1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 50th season in the NHL. The Hawks finished 1st in the Smythe Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 0.

Regular Season
Chicago started off the regular season on the right foot, as they had a 10-4-11 record in their first 25 games to take the lead in the Smythe Division. The Hawks had a 15 game unbeaten streak (6-0-9) in that span. The team would cool off, but get hot again, and reached a peak of being ten games over .500 with a record of 21-11-16 through 48 games. Chicago would fall into a slump, and actually found themselves under .500 with only four games left in the season, as they fell to 29-30-17. The club would go unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1) to finish the year with a 32-30-18 record, earning 82 points, which was enough to finish in first place in the Smythe Division. The Hawks 32 wins was their lowest total since 1967-68, when they also won 32 games.

Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Pit Martin, who had a club high 32 goals and 71 points, while Dennis Hull rebounded from a poor 1974-75 season to score 27 goals and 66 points. Ivan Boldirev scored 28 goals and 62 points, while defenseman Dale Tallon led the club with 47 assists, while scoring 15 goals for 62 points. Stan Mikita missed 32 games due to injuries, however, he still earned 57 points. Keith Magnuson had a team high +13 rating, while Phil Russell led the club with 194 penalty minutes.

In goal, Tony Esposito once again led the club with 30 victories and a 2.97 GAA, earning four shutouts in 68 games.

Playoffs
Since the Hawks won their division, they were given a bye in the NHL preliminary series, and would face the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the NHL quarter-finals. The Canadiens had a record breaking season in 1975-76, as they set NHL records with 58 wins and 127 points as they finished in first place in the Norris Division. The series opened with two games at the Montreal Forum, and the Canadiens quickly took control of the series, shutting out Chicago 4-0 in the series opener, and then winning 3-1 in the second game. The series shifted to Chicago Stadium for the next two games, but Montreal proved to be too good for the Hawks, as the Canadiens took the third game by a 2-1 score, then swept the Hawks out of the playoffs with a 4-1 victory in the fourth game.

Draft Picks
Chicago's draft picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft at the NHL Office in Montreal, Quebec.

Awards and Records

 * Lester Patrick Trophy: Stan Mikita

Video
Over ten minutes of the Canadiens-Black Hawks 1976 Quarter-finals Game 4.