1974-75
OFF-SEASON
Alex Delvecchio announces his retirement after 1716 NHL games and 1727 career points which places his number 1 all time in each of those categories as well as career assists with 1082. His 24 year career was highlighted with 2 Stanley Cups, 3 Art Ross Trophy's and 5 first team all-star selections.
New York Ranger Rod Gilbert surprised the hockey world by announcing his retirement at the age of 32. Gilbert won his first Stanley Cup title this past season, picking up 13 points in 19 playoff games after earning 61 points, including 29 goals, during the year. In 981 career games, Gilbert has 332 goals and 761 points.
The NHL expands by two more teams as the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts join the fold. The WHA also has expansion as the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners join the league. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Sharks move to Detroit and are renamed the Michigan Stags while the New York Golden Blades head west to San Diego where they will be known as the Mariners.
Among the newcomers to pro hockey this year are Mike Palmateer and Tiger Williams with Toronto, Danny Gare to Buffalo, Clark Gillies with the Islanders, Pierre Larouche to Pittsburgh and Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg to Phoenix. Not sure why they debut with Phoenix instead of Winnipeg.
The expansion draft looked to be pretty kind to the Kansas City Scouts as included in their picks are veterans Jacques Laperriere, Frank Mahovlich and Bruce MacGregor plus decent talent in Gregg Sheppard, Ross Lonsberry and Tom Webster. Goaltending might be a concern as the Scouts only get Gary Kurt in the draft. The Capitals go for younger talent and have some offense in Gerry Meehan, Walt McKechnie, Serge Bernier and Chuck Lefley but overall I think the Scouts are in much better shape coming out of the draft.
REGULAR SEASON
With expansion ballooning the league to 18 teams the old East-West Division format was replaced by a new setup with 4 divisions of 4 teams each.
The Chicago Black Hawks once again finished with the best record in the league and tied their own record for points in a season with 135, although the scheduled was extended to 80 games this year so they played two more than the 71-72 club that originally established the mark. Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull continue to be the heart of the Hawks offense. The now 34 year old Mikita won yet another scoring title, his 7th, as he finished with 167 points and tied his career high in goals with 53. Hull scored 46 goals to increase his total as career goal scoring leader to 751, which puts him 106 ahead of the now-retired Alex Delvecchio, who sits second in career goals. Hull also moved to within 10 of Delvecchio's NHL record for career points of 1727. The highlight to Hull's season was an 8 point night, including 3 goals in a 12-3 pounding of Kansas City in January. Hull would also have a 5 goal game against Minnesota in February.
The biggest individual game accomplishment came on February 7th when Philadelphia teammates Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber each had 11 points in the Flyers 13-0 thumping of Minnesota. Barber established a new record for goals in a game with 8 while Clarke set the single game assist mark with 10. The previous record for points in a game was 9 set by Yvan Cournoyer of Montreal in 1968. The old goal record was 7 scored by Dickie Moore of Montreal in a 1957 game.
Detroit's Johnny Bucyk recorded his 1200th career point during the season. The 39 year old ended the season with 1213 points, good for 7th all-time.
Code:
TOP 10 CAREER POINTS
NAME TEAM PTS GP
Alex Delvecchio Det 1727 1716
Bobby Hull* CHI 1717 1232
Stan Mikita* CHI 1648 1112
Jean Beliveau MON 1598 1400
Norm Ullman* NYR 1386 1389
Ted Lindsay DET 1243 1418
Johnny Bucyk* DET 1213 1320
Maurice Richard MON 1173 1062
Frank Mahovlich* TOR/KC 1117 1138
Gordie Howe DET 1107 1414
*indicates active
The expansion clubs had some reasonable success, especially the Washington Capitals who qualified for the playoffs in their initial season. Veteran centre Gerry Meehan led the Caps in goals (26) and points (56) while veteran goaltender Roger Crozier, who was acquired from Los Angeles during the season, had an outstanding campaign, going 21-20-4 with a 2.97 goals against average since the November trade.
Rangers defenseman Brad Park set a record for rearguards with 135 points this season. The 26 year old had 39 goals and 96 assists while playing in all 80 games. The old mark of 122, set by Bobby Orr, lasted just two years. Orr had 107 points in 74 games for Boston this season.
Speaking of the Rangers, centre Jean Ratelle came close to a record for goals in a season. The 34 year old had 69 goals, 6 shy of Bobby Hull's record 75 in 1972-73. Bill Barber of Philadelphia and Chicago's Phil Esposito also reached the 60 goal plateau this season with each ending up with 62 goals on the year.
Code:
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
ADAMS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 53 23 4 110
Boston Bruins 80 51 21 8 110
Buffalo Sabres 80 27 43 10 64
California Golden Seals 80 16 55 9 41
NORRIS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Montreal Canadiens 80 57 14 9 123
Detroit Red Wings 80 48 27 5 101
Washington Capitals 80 29 45 6 64
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 27 47 6 60
Los Angeles Kings 80 23 49 8 54
PATRICK DIVISION GP W L T PTS
New York Rangers 80 56 12 12 124
Philadelphia Flyers 80 53 17 10 116
New York Islanders 80 21 50 9 51
Atlanta Flames 80 17 56 7 41
SMYTHE DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Chicago Black Hawks 80 61 6 13 135
Vancouver Canucks 80 34 31 15 83
St Louis Blues 80 29 40 11 69
Kansas City Scouts 80 21 48 11 53
Minnesota North Stars 80 16 51 9 41
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Stan Mikita CHI 79 53 114 167
Bobby Clarke PHI 80 42 104 146
Brad Park NYR 80 39 96 135
Jean Ratelle NYR 80 69 62 131
Bobby Hull CHI 74 46 81 127
Norm Ullman NYR 71 40 82 122
Bill Barber PHI 76 62 57 119
Phil Esposito CHI 80 62 57 119
Guy Lafleur MON 80 40 75 115
Marcel Dionne DET 80 41 73 114
Johnny Bucyk DET 80 39 73 112
Bobby Orr BOS 74 29 78 107
Garry Unger TOR 78 48 50 98
Jean Pronovost BOS 77 33 63 96
Don Marcotte BOS 70 38 54 92
WHA REGULAR SEASON
The league moved to a 3 division format with the addition of the two expansion teams. One of which, the Phoenix Roadrunners, emerged as the class of the Western Division thanks to their Swedish imports Ulf Nilson (51-90-149) and Anders Hedberg (44-58-102).
The top team in the regular season remained the two-time Avco Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, losers of just 7 games this season. The Oilers were led by a top line of Larry Pleau (50-80-130) between Bill Collins (61-41-102) and J Bob Kelly (60-79-139) but their biggest star was defenseman Guy Lapointe (23-106-129) who set a single season WHA record for assists.
24 year old Duane Wylie (44-102-146) set a WHA record with a 28 game point streak. The Chicago Cougars forward is in his second WHA season. Later in the season Christian Bordeleau (37-71-108) of Edmonton would have a 26 game point streak.
Code:
WORLD HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
EASTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Chicago Cougars 78 59 14 5 123
New England Whalers 78 54 22 2 110
Cleveland Crusaders 78 33 37 8 74
Indianapolis Racers 78 30 44 4 64
WESTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Phoenix Roadrunners 78 55 22 1 111
Minn. Fighting Saints 78 37 31 10 84
Houston Aeros 78 31 43 4 66
San Diego Mariners 78 22 49 7 51
Michigan Stags 78 16 57 5 37
CANADIAN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Edmonton Oilers 78 69 7 2 140
Winnipeg Jets 78 46 27 5 97
Quebec Nordiques 78 44 30 4 92
Toronto Toros 78 31 43 4 66
Vancouver Blazers 78 4 71 3 11
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Dave Hudson NE 77 66 91 157
Ulf Nilsson PHX 71 59 90 149
Duane Wylie CHI 78 44 102 146
J Bob Kelly EDM 74 60 79 139
Terry Jones QUE 75 69 61 130
Larry Pleu EDM 78 50 80 130
Guy Lapointe EDM 78 23 106 129
Rob Walton MIN 78 43 81 124
Pierre Jarry NE 78 44 79 123
Hugh Harvey CHI 78 55 60 115
Gerry O'Flaherty QUE 62 46 69 115
PLAYOFFS
With the increased teams the NHL added an extra round of playoffs in what would be a best of three preliminary round series. The results of that were as follows:
Vancouver 2-0 over St Louis
Philadelphia 2-1 over Pittsburgh
Boston 2-1 over Buffalo
Detroit 2-0 over Washington
Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and the New York Rangers would earn a first round bye and each of those teams would advance through to the semi-finals. The Rangers had the only tough test as they needed the full seven games to beat Detroit. Montreal beat Boston in 6 games as did Toronto over the Flyers. The Black Hawks swept Vancouver 4 straight.
The semi-finals would pit Chicago against Montreal while the Leafs would take on the Rangers in a rematch of last season's Cup finals. Steve Shutt would score a hat trick in game one but after Montreal took the opener the Black Hawks charged back with 4 straight victories. The Rangers would split the first 4 games with Toronto as each team alternated winning before the Rangers closed out the series with wins in Games Five and Six.
