1974-75 NHL season
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The 1974-75 NHL season was the 58th season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games. With the addition of two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts, the NHL bumped up the number of games from 78 to 80 and split the previously two-division league into four divisions and two conferences. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were also removed. The East Division became the Prince of Wales Conference and consisted of the Adams Division and Norris Division and the West Division became the Clarence Campbell Conference and consisted of the Patrick Division and Smythe Division. This further expansion was considered by many ill-fated, and with the World Hockey Association continuing to drain talent away, the Capitals had the worst season ever recorded in the history of major professional hockey, and the third worst in the postwar era the following season, while the Scouts the following season would have the fifth worst record of the postwar era.
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres four games to two for their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Regular season
For the first time ever in the National Hockey League, there was a three-way tie for first place overall. The respective divisional leaders of the Norris, Patrick, and Adams all had 113 points. The Vancouver Canucks, which had been playing in the original East Division since they debuted in the league were moved over to the Campbell Conference and lead the way in the Smythe Division with a comparatively meager 86 points.
[edit] Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
[edit] Prince of Wales Conference
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 49 | 16 | 15 | 113 | 354 | 240 | 1229 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 94 | 345 | 245 | 1153 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 78 | 280 | 309 | 1079 |
| California Golden Seals | 80 | 19 | 48 | 13 | 51 | 212 | 316 | 1101 |
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 47 | 14 | 19 | 113 | 374 | 225 | 1155 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 42 | 17 | 21 | 105 | 269 | 185 | 1185 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 37 | 28 | 15 | 89 | 326 | 289 | 1119 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 45 | 12 | 58 | 259 | 335 | 1078 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 8 | 67 | 5 | 21 | 181 | 446 | 1085 |
[edit] Clarence Campbell Conference
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 113 | 293 | 181 | 1969 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 37 | 29 | 14 | 88 | 319 | 276 | 1053 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 33 | 25 | 22 | 88 | 264 | 221 | 1118 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 83 | 243 | 233 | 915 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 86 | 271 | 254 | 965 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 35 | 31 | 14 | 84 | 269 | 267 | 1275 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 37 | 35 | 8 | 82 | 268 | 241 | 1112 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 23 | 50 | 7 | 53 | 221 | 341 | 1106 |
| Kansas City Scouts | 80 | 15 | 54 | 11 | 41 | 184 | 328 | 744 |
[edit] Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 80 | 46 | 89 | 135 | 101 |
| Phil Esposito | Boston Bruins | 79 | 61 | 66 | 127 | 62 |
| Marcel Dionne | Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 47 | 74 | 121 | 14 |
| Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 53 | 66 | 119 | 37 |
| Pete Mahovlich | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 35 | 82 | 117 | 64 |
| Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 27 | 89 | 116 | 125 |
| Rene Robert | Buffalo Sabres | 74 | 40 | 60 | 100 | 75 |
| Rod Gilbert | New York Rangers | 76 | 36 | 61 | 97 | 22 |
| Gilbert Perreault | Buffalo Sabres | 68 | 39 | 57 | 96 | 36 |
| Rick Martin | Buffalo Sabres | 68 | 52 | 43 | 95 | 72 |
[edit] Leading goaltenders
[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs
All dates in 1975
With the new conference and division structure, the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs used a new format. Twelve teams qualified for the post-season. The four division winners from the regular season received byes to the quarterfinal round. The next two teams in each division (eight teams total) were ranked according to their regular season point totals, with the highest ranked team playing against the lowest ranked team, and so on, in a best-of-three preliminary round. The four preliminary round winners and four division winners were re-ranked for the subsequent round. The biggest beneficiary of this format was the Vancouver Canucks, who were 9th in the regular season but received a first-round bye for winning the relatively weak Smythe Division.
[edit] Playoff bracket
| Preliminary Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | New York Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | St. Louis Blues | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | New York Rangers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | New York Islanders | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Vancouver Canucks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
[edit] NHL awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Buffalo Sabres |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Don Luce, Buffalo Sabres |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Eric Vail, Atlanta Flames |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Jack Adams Award: | Bob Pulford, Los Angeles Kings |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Marcel Dionne, Detroit Red Wings |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Vezina Trophy: | Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Donald M. Clark, William L. Chadwick, Thomas N. Ivan |
[edit] See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1974 NHL Amateur Draft
- 1974 NHL Expansion Draft
- 28th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- List of WHA seasons
- 1974 in sports
- 1975 in sports
[edit] References
| NHL seasons |
|---|
|
1970-71 | 1971-72 | 1972-73 | 1973-74 | 1974-75 | 1975-76 | 1976-77 | 1977-78 | 1978-79 |
Current teams: Anaheim • Atlanta • Boston • Buffalo • Calgary • Carolina • Chicago • Colorado • Columbus • Dallas • Detroit • Edmonton • Florida • Los Angeles • Minnesota • Montreal • Nashville • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Ottawa • Philadelphia • Phoenix • Pittsburgh • San Jose • St. Louis • Tampa Bay • Toronto • Vancouver • Washington
Trophies and awards: Stanley Cup • Prince of Wales • Clarence S. Campbell • Presidents' Trophy • Adams • Art Ross • Calder • Conn Smythe • Crozier • Hart • Jennings • King Clancy • Lady Byng • Masterton • Norris • Patrick • Pearson • Plus/Minus • Rocket Richard • Selke • Vezina
Defunct and relocated teams: Atlanta Flames • California/Oakland Golden Seals • Cleveland Barons • Colorado Rockies • Hamilton Tigers • Hartford Whalers • Kansas City Scouts • Minnesota North Stars • Montreal Maroons • Montreal Wanderers • New York/Brooklyn Americans • Ottawa Senators (orginal) • Philadelphia Quakers • Pittsburgh Pirates • Quebec Bulldogs • Quebec Nordiques • St. Louis Eagles • Winnipeg Jets

