1972–73 NHL season

The 1972–73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. For the first time since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926, the National Hockey League had serious competition. A new professional hockey league, the World Hockey Association, made its season debut with 12 new teams, many of which were based in the same cities as NHL teams. Unlike the Western Hockey League, though, the new World Hockey Association would not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets. The first thing the WHA did was sign Bobby Hull, and the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts. Others soon followed Hull to the WHA, including Bernie Parent, J.C. Tremblay, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny McKenzie. In the expansion draft, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames made their picks and eleven Islander players skipped off to the WHA. The California Golden Seals, chafing under the unorthodox ownership of the unpopular Charlie Finley, were also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players.

Regular season

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

East Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Montreal Canadiens78521016120329184783
Boston Bruins78512251073302351097
New York Rangers7847238102297208765
Buffalo Sabres7837271488257219940
Detroit Red Wings7837291286265243893
Toronto Maple Leafs7827411064247279716
Vancouver Canucks782247953233339943
New York Islanders781260630170347881
West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Chicago Black Hawks784227993284225864
Philadelphia Flyers78373011852962561756
Minnesota North Stars7837301185254230881
St. Louis Blues78323412762332511195
Pittsburgh Penguins783237973257265866
Los Angeles Kings7831361173232245888
Atlanta Flames7825381565191239852
California Golden Seals7816461648213323840

Scoring leaders

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Phil EspositoBoston Bruins78557513087
Bobby ClarkePhiladelphia Flyers78376710480
Bobby OrrBoston Bruins63297210199
Rick MacLeishPhiladelphia Flyers78505010069
Jacques LemaireMontreal Canadiens7744519516
Jean RatelleNew York Rangers7841539412
Mickey RedmondDetroit Red Wings7652419324
John BucykBoston Bruins7840539312
Frank MahovlichMontreal Canadiens7838559351
Jim PappinChicago Black Hawks7641519282

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
E1 Montreal Canadiens 4
E4 Buffalo Sabres 2
E1 Montreal Canadiens 4
W2 Philadelphia Flyers 1
W2 Philadelphia Flyers 4
W3 Minnesota North Stars 2
E1 Montreal Canadiens 4
W1 Chicago Black Hawks 2
W1 Chicago Black Hawks 4
W4 St. Louis Blues 1
W1 Chicago Black Hawks 4
E3 New York Rangers 1
E2 Boston Bruins 1
E3 New York Rangers 4

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:Lowell MacDonald, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder Memorial Trophy:Steve Vickers, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy:Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy:Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
Lester B. Pearson Award:Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy:Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy:Walter L. Bush, Jr.

All-Star teams

First Team  Position  Second Team
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens G Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins D Brad Park, New York Rangers
Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens D Bill White, Chicago Black Hawks
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins C Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Mickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings RW Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens LW Dennis Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

References

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