The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
Amateur draft The 1975 NHL amateur draft was held on June 3, at the NHL offices in Montreal, Quebec. Mel Bridgman was selected first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Regular season The Montreal Canadiens set records in wins with 58 and points with 127, beginning a four-year stretch where they would dominate the league in the regular season and win four straight Stanley Cup titles. The Philadelphia Flyers tied the record set by the 1929–30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20.
During the regular season, between December 28 and January 10, "Super Series '76" took place as two teams from the Soviet Championship League played eight exhibitions against NHL teams. HC CSKA Moscow (the "Red Army Club"), defending Soviet champion, played against the New York Rangers, Montreal, Boston and, on January 11, the defending NHL champion, the Philadelphia Flyers, while Krylya Sovetov Moscow ("the Soviet Wings") played against Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago and the New York Islanders.Super Series site
The New York Rangers got off to their worst start since 1965–66. Under pressure, general manager Emile Francis traded Derek Sanderson to St. Louis and put goaltender Eddie Giacomin on waivers. Detroit claimed him, and then the blockbuster trade of the year saw the Boston Bruins send superstar center Phil Esposito and star defenceman Carol Vadnais to the New York Rangers for star center Jean Ratelle and superstar defenceman Brad Park.
Both Ratelle and Park would excel for the Bruins for years to come, while Esposito's days as the preeminent scorer in the NHL were behind him. Trades did not help the Rangers, as they gave up 333 goals against (3rd worst in the NHL) and finished last in the Patrick Division, which cost Emile Francis his job as general manager, and coach Ron Stewart was fired as well. John Ferguson Sr. took over both jobs.
The Kansas City Scouts established a dubious distinction, winning only one of their final 44 games.
On February 7, 1976, Darryl Sittler set an NHL record that still stands for most points scored in one game. He recorded ten points (six goals, four assists) against the Boston Bruins.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
Clarence Campbell Conference
Playoffs
Playoff seeds The top three teams in each division made the playoffs. All 12 clubs then were seeded 1–12 based on regular season points, regardless of conference or division.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 127 points Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 118 points Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 113 points Buffalo Sabres – 105 points New York Islanders – 101 points Los Angeles Kings – 85 points Toronto Maple Leafs – 83 points Pittsburgh Penguins – 82 points (35 wins, 5 points head-to-head vs. Atlanta) Atlanta Flames – 82 points (35 wins, 3 points head-to-head vs. Pittsburgh) Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 82 points (32 wins) Vancouver Canucks – 81 points St. Louis Blues – 72 points
Playoff bracket The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth.
Regardless of playoff seed, all four division winners received a bye to the Quarterfinals, including this season's 10th overall seeded Smythe Division champion Chicago Black Hawks.
Each series in the Preliminary Round was played in a best-of-three format while each series in the other three rounds were played in a best-of-seven format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).
Preliminary round
(1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (8) St. Louis Blues The Buffalo Sabres were the first seed of the preliminary round and fourth overall with 105 points. The St. Louis Blues were the eighth seed of the preliminary round and twelfth overall with 72 points. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The Buffalo Sabres won this year's regular season series earning 5 of 8 points.
(2) New York Islanders vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks The New York Islanders were the second seed in the preliminary round and fifth overall with 101 points. The Vancouver Canucks were the seventh seed in the preliminary round and eleventh overall with 81 points. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Vancouver won this year's regular season series earning 8 of 10 points.
(3) Los Angeles Kings vs. (6) Atlanta Flames The Los Angeles Kings were the third seed of the preliminary round and sixth overall 85 points. The Atlanta Flames were the sixth seed of the preliminary round and ninth overall with 82 points, losing the tie-breaker to Pittsburgh in head-to-head points (5 to 3). This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Los Angeles won this year's regular season series earning 6 of 8 points.
(4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) Pittsburgh Penguins The Toronto Maple Leafs were the fourth seed in the preliminary round and seventh overall with 83 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the fifth seed in the preliminary round and eighth overall with 82 points, winning the tiebreaker over Atlanta in head-to-head points (5 to 3). This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Pittsburgh won this year's regular season series earning 8 of 10 points.
Quarterfinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks The Montreal Canadiens finished first in the league with 127 points. The Chicago Black Hawks finished as the Smythe Division Champions as the eighth and lowest-remaining seed in the playoffs with 82 points. This was the 17th playoff series between these two teams. Montreal leads 11–5 in previous meetings. Their most recent meeting came in the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals, which Montreal won in six games. Montreal won this year's regular season series earning 5 of 8 points.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Toronto Maple Leafs The Philadelphia Flyers finished as Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions and second seed overall with 118 points. This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, which Philadelphia won in a four-game sweep. Philadelphia won this year's regular season series earning 7 of 8 points.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings The Boston Bruins finished as the Adams Division regular season champions and third seed overall with 113 points. This was the first playoff series between these two teams. Boston won this year's regular season series earning 8 of 10 points.
(4) Buffalo Sabres vs. (5) New York Islanders This was the first playoff series between these two teams. The teams split this year's four-game regular season series.
In game five, the Islanders scored two goals in the final five minutes, including the game-winner by Bert Marshall with 19 seconds left to take a 3–2 series lead. Clark Gilles scored the game-winner with just over 14 minutes left in the third period of game six to send the Isles to the semifinals against the Canadiens.
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Islanders
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won the only previous meeting in a major upset in the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals in six games.
Stanley Cup Finals
This was the second playoff series (and only Finals) meeting between these two teams. Montreal won the only previous meeting in the 1973 Stanley Cup Semifinals in five games.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, once again made it to the finals, but were swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens.
Awards 1976 NHL awardsPrince of Wales Trophy:(Wales Conference regular season champion) Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:(Campbell Conference regular season champion) Philadelphia FlyersArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer, regular season) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Rod Gilbert, New York RangersCalder Memorial Trophy:(Top first-year player) Bryan Trottier, New York IslandersConn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) Reggie Leach, Philadelphia FlyersHart Memorial Trophy:(Most valuable player, regular season) Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia FlyersJack Adams Award:(Best coach) Don Cherry, Boston BruinsJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Denis Potvin, New York IslandersLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers/Boston BruinsLester B. Pearson Award:(Outstanding player, regular season) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensVezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
All-Star teams First Team Position Second TeamKen Dryden, Montreal Canadiens GGlenn Resch, New York IslandersDenis Potvin, New York Islanders DBorje Salming, Toronto Maple LeafsBrad Park, Boston Bruins/New York Rangers DGuy Lapointe, Montreal CanadiensBobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers CGilbert Perreault, Buffalo SabresGuy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens RWReggie Leach, Philadelphia FlyersBill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers LWRick Martin, Buffalo Sabres
Player statistics
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens 80 56 69 125 36 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers 76 30 89 119 136 Gilbert Perreault Buffalo Sabres 80 44 69 113 36 Bill Barber Philadelphia Flyers 80 50 62 112 104 Pierre Larouche Pittsburgh Penguins 76 53 58 111 33 Jean Ratelle New York Rangers/Boston Bruins 80 36 69 105 18 Pete Mahovlich Montreal Canadiens 80 34 71 105 76 Jean Pronovost Pittsburgh Penguins 80 52 52 104 24 Darryl Sittler Toronto Maple Leafs 79 41 59 100 90 Syl Apps Jr. Pittsburgh Penguins 80 32 67 99 24 Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SOKen Dryden Montreal Canadiens 62 3580 121 2.03 42 10 8 8Chico Resch N.Y. Islanders 44 2546 88 2.07 23 11 8 7Dan Bouchard Atlanta Flames 47 2671 113 2.54 19 17 8 2Wayne Stephenson Philadelphia Flyers 66 3819 164 2.58 40 10 13 1Billy Smith N.Y. Islanders 39 2254 98 2.61 19 10 9 3Gilles Gilbert Boston Bruins 55 3123 151 2.90 33 8 10 3Tony Esposito Chicago Black Hawks 68 4003 198 2.97 30 23 13 4Rogatien Vachon L.A. Kings 51 3060 160 3.14 26 20 5 5Wayne Thomas Toronto Maple Leafs 64 3684 196 3.19 28 24 12 2Gary Simmons California Golden Seals 40 2360 131 3.33 15 19 5 2
Other statistics Plus-minus: Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Coaches
Patrick Division Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton New York Islanders: Al Arbour New York Rangers: Ron Stewart and John Ferguson Sr. Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero
Adams Division Boston Bruins: Don Cherry Buffalo Sabres: Floyd Smith California Golden Seals: Jack Evans Toronto Maple Leafs: Red Kelly
Norris Division Detroit Red Wings: Alex Delvecchio Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc Boileau and Ken Schinkel Washington Capitals: Milt Schmidt and Tom McVie
Smythe Division Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay