1972-73 WHA season

Information about 1972-73 WHA season

The 1972-73 WHA season was the first regular season of the now defunct World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Garry L. Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy and promised to ice twelve teams in various markets around Canada and the United States. The league championship trophy, the Avco World Trophy, was donated by AVCO Financial Services Corporation along with $500,000. The New England Whalers won the first Avco World Trophy.

Regular season

The WHA was split into two divisions, the Eastern Division and the Western Division. Each division sported 6 teams. The New England Whalers led the Eastern Division and had the best record in the league. The Winnipeg Jets led the Western Division and had the second best record in the league. The Alberta Oilers missed the playoffs, despite having a superior goal-differential to the Minnesota Fighting Saints, because they lost a neutral-site, tie-breaking game against the Saints in Calgary.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in Minutes
Teams that qualifies for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Eastern Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
New England Whalers784630294318263858
Cleveland Crusaders7843323892872391095
Philadelphia Blazers7838400762883051260
Ottawa Nationals7835394742793011067
Quebec Nordiques7833405712763131354
New York Raiders783343268303334900


Western Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets784331490285249757
Houston Aeros7839354822842691363
Los Angeles Sharks7837356802592501477
Minnesota Fighting Saints783837379250269843
Alberta Oilers7838373792692561134
Chicago Cougars782650254245295811

Scoring leaders

Player Team Goals Assists Points
Andre LacroixPhiladelphia Blazers5074124
Ron WardNew York Raiders5167118
Danny LawsonPhiladelphia Blazers6145106
Bobby HullWinnipeg Jets5152103
Norm BeaudinWinnipeg Jets3865103
Tom WebsterNew England Whalers5350103
Chris BordeleauWinnipeg Jets4754101
Terry CafferyNew England Whalers3961100
Gord LabossiereHouston Aeros366096
Wayne CarletonOttawa Nationals424991

All-Star game

Avco World Trophy playoffs

 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
              
 E1 New England Whalers4 
E4 Ottawa Nationals1 
 E1 New England Whalers4 
Eastern Division
 E2 Cleveland Crusaders1 
E2 Cleveland Crusaders4
 E3 Philadelphia Blazers0 
  E1 New England Whalers4
 W1 Winnipeg Jets1
 W1 Winnipeg Jets4 
W4 Minnesota Fighting Saints1 
 W1 Winnipeg Jets4
Western Division
 W2 Houston Aeros0 
W2 Houston Aeros4
 W3 Los Angeles Sharks2 

Avco World Trophy finals

New England Whalers defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 4 games to 1. The Whalers defeated the Jets 9 to 6 in the deciding game, with Larry Pleau scoring a hat trick.

WHA awards

Avco World Trophy:New England Whalers
Gary L. Davidson Award:Bobby Hull, Winnipeg Jets
Bill Hunter Trophy:Andre Lacroix, Philadelphia Blazers
Lou Kaplan Trophy:Terry Caffery, New England Whalers
Ben Hatskin Trophy:Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland Crusaders
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy:J.C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques
Paul Deneau Trophy:Ted Hampson, Minnesota Fighting Saints
Howard Baldwin Trophy:Jack Kelley, New England Whalers

See also

References

Preceded by
'None'		WHA seasonsSucceeded by
1973-74 WHA season
In an organised sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April to September; in European football (soccer), it is generally from August until
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World Hockey Association (French: Association Mondiale de Hockey) was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League after
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1971 1972 1973 1974

19th century · 20th century · 21st century
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 
1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974


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This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved.
Protection is not an endorsement of the current [ version] ([ protection log]).
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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The Avco World Trophy was the championship trophy of the original World Hockey Association (1972-1979). The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name originally derived from "Aviation Company"), a defence contractor who bought the rights to advertise
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Hartford Whalers

Founded 1979
History New England Whalers
1972 - 1979
Hartford Whalers
1979 - 1997
Carolina Hurricanes
1997 - Present

Home Arena Hartford Civic Center
City Hartford, Connecticut
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Winnipeg Jets

Founded 1972
History Winnipeg Jets
1972–1979 (WHA)
1979–1996 (NHL)
Phoenix Coyotes
1996–present (NHL)

Home Arena Winnipeg Arena
City Winnipeg, Manitoba
Colours''' Blue, red and white
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Edmonton Oilers

Conference Western
Division Northwest
Founded 1972
History Edmonton Oilers
1979-present (NHL)
1973-1979 (WHA)
Alberta Oilers
1972-73 (WHA)
Home Arena Rexall Place
City Edmonton, Alberta
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Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises.
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City of Calgary
Downtown Calgary.

Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: Cowtown, The Stampede City , The Heart of the New West
Motto: Onward
Location of Calgary in Alberta
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Hartford Whalers

Founded 1979
History New England Whalers
1972 - 1979
Hartford Whalers
1979 - 1997
Carolina Hurricanes
1997 - Present

Home Arena Hartford Civic Center
City Hartford, Connecticut
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The Cleveland Crusaders were an ice hockey team that played in the WHA in Cleveland, Ohio from 1972-1976. The team played in the Cleveland Arena from 1972-1974 and then in the Richfield Coliseum from 1974-1976. The team was moved to St.
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The Philadelphia Blazers were an ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA). They were originally to be based out of Miami, Florida and to be called the Miami Screaming Eagles.
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The Ottawa Nationals were a professional men's ice hockey team based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) during the 1972-73 WHA season.
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Quebec Nordiques

Founded 1972
History Quebec Nordiques
1972 - 1995
Colorado Avalanche
1995 - Present

Home Arena Colisée de Québec
City Quebec City, Quebec
Colours''' Red, White, and Blue
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The New York Raiders were an ice hockey team based in New York City that played in the World Hockey Association.

The team was one of the original WHA franchises in 1972. It participated in the first WHA draft.
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Winnipeg Jets

Founded 1972
History Winnipeg Jets
1972–1979 (WHA)
1979–1996 (NHL)
Phoenix Coyotes
1996–present (NHL)

Home Arena Winnipeg Arena
City Winnipeg, Manitoba
Colours''' Blue, red and white
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Houston Aeros were a World Hockey Association team that played from 1972 to 1978.

Franchise history

The Aeros became one of the original franchises in the World Hockey Association when the Dayton Aeros franchise was moved to Houston in 1971.
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The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1974 They alternated home arenas between the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and the Long Beach Sports Arena.
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Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises.
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Edmonton Oilers

Conference Western
Division Northwest
Founded 1972
History Edmonton Oilers
1979-present (NHL)
1973-1979 (WHA)
Alberta Oilers
1972-73 (WHA)
Home Arena Rexall Place
City Edmonton, Alberta
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The Chicago Cougars were an original franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the dilapidated International Amphitheatre.
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goal in ice hockey provides a team with one point. A goal is scored when a puck completely crosses the goal line within the goal frame

The object of the game of hockey is to score more goals than the opposing team.
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In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to the two previous players of the scoring team who touched or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal.
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Point in ice hockey has two official meanings:
  • A point is given to a player who either scores a goal or earns an assist during a game. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points.
  • Points are given to a team for a win (2 points), as well as a tie (1 point).

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Position Center

Shot Left

Nickname(s) "The Magician," "The King of Quebec City"
Height
Weight
175 | lb (0 kg)

Pro Clubs Philadelphia Flyers
Chicago Black Hawks
Philadelphia Blazers
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The Philadelphia Blazers were an ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA). They were originally to be based out of Miami, Florida and to be called the Miami Screaming Eagles.
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Position Defense

Shot Right

Height
Weight
175 | lb (0 kg)

Pro Clubs Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
New York Raiders
Vancouver Blazers
Los Angeles Sharks
Cleveland Crusaders
Calgary Cowboys
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The New York Raiders were an ice hockey team based in New York City that played in the World Hockey Association.

The team was one of the original WHA franchises in 1972. It participated in the first WHA draft.
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