The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. The Blazers were owned by local businessman Jim Pattison. The franchise moved to Vancouver after a single season in Philadelphia. Unable to establish a strong fan base in Vancouver, the team was moved again in 1975 to become the Calgary Cowboys.
The Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). The team played in Houston, Texas, at The Summit from 1994 until 2003 and the Toyota Center from 2003 to 2013. In the IHL, the team operated as an independent minor league team from 1994 to 2001, though the team occasionally accepted players on loan from various National Hockey League (NHL) clubs for development. Upon joining the AHL for the 2001–02 season, they became the primary affiliate of the one-year-old NHL expansion team, the Minnesota Wild, a partnership they maintained until the franchise's relocation in 2013. While the team's only formal partnership with the Dallas Stars was a partial affiliation agreement during the 2004–05 season, Dallas occasionally sent some of their prospects to the Aeros on individual loans from 1993 to 2005, until the establishment of the Iowa Stars gave Dallas its own primary farm team.
The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975 to 1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, though it never played a game in Miami. The team was based in Philadelphia and Vancouver, known in both markets as the Blazers, before relocating to Calgary. The franchise folded in 1977.
The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's two home games were played at the Randhurst Twin Ice Arena in suburban Mount Prospect. This was because a presentation of Peter Pan starring gymnast Cathy Rigby was booked into the Amphitheatre when the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls had both entered their own playoffs, making the Chicago Stadium unavailable for either the Cougars or Peter Pan.
The Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1978.
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 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams were paid to fold.
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the team merged with the Minnesota North Stars. As a result, the NHL operated with 17 teams during the 1978–79 season.
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 1974–75 WHA season was the third season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. The Houston Aeros won the Avco World Trophy for the second straight year in dominating fashion, losing only one time in the playoffs.
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is the all-time leading goal scorer in the WHA.
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.
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.
The 1973–74 New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights season was the second season of operation of the franchise in the World Hockey Association.
The 1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks season was the Los Angeles Sharks' second and final season in Los Angeles in the World Hockey Association. The club finished last in the WHA Western Division and missed the playoffs. They moved to Detroit, MI after the season and became the Michigan Stags.
The 1974–75 Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades season was the third season of the former Los Angeles Sharks franchise. Prior to the season, the team relocated to Detroit, and then relocated to Baltimore partway through the season. The team finished fifth in the Western Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.
The Long Island Cougars were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played at the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York, from 1973 to 1975. The Cougars were a member of the North American Hockey League, and were runners up for the Lockhart Trophy to the Syracuse Blazers in the 1973–74 season.
