1972–73 Ottawa Nationals season

1972–73 Ottawa Nationals
Division	4th Eastern
1972–73 record	35–39–4
Home record	21–15–3
Road record	14–24–1
Goals for	279
Goals against	301
Team Information
General Manager	Doug Michel
Coach	Billy Harris
Captain	Guy Trottier
Alternate captains	Rick Sentes Wayne Carleton
Arena	Ottawa Civic Centre
Average attendance	3,226
Team Leaders
Goals	Wayne Carleton (42)
Assists	Wayne Carleton (49)
Points	Wayne Carleton (91)
Penalties in minutes	Rick Cunningham (121)
Wins	Gilles Gratton (25)
Goals against average	Gilles Gratton (3.71)

1973–74 >

The 1972–73 Ottawa Nationals season was the 1st season of the Nationals franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Nationals finished 4th in the Eastern Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the New England Whalers 4 games to 1.

Off-season

The Nationals were originally owned by Doug Michel, who rumoured he would place the team in either Hamilton or Toronto, however, he placed the club in Ottawa. After the team was placed to play in Ottawa, Nick Trbovich became the majority owner, with Michel running hockey operations. The club was placed in the six team Eastern Division, with the top four clubs earning a playoff berth.

In June 1972, the team signed its first players, Rich Leduc and Ron Climie.

Ron Climie and Brian Conacher's 1972-73 jerseys.

The Nationals hired former Toronto Maple Leafs player Billy Harris to coach the team. Ottawa's top signing was Wayne Carleton, who had previously played with the Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and California Golden Seals in the NHL.

The Nationals jersey colours for their only WHA season were red, white and blue with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily red away jersey. Jersey numbers were outlined with the names were not. Shoulders yolks with three stripes underneath the front and back and three stripes on the arms and body completed the design. The logo was a rounded rectangle containing the letters "ON" with a maple leaf inside the "O". Both jerseys had the player's names on the back with no nameplate.

Pre-season

The Nationals held their training camp in Hull, Quebec. NHL players the team had signed couldn't attend camp until October 1, 1972, the day their NHL contracts expired. The team held its first exhibition game on October 1 and lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Blazers. The Nationals lost all five of their exhibition games.

Regular Season

Ron Ward and Wayne Carleton in 1972-73 season action.

The first game in the WHA was a match between the Nationals and the Alberta Oilers at the Civic Centre, with Alberta winning the game 7-4 on October 11, 1972. Ottawa recorded their first victory in their fourth game, a 6-2 decision over the Chicago Cougars. The Nationals would eventually find themselves a season high two games over .500 with a 12-10-1 record before falling into a long slump, in which the club had a record of 7-21-3 in their next 31 games and see themselves in last place in the Eastern Division. Ottawa would play very good hockey down the stretch, and finish the season at 35-39-4, earning 74 points and the fourth and final playoff position.

Attendance was an issue for the club though, as they drew an average of just over 3,000 fans per game, as the team was competing against the very popular Ottawa 67's OHA team for fans.

Offensively, Ottawa was led by Carleton, who scored a team high 42 goals and 49 assists for 91 points, which ranked him tenth in league scoring. Twenty year old Gavin Kirk had a very good season, earning 68 points in 78 games, while Bob Charlebois earned 64 points. On the blueline, Brian Gibbons had 42 points to lead the way, while Rick Cunningham had 41 points, and a team high 121 penalty minutes.

In goal, Gilles Gratton had the majority of playing time, winning a team high 25 games and posting a 3.71 GAA. Les Binkley backed him up, earning 10 wins and a GAA of 3.72.

The Nationals would play the season in Ottawa, but transferred their playoff games to Toronto. Due to low attendance in Ottawa, an arena lease dispute and much better attendance in their two playoff games in Toronto, where they averaged over 5000 fans per game, the Nationals would relocate to Toronto permanently beginning in the 1973-74, and the club would be renamed the Toronto Toros.

Final Standings

Eastern Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
New England Whalers	78	46	30	2	318	263	858	94
Cleveland Crusaders	78	43	32	3	287	239	1095	89
Philadelphia Blazers	78	38	40	0	288	305	1260	76
Ottawa Nationals	78	35	39	4	279	301	1067	74
Quebec Nordiques	78	33	40	5	276	313	1354	71
New York Raiders	78	33	43	2	303	334	900	68

