1977-78 NHL season

The 1977-78 NHL season was the 61st season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup in a row as they beat the Boston Bruins four games to two in the finals.

League Business
Clarence Campbell retired as NHL President, prior to this season. John Ziegler succeeded him.

A trophy for the top defensive forward, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, made its debut this season and went to Bob Gainey, who played Left Wing for Montreal.

The Cleveland Barons franchise dissolved at the end of the season and its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Minnesota North Stars, which moved to Cleveland's slot in the Adams Division.

Scoring Leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Leading Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Finals
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Larry Robinson won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1977-78 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
 * Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
 * Barry Beck, Colorado Rockies
 * Dale McCourt, Detroit Red Wings
 * Vaclav Nedomansky, Detroit Red Wings
 * Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
 * Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
 * Ron Duguay, New York Rangers
 * Glen Hanlon, Vancouver Canucks
 * Murray Bannerman, Vancouver Canucks
 * Robert Picard, Washington Capitals

Last Games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1977-78 (listed with their last team):
 * Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins
 * Eddie Johnston, Chicago Black Hawks
 * Jim Neilson, Cleveland Barons
 * Dennis Hull, Detroit Red Wings
 * Ed Giacomin, Detroit Red Wings
 * Bill Goldsworthy, New York Rangers
 * Dallas Smith, New York Rangers
 * Ken Hodge, New York Rangers
 * Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
 * Gary Dornhoefer, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Derek Sanderson, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Claude Larose, St. Louis Blues
 * Jimmy Roberts, St. Louis Blues
 * Red Berenson, St. Louis Blues
 * Cesare Maniago, Vancouver Canucks

Video
Over 30 minutes of the October 23, 1977 Pittsburgh-Cleveland game.