1975-76
OFF-SEASON
Johnny Bucyk decided to end his playing career at the age of 40. The longtime Detroit Red Wing winger played 1320 games and picked up 1213 points including 419 goals. He led the NHL in scoring in 1973-74 and won 2 Stanley Cups with the Wings. At his retirement he is 7th all time in career points and 11th in goals.
After winning back to back Stanley Cups defenseman Larry Hillman also announced his retirement. Hill broke in with the Rangers in 1961-62 and played 824 games on the New York blueline, earning 101 goals and 397 points. His brother Wayne is still active, having played 651 games with Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta.
Speaking of brother acts, while Bobby Hull keeps going strong, his brother Dennis has decided to retire. The younger Hull, 30, had 56 points for the Black Hawks last season and finished his 590 game career with 362 points. He won 4 Cups with Chicago.
Finally a couple of surprise retirements in the WHA as Edmonton lost Christian Bordeleau and Bill Collins. Bordeleau had 108 points last year and 363 points in 170 career games but the 27 year old has decided he is done with hockey after winning 3 straight Avco Cups with the Oilers. The 31 year old Collins also won 3 Avco Cups and had 61 goals and 102 points last season to give him 368 points in 234 WHA games. Collins had previously played 11 NHL games with the Minnesota North Stars, scoring once and adding 1 assist.
New players entering the league are led by Brian Trottier with the New York Islanders. Los Angeles adds Dave Taylor and the California Seals get Dennis Maruk.
No changes to the NHL allignment this year but the WHA has changes as usual. The Chicago Cougars have folded and the Vancouver Blazers moved to Calgary where they will be known as the Cowboys. Two new teams in the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs have joined the league.
Newcomers to the WHA include Inge Hammarstrom joining the Calgary Cowboys after being unable to crack the Leafs lineup the last few seasons. Cincinnati gets a future star in 18 year old defenseman Gordie Roberts and also signs free agent goaltender Bunny Larocque, who couldn't make the Montreal Canadiens. Real Cloutier and goaltender Richard Brodeur are the two big names signing with expansion Denver. Edmonton's championship roster lost a couple of key players to retirement but replaced some of the offense with 38 year old Ralph Backstrom, a veteran of 780 NHL games. The Indianapolis Racers had Rejean Houle, who at 25 gave up on trying to make Montreal's roster, to go along with Blair MacDonald and Mike Rogers as possibly the top offensive line in the league.
REGULAR SEASON
The Montreal Canadiens led the NHL in points thanks to another outstanding season from goaltender Tony Esposito and a first line that rivals Chicago's big trio as the top in the game. Guy Lafleur, playing centre in this universe, is starting to live up to his potential after scoring a career best 119 points this year. Assists are what Lafleur is more known for here as he had 84 helpers including on most of linemate Steve Shutt's 62 goals. Veteran Yvan Cournoyer, who had 53 goals, rounds out the top line. Defenseman Carol Vadnais is also a key member of the Montreal offense. The 30 year old had a career year scoring 18 times and adding 85 assists for 103 points.
Chicago's big line was still going strong as Stan Mikita led the league in scoring for the 8th in his career and passed the 1800 career point mark. The only player in NHL history with more points than Mikita is his left winger Bobby Hull, who had 123 points this season including 60 goals and now has 1840 in his 19 year career. On February 28th Hull became the first NHL player to reach the 800 career goal mark. He scored in Chicago's 4-0 win over the New York Islanders beating Dave Dryden for the milestone marker.
The third member of the line is right winger Phil Esposito. A separated shoulder in November limited Esposito to 67 games but he still managed to score 39 goals and 93 points. In 1058 games the now 33 year old Esposito has 579 career goals and 1192 points.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers also had another big season easily outpointing Philadelphia to win the Patrick Division. Jean Ratelle had another monster year, scoring 68 goals after getting 69 a year ago. Norm Ullman and defenseman Brad Park also both topped the 100 point mark this season and 21 year old defenseman Ron Greschner (21-61-82) had a breakout season. The Rangers also transitioned their goaltending as Jimmy Rutherford (44-8-9, 2.33 GAA) took over as the number one from Cesare Maniago, who made just 22 appearances this year.
The only tight division race was in the Adams where Boston finished first but just one point ahead of Toronto. Bobby Orr missed 9 games but still managed to duplicate last year's total of 107 points, third on the Bruins behind Don Marcotte (125) and Jean Pronovost (111). Toronto lost Rick Kehoe for most of the season with shoulder troubles but that opened the door for 23 year old Lanny McDonald (40-23-63) to join Darryl Sittler (34-88-122) and Garry Unger (52-56-108) on the top line. Defenseman Borje Salming had 56 points in his second season since joining the team from Sweden and more is expected of him going forward.
