1972–73 Quebec Nordiques season



The 1972–73 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques' 1st season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Nordiques finished 5th in the Eastern Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season
The Nordiques franchise was originally awarded to a group in San Francisco, California, and was named the San Francisco Sharks, however, funding collapsed prior to the start of the season, and the WHA sold the organization to a Quebec City group led by Marcel Aubut and Paul Racine. They named the club the Nordiques due to the northern location of the team.

The Nordiques made signing French-Canadien players a priority and for the club's entire existence in the WHA, the team was nearly totally comprised of players who were born in Quebec.

The Nordiques inaugural jersey colours were light blue, white and red with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily light blue away jersey. The jerseys had a shoulder yolk, simple stripes on the arms and body and no nameplates on the back. The logo was a red partial igloo with a hockey stick and puck on the right. Significantly, there was no fleur-de-lis present.

Regular Season
The Nordiques named former Montreal Canadiens great Maurice Richard the head coach of the club, and played their first ever game on October 11, 1972, losing 2–0 on the road to the Cleveland Crusaders. After the game, Richard would step down from head coaching duties, as he was not comfortable doing the job, and Maurice Filion would take over. The Nordiques won their home opener, shutting out the Alberta Oilers 6–0 at Le Colisee. The Nords ended up just missing the playoffs, finishing the year with a 33–40–5 record, earning them 71 points, 3 behind the Ottawa Nationals for the final playoff position in the Eastern Division.

Offensively, Quebec was led by defenceman J. C. Tremblay who led the WHA in assists with 75, and led the Nordiques with 89 points. Alain Caron scored a team high 36 goals. Michel Parizeau and Andre Gaudette each broke the 70 point barrier, recording 73 points and 71 respectively. Pierre Roy led the club with 169 penalty minutes, while Michel Rouleau would get 142 in 52 games after being acquired from the Philadelphia Blazers.

In goal, Serge Aubry got the majority of playing time, earning a club high 25 wins and a team best 3.60 GAA along with 2 shutouts.

Playoffs

 * The Nordiques did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

 * Dennis A. Murphy Trophy (Best Defenseman): J. C. Tremblay
 * J. C. Tremblay, Defense, WHA First Team All-Star