World Hockey Association

The World Hockey Association was an ice hockey league in North America that existed from 1972 to 1979. Much like the American Basketball Association in basketball, with which it had the executive staff in common, it owed its success to its aggressive penetration into the markets of the National Hockey League , its innovative methods and its liberal player policy. While the NHL focused primarily on North American players, the WHA also opened the door to Europeans. Player changes have also been made much easier. Many of the greats of ice hockey played at the WHA, including Bobby Hull , Gordie Howe , Wayne Gretzky , Mark Messier , JC Tremblay , Gerry Cheevers and Bernie Parent . The innovations of the WHA included (by the standards of the time) "gaudy" playing clothes, a healthy level of physical hardness and the puck with the chip, which was picked up by the NHL in the 1990s and which should be better seen on television. In 1979 the league was financially at an end. Four of the six teams joined the NHL: the Edmonton Oilers , the New England Whalers (as Hartford Whalers ), the Québec Nordiques and the Winnipeg Jets . Compensation was paid to the Birmingham Bulls and the Cincinnati Stingers.

Teams of the WHA

Alberta Oilers (1972–1973), Edmonton Oilers (1973–1979)
Chicago Cougars (1972-1975)
Cincinnati Stingers (1975-1979)
Cleveland Crusaders (1972-1976)
Denver Spurs (1975), Ottawa Civics (1976)
Houston Eros (1972-1978)
Indianapolis Racers (1974-1978)
Los Angeles Sharks (1972–1974), Michigan Stags (1974–1975), Baltimore Blades (1975)
Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972-1977)
New England Whalers (1972–1979) (1972–1974 in Boston, 1974 in Springfield, from 1975 in Hartford)
New York Raiders (1972–1973), New York Golden Blades (1973), Jersey Knights (1973–1974), San Diego Mariners (1974–1977)
Ottawa Nationals (1972–1973), Toronto Toros (1973–1976), Birmingham Bulls (1976–1979)
Philadelphia Blazers (1972–1973), Vancouver Blazers (1973–1975), Calgary Cowboys (1975–1977)
Phoenix Roadrunners (1974-1977)
Québec Nordiques (1972–1979)
Winnipeg Jets (1972–1979)

The remaining teams

With the Edmonton Oilers , the Québec Nordiques , the Winnipeg Jets and the New England Whalers , four WHA teams joined the NHL . The New England Whalers started their first season as Hartford Whalers . The teams were able to gain a foothold relatively quickly. The Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup back in 1984 and had four more to follow by 1990. In 1995 the Québec Nordiques moved to Denver and from then on played as the Colorado Avalanche . In 1996 the Winnipeg Jets followed suit and became the Phoenix Coyotes . The Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina in 1997 and was renamed Carolina Hurricanes . Only the Edmonton Oilers of the former WHA teams are still in their old hometown. With the Colorado Avalanche, the second WHA team managed to win the Stanley Cup. And in 2006 there was a premiere when two WHA teams, the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes, met in the Stanley Cup final. The Hurricanes won the final.

In 1994 the Houston Eros were re-established , which first played in the IHL and since 2001/02 in the AHL since its dissolution . However, the current team has nothing to do with the WHA team. The choice of name is intended as an homage to the two-time winner of the WHA championship.

Avco World Trophy

The WHA masters received the Avco World Trophy named after the Avco group . The winners were:

Awards and trophies

The WHA awarded a total of nine trophies for teams, players and coaches during the season. However, they never achieved the status of the trophies awarded in the National Hockey League , the great competitor of the WHA.

Team trophies
Surname	Reason for award	photo	Namesake	Award	Record winner comments
Avco World Trophy	Winner of the WHA playoffs		Avco Corporation (as sponsor)	1972 - 1979	Winnipeg Jets (3) Houston Eros (2)
Player and coach trophies
Surname	Reason for award	photo	Namesake	Award	Record winner comments
Gary L. Davidson Award Gordie Howe Trophy	Most valuable regular season player		Gordie Howe	1972 - 1979	Bobby Hull (2) Marc Tardif (2) Awarded the Gary L. Davison Award from 1972 to 1975
Bill Hunter Trophy	Best scorer of the regular season		Bill Hunter	1972 - 1979	Real Cloutier (2) André Lacroix (2) Marc Tardif (2)
Lou Kaplan Trophy	Best rookie of the regular season		Lou Kaplan	1972 - 1979	Players from the Winnipeg Jets and New England Whalers received the award twice
Ben Hatskin Trophy	Best goalkeeper of the regular season		Ben Hatskin	1972 - 1979	Ron Grahame (2)
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy	Best Regular Season Defender		Dennis A. Murphy	1972 - 1979	JC Tremblay (2)
Paul Deneau Trophy	Fairest regular season player		Paul Deneau	1972 - 1979	Dave Keon (2)
Howard Baldwin Trophy Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy	Best coach of the season		Howard Baldwin	1972 - 1979	Bill Dineen (2) Renamed the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy in 1975
WHA Playoff MVP	Most valuable player in the WHA playoffs			1974 - 1979	Three of the five awards were won by Winnipeg Jets players

Records

Gates
space	player	Gates
1.	Marc Tardif	316
2.	Bobby Hull	303
3.	Real Cloutier	283
4th	André Lacroix	251
5.	Hedberg is different	236
6th	Serge Bernier	230
7th	Tom Webster	220
8th.	Danny Lawson	218
9.	Robbie Ftorek	216
10.	Mark Howe	208

templates
space	player	templates
1.	André Lacroix	547
2.	JC Tremblay	358
3.	Marc Tardif	350
4th	Ulf Nilsson	344
5.	Serge Bernier	336
6th	Bobby Hull	335
7th	Gordie Howe	334
8th.	Christian Bordeleau	325
9.	Robbie Ftorek	307
10.	Mark Howe	296

Points
space	player	Points
1.	André Lacroix	798
2.	Marc Tardif	666
3.	Bobby Hull	638
4th	Serge Bernier	566
	Real Cloutier	566
6th	Robbie Ftorek	523
7th	Gordie Howe	508
8th.	Christian Bordeleau	504
	Mark Howe	504
10.	Ulf Nilsson	484

Games
space	player	Games
1.	André Lacroix	551
2.	Ron Plumb	549
3.	Michel Parizeau	519
4th	Paul Shmyr	511
5.	Mike Antonovich	486

Penalty minutes
space	player	Minutes
1.	Paul Baxter	962
2.	Kim Clackson	932
3.	Cam Connor	904
4th	Pierre Roy	864
5.	Paul Shmyr	860

Shutouts
space	player	Shutouts
1.	Ernie Wakely	16
2.	Gerry Cheevers	14th
3.	John Garrett	14th
4th	Joe Daley	12
5.	Ron Grahame	12

literature

Scott Adam Surgent: The Complete Historical and Statistical Reference of the World Hockey Association 1972-1979 Xaler Press, 1995. ISBN 0-9644774-0-8 .