1972-73 WHA season

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World Hockey Association logo

The 1972-73 WHA season was the first regular season of the new defunct World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Garry L. 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 Fiancial Services Corporation along with $500,000. The New England Whalers won the first Avco World Trophy.

Contents

1 Regular season

1.1 Final standings
1.2 Scoring leaders
1.3 All-Star game

2 Avco World Trophy playoffs

2.1 Avco World Trophy finals

3 WHA awards
4 See also
5 References

Regular season

The WHA was split into two divisions, the Eastern Division and the Western Division. Each division sported 6 teams. The New England Whalers led the Eastern Division and had the best record in the league. The Winnipeg Jets led the Western Division and had the second best record in the league. The Alberta Oilers missed the playoffs, despite having a superior goal-differential to the Minnesota Fighting Saints, because they lost a neutral-site, tie-breaking game against the Saints in Calgary.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in Minutes
Teams that qualifies for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

Eastern Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
New England Whalers	78	46	30	2	94	318	263	858
Cleveland Crusaders	78	43	32	3	89	287	239	1095
Philadelphia Blazers	78	38	40	0	76	288	305	1260
Ottawa Nationals	78	35	39	4	74	279	301	1067
Quebec Nordiques	78	33	40	5	71	276	313	1354
New York Raiders	78	33	43	2	68	303	334	900

Western Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets 78 43 31 4 90 285 249 757
Houston Aeros 78 39 35 4 82 284 269 1363

Los Angeles Sharks
78 37 35 6 80 259 250 1477

Minnesota Fighting Saints
78 38 37 3 79 250 269 843
Alberta Oilers 78 38 37 3 79 269 256 1134
Chicago Cougars 78 26 50 2 54 245 295 811

Western Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Winnipeg Jets	78	43	31	4	90	285	249	757
Houston Aeros	78	39	35	4	82	284	269	1363
Los Angeles Sharks	78	37	35	6	80	259	250	1477
Minnesota Fighting Saints	78	38	37	3	79	250	269	843
Alberta Oilers	78	38	37	3	79	269	256	1134
Chicago Cougars	78	26	50	2	54	245	295	811

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	Goals	Assists	Points
Andre Lacroix	Philadelphia Blazers	50	74	124
Ron Ward	New York Raiders	51	67	118
Danny Lawson	Philadelphia Blazers	61	45	106
Bobby Hull	Winnipeg Jets	51	52	103
Norm Beaudin	Winnipeg Jets	38	65	103
Tom Webster	New England Whalers	53	50	103
Chris Bordeleau	Winnipeg Jets	47	54	101
Terry Caffery	New England Whalers	39	61	100
Gord Labossiere	Houston Aeros	36	60	96
Wayne Carleton	Ottawa Nationals	42	49	91

All-Star game

Avco World Trophy playoffs

Avco World Trophy

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Avco World Trophy finals
New England Whalers defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 4 games to 1. The Whalers defeated the Jets 9 to 6 in the deciding games, with Larry Pleau scoring a hat trick.

WHA awards

Avco World Trophy: New England Whalers
Gary L. Davidson Award: Bobby Hull, Winnipeg Jets
Bill Hunter Trophy: Andre Lacroix, Philadelphia Blazers
Lou Kaplan Trophy: Terry Caffery, New England Whalers
Ben Hatskin Trophy: Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland Crusaders
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy: J.C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques
Paul Deneau Trophy: Ted Hampson, Minnesota Fighting Saints
Howard Baldwin Trophy: Jack Kelley, New England Whalers

See also

1972-73 NHL season
1972 in sports
1973 in sports

References

[HockeyDB]
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