1977–78 WHA Season
   HOME
*





1977–78 WHA Season
The 1977–78 WHA season was the sixth season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Eight teams played 80 games each. The Avco World Trophy winner was the Winnipeg Jets. League business With a reduction of three teams from the end of the previous season (the San Diego Mariners, Phoenix Roadrunners, and Calgary Cowboys folded), the WHA abandoned its divisional format and grouped the remaining eight teams together. There had been a tentative merger agreement that would have had Cincinnati, Houston, New England, Winnipeg, Quebec, and Edmonton join the NHL but it could not be finalized. In a unique move, two international All-Star teams, the Soviet All-Stars and Czechoslovakia All-Stars, played games that counted in the regular season standings. They played each WHA team once, on the WHA team's home ice. The Soviet team acquitted themselves well, winning three plus two additional games against WHA teams outside the regular standings, tying one and losing the other four; while the C ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era. The WHA tried to capitalize on the lack of hockey teams in a number of major American cities and mid-level Canadian cities, and also hoped to attract the best players by paying more than NHL owners would. The WHA successfully challenged the NHL's reserve clause, which had bound players to their NHL teams even without a valid contract, allowing players in both leagues greater freedom of movement. Sixty-seven players jumped from the NHL to the WHA in the first year, led by star forward Bobby Hull, whose ten-year, $2.75 million contr ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Ulf Nilsson (ice Hockey)
Ulf Gösta Nilsson (born 11 May 1950) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Winnipeg Jets and in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers. Career in North America Part of the first major wave of Europeans to star in North American hockey, he was a major star in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. He scored at least 114 points in each of his four seasons in the upstart league, finishing third or fourth among overall scorers every time. He led the WHA with 85 assists in 1976–77, and tied Marc Tardif for the lead the next season with 89. Along with countryman Anders Hedberg and established superstar Bobby Hull, he played a starring role as the Jets won Avco Cup titles in 1976 and 1978. In the 1976 playoffs, he scored 26 points in just 13 games and was named WHA Playoff MVP. In the summer of 1978, Nilsson and Hedberg signed with the National Hockey League's New York Rangers for $ ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Ernie Wakely
Ernest Alfred Linton Wakely (born November 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Career Wakely was a goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues. He also played for the Quebec Aces, the Cleveland Barons (AHL), Winnipeg Jets, San Diego Mariners, Cincinnati Stingers, Houston Aeros, Houston Apollos, and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. Wakely was goaltender for the 1958–59 Memorial Cup-winning Winnipeg Braves of the MJHL. In the 1969–70 NHL season Wakely took over in St. Louis for Glenn Hall. Wakely appeared in 30 games, won 12, and recorded a NHL league leading goals against average of 2.11 in leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. Although Wakely did not start the first game of the finals, he replaced Jacques Plante early in the game after Plante was injured. Wakely played well through the second period, but Boston prevailed in that game 6–1 and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Jean-Louis Levasseur
Jean-Louis Levasseur (born June 16, 1949), also known as Louis Levasseur, is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played in one National Hockey League game for the Minnesota North Stars during the 1979–80 season. He also spent parts of four seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques between 1975 and 1979. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs See also * List of players who played only one game in the NHL This is a list of ice hockey players who have played only one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1917–18 to the present. This list does not count those who were on the active roster for one game but never actually played, or players w ... References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levasseur, Jean-Louis 1949 births Living people Binghamton Dusters players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice ho ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Gary Bromley
Gary Bert "Bones" Bromley (born January 19, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. He also played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Calgary Cowboys and Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl .... In his NHL career, Bromley played in 136 games and accumulated a record of 54-44-28. In the WHA, he played in 67 games, with a record of 31-21-3. He may be best remembered for his "Skull" mask which he wore during his years with the Canucks. The idea for the design came from his nickname, "Bones".The Hockey News:Greatest Masks of All Time. Woodley, Kevin. Gary Bromley. Pp 84-86. Retrieved Nov. 19, 2008. Career statistics Regular season a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Joe Daley (ice Hockey)
Thomas Joseph Daley (born February 20, 1943) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Winnipeg Jets between 1968 and 1979. Career Daley was the Sabres' first choice in the 1970 Intra-League Draft. He was also one of the last NHL goalies to play without a mask, although he did wear a mask for Winnipeg in the WHA. Daley's longest stint in major league hockey was with Winnipeg from 1972–79. He won three league championships with the Jets (1975-76, 1977-78 and 1978–79) and was the WHA's second leading goalie during the 1975–76 season. In 1981–82, he was the coach of the junior hockey Penticton Knights. He later operated a trading card store in Winnipeg, named Joe Daley's Sports and Framing. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Awards and achievements *SJHL Second All-Star Team (1962) * EHL Rookie of the Year (1964) *Avco Cu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Al Smith (ice Hockey)
Allan Robert Smith (November 10, 1945 – August 7, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played nearly 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA). Minor-pro career Smith began junior hockey in 1961 with the Toronto Marlboros. In 1962 he began playing for the Lakeshore Bruins of the OHA before rejoining the Marlboros in the 1964–65 season. Late in the 1965–66 NHL season, Smith played two games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning one of them and posting a 1.94 goals against average. In 1966 he was sent to the Maple Leaf farm team in Victoria, British Columbia (also called the Maple Leafs) where he started 56 games. He was moved to the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks for the 1967 playoffs, where he played in 6 games, posting a 2.61 GAA and got one shutout. That year he also appeared in one game for the San Francisco Seals in the WHL playoffs. From 1967 to 1969 he played 85 games with the Tulsa Oilers, Roc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Goals Against Average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on sport). GAA is analogous to a baseball pitcher's earned run average (ERA). In Japanese, the same translation (防御率) is used for both GAA and ERA, because of this. For ice hockey, the goals against average statistic is the number of goals a goaltender allows per 60 minutes of playing time. It is calculated by taking the number of goals against, multiply that by 60 (minutes) and then dividing by the number of minutes played. The modification is used by the NHL since 1965 and the IIHF since 1990. When calculating GAA, overtime goals and time on ice are included, whereas empty net and shootout goals are not. It is typically given to two decimal places. The top goaltenders in the National Hockey League have a GAA of about 1.85-2.10, alth ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Save Percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal a goaltender stops. It is calculated by dividing the number of saves by the total number of shots on goal. Although the statistic is called a "percentage", it is often given as a decimal, in the same way as a batting average in baseball. Thus, .933 means a goaltender saved 93.3 percent of all shots they faced. In international ice hockey, a save percentage is expressed as a true percentage, such as 90%. National Hockey League (NHL) goaltenders typically have a save percentage above .900, and National Lacrosse League (NLL) goaltenders typically have a save percentage above .750. See also *Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, la ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Kent Nilsson
Kent Åke "Kenta" Nilsson (born 31 August 1956) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Winnipeg Jets, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta and Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars and Edmonton Oilers, as well as teams across various European leagues. During his NHL career he was called "Mr. Magic" and "The Magic Man", referring to his exceptional puck skills. Wayne Gretzky commented on Nilsson's skills saying "Skills-wise he might have been the most skilled hockey player I ever saw in my entire career". In 2006, he was featured on '' HCZ'', a Swedish reality show as coach for a hockey team of non-athletes. He is currently working as a European scout for the Florida Panthers. Playing career Nilsson began his career during the season of 1973–74, playing for Djurgårdens IF during his first of four seasons in Sweden. He then came to North America, and played for the Winnipeg Jets of the World ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Cincinnati Stingers
The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are the only major league hockey team to have played in Cincinnati. History The Stingers franchise was awarded in 1974 as part of the WHA's ill-conceived attempt at expansion. They entered the league for the 1975–76 WHA season along with the Denver Spurs. Most of the league's existing teams were not financially stable, and franchise relocations were commonplace. The Stingers achieved enough stability that they were the only one of the WHA's five expansion teams that lasted through to the end of the league, but they were left out of the NHL–WHA merger in the summer of 1979. The WHA insisted on including all three of its surviving Canadian teams, though below-average attendance made it unlikely that the Stingers would have made the cut. The ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Robbie Ftorek
Robert Brian Ftorek (born January 2, 1952) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. Playing career Ftorek played in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with his Boston youth team. He later played on the 1972 United States Olympic Hockey team that surprisingly won the silver medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics. He also played for Team USA at the 1972 "Pool B" Ice Hockey World Championship where he was selected to the tournament all-star team. Originally drafted by the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972, Ftorek instead signed with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). However, the Red Wings regarded him as too small to make it as a professional and he only appeared in a handful of NHL games. Having spent most of his time in the minors with the Virginia Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL), Fto ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]