The NHL underwent major expansion today by holding a draft to fill the rosters of six new teams, thus doubling the size of The National Hockey League. (Expansion discussions began back in February and March of this year but the official draft to staff these teams was held today.) New franchises had been awarded to Minnesota (The North Stars), San Francisco / Oakland (The California Seals), Los Angeles (The Kings), Philadelphia (The Flyers), Pittsburgh (The Penguins) and St. Louis (The Blues). (Had any one of these cities not been able to pull a team together in time for the 1967-68 season, Baltimore was selected as their back-up plan.) Each team was allowed to pick 20 players from the existing NHL rosters. All six expansion teams were initially placed into their own division, thus insuring that one of the new teams would earn a post-season playoff position. Four of these teams still exist today in their original form.
