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The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era.
Daniel Hector Bouchard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques, and original Winnipeg Jets.
The 1972–73 WHA season was the first season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Gary 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.
The 1975–76 WHA season was the fourth season of the World Hockey Association. After the Baltimore Blades and Chicago Cougars folded, the league stayed at 14 teams by adding the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs. In addition, the Vancouver Blazers franchise moved to Calgary and became the Cowboys. Midway through the season, the Spurs moved to Ottawa and became the Civics, though the team folded shortly thereafter when the sale of the franchise fell through. The Minnesota Fighting Saints became the second team to fold mid-season when the franchise was not financially successful, despite having a winning record at the time. Theoretically, fourteen teams would play 80 games each, but only twelve teams finished the season, with cancelled games involving the Civics or Saints being rescheduled on the fly, and four of five Canadian Division teams played 81 games, as a result.
Reginald Kenneth Thomas is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played primarily in the World Hockey Association (WHA).
Paul Gordon Baxter is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman who played in the World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1979, the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1987, and then as an assistant coach for eleven seasons.
Larry Stuart Roy Johnston is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for over 14 years in seven different hockey leagues. He spent the most time with the Springfield Indians/Kings of the American Hockey League and the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League, where he served a short term as captain.
James Donald Hislop is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and current pro scout for the Minnesota Wild.
Michel J. Dion is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who was active in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League from 1975 to 1985. He also played minor league baseball before deciding on a career in professional hockey.
Richard Henri Leduc is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 130 games in the National Hockey League and 394 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Boston Bruins, Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers, and Quebec Nordiques between 1973 and 1980.
Bryan Clifford Maxwell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 331 games in the National Hockey League and 124 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinnati Stingers, New England Whalers, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gary Raymond Veneruzzo is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played seven games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 348 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Veneruzzo played with the NHL's St. Louis Blues and the WHA's Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags, Baltimore Blades, Cincinnati Stingers, Phoenix Roadrunners, and San Diego Mariners. Veneruzzo was born in Fort William, Ontario.
Pierre Guité is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 377 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Quebec Nordiques, Michigan Stags, Baltimore Blades, Cincinnati Stingers and Edmonton Oilers. He was traded from the Nordiques to the financially troubled Stags, along with Michel Rouleau and Alain Caron, for Marc Tardif, just weeks before the Stags folded and the league took over the team, moving it to Baltimore.
The 1979–80 Winnipeg Jets season was the franchise's eighth season since its inception in 1972, and its first season in the National Hockey League.
The 1979–80 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques eighth season overall, however, it marked as their expansion season in the National Hockey League. Quebec had played their previous seven seasons in the now defunct World Hockey Association. In 1978–79, their last season in the WHA, Quebec finished the year with the second best record, as they had a 41–34–5 record, earning 87 points. The Nordiques were then swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA semi-finals. In the NHL, the team finished out of the playoffs.
The 1976–77 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques fifth season, as they were coming off their best season to date in 1975–76, earning a team record 50 victories and 104 points, as they finished in second place in the Canadian Division. In the post-season, Quebec win their first Avco Cup in team history. Serge Bernier would win the WHA Playoff MVP trophy, as he earned 36 points for the Nordiques in 17 post-season games.
The 1978–79 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques' seventh season in the WHA, were coming off of a 40–37–3 record in the 1977–78 season and a loss in the playoff semi-finals. The Nordiques improved to 41–34–5 to qualify for the playoffs, but lost in the first round to eventual Avco Cup champions Winnipeg Jets.
The 1979 NHL expansion was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA) that resulted in the WHA and its six surviving franchises folding in return for the owners of four of those teams being granted expansion franchises that commenced play in the NHL for the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22, 1979. The agreement ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the lone major league in North American professional ice hockey.
Bill Evo is an American lawyer and a former professional ice hockey player and executive.
References
- ↑ "NHL Stats, History, Scores, & Records | Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
