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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.
The Michigan Stags were a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit that played a portion of the 1974–75 season in the World Hockey Association. On January 18, 1975, the team folded, but the league immediately took over operation and moved the franchise to Baltimore where it was known as the Baltimore Blades. The Stags originated as the Los Angeles Aces, but were renamed the Los Angeles Sharks before their first game, one of the WHA's original twelve teams. The Stags played at Cobo Arena, and the Blades at the Baltimore Civic Center.
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 in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1973 to 1979, and in the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1980.
Steven George Andrascik was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers during the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs, and 97 games in the World Hockey Association with the Indianapolis Racers, Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, and Cincinnati Stingers from 1974 to 1976.
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 who played for the Cincinnati Stingers in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and then the Quebec Nordiques and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1979 and 1984. He helped the Flames reach the NHL playoff semifinals for the first time in club history in 1981. After his playing career he worked as an assistant coach with the Flames and then as a scout with the Minnesota Wild.
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. He played seven games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues during the 1967–68 and 1971–72 seasons, and 348 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, Cincinnati Stingers, Phoenix Roadrunners, and San Diego Mariners from 1972 to 1977. Veneruzzo was born in Fort William, Ontario.
Paul Edward Hoganson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played two games in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1970–71 season and 143 games in the World Hockey Association with the Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, New England Whalers, Cincinnati Stingers, and Indianapolis Racers from 1973 to 1978.
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 organization'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.
Norman Randall Legge was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 12 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers during the 1972–73 season. He also played 192 games in the World Hockey Association with the Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, Winnipeg Jets, Cleveland Crusaders, and San Diego Mariners from 1974 to 1977. Legge died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 77.
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, popularly referred to as the NHL–WHA merger, was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). The result of the negotiations was that the WHA folded, and four of its six surviving teams - the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets – entered the NHL as expansion teams who commenced play in the NHL in the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22; it ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the sole 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.