The big individual game of the year came from Marcel Dionne who had a 5 goal game for Detroit in a December win over Pittsburgh while linemate Pete Mahovlich had 7 points (1G 6A) in the same game. Dionne's season came to a premature end in early March due to a fractured larynx but he still managed to score a career high 47 goals. Mahovlich had 104 points and is making a bid to become the more famous brother as the 29 year old Peter is now up to 821 career points in 828 NHL games, all with the Wings. Frank, 38, had 39 goals for Kansas City this year and has 1173 points in 1217 career games.
Code:
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
ADAMS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Boston Bruins 80 51 19 10 112
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 47 16 17 111
Buffalo Sabres 80 29 37 14 72
California Golden Seals 80 18 55 7 43
NORRIS DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Montreal Canadiens 80 63 10 7 133
Detroit Red Wings 80 44 27 9 97
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 31 42 7 69
Washington Capitals 80 26 46 8 60
Los Angeles Kings 80 16 53 11 43
PATRICK DIVISION GP W L T PTS
New York Rangers 80 60 9 11 131
Philadelphia Flyers 80 46 23 11 103
New York Islanders 80 31 41 9 69
Atlanta Flames 80 28 41 11 67
SMYTHE DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Chicago Black Hawks 80 49 21 10 108
Vancouver Canucks 80 29 39 12 70
St Louis Blues 80 28 44 8 64
Kansas City Scouts 80 26 44 10 62
Minnesota North Stars 80 9 63 8 26
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Stan Mikita CHI 80 48 107 155
Jean Ratelle NYR 80 68 62 130
Bill Barber PHI 80 61 68 129
Bobby Clarke PHI 78 52 74 126
Don Marcotte BOS 80 59 66 125
Bobby Hull CHI 74 60 63 123
Norm Ullman NYR 80 40 82 122
Darryl Sittler TOR 80 34 88 122
Steve Shutt MON 80 62 59 121
Guy Lafleur MON 79 35 84 119
Marcel Dionne DET 73 47 69 116
Yvan Cournoyer MON 80 53 59 112
WHA REGULAR SEASON
Another dominant season for the Edmonton Oilers as they finished with the league's best record once again, and tied their own record for points in a season with 143. The Oilers leader once again was Guy Lapointe, who scored 43 goals and added 109 assists for a defenseman record 152 points. Lapointe, who failed to crack the Montreal Canadiens roster so he bolted to the WHA in 1973-74, has 411 points in 233 career regular season games in the new league.
Ulf Nilsson of Phoenix had a 31 game point streak during the season. Unfortunately for the Roadrunners, Nilsson would miss the playoffs because of a late season injury. In 71 games this season the 25 year old had 58 goals and 143 points. Nilsson trailed only Guy Lapointe and Dave Hudson in the scoring race.
Hudson of the New England Whalers finished the regular season with a 29 game point streak. Included in the streak was a 4 goal, 7 point night and 2 other games where he record a hat trick. On the season he set a WHA record for goals with 73 and points with 164.
Edmonton's Bob Liddington set a WHA record for assists in game with 7 in an 8-1 Oilers win over Calgary in October. Edmonton's Guy Lapointe would tie it later in the season with 7 assists and a goal in a win over the Toronto Toros.
Speaking of records, Cincinnati Stingers 23 year old rookie tough guy Nick Fotiu amasses a record 634 penalty minutes during the season.
Code:
WORLD HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
EASTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
New England Whalers 80 56 14 10 122
Indianapolis Racers 80 57 17 6 120
Cleveland Crusaders 80 34 41 5 73
Cincinnati Stingers 80 14 61 5 33
WESTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Phoenix Roadrunners 80 56 19 5 117
Minn. Fighting Saints 80 41 31 8 90
San Diego Mariners 80 37 38 5 79
Houston Aeros 80 31 47 2 64
Denver Spurs 80 25 49 6 56
CANADIAN DIVISION GP W L T PTS
Edmonton Oilers 80 70 7 3 143
Winnipeg Jets 80 39 35 6 84
Quebec Nordiques 80 38 38 4 80
Calgary Cowboys 80 34 40 6 74
Toronto Toros 80 7 70 3 17
SCORING LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Dave Hudson NE 80 73 91 164
Guy Lapointe EDM 77 43 109 152
Ulf Nilsson PHX 71 58 85 143
Larry Pleu EDM 80 59 79 138
Veli-Pekka Ketola PHX 80 49 89 138
Anders Hedberg PHX 80 54 80 134
JP Bordeleau EDM 80 47 87 134
Real Cloutier DEN 80 50 57 107
Bobby Sheehan WPG 80 44 62 106
Steve West MIN 80 29 75 104
PLAYOFFS
There were no surprises in the opening round of the playoffs. Lanny McDonald and Ian Turnbull each had 5 points as Toronto swept Atlanta in 2 games. Vancouver also won in a sweep, winning a pair of close games from their 1970 expansion partner Buffalo. The other two series each needed the full 3 games. Philadelphia rallied with 2 wins over the Islanders after dropping the series opener and Detroit beat Pittsburgh despite a 7 point series from 26 year old Penguins centre Michel Briere.
Montreal beat Vancouver in 5 games in one quarterfinal so the Habs will meet Boston in the semi-finals. The Bruins survived a gruelling 7 game series with Philadelphia. The New York Rangers advanced with a 6 game series victory over Detroit. The Rangers will face Toronto in the other semi-final after the Leafs upset Chicago in 6 games despite 12 points from Stan Mikita of the Black Hawks in the series. Chicago goaltender Eddie Johnston had a terrible playoff and at age 40, after 1231 career games and 8 Vezina Trophy's, Johnston's career may just be over. Toronto goaltender Ernie Wakely, at 35 years of age and only a number one goaltender for 2 seasons, had an outstanding series for the winners.
The Rangers and Canadiens each won their semi-final series in 5 games. Jean Ratelle was outstanding for the Blueshirts, picking up 11 goals and 22 points in 11 playoff games while Brad Park had 18 points. The Canadiens won over Boston despite a strong playoff from Bobby Orr, who had 18 points in 12 games.
STANLEY CUP FINALS
The New York Rangers look to win their third straight Stanley Cup and what would be the fourth in franchise history. Montreal returns to the finals after a 4 year absence, the longest drought for the Habs since 1938. The Canadiens have won 14 Cups since the sim started and 18 overall. Despite being two of the original six franchises the Canadiens and Rangers have never met in a Stanley Cup since the sim began in 1931.
Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur each had a goal and two assists as Montreal got goals from 6 different players in a 6-2 victory in Game One. Backup Ken Dryden got the start in net for Montreal and made 23 saves.
The Habs take Game Two by a 5-3 score as Lafleur and Shutt each get a goal in the victory. Montreal outshot the Rangers 43-25 in the contest and again got balanced scoring as 5 different players lit the lamp behind Jimmy Rutherford. Jean Ratelle scored twice for New York.
The series shifts to Madison Square Garden but that makes no difference to the Canadiens as Montreal outshoots the Rangers 33-17 and wins the Game Three 5-1. Defenseman Carol Vadnais had two goals for the Habs with Lafleur, Doug Risebrough and Guy Charron adding singles. Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire each had two assists.
Montreal completes the sweep with a 3-0 victory in Game Four as Tony Esposito makes 19 saves for the shutout victory. Guy Charron scores in the first period for the Canadiens with Steve Shutt and Mickey Redmond adding insurance goals in the second stanza.
Shutt wins the Conn Smythe Trophy after picking up a playoff leading 25 points in 14 games. His 11 goals are 1 shy of Jean Ratelle's mark of 13. Ratelle also had 11 assists for 24 points. Guy Lafleur (10-13-23) rounds out the top 3 playoff scorers.
Other award winners are:
HART TROPHY: Stan Mikita Chicago (80GP 48-107-155)
VEZINA TROPHY: Bernie Parent Boston (45-15-8, 2.45)
NORRIS TROPHY: Carol Vadnais Montreal (80GP 18-85-103)
ART ROSS TROPHY: Stan Mikita Chicago (80GP 48-107-155)
CALDER TROPHY: Brian Trottier NY Islanders (80GP 18-39-57)
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 Bernie Parent Boston Jim Rutherford NY Rangers
D Carol Vadnais Montreal Brad Park NY Rangers
D Bobby Orr Boston Ian Turnbull Toronto
C Stan Mikita Chicago Jean Ratelle NY Rangers
LW Don Marcotte Boston Bobby Hull Chicago
RW Bill Barber Philadelphia Marcel Dionne Detroit
WHA PLAYOFFS
It comes as no surprise that the Edmonton Oilers won yet another Avco Cup. The Oilers have never lost a playoff series in WHA history and have claimed all 4 Avco Cups. What was a surprise is that after sweeping 5 straight playoff series going back to last season the Oilers lost two games to Indianapolis in the finals.
Edmonton swept San Diego and New England to reach the finals while the Racers needed 5 games to oust Minnesota in the first round and overtime in Game Seven of the semi-finals to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets. Tim Sheehy, who got the game seven winner vs the Jets led the Racers with 23 points including 10 goals in postseason action. He tied for the scoring lead with Edmonton defenseman Guy Lapointe (6-17-23) and Lapointe took him the playoff MVP award for the third straight year.
Denver Spurs right winger Real Cloutier, a 19 year old who scored 50 goals and had 107 points, won the duel honours of WHA rookie of the year and League MVP. Cloutier ended Lapointe's 2 year old on the MVP award but the Edmonton rearguard was named the league's best defenseman for the third straight season. Despite finishing second in save percentage behing Glenn Resch of San Diego, Edmonton's Dave Reece was named the league's top goaltender.