1976–77 WHA season

August 2023 1976–77 WHA season World Hockey Association Ice hockey October 7, 1976 – May 26, 1977 Regular season Houston Aeros Draft 1976 WHA amateur draft Blair Chapman Edmonton Oilers Robbie Ftorek (Phoenix) Gordie Howe Trophy Real Cloutier (Quebec) Bill Hunter Trophy Playoffs 1977 WHA playoffs Avco Cup Final 1977 WHA playoffs#Avco Cup Final Quebec Nordiques Winnipeg Jets Serge Bernier (Nordiques) WHA Playoff MVP 1977–78 1975–76 List of WHA seasons WHA 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. 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. Regular season standings start break end Player stats Scoring leaders 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 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 1977 WHA playoffs Eastern Division Western Division E1 Quebec Nordiques 4 E4 New England Whalers 1 E2 Cincinnati Stingers 0 E3 Indianapolis Racers 4 W1 Houston Aeros 4 W4 Edmonton Oilers 1 W2 Winnipeg Jets 4 W3 San Diego Mariners 3 E1 Quebec Nordiques 4 E3 Indianapolis Racers 1 W1 Houston Aeros 2 W2 Winnipeg Jets 4 E1 Quebec Nordiques 4 W2 Winnipeg Jets 3 WHA awards Trophies Avco World Trophy: Quebec NordiquesGordie Howe Trophy: Robbie Ftorek, Phoenix RoadrunnersBill Hunter Trophy: Real Cloutier, Quebec NordiquesLou Kaplan Trophy: George Lyle, New England WhalersBen Hatskin Trophy: Ron Grahame, Houston AerosDennis A. Murphy Trophy: Ron Plumb, Cincinnati StingersPaul Deneau Trophy: Dave Keon, New England WhalersHoward Baldwin Trophy: Bill Dineen, Houston AerosWHA Playoff MVP: Serge Bernier, Quebec Nordiques All-Star Team 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 References HockeyDB Hockey Reference 2 2 Category:World Hockey Association seasons