37 Undrafted Schumacher, Ontario
19 Jean Pronovost RW 0 24 Undrafted Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
2 Duane Rupp (A) D L 32 Undrafted MacNutt, Saskatchewan
16 Glen Sather LW L 26 Undrafted High River, Alberta
12 Ken Schinkel (A) RW R 37 Undrafted Jansen, Saskatchewan
17 Ron Schock C L 26 Undrafted Chapleau, Ontario
29 Allan Smith G 0 24 Undrafted Toronto, Ontario
14 Ron Snell RW R 21 1968 Regina, Saskatchewan
15 George Swarbrick RW R 28 Undrafted Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
5 Bryan Watson D R 27 Undrafted Bancroft, Ontario
3 Bob Woytowich (A) D R 28 Undrafted Winnipeg, Manitoba

Draft picks
Main article: 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1969 NHL Entry Draft.[6]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2 15 Rick Kessell Center  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)
3 26 Michel Briere Center  Canada Shawinigan
4 38 Yvon Labre Defense  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5 50 Ed Patenaude Right Wing  Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
6 62 Paul Hoganson Goaltender  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
Draft notes[7]
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a May 21, 1968, trade that sent Jean Pronovost and John Arbour to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a June 12, 1969, trade that sent cash options to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins' eighth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a June 12, 1969, trade that sent cash options to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.

References
  1. "1969–1970 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. "1969–1970 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  3. "1969–1970 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  4. "1969–1970 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  5. "1969–1970 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  6. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  7. "1969 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
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