1975–76 WHA season
The 1975–76 WHA season was the fourth season of the World Hockey Association. After the Baltimore Blades and Chicago Cougars folded, the league stayed at 14 teams by adding the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs. In addition, the Vancouver Blazers franchise moved to Calgary and became the Cowboys. Midway through the season, the Spurs moved to Ottawa and became the Civics, though the team folded shortly thereafter when the sale of the franchise fell through. The Minnesota Fighting Saints became the second team to fold mid-season when the franchise was not financially successful, despite having a winning record at the time. Theoretically, fourteen teams would play 80 games each, but only twelve teams finished the season, with cancelled games involving the Civics or Saints being rescheduled on the fly, and four of five Canadian Division teams played 81 games, as a result.
| 1975–76 WHA season | |
|---|---|
| League | World Hockey Association |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
| Top scorer | Marc Tardif (Quebec) |
| Avco World Trophy | |
| Champions | Winnipeg Jets |
| Runners-up | Houston Aeros |
Regular season
Final standings
| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Jets | 81 | 52 | 27 | 2 | 106 | 345 | 254 | 940 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 50 | 27 | 4 | 104 | 371 | 316 | 1654 |
| Calgary Cowboys | 80 | 41 | 35 | 4 | 86 | 307 | 282 | 1064 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 81 | 27 | 49 | 5 | 59 | 268 | 345 | 991 |
| Toronto Toros | 81 | 24 | 52 | 5 | 53 | 335 | 398 | 1099 |
| Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics+ | 41 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 29 | 134 | 172 | 536 |
+team started season in Western Division when playing in Denver; transferred by league to Canadian Division shortly after moving to Ottawa.
| Eastern Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Racers | 80 | 35 | 39 | 6 | 76 | 245 | 247 | 1301 |
| Cleveland Crusaders | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 75 | 273 | 279 | 1356 |
| New England Whalers | 80 | 33 | 40 | 7 | 73 | 255 | 290 | 1012 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 80 | 35 | 44 | 1 | 71 | 285 | 340 | 1344 |
| Western Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Aeros | 80 | 53 | 27 | 0 | 106 | 341 | 263 | 1093 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 84 | 302 | 287 | 1292 |
| San Diego Mariners | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 78 | 303 | 290 | 716 |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | 59 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 64 | 211 | 212 | 1354 |
Player stats
Scoring leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Tardif | Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 71 | 77 | 148 | 79 |
| Bobby Hull | Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 53 | 70 | 123 | 30 |
| Real Cloutier | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 60 | 54 | 114 | 27 |
| Ulf Nilsson | Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 38 | 76 | 114 | 54 |
| Robbie Ftorek | Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 109 |
| Chris Bordeleau | Quebec Nordiques | 74 | 37 | 72 | 109 | 42 |
| Anders Hedberg | Winnipeg Jets | 76 | 50 | 55 | 105 | 48 |
| Rejean Houle | Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 51 | 52 | 103 | 61 |
| Serge Bernier | Quebec Nordiques | 70 | 34 | 68 | 102 | 91 |
| Gordie Howe | Houston Aeros | 78 | 32 | 70 | 102 | 76 |
Leading goaltenders
Bolded numbers indicate season leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties, GA = Goals against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michel Dion | Indianapolis Racers | 31 | 1860 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 85 | 0 | 91.0 | 2.74 |
| Joe Daley | Winnipeg Jets | 62 | 3612 | 41 | 17 | 1 | 171 | 5 | 90.3 | 2.84 |
| Wayne Rutledge | Houston Aeros | 25 | 1456 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 77 | 1 | 90.1 | 3.17 |
| Jack Norris | Phoenix Roadrunners | 41 | 2412 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 128 | 1 | 89.1 | 3.18 |
| Ernie Wakely | San Diego Mariners | 67 | 3824 | 35 | 27 | 4 | 208 | 3 | 89.5 | 3.25 |
All-Star game
The 4th annual WHA All-Star Game featured a Canadian-based All-Star team vs a United States-based All-Star team, with the game taking place in Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Canadians won the game 6-1, with Real Cloutier and Paul Shmyr being named MVPs.
Avco World Trophy playoffs
The New England Whalers, Cleveland Crusaders, the Phoenix Roadrunners and the San Diego Mariners participated in preliminary rounds, with two teams advancing to the main bracket. The Whalers beat the Crusaders in three games, while the Mariners beat the Roadrunners in five games.
- San Diego Mariners 3, Phoenix Roadrunners 2
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 9 | San Diego Mariners | 2–3 OT | Phoenix Roadrunners | 0-1 |
| 2 | April 10 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–4 | San Diego Mariners | 1-1 |
| 3 | April 13 | San Diego Mariners | 4–6 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1-2 |
| 4 | April 15 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1–5 | San Diego Mariners | 2-2 |
| 5 | April 17 | San Diego Mariners | 2–1 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 3-2 |
- New England Whalers 3, Cleveland Crusaders 0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 9 | Cleveland Crusaders | 3–5 | New England Whalers | 1-0 |
| 2 | April 10 | New England Whalers | 6–1 | Cleveland Crusaders | 2-0 |
| 3 | April 11 | New England Whalers | 3–2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 3-0 |
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Diego Mariners | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New England Whalers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New England Whalers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Indianapolis Racers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 0 | ||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary Cowboys | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C2 | Quebec Nordiques | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C3 | Calgary Cowboys | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C4 | Edmonton Oilers | 0 | ||||||||||||
AVCO World Trophy finals
(1) Winnipeg Jets VS. (1) Houston Aeros: Jets sweep series 4-0
- Game 1 (May 20) @ Houston: Winnipeg 4, Houston 3
- Game 2 (May 23) @ Houston: Winnipeg 5, Houston 4
- Game 3 (May 20) @ Winnipeg: Winnipeg 6, Houston 3
- Game 4 (May 23) @ Winnipeg: Winnipeg 9, Houston 1
WHA awards
Trophies
All-Star Team
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | Ulf Nilsson, Winnipeg | Robbie Ftorek, Phoenix |
| Right Wing | Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg | Real Cloutier, Quebec |
| Left Wing | Marc Tardif, Quebec | Bobby Hull, Winnipeg |
| Defence | Paul Shmyr, Cleveland | Kevin Morrison, San Diego |
| Defence | J. C. Tremblay, Quebec | Pat Stapleton, Indianapolis |
| Goaltender | Joe Daley, Winnipeg | Ron Grahame, Houston |