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1976–77 WHA Season
The 1976–77 WHA season was the fifth season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Prior to the season, the Toronto Toros moved to Birmingham, Alabama and became the Birmingham Bulls. The Cleveland Crusaders attempted to move to South Florida, but instead became the short-lived second incarnation of the Minnesota Fighting Saints and folded after playing 42 games. With the death of the Saints, the WHA left the last market it had been sharing with the NHL. The remaining 11 teams finished the season, playing 80 or 81 games. With the reduction of teams before the start of the season, the league returned to a two-division setup, eliminating the Canadian Division. The Avco World Trophy winners were the Quebec Nordiques, defeating the Winnipeg Jets four games to three; it was the only WHA final series that went the full seven games. Regular season standings Player stats Scoring leaders Bolded numbers indicate season leaders ''GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = ... [...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] |
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] |
Serge Bernier
Serge Joseph Bernier (born April 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Quebec Nordiques and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for Quebec, where he scored a majority of his 308 combined goals (NHL and WHA), between 1968 and 1981. His 230 goals in the WHA were third-most for the Nordiques during their time in the league behind Real Cloutier and Marc Tardif. He was the first draft pick in Philadelphia Flyers history. He was traded along with Bill Lesuk and Jim Johnson (ice hockey, born 1942), Jim Johnson from the 1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season, Flyers to the 1971–72 Los Angeles Kings season, Kings for Ross Lonsberry, Bill Flett, Jean Potvin and Eddie Joyal on January 28, 1972. In 2010, Bernier was part of the initial group of players elected to the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame. Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Sobchuk
Dennis James Sobchuk (born January 12, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 35 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Sobchuk was born in Lang, Saskatchewan. His older brother is Gene Sobchuk, also a professional hockey player. The two played together on the Cincinnati Stingers while their father, Harry Sobchuk, was the scout for the team. Career During his career, Sobchuk was a member of the Detroit Red Wings and Quebec Nordiques. He also played five seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Phoenix Roadrunners, Cincinnati Stingers and Edmonton Oilers. His jersey number 14 is one of six numbers retired by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ... (WHL). Care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Napier (ice Hockey)
Mark Robert Napier (born January 28, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over a thousand professional games between the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association. Biography As a youth, Napier played in the 1968 and 1969 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with minor ice hockey teams from Toronto. An alumnus of the Toronto Marlboros organization, Napier turned pro as a teenager for the Toronto Toros of the WHA and also played for the Birmingham Bulls. After the WHA folded, Napier joined the Montreal Canadiens, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 1979. He also played for the Minnesota North Stars before joining the Edmonton Oilers, winning his second Cup with them in 1985. In 1987, he was traded again, and would finish his career in North America in a Buffalo Sabres uniform before playing three seasons in Italy. In 1997, Napier was hired as the head coach of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaine Stoughton
Blaine A. Stoughton (born March 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve professional seasons. Stoughton played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers, which bookended three seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) split among the Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. Playing career Stoughton played his major junior career with the Flin Flon Bombers, and was drafted seventh overall by the Penguins in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. Stoughton had an up-and-down stint in the WHA. Often teamed with Rick Dudley and Rich LeDuc on the "LSD" line, Stoughton scored 52 goals for the Cincinnati Stingers in 1976–77. The next year, however, the free-wheeling Stoughton chafed under the restrictive defensive style of new coach Jacques Demers, fell into a slump and was traded to the Indianapolis Racers by mid-season. When the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Bordeleau
Christian Gerrard "Chris" Bordeleau (born September 23, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League between 1969 and 1972, and the World Hockey Association between 1972 and 1979. Playing career Bordeleau started his National Hockey League career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1969. He also played for the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Blues. He left the NHL after the 1972 season and would also play in the World Hockey Association for the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques. He won the Stanley Cup in 1969 with the Montreal Canadiens. Christian's brothers Jean-Pierre and Paulin Bordeleau were also professional hockey players. Honours In 1977, Christian was a member of the World Hockey Association's Avco Cup Champions the Quebec Nordiques. In 2012, he was inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is an independent organization dedicated to honoring the World Hockey A ... [...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] |
Marc Tardif
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is the all-time leading goal scorer in the WHA. Playing career Born in Granby, Quebec, Tardif played two seasons with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens - in the final year the National Hockey League team had the privilege to do so - invoked its right to select two French Canadian players first and second overall to pick Tardif in the first round, second overall, of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. Tardif spent most of the 1969–70 NHL season with the American Hockey League (AHL) Montreal Voyageurs, one of the leading scorers on a team studded with future NHL stars, including Jude Drouin, Guy Charron, Guy Lapointe and Pete Mahovlich. He made the Canadiens for good the following season, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Diego Mariners
The San Diego Mariners were an ice hockey team based in San Diego that played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1977 at the San Diego Sports Arena. Previous to being in San Diego, the team was known as the New York Raiders, New York Golden Blades, and Jersey Knights. After folding in 1977, San Diego Mariners' name was adopted by an unrelated franchise in the low-level, minor professional Pacific Hockey League (PHL). Notable alumni Star players for the Mariners included defenseman Harry Howell, center Andre Lacroix, and goaltender Ernie Wakely. The Mariners were coached by Howell (as player-coach) during their first season and Ron Ingram the succeeding two seasons, qualifying for the WHA playoffs each year. Demise During the Mariners' final WHA season, the team was owned by San Diego Padres and McDonald's owner Ray Kroc. The team never drew well, and when they only managed to attract 5,000 fans per game, Kroc sold the team to a group who planned to move it to Mel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |