1974–75 WHA season

1974–75 WHA season
League World Hockey Association
Sport Ice hockey
Regular season
Top scorer Andre Lacroix (Minnesota)
Avco World Trophy
Finals champions Houston Aeros
  Runners-up Quebec Nordiques
WHA seasons
← 1973–74

1975–76 →

The 1974–75 WHA season was the third season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games.

Contents

Regular season

The WHA expanded by adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners, and splitting into 3 divisions (Western, Eastern, and Canadian). The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs along with the two next best teams overall. Prior to the season, Southern California welcomed the New Jersey Knights, who moved to San Diego and became the Mariners, and said goodbye to the Los Angeles Sharks, who moved to Detroit and became the Michigan Stags. Midway through the season, the Stags moved to Baltimore and became the Blades; they folded for good after the season. Chicago also folded at season's end.

Final standings

Canadian Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Quebec Nordiques 78 46 32 0 92 331 299 1132
Toronto Toros 78 43 33 2 88 349 304 883
Winnipeg Jets 78 38 35 5 81 322 293 869
Vancouver Blazers 78 37 39 2 76 256 270 1075
Edmonton Oilers 78 36 38 4 76 279 279 896
Eastern Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
New England Whalers 78 43 30 5 91 274 279 867
Cleveland Crusaders 78 35 40 3 73 236 258 1273
Chicago Cougars 78 30 47 1 61 261 312 1086
Indianapolis Racers 78 18 57 3 39 216 338 970
Western Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Houston Aeros 78 53 25 0 106 369 247 1257
San Diego Mariners 78 43 31 4 90 326 268 1058
Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 42 33 3 87 308 279 1233
Phoenix Roadrunners 78 39 31 8 86 300 265 1388
Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades 78 21 53 4 46 205 341 1104

Scoring leaders

Andre Lacroix of the San Diego Mariners led the league in scoring with 41 goals and 106 assists for 147 points.

All-Star game

At Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, the West defeated the East 6-4.

Avco World Trophy playoffs

Eight teams qualified for the playoffs; the top two teams in each division and the next two teams with the highest point totals. The teams were then pooled together, according to point totals, to determine quarter-final match-ups. The three division winners were guaranteed the top three seeds, according to their point totals. Teams were not "reseeded" after the quarter-final round.

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
                           
  W1  Houston Aeros 4  
E2  Cleveland Crusaders 1  
  W1  Houston Aeros 4  
  W2  San Diego Mariners 0  
W2  San Diego Mariners 4
  C2  Toronto Toros 2  
    W1  Houston Aeros 4
  C1  Québec Nordiques 0
  E1  New England Whalers 2  
W3  Minnesota Fighting Saints 4  
  W3  Minnesota Fighting Saints 2
  C1  Québec Nordiques 4  
C1  Québec Nordiques 4
  W4  Phoenix Roadrunners 1  

WHA awards

Avco World Trophy: Houston Aeros
Gary L. Davidson Award: Bobby Hull, Winnipeg Jets
Bill Hunter Trophy: Andre Lacroix, San Diego Mariners
Lou Kaplan Trophy: Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg Jets
Ben Hatskin Trophy: Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy: J. C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques
Paul Deneau Trophy: Mike Rogers, Edmonton Oilers
Howard Baldwin Trophy: Sandy Hucul, Phoenix Roadrunners
WHA Playoff MVP: Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros

See also

References

WHA seasons
1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79
1974–75 WHA season by team
Canadian:
Eastern:
Western:
Teams
Trophies
and awards