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.
| 1976–77 WHA season | |
|---|---|
| League | World Hockey Association |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
| Top scorer | Real Cloutier (Quebec) |
| Avco World Trophy | |
| Champions | Quebec Nordiques |
| Runners-up | Winnipeg Jets |
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.
Teams edit
| 1976-77 World Hockey Association | ||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Birmingham Bulls | Birmingham, Alabama | Birmingham-Jefferson County Civic Center | 16,723 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverfront Coliseum | 12,823 | |
| Indianapolis Racers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 15,993 | |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | St. Paul, Minnesota | St. Paul Civic Center | 16,000 | |
| New England Whalers | Hartford, Connecticut | Hartford Civic Center | 10,507 | |
| Quebec Nordiques | Quebec City, Quebec | Colisée de Québec | 10,004 | |
| Western | Calgary Cowboys | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Corral | 7,475 |
| Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton, Alberta | Northlands Coliseum | 16,000 | |
| Houston Aeros | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 14,906 | |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 13,730 | |
| San Diego Mariners | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena | 12,920 | |
| Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Winnipeg Arena | 10,100 | |
Regular season standings edit
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 47 | 31 | 3 | 353 | 295 | 97 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 81 | 39 | 37 | 5 | 354 | 303 | 83 |
| Indianapolis Racers | 81 | 36 | 37 | 8 | 276 | 305 | 80 |
| New England Whalers | 81 | 35 | 40 | 6 | 275 | 290 | 76 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 81 | 31 | 46 | 4 | 289 | 309 | 66 |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | 42 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 136 | 129 | 43 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Aeros | 80 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 320 | 241 | 106 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 46 | 32 | 2 | 366 | 291 | 94 |
| San Diego Mariners | 81 | 40 | 37 | 4 | 284 | 283 | 85 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 81 | 34 | 43 | 4 | 243 | 304 | 72 |
| Calgary Cowboys | 81 | 31 | 43 | 7 | 252 | 296 | 69 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 28 | 48 | 4 | 281 | 383 | 60 |
Player stats edit
Scoring leaders edit
Bolded numbers indicate season leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Cloutier | Quebec Nordiques | 76 | 66 | 75 | 141 | 39 |
| Anders Hedberg | Winnipeg Jets | 68 | 70 | 61 | 131 | 48 |
| Ulf Nilsson | Winnipeg Jets | 71 | 39 | 85 | 124 | 89 |
| Robbie Ftorek | Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 46 | 71 | 117 | 86 |
| Andre Lacroix | San Diego Mariners | 81 | 32 | 82 | 114 | 79 |
| Marc Tardif | Quebec Nordiques | 62 | 49 | 60 | 109 | 65 |
| Rich Leduc | Cincinnati Stingers | 81 | 52 | 55 | 107 | 75 |
| Chris Bordeleau | Quebec Nordiques | 72 | 32 | 75 | 107 | 34 |
| Blaine Stoughton | Cincinnati Stingers | 81 | 52 | 52 | 104 | 39 |
| Mark Napier | Birmingham Bulls | 80 | 60 | 36 | 96 | 24 |
| Dennis Sobchuk | Cincinnati Stingers | 81 | 44 | 52 | 96 | 38 |
| Serge Bernier | Quebec Nordiques | 74 | 43 | 53 | 96 | 94 |
Leading goaltenders edit
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Grahame | Houston Aeros | 39 | 2345 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 107 | 4 | 90.1 | 2.74 |
| Ernie Wakely | San Diego Mariners | 46 | 2506 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 129 | 3 | 89.6 | 3.09 |
| Cap Raeder | New England Whalers | 26 | 1328 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 69 | 2 | 90.2 | 3.12 |
| Wayne Rutledge | Houston Aeros | 42 | 2512 | 23 | 14 | 4 | 132 | 3 | 89.8 | 3.15 |
| Joe Daley | Winnipeg Jets | 65 | 3813 | 39 | 21 | 2 | 206 | 3 | 89.2 | 3.24 |
Avco World Trophy Playoffs edit
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | New England Whalers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | Indianapolis Racers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Cincinnati Stingers | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Indianapolis Racers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Winnipeg Jets | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Diego Mariners | 3 | ||||||||||||
WHA awards edit
Trophies edit
All-Star Team edit
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | Robbie Ftorek, Phoenix | Ulf Nilsson, Winnipeg |
| Right Wing | Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg | Real Cloutier, Quebec |
| Left Wing | Marc Tardif, Quebec | Rick Dudley, Cincinnati |
| Defence | Darryl Maggs, Indianapolis | Poul Popiel, Houston |
| Defence | Ron Plumb, Cincinnati | Mark Howe, Houston |
| Goaltender | John Garrett, Birmingham | Joe Daley, Winnipeg |