As this ambituous expansion was doubling the league's size from six to twelve teams, a large number of players needed to be extracted from each previously existing franchise. 120 players were selected in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, 20 by each incoming team. Therefore, each existing franchise in the league prior to the draft was to lose, on average, 20 players as well. This would make for major upheaval in the rosters of the Original Six franchises, although a large number of the players lost were career minor-leaguers before expansion occurred.
