The Summit in 1974
WHA 72-79
WHA Most Valuable Players
Gary L. Davidson Award
Gordie Howe Trophy in 1976-79
1973
Bobby Hull
LW, Winnipeg Jets
1974
Gordie Howe
RW, Houston Aeros
1975
Bobby Hull
LW, Winnipeg Jets
1976
Marc Tardif
LW, Quebec Nordiques
1977
Robbie Ftorek
C, Phoenix Roadrunners
1978
Marc Tardif
LW, Quebec Nordiques
1979
Dave Dryden
G, Edmonton Oilers

 

 

 

 

 

Howes

"If I ever had fun in
my life, it was there"
        Gordie Howe

 

SEVEN SEASONS: WHA 1972-1979

 World Hockey Association (WHA)

The World Hockey Association began its first season in 1972-73 as a 12-team rival of the 56-year-old NHL. The WHA played for the AVCO World Trophy in its seven playoff finals (Avco Financial Services underwrote the playoffs).

WHA: AVCO World Trophy Winners

Year Winner Finalist Playoff MVP
1973 New England Whalers Winnipeg Jets -
1974 Houston Aeros Chicago Cougars -
1975 Houston Aeros Quebec Nordiques Ron Grahame, G
Houston Aeros
1976 Winnipeg Jets Houston Aeros Ulf Nilsson, C
Winnipeg Jets
1977 Quebec Nordiques Winnipeg Jets Serg Bernier, C
Quebec Nordiques
1978 Winnipeg Jets New England Whalers Bobby Guindon, C
Winnipeg Jets
1979 Winnipeg Jets Edmonton Oilers Bobby Guindon, C
Winnipeg Jets

Bill Hunter Trophy Scoring Leader

Year Player Gm G A Pts
1973 Andre Lacroix, Philadelphia Blazers 78 50 74 124
1974 Mike Walton, Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 57 60 117
1975 Andre Lacroix, San Diego Mariners 78 41 106 147
1976 Marc Tardif, Quebec Nordiques 81 71 77 148
1977 Real Cloutier, Quebec Nordiques 76 66 75 141
1978 Marc Tardif, Quebec Nordiques 78 65 89 154
1979 Real Cloutier, Quebec Nordiques 77 75 54 129

Ben Hatskin Trophy Best Goaltender

Year Player Record GAA
1973 Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland Crusaders 32-20-0 2.84
1974 Don McLeod, Houston Aeros 33-13-3 2.56
1975 Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros 33-10-0 3.03
1976 Michel Dion, Indianapolis Racers 14-15-1 2.74
1977 Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros 27-10-2 2.74
1978 Al Smith, New England Whalers 30-20-3 3.22
1979 Dave Dryden, Edmonton Oilers 41-17-2 2.89

Dennis A. Murphy Trophy Best Defenseman

Year Player
1973 J.C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques
1974 Pat Stapleton, Chicago Cougars
1975 J.C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques
1976 Paul Shmyr, Cleveland Crusaders
1977 Ron Plumb, Cincinnati Stingers
1978 Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Winnipeg Jets
1979 Rick Ley, New England Whalers

Lou Kaplan Trophy Rookie of the Year

Year Player G A Pts
1973 Terry Caffery, C, New England Whalers 39 61 100
1974 Mark Howe, LW, Houston Aeros 38 41 79
1975 Anders Hedberg, RW, Winnipeg Jets 53 47 100
1976 Mark Napier, RW, Toronto Toros 43 50 93
1977 George Lyle, LW, New England Whalers 39 33 72
1978 Kent Nilsson, C, Winnipeg Jets 42 65 107
1979 Wayne Gretzky, C, Indianapolis Racers - Edmonton Oilers 46 64 110

Paul Deneau Trophy Most Gentlmenly Player

Year Player
1973 Ted Hampson, Minnesota Fighting Saints
1974 Ralph Backstrom, Chicago Cougars
1975 Mike Rogers, Edmonton Oilers
1976 Vaclav Nedomansky, Toronto Toros
1977 Dave Keon, New England Whalers
1978 Dave Keon, New England Whalers
1979 Kent Nilsson, Winnipeg Jets

Howard Baldwin Trophy Coach of the Year

Year Coach    Improvement
1973 Jack Kelley, New England Whalers -   46-30-2*
1974 Billy Harris, Toronto Toros 35-39-4 to 41-33-4
1975 Sandy Hucul, Phoenix Roadrunners Expan. to 39-31-8
1976 Bobby Kromm, Winnipeg Jets 38-35-5 to 52-27-2*
1977 Bill Dineen, Houston Aeros 53-27-0* to 50-24-6*
1978 Bill Dineen, Houston Aeros 50-24-6* to 42-34-4
1979 John Brophy, Birmingham Bulls 36-41-3 to 32-42-6

Note: *Won Division.

WHA All Star Games Best Defenseman

Year Host City Teams/Results Attendance
1973 Quebec East 6, West 2  5,435
1974 St. Paul East 8, West 4 13,196
1975 Edmonton West 6, East 4 15,326
1976 Cleveland Canada 6, U.S. 1 15,491
1977 Hartford East 4, West 2 10,337
1978 Quebec Quebec 5, WHA 4  6,413
1979 Edmonton WHA 4, Moscow 2
WHA 4, Moscow 2
WHA 4, Moscow 3
 8,038
11,220
15,590

WHA 1972-1979 All-Time Leaders Points, Goals, Assists, PIMs, Games

1. Andre Lacroix - 798
2. Marc Tardif - 666
3. Bobby Hull - 638
1. Marc Tardif - 316
2. Bobby Hull - 302
3. Real Cloutier - 283
1. Andre Lacroix - 747
2. J.C. Tremblay - 358
3. Marc Tardif - 350
1. Andre Lacroix - 551
2. Ron Plumb - 549
3. Paul Shmyr - 511
1. Paul Baxter - 962
2. Kim Clackson - 932
3. Cam Connor - 904

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Summit in 1974