1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	2nd West
1969–70 record	26–38–12
Goals for	182
Goals against	238
Team information
General Manager	Jack Riley
Coach	Red Kelly
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Keith McCreary Duane Rupp Ken Schinkel Bob Woytowich
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	6,998
Team leaders
Goals	Dean Prentice (26)
Assists	Michel Briere (32)
Points	Dean Prentice (51)
Penalties in minutes	Bryan Watson (189)
Wins	Al Smith (15)
Goals against average	Joe Daley (2.95)

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.

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. His Mercury Cougar hit a frost bump and swerved off the road. It is not known if he was driving or not. After spending a year in the hospital in a coma, he died. Given his junior league statistics, many hockey experts said that he would have been a star in the NHL.

Final standings

West Division^[1]
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	224	179	+45	86
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	182	238	−56	64
3	Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	224	257	−33	60
4	Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	169	243	−74	58
5	Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	197	225	−28	58
6	Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	10	168	290	−122	38

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

Regular Season^[2]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Prentice, DeanDean Prentice	75	26	25	51	-20 !–20	14
Schinkel, KenKen Schinkel	72	20	25	45	-26 !–26	19
Briere, MichelMichel Briere	76	12	32	44	-15 !–15	20
Pronovost, JosephJoseph Pronovost	72	20	21	41	-2 !–2	45
Woytowich, BobBob Woytowich	68	8	25	33	-12 !–12	49
Hextall Jr., BryanBryan Hextall Jr.	66	12	19	31	-22 !–22	87
Schock, RonRon Schock	76	8	21	29	-7 !–7	40
Fonteyne, ValVal Fonteyne	68	11	15	26	-4 !–4	2
McCreary, KeithKeith McCreary	60	18	8	26	-6 !–6	67
Sather, GlenGlen Sather	76	12	14	26	-13 !–13	114
Boyer, WallyWally Boyer	72	11	12	23	-5 !–5	34
Harbaruk, NickNick Harbaruk	74	5	17	22	-7 !–7	56
Morrison, JimJim Morrison	59	5	15	20	-20 !–20	40
Rupp, DuaneDuane Rupp	64	2	14	16	-11 !–11	18
Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt	65	5	7	12	-29 !–29	124
Blackburn, BobBob Blackburn	60	4	7	11	-14 !–14	51
Watson, BryanBryan Watson	61	1	9	10	-1 !–1	189
McMahon, Jr., MikeMike McMahon, Jr.^†	12	1	3	4	2	19
Kessell, RickRick Kessell	8	1	2	3	0	0
Snell, RonRon Snell	3	0	1	1	-2 !–2	0
Swarbrick, GeorgeGeorge Swarbrick	12	0	1	1	0	8
McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum	14	0	0	0	-4 !–4	16
Total		182	293	475	—	1,012

Playoffs^[3]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Briere, MichelMichel Briere	10	5	3	8	0	17
Schock, RonRon Schock	10	1	6	7	0	7
Pronovost, JosephJoseph Pronovost	10	3	4	7	0	2
Prentice, DeanDean Prentice	10	2	5	7	0	8
Schinkel, KenKen Schinkel	10	4	1	5	0	4
Rupp, DuaneDuane Rupp	6	2	2	4	0	2
McCreary, KeithKeith McCreary	10	0	4	4	0	4
McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum	10	1	2	3	0	12
Boyer, WallyWally Boyer	10	1	2	3	0	0
Harbaruk, NickNick Harbaruk	10	3	0	3	0	20
Morrison, JimJim Morrison	8	0	3	3	0	10
Woytowich, BobBob Woytowich	10	1	2	3	0	2
Sather, GlenGlen Sather	10	0	2	2	0	17
Fonteyne, ValVal Fonteyne	10	0	2	2	0	0
Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt	10	0	1	1	0	51
Hextall Jr., BryanBryan Hextall Jr.	10	0	1	1	0	34
Watson, BryanBryan Watson	10	0	0	0	0	17
Blackburn, BobBob Blackburn	6	0	0	0	0	4
Total		23	40	63	—	211

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[4]
Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Smith, AllanAllan Smith	46	15	20	8	129	2
Binkley, LesLes Binkley	27	10	13	1	79	3
Daley, ThomasThomas Daley	9	1	5	3	26	0
Total		26	38	12	234	5

Playoffs^[5]
Player	GP	W	L	GA
Binkley, LesLes Binkley	7	5	2	15
Smith, AllanAllan Smith	3	1	2	10
Total		6	4	25

^†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.