STANLEY CUP FINALS
The New York Rangers will attempt to defend their Stanley Cup title against Chicago in the finals - a series that features the top two teams from the regular season. Jean Ratelle is on a roll for New York heading into the finals, leading all playoff performers with 12 goals and 19 points in 13 games. Stan Mikita is second in playoff scoring with 18 points, but Mikita's Hawks have only played 9 games.
The Hawks return to the finals after a one year absence but Chicago is no stranger to Stanley Cup pressure, having been in the final series 9 straight years prior to last season, with 5 titles to show for it.
Chicago wins the opener 5-3 as Chico Maki and rookie Yvon Lambert each have a goal and an assist to lead the Black Hawks offense. Eddie Johnston was not sharp in the Chicago net, but he only had to face 17 Ranger shots which included a pair of goals from defenseman Larry Hillman.
The Rangers are outshot 32-24 in Game Two but even the series with a 3-2 victory. New York gets three goals in the second period from Norm Ullman, Rick Middleton and Steve Durbano. Dan Maloney and Doug Jarrett were the only Chicago players to beat Rangers goaltender Cesare Maniago.
The series shifts to New York for Game Three but it is the visitors that earn the victory as Johnston makes 17 saves in a 3-0 shutout win. Phil Esposito has a goal and an assist for Chicago with Chico Maki and Barry Long also scoring. Mikita had 2 helpers.
The Rangers decide to replace Maniago with backup Jim Rutherford and the 26 year old has a brilliant game, making 37 saves as the Rangers even the series with a 2-1 victory in overtime. Bobby Hull of Chicago and New York's Bill Fairbairn each score within the first 8 minutes of the game and then there is nothing in the way of celebrations until little used Larry Sacharuk, with 5 career regular season goals in 85 games, scores 18 minutes into overtime to lift the Rangers to the win.
Maniago is back in the net for the Rangers and he earns a 25 save shutout as New York wins a laugher 7-0. Eddie Johnston is chased from the Chicago cage midway through the second period after he allowed 5 goals on 20 shots. Bill Fairbairn and Larry Hillman each score twice for New York while Don Luce gets 3 assists.
Fans jan Madison Square Garden looking to see the Stanley Cup and the Rangers do not disappoint them, chasing Johnston for the second straight night and winning 7-5. Jean Ratelle is the hero of the deciding game with 2 goals and 3 assists. Ratelle finishes the post-season with a league leading 14 goals and 26 points in 19 games. Chicago's Stan Mikita finishes second with 21 points.
Ratelle is presented with the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP as the Rangers win the Cup for the second straight season. Other big performers for New York are Norm Ullman (5-13-18), Brad Park (2-15-17), Walt Tkaczuk (6-10-16) and Juha Widing (6-9-15).
Other award winners are:
HART TROPHY: Stan Mikita Chicago (79GP 53 114 167)
VEZINA TROPHY: Eddie Johnston Chicago (49-4-13, 1.97)
NORRIS TROPHY: Brad Park New York Rangers (80GP 39-96-135)
ART ROSS TROPHY: Stan Mikita Chicago (79GP 53 114 167)
CALDER TROPHY: Danny Gare Buffalo (75GP 27-28-55)
The game does not select the all-star team but I will start naming first and second team all-stars
Code:
POS FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM
G Eddie Johnston Chicago Roy Edwards Detroit
D Brad Park NY Rangers J Guevremont Vancouver
D Bobby Orr Boston Pat Stapleton Chicago
C Stan Mikita Chicago Jean Ratelle NY Rangers
LW Bobby Hull Chicago Norm Ullman NY Rangers
RW Bill Barber Philadelphia Marcel Dionne Detroit
WHA PLAYOFFS
The Oilers win their third straight Avco Cup and they do it without losing a game in the playoffs, sweeping Cleveland, Chicago and then New England in the finals. The Whalers knocked off the surprising Phoenix Roadrunners, led by European imports Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, in a 5 game semi-final.
Guy Lapointe cleaned up at the awards banquet once again as he captured his second straight playoff MVP and regular season MVP awards as well as being named the league's best defenseman. Lapointe led the league in assists during the season with 106 while tallying 129 points. He had 16 points in 12 playoff games.
Chicago Cougars netminder Wayne Thomas (44-12-3, 2.44) was named the league's top goaltender. It was Thomas' second year with the Cougars after playing 7 NHL games with the New York Islanders. With 149 points in 71 games, Phoenix Roadrunner Ulf Nilsson, 25, was named the rookie of the year in the WHA.