1974-75 NHL season

The 1974-75 NHL season was the 58th season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games. With the addition of two new teams, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts, the NHL bumped up the number of games from 78 to 80 and split the previously two-division league into four divisions and two conferences.

Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were also removed. The East Division became the Prince of Wales Conference and consisted of the Adams Division and Norris Division and the West Division became the Clarence Campbell Conference and consisted of the Patrick Division and Smythe Division. The Patrick and Norris Divisions changed conferences with one another following the 1980-81 season. This further expansion was considered by many ill-fated, and with the World Hockey Association continuing to drain talent away, the Capitals had the worst season ever recorded in the history of major professional hockey, and the third worst in the postwar era the following season, while the Scouts the following season would have the fifth worst record of the postwar era.

Pre-season
The first set of exhibition games between the NHL and WHA were held. The NHL was victorious in the series, winning 5 and losing 2 games.

September 26, 1974: Houston Aeros 5, St. Louis Blues 3 September 28, 1974: Philadelphia Flyers 4, New England Whalers 2 September 29, 1974: Atlanta Flames 3, Winnipeg Jets 1 October 5, 1974: San Diego Mariners 4, California Golden Seals 3 October 6, 1974: Minnesota North Stars 5, Toronto Toros 3 October 6, 1974: Vancouver Canucks 4, Edmonton Oilers 3 October 6, 1974: Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Cleveland Crusaders 3

Regular Season
At 8:22 of the first period of the Boston-Minnesota game on January 4, 1975, Dave Forbes checked Henry Boucha into the boards in the North Stars corner. Boucha took exception and suckered punched Forbes. A melee ensued which quickly died down. Terry O'Reilly was deemed to be the third man in and was given a game misconduct. Boucha and Forbes were each given seven penalty minutes and both went to the box without any overt animosity. However, as soon as their penalties expired and they took to the ice, Forbes butt ended Boucha in the face, fracturing his eye socket. Another melee ensued but quickly ended as the extend of Boucha's injury was realized. Bleeding profusely, Boucha was stretchered off. When the dust settled, Boston was short handed for ten minutes, which they killed off. The Bruins went on to win 8-0, scoring a short handed goal and seven power plays goals, an NHL record. Forbes was given a ten game suspension and charged with aggravated assault. His trail ended in a hung jury. Forbes and the Bruins settled a civil case by paying Boucha in excess of one million dollars. Boucha made a comeback, playing the next season for the Kansas City Scouts and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA but with his vision permanently affected, he retired from pro hockey.

For the first time ever in the National Hockey League, there was a three-way tie for first place overall. The respective divisional leaders of the Norris, Patrick, and Adams all had 113 points. The Vancouver Canucks, which had been playing in the original East Division since they debuted in the league were moved over to the Campbell Conference and lead the way in the Smythe Division with a comparatively meager 86 points.

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

Scoring Leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

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

Stanley Cup Playoffs
All dates in 1975

The playoffs were expanded from 8 to 12 teams with the top 3 teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs. The first place teams in each division earned a first round bye, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams were seeded 1-8 based on their regular season record and played a best 2 out of 3 "mini-series." The four division winners then joined the 4 mini series winners in the quarter finals, and they were again re-seeded 1-8 based on regular season record. This re-seeding would take place again in the semi finals, and continues to this day in the current playoff format. Proponents of this re-seeding state that it makes the regular season more important by rewarding teams with better records with potentially easier matchups. In addition, it avoids the potential issue of two lower seeded teams (who may have pulled early round upsets)playing each other in the next round while two higher seeded teams are playing each other (as is possible in a "bracketed" playoff format like in the National Basketball Association.

With the new conference and division structure, the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs used a new format. Twelve teams qualified for the post-season. The four division winners from the regular season received byes to the quarterfinal round. The next two teams in each division (eight teams total) were ranked according to their regular season point totals, with the highest ranked team playing against the lowest ranked team, and so on, in a best-of-three preliminary round. The four preliminary round winners and four division winners were re-ranked for the subsequent round. The biggest beneficiary of this format was the Vancouver Canucks, who were 9th in the regular season but received a first-round bye for winning the relatively weak Smythe Division. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the fact that the second round was seeded without regard to their first place divisional finish meant they had to face another division champion in the second round, the Norris-winning Montreal Canadiens, who defeated Vancouver 4–1. The team that suffered the most from the new format, the Los Angeles Kings, had the 4th best overall record but had to play in the risky mini series where they were upset by the 12th-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1.

Finals
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4–2 for their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Playoff Bracket

 * Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals.
 * Teams re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds.

Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1974-75 (listed with their first team):
 * Guy Chouinard, Atlanta Flames
 * Danny Gare, Buffalo Sabres
 * Charlie Simmer, California Golden Seals
 * Wilf Paiement, Kansas City Scouts
 * Clark Gillies, New York Islanders
 * Bob Bourne, New York Islanders
 * Rick Middleton, New York Rangers
 * Ron Greschner, New York Rangers
 * Bob MacMillan, New York Rangers
 * Pierre Larouche, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Tiger Williams, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Harold Snepsts, Vancouver Canucks

Last Games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1974-75 (listed with their last team):
 * Murray Oliver, Minnesota North Stars
 * Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens
 * Bobby Rousseau, New York Rangers
 * Ted Harris, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Eddie Shack, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Norm Ullman, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Doug Mohns, Washington Capitals

Video
Two videos of the two fights between Dave Forbes and Henry Boucha which led to Boucha's eye injury on January 4, 1975.