1970–71 California Golden Seals season
The 1970–71 California Golden Seals season was the Seals' fourth in the NHL, but their first as the Golden Seals. Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley bought the team in the offseason for approximately $4,500,000. He announced a name change in which his team would be called the Bay Area Seals. On October 16, after the first two games of the season, Finley changed the name once again. The team became known as the California Golden Seals in an attempt to draw fans from across the state of California, in particular from nearby San Francisco. Along with the name change came new green and gold colours, and a new logo and uniforms.
Several other changes occurred in the Seals' front office after Finley bought the team. Unhappy, General Manager Frank Selke Jr. quit in October 1970. His replacement, Bill Torrey, lasted only a month before resigning himself. Coach Fred Glover took over the responsibilities of General Manager after Torrey's departure in November.
Amidst the shake-up of the Seals from a business point of view the on-ice performance of the team suffered greatly. The team won only 20 games, and had but 45 points, last in the NHL. It was the worst season in their history up to that point in time. Coincidentally, the Seals record was worse than both of the two expansion teams that season, the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks.
On May 22, 1970, The Seals made a trade with the Montreal Canadiens that would come back to haunt the franchise for the rest of their existence. In the trade, the Seals sent defenseman Francois Lacombe along with their first round draft pick in 1971 to the Montreal Canadiens for Ernie Hicke and Montreal's first round pick. Since the Seals finished with the NHL's worst record that season, that gave the Canadiens the first overall pick in the 1971 draft which they used to select future hall of famer Guy Lafleur.
Captain Ted Hampson was traded to the Minnesota North Stars late in the season, and was replaced by Carol Vadnais.
Offseason
Amateur draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 10. | Chris Oddleifson | Winnipeg Jets | |
| 2 | 19. | Pete Laframboise | Ottawa 67's | |
| 3 | 33. | Randy Rota | Calgary Centennials | |
| 4 | 47. | Ted McAneeley | Edmonton Oil Kings | |
| 5 | 61. | Ray Gibbs | Charlottetown | |
| 6 | 75. | Doug Moyes | Sorel Black Hawks | |
| 7 | 88. | Terry Murray | Ottawa 67's | |
| 8 | 100. | Alan Henry | University of North Dakota |
Regular season
Standings
Schedule and results
Player statistics
Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Seals. Stats reflect time with the Seals only. ‡Traded mid-season
Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; TOI= Time on ice ; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against averageRoster
Transactions
The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1970–71 season:Trades
Additions and subtractions
Awards and records
- Gary Smith, most losses by a goaltender in one season