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
Player	Former team	Via
Nick Harbaruk	Vancouver Canucks (WHL)	Inter-League Draft (1969–06)
Bob Blackburn	New York Rangers	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Dean Prentice	Detroit Red Wings	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Glen Sather	Boston Bruins	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Al Smith	Detroit Red Wings	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Subtractions
Player	New team	Via
Noel Price	Springfield Kings (AHL)	Reverse Draft (1969–06–10)
Charlie Burns	Minnesota North Stars	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Marv Edwards	Toronto Maple Leafs	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)
Bill Speer	Boston Bruins	Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
30	CAN !	Binkley, LesLes Binkley	1.0 !G	R	35	Undrafted	Owen Sound, Ontario
4	CAN !	Blackburn, BobBob Blackburn	2.0 !D	L	32	Undrafted	Rouyn, Quebec
18	CAN !	Boyer, WallyWally Boyer	4.0 !C	L	32	Undrafted	Cowan, Manitoba
21	CAN !	Briere, MichelMichel Briere	4.0 !C	L	20	1969	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
1	CAN !	Daley, ThomasThomas Daley	1.0 !G	L	27	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
8	CAN !	Fonteyne, ValVal Fonteyne	6.0 !LW	L	36	Undrafted	Wetaskiwin, Alberta
11	POL !	Harbaruk, NickNick Harbaruk	7.0 !RW	R	26	Undrafted	Drohiczyn, Poland
7	CAN !	Hextall Jr., BryanBryan Hextall Jr.	4.0 !C	L	28	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
23	CAN !	Kessell, RickRick Kessell	4.0 !C	L	20	1969	Toronto, Ontario
26	CAN !	McCallum, DuncDunc McCallum	2.0 !D	R	30	Undrafted	Flin Flon, Manitoba
10	CAN !	McCreary, KeithKeith McCreary (A)	7.0 !RW	L	29	Undrafted	Sundridge, Ontario
26	CAN !	McMahon, Jr., MikeMike McMahon, Jr.	2.0 !D	L	28	Undrafted	Quebec City, Quebec
27	CAN !	Morrison, JimJim Morrison	2.0 !D	L	38	Undrafted	Montreal, Quebec
6	USA !	Pratt, TracyTracy Pratt	2.0 !D	L	27	Undrafted	New York City, New York
20	CAN !	Prentice, DeanDean Prentice	6.0 !LW	L	37	Undrafted	Schumacher, Ontario
19	CAN !	Pronovost, JeanJean Pronovost	7.0 !RW	0	24	Undrafted	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
2	CAN !	Rupp, DuaneDuane Rupp (A)	2.0 !D	L	32	Undrafted	MacNutt, Saskatchewan
16	CAN !	Sather, GlenGlen Sather	6.0 !LW	L	26	Undrafted	High River, Alberta
12	CAN !	Schinkel, KenKen Schinkel (A)	7.0 !RW	R	37	Undrafted	Jansen, Saskatchewan
17	CAN !	Schock, RonRon Schock	4.0 !C	L	26	Undrafted	Chapleau, Ontario
29	CAN !	Smith, AllanAllan Smith	1.0 !G	0	24	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
14	CAN !	Snell, RonRon Snell	7.0 !RW	R	21	1968	Regina, Saskatchewan
15	CAN !	Swarbrick, GeorgeGeorge Swarbrick	7.0 !RW	R	28	Undrafted	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
5	CAN !	Watson, BryanBryan Watson	2.0 !D	R	27	Undrafted	Bancroft, Ontario
3	CAN !	Woytowich, BobBob Woytowich (A)	2.0 !D	R	28	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba

Draft picks

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	Defence	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5	50	Ed Patenaude		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

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

Pittsburgh Penguins

Founded in 1967
Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Franchise

History

Personnel

Owners: Ronald Burkle; Mario Lemieux
General manager: Jim Rutherford
Head coach: Mike Sullivan
Team captain: Sidney Crosby
Current roster

Arenas

Civic Arena
PPG Paints Arena

Rivalries

Affiliates

AHL: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
ECHL: Wheeling Nailers

Media

Networks

TV	AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio	WXDX WBGG

Broadcasters

TV	Steve Mears Bob Errey
Radio	Mike Lange Phil Bourque

Culture and lore

Pittsburgh Penguins seasons
1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1969–70 NHL season
East	Boston Chicago Detroit Montreal New York Toronto
West	Los Angeles Minnesota Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis
See also	Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Finals

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