1976–77 Colorado Rockies season

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1976–77 Colorado Rockies (NHL)
Division 5th Smythe
Conference 9th Clarence Campbell
1976–77 record 20–46–14
Goals for 226
Goals against 307
General Manager Ray Miron
Coach John Wilson
Captain Simon Nolet
Team leaders
Goals Wilf Paiement (40)
Assists Wilf Paiement (41)
Points Wilf Paiement (81)
Penalties in minutes Steve Durbano
Wins Michel Plasse (12)
Goals against average Bill McKenzie (2.40)

No NHL franchise had moved since the Ottawa Senators became the St. Louis Eagles in 1934. For the 1976–77 NHL season, two franchises had moved. The California Golden Seals became the Cleveland Barons and the Kansas City Scouts went to Denver. [1] With the World Association's Denver Spurs leaving Denver in a midnight move to Ottawa, Ontario just about 10 months earlier, Denver would get a franchise and the team would be anointed the Colorado Rockies. [2] The team moved from Kansas City, which was a two-year NHL franchise that struggled from the beginning. [3]

The team took to the ice for their first regular season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 6, 1976. [4] Rockies goalie Doug Favell played extremely well stopping 39 of the Toronto 41 shots on net. Wilf Paiement notching one goal, two assists and a fight. Rookie Larry Skinner scored the first NHL regular season goal for the franchise. [5] The final score was 4–2.

The team was competitive in the Smythe Division for a major portion of the season. Early in the season, the Rockies picked up wins by either the goon tactics of Steve Durbano, or through the heroic feats of their goalies, Doug Favell and Michel Plasse. Bill McKenzie was also a goalie for the Rockies but only got into five games. [6]

Contents:
Regular season – Playoffs – Player stats – Awards and records - Transactions
Roster - Draft picks – Farm teams – See also – References


[edit] Offseason

[edit] NHL Draft

• The draft was held while the franchise was in Kansas City.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 11 Paul Gardner (C) Flag of Canada Canada Oshawa Generals (OHA)

[edit] Regular season

On some nights, the Rockies could come back from two and three goal deficits to get ties or the occasional win, but then the next night the team would be overmatched by one of the elite teams in the league.

[edit] Season standings

Smythe Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
St. Louis Blues 80 32 39 9 73 239 276 877
Minnesota North Stars 80 23 39 18 64 240 310 774
Chicago Black Hawks 80 26 43 11 63 240 298 1104
Vancouver Canucks 80 25 42 13 63 235 294 1078
Colorado Rockies 80 20 46 14 54 226 307 978

[edit] Steve Durbano

Goonery was a big part of hockey in 1976 and the Rockies goon was Steve Durbano. After losing three in a row, Durbano tried to get the Rockies going with goon tactics. One particular incident included one game against the Blackhawks.

Durbano took out Blackhawk star Stan Mikita behind the Colorado net. Jim Harrison of the Blackhawks came off the bench to get after Durbano, who was already at the Rockies bench. A fight began, and Durbano began to drop the mitts. Harrison was kicked out of the game. Rockies coach Johnny Wilson was quick to point out that the Durbano fight inspired the team and a late-game fight between legendary Bobby Orr and Rockie Roger Lemelin helped secure the victory. [7]

The Rockies really gelled as a team after the scrap. Winger Colin Campbell beat Blackhawk goalie Tony Esposito less than one-and-one-half minutes later to cut the Blackhawk lead to 2–1. The next goal was off the stick of Wilf Paiement, his second of the season, to tie the game. Then Gary Croteau scored to stake the Rockies to a 3–2 lead at the end of the second period. [8]

Despite the goonery, Durbano did not last long with the franchise. One of Durbano's last games with the Rockies was against the St. Louis Blues. Again the Rockies were down 2–0 when Durbano tried to change the course of the game. Blues player Bob Plager was involved with interference. This drew an immediate response by Durbano, who retaliated by spearing Plager. Blues player Pierre Plante immediately went after Durbano. The two were eventually separated. As Durbano was being taken to the penalty box by linesman Malcolm Ashford he broke free, grabbed his helmet and fired it at Plager as he was in the penalty box. [9] Durbano was ejected from the game. Reacting to the incident, Paiement scored shorthanded on the resulting Blues power play to cut the Blues lead to 2–1. This would be the final score as the Rockies effort fell just short.

[edit] Goaltending

Teams were launching over 40 and 50 shots on net against Plasse and Favell. After a November game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens, Plasse was noticeably hurt. [10] The Canadiens were blasting the puck towards Plasse all game. One shot off the stick of Canadiens player Murray Wilson put Plasse down in the second period with an arm injury, but the goalie was able to get up and finish the game. The Rockies' forwards were able to come back twice from two-goal deficits to finally tie the game at three a piece with just about nine minutes left in the third. However it was Plasse preserved the tie stand by stopping 47 of 50 shots, 20 in the third period. [11]

[edit] Ray Miron

A November 2–1 loss to the Cleveland Barons raised the ire of General Manager Ray Miron. During the second intermission, Miron burst into the locker room and said that if the Rockies didn't pull the game out, he was going to call up three minor leaguers and send down three Rockies. Miron kept his word after the 2–1 Rockies loss and called up Mike Kitchen, Paul Gardner and Jim McElmury. Gardner made a quick impact, tallying five goals in his first four NHL games. Kitchen helped shore up the defense. Despite a 5–3 loss to the Bruins, Bruin coach Don Cherry raved that he was "impressed" with the Rockies. [12]

[edit] Playoff Contention

The Rockies would be successful in upending divisional rivals the Minnesota North Stars. It took three goals in the third period, including two in the final two minutes, to win the game 4-2. After the game, coach Johnny Wilson was raving for his team. The Rockies had taken over sole possession of third place in the Smythe Division with the win. [13] By February 1, 1977, the Rockies had a two-point third-place lead over Minnesota and Vancouver. The Rockies would face the New York Rangers on February 1, and the goaltender Plasse would stop 48 of 50 Ranger shots. His performance would help the Rockies to a 5-2 win. The win extended their third place lead to four points. [14] A February 6 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins saw the Rockies score four unanswered third period goals to win the game 5-2. The Rockies had a former member of the WHA’s Denver Spurs on the club. Ron Delorme, the former Spur, would score the game winner in his first stint with the team. He had been playing with Baltimore in the Southern Hockey League. [15] The Rockies continued to be successful. The club enjoyed an 8-6 win against Minnesota, as it extended their third place margin to five points ahead of them. The Rockies were only five points behind second-place Chicago. On February 16, the Rockies won their fourth game of the season against the Detroit Red Wings. A February 20 triumph against the North Stars would be the last highlight of the season for the club. [16] By March 27, the Rockies were officially out of the playoff hunt. This was attributed to an 18-game winless streak that began on February 22. The goaltending of Doug Favell and Plasse kept the team in contention during many games. A typical night saw the goaltenders facing 50 shots. When the Rockies were based in Kansas City, the Scouts had finished their tenure in Kansas City by only winning one game in their final 44. The winless streak finally stopped in a 6-3 win against the Vancouver Canucks. This was the second-to-the-last game of the season. The Rockies season ended with a loss to the LA Kings. [17]

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Wilf Paiement 78 41 40 81 101
Paul Gardner 60 30 29 59 25
Gary Croteau 78 24 27 51 14
Nelson Pyatt 77 23 22 45 20
Barry Dean 79 14 25 39 92
Dave Hudson 73 15 21 36 14
Simon Nolet 52 12 19 31 10
Chuck Arnason 61 13 10 23 16
Ron Andruff 66 4 18 22 21
Danny Gruen 29 8 10 18 12
Denis Dupere 57 7 11 18 4
Ron Delorme 29 6 4 10 23
Larry Skinner 19 4 5 9 6
Phil Roberto 22 1 5 6 23
Sean Shanahan 30 1 3 4 40
Henry Boucha 9 0 2 2 4
Don Cairns 2 0 1 1 2
Randy Rota 1 0 0 0 0

[18]

[edit] Defencemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Tom Edur 80 7 25 32 39
Jim McElmury 55 7 23 30 16
John Van Boxmeer 41 2 11 13 32
Colin Campbell 54 3 8 11 67
Guy Delparte 48 1 8 9 18
Mike Kitchen 60 1 8 9 36
Bryan Lefley 58 0 6 6 27
Larry Johnston 25 0 3 3 35
Roger Lemelin 14 1 1 2 21
Steve Durbano 19 0 2 2 129

[19]

[edit] Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

Player GP W L T SO GAA

[edit] Roster

Colorado Rockies
view • talk • edit
Goaltenders

Defensemen

  • {{{no}}} Colin Campbell 
  • {{{no}}} Guy Delparte 
  • {{{no}}} Steve Durbano 
  • {{{no}}} Tom Edur 
  • {{{no}}} Larry Johnston 
  • {{{no}}} Mike Kitchen 
  • {{{no}}} Roger Lemelin 
  • {{{no}}} Bryan Lefley 
  • {{{no}}} Jim McElmury 
  • {{{no}}} John Van Boxmeer 

Wingers

Centers


  • GM: Ray Miron
  • Coach: John Wilson

[edit] Farm Teams

In 1976–77, the Rockies had affiliations with three different teams, including: the Flint Generals, the Greensboro Generals, and the Rhode Island Reds. [20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ HickokSports.com - History - NHL 1976-77 Season
  2. ^ Colorado Rockies (1976-1982)
  3. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  4. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  5. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  6. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  7. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  8. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  9. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  10. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  11. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  12. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  13. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  14. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  15. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  16. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  17. ^ The Colorado Rockies 1976/77
  18. ^ 1976-77 Colorado Rockies [NHL] player statistics at hockeydb.com
  19. ^ 1976-77 Colorado Rockies [NHL] player statistics at hockeydb.com
  20. ^ A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey - Co
v • d • e
1976–77 NHL season by team
Patrick
Atlanta • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia
Adams
Boston • Buffalo • Cleveland • Toronto
Norris
Detroit • Los Angeles • Montreal • Pittsburgh • Washington
Smythe
Chicago • Colorado • Minnesota • St. Louis • Vancouver
See also
1976 NHL Amateur Draft • All-Star Game • 1977 Stanley Cup Finals • Transactions
v • d • e
Colorado Rockies Seasons
Kansas City • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • New Jersey
v • d • e
Colorado Rockies Head Coaches
v • d • e
Colorado Rockies Captains

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v • d • e
Relocated and defunct NHL teams
Relocated
(still active)
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