1972–73 WHA season
The 1972-73 WHA season was the first regular season of the now 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 Financial Services Corporation along with $500,000. The New England Whalers won the first Avco World Trophy.
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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 by a score of 4-2.
The first WHA game, on 12 October, 1972, was won by the Alberta Oilers 7-4 over the Ottawa Nationals.
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 |
| 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 |
Jan 6 1973, Quebec City, att. 5435.
East 6, West 2
MVP: Wayne Carleton (East, Ottawa Nationals)
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | New England Whalers | 4 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Ottawa Nationals | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | New England Whalers | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 1 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia Blazers | 0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | New England Whalers | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Winnipeg Jets | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | |||||||||||
| W4 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| W2 | Houston Aeros | 0 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Houston Aeros | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles Sharks | 2 | |||||||||||
New England Whalers defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 4 games to 1. The Whalers defeated the Jets 9 to 6 in the deciding game, with Larry Pleau scoring a hat trick.
| Preceded by 'None' |
WHA seasons | Succeeded by 1973-74 WHA season |
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