Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals

About the Book

The saga of the Oakland/California Seals nine-year journey through the NHL is a strange, funny and sad tale that is nearly forgotten and has never been told...until now. 

Off the ice, the history of the Seals is practically a tale of how not to run a franchise.  The team joined the NHL in 1967 as part of the “Second Six” expansion teams and stayed in Oakland until moving to Cleveland in 1976.  The Seals had seven different ownership groups in nine years and chaos reigned throughout the process.  This book shows you the inner workings of a hockey club that was always on the brink of bankruptcy and/or relocating and takes you behind the scenes of many of the mistakes made by NHL owners and executives during the early years of expansion.  It also chronicles the crazy days of ownership by Charlie Finley, a man who admittedly knew nothing about hockey but knew he wanted to run his team his way.  Hilarity and disaster resulted.

On the ice, the Seals met with little success but were never dull.  In nine years, the team had to put up with white skates, few fans and a cast of characters that were unique

This book allows the players and coaches to tell their own story.  More than 110 interviews were conducted with former Seals players, owners, coaches and employees to get a clear picture of what it was like to play in the NHL in the 60s and 70s.  The rise of the WHA, continuing expansion and more hilarious stories of what really happens to an NHL team on the road and in the locker room. 

Hockey fans will love this true tale of the Seals…hockey’s most colorful team.

About the Author

Brad Kurtzberg is a freelance writer and a lifelong hockey fan.  He has written for Web sites such as packerreport.com, elitestv.com and allsports.com while also working on projects for the Arena Football League and Lelands.com auctions.  Kurtzberg graduated the University of Michigan with a B.A. in History and has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.  After nine years of law practice, he has devoted himself to writing full-time.  This is his first book.  Kurtzberg lives on Long Island, New York.