1972-73 WHA season

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.

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 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

Eastern 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

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 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

References

HockeyDB

World Hockey Association | 1972 in ice hockey | 1973 in ice hockey

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