1976–77 Colorado Rockies season

NHL hockey team season (first season in Colorado) March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1976–77 1976 Colorado Rockies (NHL)Colorado Rockies Campbell 9th Smythe 5th 20–46–14 12–20–8 8–26–6 226 307 Ray Miron Johnny Wilson Simon Nolet None McNichols Sports Arena Wilf Paiement (40) Wilf Paiement (41) Wilf Paiement (81) Steve Durbano (129) Tom Edur (+14) Michel Plasse (12) Bill McKenzie (2.40) 1975–76 (Kansas City) 1977–78 The 1976–77 Colorado Rockies season was the Rockies' first season. The Kansas City Scouts relocated in the off-season to Denver.http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nhl197677.shtml# HickokSports.com – History – NHL 1976–77 Season 2007-12-18 https://archive.today/20130125073604/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nhl197677.shtml# 2013-01-25 dead With the World Hockey Association's Denver Spurs leaving Denver in a midnight move to Ottawa, Ontario just about 10 months earlier, Denver would get a franchise and the team would be anointed the Colorado Rockies.http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/colnj/nhlrockies.html Colorado Rockies (1976–1982) May 19, 2008 November 12, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101112154713/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/colnj/nhlrockies.html dead The team moved from Kansas City, which was a two-year NHL franchise that struggled from the beginning.http://coloradohockey.tripod.com/rockies/one.htm The Colorado Rockies 1976/77 2007-12-18 2006-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20061125094635/http://coloradohockey.tripod.com/rockies/one.htm dead The team took to the ice for their first regular season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 6, 1976. Rockies goalie Doug Favell played extremely well, as he stopped 39 of the Maple Leafs' 41 shots on net to go with his 95.1 save percentage. Wilf Paiement notched a goal, a pair of assists, and a fight. Rockies rookie Larry Skinner scored the first NHL regular season goal for the franchise.http://coloradohockey.tripod.com/rockies/one.htm The Colorado Rockies 1976/77 2007-12-18 2006-11-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20061125094635/http://coloradohockey.tripod.com/rockies/one.htm dead The final score was 4–2, with the Rockies winning. The team was competitive in the weak Smythe Division for a major portion of the season. Early in the season, the Rockies picked up wins by either the goon tactics of Steve Durbano, or through the heroic feats of their goalies, Doug Favell and Michel Plasse. Bill McKenzie was also a goalie for the Rockies but played in only five games. 2 Offseason NHL draft The draft was held while the franchise was in Kansas City. Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team111Paul Gardner (C)CanadaOshawa Generals (OHA)338Mike Kitchen (D) Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)574Rick McIntyre (LW) Canada Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)692Larry Skinner (C) Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) Regular season On some nights, the Rockies could come back from two and three goal deficits to get ties or the occasional win, but then the next night the team would be overmatched by one of the elite teams in the league. Steve Durbano Goonery was a big part of hockey in 1976 and the Rockies' goon at the beginning of the season was Steve Durbano. After losing three in a row, Durbano tried to get the Rockies going with goon tactics. Despite his goon tactics, Durbano did not last long with the franchise, playing only 18 games; his penalty minute total in that handful of games, however, was sufficient to lead the team for the season. Goaltending Teams were launching over 40 and 50 shots on net against Plasse and Favell. After a November game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, Plasse was noticeably hurt. The Canadiens were blasting the puck towards Plasse all game. One shot off the stick of Canadiens player Murray Wilson put Plasse down in the second period with an arm injury, but the goalie was able to get up and finish the game. The Rockies' forwards were able to come back twice from two-goal deficits to finally tie the game at three a piece with just about nine minutes left in the third. However it was Plasse preserved the tie stand by stopping 47 of 50 shots, 20 in the third period. Ray Miron A November 2–1 loss to the Cleveland Barons raised the ire of General Manager Ray Miron. During the second intermission, Miron burst into the locker room and said that if the Rockies didn't pull the game out, he was going to call up three minor leaguers and send down three Rockies. Miron kept his word after the 2–1 Rockies loss and called up Mike Kitchen, Paul Gardner and Jim McElmury. Gardner made a quick impact, tallying five goals in his first four NHL games. Kitchen helped shore up the defense. Despite a 5–3 loss to the Bruins, Bruin coach Don Cherry raved that he was "impressed" with the Rockies. Playoff contention The Rockies would be successful in upending divisional rivals the Minnesota North Stars. It took three goals in the third period, including two in the final two minutes, to win the game 4–2. After the game, coach Johnny Wilson was raving for his team. The Rockies had taken over sole possession of third place in the Smythe Division with the win. By February 1, the Rockies had a two-point third-place lead over Minnesota and Vancouver. The Rockies would face the New York Rangers on February 1, and the goaltender Plasse would stop 48 of 50 Ranger shots. His performance would help the Rockies to a 5–2 win. The win extended their third place lead to four points. A February 6 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins saw the Rockies score four unanswered third period goals to win the game 5–2. The Rockies had a former member of the WHA's Denver Spurs on the club. Ron Delorme, the former Spur, would score the game winner in his first stint with the team. He had been playing with Baltimore in the Southern Hockey League. The Rockies continued to be successful. The club enjoyed an 8–6 win against Minnesota, as it extended their third place margin to five points ahead of them. The Rockies were only five points behind second-place Chicago. On February 16, the Rockies won their fourth game of the season against the Detroit Red Wings. A February 20 triumph against the North Stars would be the last highlight of the season for the club. By March 27, the Rockies were officially out of the playoff hunt. This was attributed to an 18-game winless streak that began on February 22. The goaltending of Doug Favell and Plasse kept the team in contention during many games. A typical night saw the goaltenders facing 50 shots. When the Rockies were based in Kansas City, the Scouts had finished their tenure in Kansas City by only winning one game in their final 44. The winless streak finally stopped in a 6–3 win against the Vancouver Canucks. This was the second-to-the-last game of the season. The Rockies season ended with a loss to the LA Kings. Final standings COL Record vs. opponents COL Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 5px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 5px solid; 1976–77 regular season1976-77 Colorado Rockies Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CLR/1977_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 23, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 5||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 8||3–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1976–77) ||1–1–0 |- |3||L||October 9||1–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||1–2–0 |- |4||L||October 13||2–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||1–3–0 |- |5||W||October 15||5–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||2–3–0 |- |6||L||October 17||3–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1976–77) ||2–4–0 |- |7||L||October 20||1–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1976–77) ||2–5–0 |- |8||T||October 22||3–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||2–5–1 |- |9||L||October 24||3–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) ||2–6–1 |- |10||W||October 27||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1976–77) ||3–6–1 |- |11||L||October 29||1–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1976–77) ||3–7–1 |- |12||L||October 30||1–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||3–8–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |13||L||November 2||1–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1976–77) ||3–9–1 |- |14||L||November 5||1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) ||3–10–1 |- |15||W||November 7||3–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||4–10–1 |- |16||L||November 10||1–2 || align="left"| Cleveland Barons (1976–77) ||4–11–1 |- |17||T||November 13||3–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) ||4–11–2 |- |18||L||November 14||3–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) ||4–12–2 |- |19||L||November 17||3–6 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) ||4–13–2 |- |20||W||November 20||5–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) ||5–13–2 |- |21||L||November 21||1–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) ||5–14–2 |- |22||L||November 26||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) ||5–15–2 |- |23||T||November 28||6–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) ||5–15–3 |- |24||W||November 30||5–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||6–15–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |25||W||December 1||5–3 || align="left"| Cleveland Barons (1976–77) ||7–15–3 |- |26||W||December 3||3–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||8–15–3 |- |27||L||December 5||3–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) ||8–16–3 |- |28||T||December 8||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) ||8–16–4 |- |29||T||December 11||4–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||8–16–5 |- |30||L||December 15||2–8 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) ||8–17–5 |- |31||L||December 18||2–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) ||8–18–5 |- |32||L||December 19||3–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) ||8–19–5 |- |33||L||December 22||1–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||8–20–5 |- |34||L||December 26||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||8–21–5 |- |35||L||December 27||2–6 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) ||8–22–5 |- |36||W||December 29||3–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1976–77) ||9–22–5 |- |37||T||December 31||2–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||9–22–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |38||W||January 2||6–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) ||10–22–6 |- |39||L||January 5||4–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) ||10–23–6 |- |40||T||January 7||4–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1976–77) ||10–23–7 |- |41||L||January 11||0–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) ||10–24–7 |- |42||W||January 13||4–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) ||11–24–7 |- |43||L||January 15||2–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) ||11–25–7 |- |44||L||January 16||0–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) ||11–26–7 |- |45||T||January 18||7–7 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||11–26–8 |- |46||W||January 20||3–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) ||12–26–8 |- |47||L||January 22||1–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||12–27–8 |- |48||L||January 23||1–7 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1976–77) ||12–28–8 |- |49||W||January 27||6–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) ||13–28–8 |- |50||T||January 28||3–3 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) ||13–28–9 |- |51||W||January 30||4–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||14–28–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |52||W||February 1||5–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1976–77) ||15–28–9 |- |53||L||February 3||4–6 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) ||15–29–9 |- |54||W||February 6||5–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) ||16–29–9 |- |55||W||February 9||8–6 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||17–29–9 |- |56||L||February 11||0–3 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) ||17–30–9 |- |57||L||February 12||2–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) ||17–31–9 |- |58||W||February 15||6–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) ||18–31–9 |- |59||T||February 18||3–3 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) ||18–31–10 |- |60||W||February 20||3–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||19–31–10 |- |61||L||February 22||1–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1976–77) ||19–32–10 |- |62||L||February 25||2–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1976–77) ||19–33–10 |- |63||L||February 27||3–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) ||19–34–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |64||T||March 2||2–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1976–77) ||19–34–11 |- |65||L||March 5||3–6 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) ||19–35–11 |- |66||L||March 6||0–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1976–77) ||19–36–11 |- |67||L||March 9||0–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) ||19–37–11 |- |68||L||March 10||1–7 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) ||19–38–11 |- |69||T||March 12||2–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||19–38–12 |- |70||L||March 13||2–6 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||19–39–12 |- |71||T||March 16||4–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) ||19–39–13 |- |72||L||March 18||0–5 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) ||19–40–13 |- |73||L||March 20||1–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||19–41–13 |- |74||L||March 22||2–9 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1976–77) ||19–42–13 |- |75||L||March 23||3–5 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1976–77) ||19–43–13 |- |76||T||March 25||2–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) ||19–43–14 |- |77||L||March 26||1–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1976–77) ||19–44–14 |- |78||L||March 31||5–7 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) ||19–45–14 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0033A0 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |79||W||April 1||6–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) ||20–45–14 |- |80||L||April 3||4–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) ||20–46–14 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Wilf Paiement RW 78 41 40 81 101−13952 Paul Gardner Paul Gardner (ice hockey) C 60 30 29 59 25−281100 Gary Croteau LW 78 24 27 51 14−18502 Nelson Pyatt C 77 23 22 45 20−17204 Barry Dean Barry Dean (ice hockey) LW 79 14 25 39 92−26200 Dave Hudson C 73 15 21 36 14−3102 Tom Edur D 80 7 25 32 3914301 Simon Nolet RW 52 12 19 31 100112 Jim McElmury D 55 7 23 30 16−15101 Chuck Arnason RW 61 13 10 23 10−23301 Ron Andruff C 66 4 18 22 21−18000 Danny Gruen LW 29 8 10 18 12−6201 Denis Dupere LW 57 7 11 18 43132 John Van Boxmeer D 41 2 11 13 32−20000 Colin Campbell Colin Campbell (ice hockey executive) D 54 3 8 11 67−22000 Tracy Pratt D 66 1 10 11 110−27000 Ron Delorme C 29 6 4 10 23−11002 Larry Skinner C 19 4 5 9 6−13300 Guy Delparte LW 48 1 8 9 18−10000 Mike Kitchen D 60 1 8 9 36−2000 Phil Roberto RW 22 1 5 6 23−11000 Bryan Lefley D/LW 58 0 6 6 27−15000 Sean Shanahan C/RW 30 1 3 4 40−11000 Larry Johnston Larry Johnston (ice hockey) D 25 0 3 3 35−25000 Roger Lemelin Roger Lemelin (ice hockey) D 14 1 1 2 21−6000 Henry Boucha C 9 0 2 2 40000 Steve Durbano D 19 0 2 2 129−6000 Don Cairns LW 2 0 1 1 21000 Michel Plasse G 54 0 1 1 00000 Doug Favell G 30 0 0 0 150000 Bill McKenzie Bill McKenzie (ice hockey) G 5 0 0 0 00000 Randy Rota C/LW 1 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA SO Michel Plasse 2986 54 12 29 10 190 3.82 0 Doug Favell 1614 30 8 15 3 105 3.90 0 Bill McKenzie Bill McKenzie (ice hockey) 200 5 0 2 1 8 2.40 0 Team: 4800 80 20 46 14 303 3.79 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-02 1976-77 Colorado Rockies Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CLR/1977.html Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals       MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; Farm teams In 1976–77, the Rockies had affiliations with three different teams, including: the Flint Generals, the Greensboro Generals, and the Rhode Island Reds.http://www.azhockey.com/Co.htm A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey – Co 2007-12-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20071016062156/http://www.azhockey.com/Co.htm 2007-10-16 dead References External links Rockies on Hockey Database Category:Colorado Rockies (NHL) seasons Colorado Colorado Colorado