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Schedule
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 11	Alberta Oilers	7–4	Ottawa Nationals	0–1–0	0
2	October 14	Ottawa Nationals	6–8	New York Raiders	0–2–0	0
3	October 15	Cleveland Crusaders	7–5	Ottawa Nationals	0–3–0	0
4	October 19	Chicago Cougars	2–6	Ottawa Nationals	1–3–0	2
5	October 21	Ottawa Nationals	5–3	Cleveland Crusaders	2–3–0	4
6	October 22	Ottawa Nationals	3–2	Quebec Nordiques	3–3–0	6
7	October 25	Ottawa Nationals	8–5	Los Angeles Sharks	4–3–0	8
8	October 26	Ottawa Nationals	3–7	Houston Aeros	4–4–0	8
9	October 28	Ottawa Nationals	5–3	Philadelphia Blazers	5–4–0	10
10	November 2	Los Angeles Sharks	1–1	Ottawa Nationals	5–4–1	11
11	November 5	Ottawa Nationals	5–3	Alberta Oilers	6–4–1	13
12	November 9	Winnipeg Jets	4–1	Ottawa Nationals	6–5–1	13
13	November 12	Philadelphia Blazers	1–2	Ottawa Nationals	7–5–1	15
14	November 16	Ottawa Nationals	3–6	Cleveland Crusaders	7–6–1	15
15	November 18	Ottawa Nationals	2–3	New England Whalers	7–7–1	15
16	November 20	Ottawa Nationals	5–7	New England Whalers	7–8–1	15
17	November 21	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Ottawa Nationals	8–8–1	17
18	November 23	Chicago Cougars	8–1	Ottawa Nationals	8–9–1	17
19	November 26	Alberta Oilers	2–1	Ottawa Nationals	8–10–1	17
20	November 28	Minnesota Fighting Saints	2–3	Ottawa Nationals	9–10–1	19
21	November 30	Cleveland Crusaders	2–3	Ottawa Nationals	10–10–1	21
22	December 1	Ottawa Nationals	4–3	Winnipeg Jets	11–10–1	23
23	December 3	Houston Aeros	4–5	Ottawa Nationals	12–10–1	25
24	December 4	Ottawa Nationals	2–7	New England Whalers	12–11–1	25
25	December 7	New England Whalers	4–2	Ottawa Nationals	12–12–1	25
26	December 9	Ottawa Nationals	1–7	Philadelphia Blazers	12–13–1	25
27	December 10	Quebec Nordiques	6–7	Ottawa Nationals	13–13–1	27
28	December 14	New York Raiders	4–3	Ottawa Nationals	13–14–1	27
29	December 15	Ottawa Nationals	4–3	Alberta Oilers	14–14–1	29
30	December 17	Ottawa Nationals	1–3	Alberta Oilers	14–15–1	29
31	December 19	Ottawa Nationals	3–7	Quebec Nordiques	14–16–1	29
32	December 21	Los Angeles Sharks	4–4	Ottawa Nationals	14–16–2	30
33	December 22	Ottawa Nationals	5–7	New York Raiders	14–17–2	30
34	December 24	Quebec Nordiques	2–6	Ottawa Nationals	15–17–2	32
35	December 26	Houston Aeros	3–3	Ottawa Nationals	15–17–3	33
36	December 30	Ottawa Nationals	4–2	Chicago Cougars	16–17–3	35
37	December 31	Ottawa Nationals	4–8	Quebec Nordiques	16–18–3	35
38	January 4	Ottawa Nationals	4–9	New York Raiders	16–19–3	35
39	January 9	Quebec Nordiques	5–7	Ottawa Nationals	17–19–3	37
40	January 11	New York Raiders	1–4	Ottawa Nationals	18–19–3	39
41	January 12	Ottawa Nationals	3–4	Philadelphia Blazers	18–20–3	39
42	January 14	Ottawa Nationals	2–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints	18–21–3	39
43	January 16	Ottawa Nationals	4–5	Quebec Nordiques	18–22–3	39
44	January 18	Minnesota Fighting Saints	3–6	Ottawa Nationals	19–22–3	41
45	January 19	Ottawa Nationals	2–4	Philadelphia Blazers	19–23–3	41
46	January 21	Ottawa Nationals	2–5	Houston Aeros	19–24–3	41
47	January 23	Ottawa Nationals	3–11	Houston Aeros	19–25–3	41
48	January 25	New England Whalers	4–2	Ottawa Nationals	19–26–3	41
49	January 26	Ottawa Nationals	2–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints	19–27–3	41
50	January 28	Winnipeg Jets	5–4	Ottawa Nationals	19–28–3	41
51	January 30	Philadelphia Blazers	5–4	Ottawa Nationals	19–29–3	41
52	February 1	Ottawa Nationals	2–2	Cleveland Crusaders	19–29–4	42
53	February 2	Ottawa Nationals	1–4	Chicago Cougars	19–30–4	42
54	February 4	Cleveland Crusaders	3–2	Ottawa Nationals	19–31–4	42
55	February 6	Philadelphia Blazers	3–5	Ottawa Nationals	20–31–4	44
56	February 8	New York Raiders	3–2	Ottawa Nationals	20–32–4	44
57	February 9	Ottawa Nationals	7–4	New England Whalers	21–32–4	46
58	February 11	Ottawa Nationals	2–3	New York Raiders	21–33–4	46
59	February 14	Ottawa Nationals	6–3	Quebec Nordiques	22–33–4	48
60	February 15	Ottawa Nationals	0–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints	22–34–4	48
61	February 17	Ottawa Nationals	3–1	Chicago Cougars	23–34–4	50
62	February 20	Los Angeles Sharks	4–2	Ottawa Nationals	23–35–4	50
63	February 22	Philadelphia Blazers	6–5	Ottawa Nationals	23–36-4	50
64	February 25	Alberta Oilers	2–3	Ottawa Nationals	24–36–4	52
65	February 27	Cleveland Crusaders	1–2	Ottawa Nationals	25–36–4	54
66	March 1	New York Raiders	1–2	Ottawa Nationals	26–36–4	56
67	March 4	Chicago Cougars	4–6	Ottawa Nationals	27–36–4	58
68	March 6	Winnipeg Jets	2–5	Ottawa Nationals	28–36–4	60
69	March 11	Ottawa Nationals	2–4	Los Angeles Sharks	28–37–4	60
70	March 13	Ottawa Nationals	3–1	Los Angeles Sharks	29–37–4	62
71	March 16	Ottawa Nationals	6–1	Winnipeg Jets	30–37–4	64
72	March 18	Ottawa Nationals	4–2	Winnipeg Jets	31–37–4	66
73	March 22	New England Whalers	2–4	Ottawa Nationals	32–37–4	68
74	March 25	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–6	Ottawa Nationals	33–37–4	70
75	March 27	Quebec Nordiques	2–6	Ottawa Nationals	34–37–4	72
76	March 29	New England Whalers	2–5	Ottawa Nationals	35–37–4	74
77	March 31	Ottawa Nationals	2–4	Cleveland Crusaders	35–38–4	74
78	April 1	Houston Aeros	6–3	Ottawa Nationals	35–39–4	74

Playoffs

The Nationals would open the playoffs with a best of seven series against the New England Whalers, who had a league high 94 points. The series opened up with two games in New England, and the Whalers took advantage of their home ice, defeating Ottawa 6-3 and 4-3 to take a two game series lead. The series moved to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, as the Nationals ownership decided to move their playoff games from Ottawa due to attendance problems. The Nationals used their "home ice" advantage in the third game, defeating the Whalers 4-2 to get back into the series, however, New England easily defeated Ottawa in the fourth game 7-3 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Whalers would close out the series in the fifth game back in New England, as they beat Ottawa 5-4 in overtime to eliminate the Nationals.

New England Whalers 4, Ottawa Nationals 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 7	Ottawa Nationals	3–6	New England Whalers	0–1
2	April 8	Ottawa Nationals	3–4	New England Whalers	0–2
3	April 10	New England Whalers	2–4	Ottawa Nationals	1-2
4	April 12	New England Whalers	7–3	Ottawa Nationals	1–3
5	April 14	Ottawa Nationals	4–5	New England Whalers	1-4

Player Stats

Regular Season

Scoring Leaders

#	Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
9	Wayne Carleton	75	42	49	91	42
11	Gavin Kirk	78	28	40	68	54
16	Bob Charlebois	78	24	40	64	28
7	Guy Trottier	72	26	32	58	25
19	Bob Leduc	78	22	33	55	71
12	Steve King	69	18	34	52	28
17	Tom Martin	74	19	27	46	27
6	Brian Gibbons	73	7	35	42	62
8	Rick Sentes	74	22	19	41	78
3	Rick Cunningham	78	9	32	41	121
21	Jack Gibson	59	22	13	35	48
23	Ron Climie	31	12	19	31	2
20	Brian Conacher	69	8	19	27	32
4	Ken Stephanson	77	3	16	19	93
14	Tom Simpson	57	10	7	17	44
10	Mike Boland	41	1	15	16	44
5	Mike Amodeo	61	1	14	15	77
2	Steve Warr	72	3	8	11	79
22	Chris Meloff	28	1	6	7	40
15	Ron Riley	22	0	5	5	2
24	John Donnelly	15	1	1	2	44
	Merv Haney	7	0	1	1	4
33	Gilles Gratton	51	0	1	1	10
1	John Blum	2	0	0	0	0
30	Les Binkley	30	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	Save %
Gilles Gratton	51	3021	25	22	3	187	0	3.71	.882
Les Binkley	30	1709	10	17	1	106	0	3.72	.882
Frank Blum	2	28	0	0	0	3	0	6.43	.824

Playoffs

Scoring Leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Carleton	3	3	3	6	4
Gavin Kirk	5	2	3	5	12
Tom Martin	5	0	5	5	2
Rick Sentes	5	3	1	4	2
Brian Conacher	5	1	3	4	4

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Les Binkley	4	223	1	3	17	0	4.57
Gilles Gratton	2	87	0	1	7	0	4.83

Awards and Records

• Wayne Carleton, Left Wing, WHA Third Team All-Star

Gallery

Quarter Final @ Toronto

See Also

• 1972–73 WHA season

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• Ottawa Nationals Attendance Figures (Archived 2009-10-21)