1973-74 WHA Season

The 1973-74 WHA season was the second season of the World Hockey Association. Twelve teams each played 78 games. The Philadelphia Blazers relocated to Vancouver, becoming the Vancouver Blazers. They were moved to the Western Division and the Chicago Cougars moved to the Eastern Division. The New York Raiders were renamed the New York Golden Blades and then moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to become the New Jersey Knights after just 20 games. The Ottawa Nationals moved to Toronto and became the Toronto Toros.

The Houston Aeros defeated the Chicago Cougars 4 games to 0 in the Finals to win their 1st Avco World Trophy.

Off-season
Following the 1972-73 WHA season, New York real estate mogul Ralph Brent bought the team and renamed it the New York Golden Blades. While they managed to acquire Andre Lacroix from the Philadelphia Blazers, he was essentially all the franchise had going for it. The team replaced their original orange and blue uniforms with purple and gold uniforms of a unique design, and to coincide with the new identity, the team started the season wearing white skates with gold-colored blades.

Pre-season
In order to promote the New York Golden Blades, a four team mini-tournament featuring the Houston Aeros, Winnipeg Jets and New England Whalers was held at Madison Square Garden on September 25, 1973.

Regular Season
The Houston Aeros lured 45 year old Gordie Howe out of retirement by promising him that he could play with his sons Mark and Marty who were also on the team. Howe responded by having a 100 point season, leading the team in scoring and helping them finish with the best record in the league. The Aeros also received excellent goaltending from Don McLeod and Wayne Rutledge. The defending Western Division champion Winnipeg Jets slipped to 4th place with a sub-.500 record. The other playoff qualifiers in the West were Minnesota and Edmonton.

In the East, defending Avco World Trophy champs New England won their second straight division title followed by Toronto, Cleveland and Chicago.

Scoring Leaders
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Leading Goaltenders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties, GA = Goals against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

All-Star Game
On January 3, 1974 at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, MN, a team comprised of the Eastern Division All-Stars defeated the Western Division All-Stars 8-4 before a crowd of 13,196 spectators. Mike Walton, who had a Hat trick in a losing effort, was the game's MVP.

Avco World Trophy Playoffs
The West Division playoffs went according to form, with the top 2 seeds, Houston and Minnesota, easily disposing of Edmonton and Winnipeg respectively. In the east, Toronto won as expected over Cleveland, but Chicago shocked the WHA by upsetting the defending champion New England Whalers in 7 games, winning 3 of the 4 games in New England. In the division Finals, favored Houston defeated Minnesota in 6 games, while Chicago pulled its second upset by beating Toronto in 7 games, outscoring the Toros 14-4 in winning games 6 and 7.

Avco World Trophy Finals
When the Chicago Cougars won their series versus the Toronto Toros, the Peter Pan show had moved on, and the International Amphitheatre should have been available. However, the Amphitheatre had a portable ice surface. For reasons that were never stated, the Amphitheatre staff decided the hockey season was over so uncovered and dismantled the copper pipes used to chill the ice. The Cougars had no choice but to return to the Randhurst Ice Arena, a 2,000 seat public skating rink, for the Finals. The Cougars never quite recovered from the public relations disaster. One sports reporter had quipped, "The Cougars were beaten by the greatest lightweight of them all - Peter Pan."

The Cougars ran out of magic in the Finals as Houston swept them in four straight, outscoring them 22-9.