The Summit in 1974
WHA 72-79
1973 WHA MVP
Gary L. Davidson Award
1973
Bobby Hull
LW, Winnipeg Jets

 

SEVEN SEASONS: WHA 1972-73

SEASON ONE: Timeline by Paul Newberry

After franchise shifts and the addition of two more teams, the WHA begins its inaugural season with 12 teams: Alberta Oilers, Chicago Cougars, Cleveland Crusaders, Houston Aeros, Los Angeles Sharks, Minnesota Fighting Saints, New England Whalers, New York Raiders, Ottawa Nationals, Philadelphia Blazers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. Bobby Hull, Bernie Parent and Gerry Cheevers are among the prominent players who defect from the NHL. New England, which is based in Boston but will later move to Hartford, Conn., wins the inaugural Avco World Trophy.

 WHA Regular Season

EASTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA PIM
New-England Whalers 78 46 30 2 94 318 263 858
Cleveland Crusaders 78 43 32 3 89 287 239 1095
Philadelphia Blazers 78 38 40 0 76 288 305 1260
Ottawa Nationals 78 35 39 4 74 279 301 1067
Quebec Nordiques 78 33 40 5 71 276 313 1354
New-York Raiders 78 33 43 2 68 303 334 900
WESTERN DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets 78 43 31 4 90 285 249 757
Houston Aeros 78 39 35 4 82 284 269 1363
Los-Angeles Sharks 78 37 35 6 80 259 250 1477
Alberta Oilers 78 38 37 3 79 269 256 843
Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 38 37 3 79 250 269 1134
Chicago Cougars 78 26 50 2 54 245 295 811

AVCO World Trophy Playoffs

Western Division one game Tiebreaker: Minnesota 4 Alberta 2

First Round:
Cleveland 4 Philadelphia 0
New England 4 Ottawa 1
Winnipeg 4 Minnesota 1
Houston 4 Los Angeles 2
Second Round:
New England 4 Cleveland 1
Winnipeg 4 Houston 0

AVCO Cup:
New England over Winnipeg, 4 games to 1

Bill Hunter Trophy Scoring Leader

Year Player Gm G A Pts
1973 Andre Lacroix,
Philadelphia Blazers
78 50 74 124

Ben Hatskin Trophy Best Goaltender

Year Player Record GAA
1973 Gerry Cheevers,
Cleveland Crusaders
32-20-0 2.84

Dennis A. Murphy Trophy Best Defenseman

Year Player
1973 J.C. Tremblay,
Quebec Nordiques

Lou Kaplan Trophy Rookie of the Year

Year Player G A Pts
1973 Terry Caffery, C, New England Whalers 39 61 100

Paul Deneau Trophy Most Gentlmenly Player

Year Player
1973 Ted Hampson, Minnesota Fighting Saints

Howard Baldwin Trophy Coach of the Year

Year Coach    Improvement
1973 Jack Kelley, New England Whalers -   46-30-2*

Note: *Won Division.

All WHA WHA All Star Teams

Pos 1st Team 2nd Team 3rd Team
G Gerry Cheevers Cleveland Bernie Parent Philadelphia Al Smith
New England
D JC Tremblay
Quebec
Jim Dorey
New England
Rick Ley
New England
D Paul Shmyr Cleveland Larry Hornung Winnipeg Ted Green
New England
C Andre Lacroix Philadelphia Ron Ward
New York
Norm Beaudoin
Winnipeg
LW Bobby Hull
Winnipeg
Gary Jarrett
Cleveland
Wayne Carleton
Ottawa
RW Danny Lawson Philadelphia Tom Webster
New England
Chris Bordeleau
Winnipeg

WHA First Annual All-Star Game 1/6/73 Quebec City, Quebec

East 6, West 4
Attendance: 5,435
MVP: Wayne Carleton

EAST LINEUP WEST LINEUP
G Al Smith New England
G Gerry Cheevers Cleveland
G Serge Aubry Quebec
D Rick Ley New England
D JC Tremblay Quebec
D Paul Shmyr Cleveland
D Jim Dorey New England
D Gary Jarrett Cleveland
D Ken Block New York
F Larry Pleau New England
F Ron Ward New York
F Bobby Sheehan New York
F Wayne Carleton Ottawa
F Gerry Pinder Cleveland
F Michel Parizeau Quebec
F Tom Webster New England
F Danny Lawson Philadelphia
F Norm Ferguson New York
F John McKenzie Philadelphia
F Ron Climie Ottawa
(Did not Play-Injured)
F John Hanna Cleveland
F Guy Trottier Ottawa
(Replaced Climie)
G Mike Curran Minnesota
G Ernie Wakely Winnipeg
G Jack Norris Alberta
D Al Hamilton Alberta
D Larry Hornung Winnipeg
D Gerry Odrowski Los Angeles
D Terry Ball Minnesota
F Bobby Hull Winnipeg
F Chris Bordeleau Winnipeg
F Norm Beaudin Winnipeg
F Gary Veneruzzo Los Angeles
F Ron Anderson Alberta
F Bob Wall Alberta
F Wayne Connelly Minnesota
F Ted Hampson Minnesota
F Mike Byers Los Angeles
F Jim Harrison Alberta
F Ted Taylor Houston
F Gordon Labossiere Houston
F Jan Popiel Chicago
Coach: Jack Kelley New England Coach: Bobby Hull Winnipeg
Assisted by Nick Mickoski Winnipeg

 

 

 

 

The Summit in 1974