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]   |
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World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Canada Hockey League, 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, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The team is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, playing its home games at Canada Life Centre. The franchise was established as the Atlanta Thrashers on June 25, 1997, and began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season. True North Sports & Entertainment then bought the team in May 2011, and List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams, relocated the Jets to Winnipeg prior to the 2011–12 NHL season, 2011–12 season, making them the first NHL franchise to relocate since the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. The team was renamed the Jets after Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996), Winnipeg's original WHA/NHL team, which relocated after the 1995–96 NHL season, 1995–96 season due to financial issues to become the n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Serge Bernier
Serge Joseph Bernier (born April 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional 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 nicknamed ''Toutou'', which roughly translates to "Big Teddy Bear" in English. He was traded along with Bill Lesuk and Jim Johnson from the Flyers to the Kings for Ross Lonsberry David Ross Lonsberry (February 7, 1947 – May 4, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 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 hocke ... (WHL). Career ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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. He was a two-time Stanley Cup winner in the NHL. 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 (WHA), Birmingham Bulls. One year before the WHA folded, Napier joined the Montreal Canadiens, winning the Stanley Cup with them in 1979 Stanley Cup Finals, 1979. He also played for the Minnesota North Stars before joining the Edmonton Oilers, winning his second Cup with them in 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, 1985. In 1986–87 NHL season, 1987, he was traded again, and would finish his career in North America in a Buffalo Sabres uniform ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 he was traded to the Indianapolis Racers by mid-season. When the Racers folded in 1978, he was signed by the New England Whalers, where he played on the third line with Mike Rogers, scoring 19 g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 mid-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 Stingers, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rich Leduc
Richard Henri Leduc (born August 24, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 130 games in the National Hockey League and 394 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Boston Bruins, Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers, and Quebec Nordiques between 1973 and 1980. Honours 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 Association (WHA), which operated from 1972 to 1979 as a major professional ice hockey league. Honourees were inducted in 2010 and 201 .... Career statistics Regular season and playoffs References External links * 1951 births Living people Boston Braves (AHL) players Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States California Golden Seals draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Cincinnati Stingers players Cleveland ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marc Tardif
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey forward (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, scoring 316. He won the Gordie Howe Trophy as the league MVP in 1976 and 1978. 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Diego Mariners
The San Diego Mariners were a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The team played its home games 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 the 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 Late in the Mariners' second season in 1975–76, owner Joseph Schwartz defaulted on paying his players' salaries and the league's assessments, and the league took over the team. In August 1976, McDon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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André Lacroix (ice Hockey)
André Joseph Lacroix (born June 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association, and is the WHA's all-time leading career scorer. Playing career A centre notable for his playmaking, penalty-killing, and faceoff skill, Lacroix played junior hockey for the Peterborough Petes, leading the league in assists in both the 1964–65 and 1965–66 seasons and in points the latter season. He then played two seasons for the minor-league Quebec Aces of the AHL, playing brilliantly in the 1968 season before being recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL in the spring of 1968. Paired on a forward line with fellow ex-Quebec wingers Jean-Guy Gendron and Simon Nolet, he was an immediate star, leading the Flyers in scoring in both 1969 and 1970. After the 1971 season, Lacroix was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks and was dismayed at the change of scenery, playing poorly the next year. However, in the fall of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |