Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season

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Division
  
2nd West

Goals for
  
182

General Manager
  
Jack Riley

1969–70 record
  
26–38–12

Goals against
  
238

Coach
  
Red Kelly

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.

Contents

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.

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.

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders

†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:

Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1969 NHL Entry Draft.

Draft notes
  • 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

    1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA