1975–76 Quebec Nordiques season

1975–76 Quebec Nordiques
Division	2nd Canadian
1975–76 record	50–27–4
Home record	33–7–0
Road record	17–20–4
Goals for	371
Goals against	316
Team Information
General Manager	Maurice Filion
Coach	Jean-Guy Gendron
Captain	Michel Parizeau
Arena	Le Colisee
Team Leaders
Goals	Marc Tardif (71)
Assists	Marc Tardif J. C. Tremblay (77)
Points	Marc Tardif (148)
Penalties in minutes	Gord Gallant (297)
Wins	Richard Brodeur (44)
Goals against average	Richard Brodeur (3.69)

<1974–75

1976–77>

The 1975–76 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques 4th season in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Nordiques finished 2nd in the Canadian Division and lost in the Quarter-finals to the Calgary Cowboys 4 games to 1.

Off-season

Charles Constantin and Real Cloutier's 1975-76 jerseys.

The Nordiques jerseys underwent a significant change from those used in the 1974-75 season. The dark blue was changed to a medium blue that matched the Quebec flag. The shoulder yolks and stripes on the arms and body (except for a fringe at the bottom) were removed. The shoulder fleur-de-lis remained with three more added to both the front and back of the bottom of the jersey. The logo remained the same but in previous seasons, had always been red on both the white and blue jerseys. A white logo, outlined in red, was now placed on the blue away jersey. The numbers and names were no longer highlighted. This design would remain for the rest of the Nordiques time in the WHA and continue on in their career in the NHL. For this season only, a 1976 Montreal Olympic logo was sewn on the front of the red pants.

Regular Season

Quebec had a very strong start to the season and battled with the Winnipeg Jets all season long for top of the Canadian Division. Quebec finished the season with a franchise record 50 wins and 104 points, but lagged behind the Jets, who tied the Houston Aeros for the most points in the league with 106. The Nordiques scored a league high 371 goals, and finished with a very impressive record of 33–7–0 at home, tying the Aeros for the best home record in the league.

Offensively, Quebec was led by Marc Tardif, who had the most goals and points in the league with 71 and 148 respectively, while his 77 assists tied teammate J. C. Tremblay for the most in the WHA. Tardif won both the Gordie Howe Trophy as league MVP and the Bill Hunter Trophy as the scoring leader while gaining a First All-Star Team berth. Tremblay finished the year with 89 points, leading the Nordiques blueline, and was also a First Team All-Star. Real Cloutier had a breakout season, scoring 60 goals and 114 points and was named to the Second All-Star team. Chris Bordeleau had 37 goals and 109 points while Rejean Houle and Serge Bernier also finished with over 100 points, as they earned 103 and 102 respectively. Gord Gallant had a team high 297 penalty minutes, while Pierre Roy was not too far behind with 259.

In goal, Richard Brodeur shattered the Nordiques record for wins, earning 44, while he posted a 3.69 GAA and earned 2 shutouts in 69 games. Michel DuGuise backed him up, winning 6 games.

Final Standings

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Winnipeg Jets	81	52	27	2	106	345	254	940
Quebec Nordiques	81	50	27	4	104	371	316	1654
Calgary Cowboys	80	41	35	4	86	307	282	1064
Edmonton Oilers	81	27	49	5	59	268	345	991
Toronto Toros	81	24	52	5	53	335	398	1099
Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics+	41	14	26	1	29	134	172	536

+team started season in the Western Division when playing in Denver, transferred by league to Canadian Division after moving to Ottawa.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 9	Winnipeg Jets	5–3	Quebec Nordiques	0–1–0	0
2	October 11	Toronto Toros	3–7	Quebec Nordiques	1–1–0	2
3	October 14	Edmonton Oilers	5–8	Quebec Nordiques	2–1–0	4
4	October 18	Houston Aeros	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	3–1–0	6
5	October 21	New England Whalers	1–6	Quebec Nordiques	4–1–0	8
6	October 25	Toronto Toros	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	5–1–0	10
7	October 28	Quebec Nordiques	2–5	Toronto Toros	5–2–0	10
8	October 29	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	New England Whalers	5–3–0	10
9	October 31	Quebec Nordiques	2–6	Cleveland Crusaders	5–4–0	10
10	November 1	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Indianapolis Racers	6–4–0	12
11	November 2	Quebec Nordiques	1–0	Winnipeg Jets	7–4–0	14
12	November 4	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	8–4–0	16
13	November 5	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Calgary Cowboys	8–5–0	16
14	November 6	Quebec Nordiques	5–3	Denver Spurs	9–5–0	18
15	November 8	Indianapolis Racers	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	10–5–0	20
16	November 9	Phoenix Roadrunners	3–7	Quebec Nordiques	11–5–0	22
17	November 11	Minnesota Fighting Saints	6–8	Quebec Nordiques	12–5–0	24
18	November 15	Quebec Nordiques	3–1	New England Whalers	13–5–0	26
19	November 18	Cincinnati Stingers	4–6	Quebec Nordiques	14–5–0	28
20	November 20	Winnipeg Jets	3–2	Quebec Nordiques	14–6–0	28
21	November 22	Quebec Nordiques	9–6	Cincinnati Stingers	15–6–0	30
22	November 23	Quebec Nordiques	0–4	Houston Aeros	15–7–0	30
23	November 27	Quebec Nordiques	1–5	San Diego Mariners	15–8–0	30
24	November 29	Quebec Nordiques	4–4	Phoenix Roadrunners	15–8–1	31
25	November 30	Quebec Nordiques	2–1	Phoenix Roadrunners	16–8–1	33
26	December 2	Cleveland Crusaders	2–9	Quebec Nordiques	17–8–1	35
27	December 5	Quebec Nordiques	4–7	Toronto Toros	17–9–1	35
28	December 7	Quebec Nordiques	3–2	Winnipeg Jets	18–9–1	37
29	December 9	Quebec Nordiques	1–4	Calgary Cowboys	18–10–1	37
30	December 10	Quebec Nordiques	4–7	Edmonton Oilers	18–11–1	37
31	December 12	Quebec Nordiques	4–6	Toronto Toros	18–12–1	37
32	December 13	Toronto Toros	3–6	Quebec Nordiques	19–12–1	39
33	December 16	Calgary Cowboys	3–7	Quebec Nordiques	20–12–1	41
34	December 18	Winnipeg Jets	4–5	Quebec Nordiques	21–12–1	43
35	December 20	Calgary Flames	7–8	Quebec Nordiques	22–12–1	45
36	December 21	Quebec Nordiques	7–11	Cincinnati Stingers	22–13–1	45
37	December 23	Quebec Nordiques	4–10	San Diego Mariners	22–14–1	45
38	December 27	Edmonton Oilers	3–6	Quebec Nordiques	23–14–1	47
39	December 28	Quebec Nordiques	6–1	Toronto Toros	24–14–1	49
40	December 30	Quebec Nordiques	4–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints	24–14–2	50
41	January 2	Quebec Nordiques	4–5	Cleveland Crusaders	24–15–2	50
42	January 3	Phoenix Roadrunners	4–1	Quebec Nordiques	24–16–2	50
43	January 10	San Diego Mariners	3–4	Quebec Nordiques	25–16–2	52
44	January 15	Calgary Cowboys	3–5	Quebec Nordiques	26–16–2	54
45	January 17	Toronto Toros	3–4	Quebec Nordiques	27–16–2	56
46	January 21	Indianapolis Racers	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	28–16–2	58
47	January 25	Edmonton Oilers	6–7	Quebec Nordiques	29–16–2	60
48	January 27	Cincinnati Stingers	1–9	Quebec Nordiques	30–16–2	62
49	January 30	Quebec Nordiques	3–3	Toronto Toros	30–16–3	63
50	January 31	Toronto Toros	4–8	Quebec Nordiques	31–16–3	65
51	February 3	Winnipeg Jets	4–5	Quebec Nordiques	32–16–3	67
52	February 5	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Indianapolis Racers	32–17–3	67
53	February 7	Quebec Nordiques	4–4	Calgary Cowboys	32–17–4	68
54	February 8	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	33–17–4	70
55	February 11	Quebec Nordiques	6–4	Winnipeg Jets	34–17–4	72
56	February 12	Quebec Nordiques	4–6	Minnesota Fighting Saints	34–18–4	72
57	February 15	Quebec Nordiques	4–2	Houston Aeros	35–18–4	74
58	February 17	San Diego Mariners	2–5	Quebec Nordiques	36–18–4	76
59	February 22	New England Whalers	0–4	Quebec Nordiques	37–18–4	78
60	February 24	Houston Aeros	1–4	Quebec Nordiques	38–18–4	80
61	February 28	Winnipeg Jets	4–3	Quebec Nordiques	38–19–4	80
62	March 2	Quebec Nordiques	2–5	Toronto Toros	38–20–4	80
63	March 4	Quebec Nordiques	1–4	Calgary Cowboys	38–21–4	80
64	March 5	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	39–21–4	82
65	March 7	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	39–22–4	82
66	March 9	Quebec Nordiques	4–7	Calgary Cowboys	39–23–4	82
67	March 10	Quebec Nordiques	3–10	Winnipeg Jets	39–24–4	82
68	March 12	Quebec Nordiques	10–8	Winnipeg Jets	40–24–4	84
69	March 14	Toronto Toros	3–1	Quebec Nordiques	40–25–4	84
70	March 16	New England Whalers	1–5	Quebec Nordiques	41–25–4	86
71	March 19	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	Toronto Toros	42–25–4	88
72	March 20	Calgary Cowboys	8–7	Quebec Nordiques	42–26–4	88
73	March 21	Quebec Nordiques	6–3	Edmonton Oilers	43–26–4	90
74	March 23	Cleveland Crusaders	3–1	Quebec Nordiques	43–27–4	90
75	March 25	Edmonton Oilers	5–7	Quebec Nordiques	44–27–4	92
76	March 27	Calgary Cowboys	4–6	Quebec Nordiques	45–27–4	94
77	March 30	Edmonton Oilers	3–8	Quebec Nordiques	46–27–4	96
78	April 1	Edmonton Oilers	2–7	Quebec Nordiques	47–27–4	98
79	April 3	Toronto Toros	1–5	Quebec Nordiques	48–27–4	100
80	April 4	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Toronto Toros	49–27–4	102
81	April 6	Toronto Toros	6–10	Quebec Nordiques	50–27–4	104

Playoffs

In the playoffs, the Calgary Cowboys met the Nordiques in the Quarter-finals. The series is best known for one of hockey's most legendary brawls. The incident began when Calgary's Rick Jodzio cross-checked Quebec's Marc Tardif in the head, causing both teams to leave their benches. The brawl lasted 20 minutes and ended only when Quebec police gathered at the players benches and escorted the teams back to their dressing rooms. The game resumed following a 20 minute break to allow both teams to cool down, then resumed without eleven players, who were ejected from the game. The incident caught the attention of Quebec's Solicitor General Francois Lalonde, who had the incident investigated as a criminal matter. Jodzio was suspended indefinitely by the league, and later plead guilty in a Quebec court to a charge of assault . Cowboys coach Joe Crozier was suspended for the rest of the series.

Calgary Cowboys 4, Quebec Nordiques 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 10	Calgary Cowboys	3–1	Quebec Nordiques	1–0
2	April 11	Calgary Cowboys	8–4	Quebec Nordiques	2–0
3	April 14	Quebec Nordiques	2–3	Calgary Cowboys	0–3
4	April 16	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	Calgary Cowboys	1–3
5	April 18	Calgary Cowboys	6–4	Quebec Nordiques	4–1

Player Stats

Scoring Leaders

#	Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
8	Marc Tardif	81	71	77	148	79
9	Real Cloutier	80	60	54	114	27
11	Chris Bordeleau	74	37	72	109	42
5	Rejean Houle	81	51	52	103	61
21	Serge Bernier	70	34	68	102	91
3	J.C. Tremblay	80	12	77	89	16
19	Steve Sutherland	74	22	19	41	197
12	Michel Parizeau	58	12	27	39	22
10	Pierre Roy	78	6	30	36	258
15	Rene Leclerc	42	15	17	32	35
24	Jean Bernier	80	4	26	30	10
17	Tom Serviss	71	7	19	26	12
16	Gord Gallant	64	4	15	19	297
33	Dale Hoganson	45	3	14	17	18
12	Bob Fitchner	21	7	9	16	22
14	Charles Constantin	41	8	7	15	77
	Ted Hampson	14	4	10	14	2
20	Ric Jordan	54	4	7	11	75
15	Curt Brackenbury	15	4	5	9	111
	Bill Prentice	21	2	5	7	89
7	Jim Benzelock	34	2	5	7	6
2	Alan Globensky	34	1	2	3	13
	Michel Dubois	21	0	3	3	23
30	Richard Brodeur	69	0	3	3	2
	Florent Fortier	4	1	1	2	0
	Gary Gresdal	2	0	1	1	5
23	Michel Deguise	18	0	1	1	0
23	Jim Watson	28	0	1	1	4
	John Cunniff	2	0	0	0	5
1	Pete Donnelly	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	Save %
Richard Brodeur	69	3967	44	21	2	244	2	3.69	.890
Michel DeGuise	18	835	6	5	2	60	0	4.35	.870
Pete Donnelly	4	129	0	1	0	10	0	4.65	.846

Playoff Stats

Scoring Leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Real Cloutier	5	4	5	9	0
Serge Bernier	5	2	6	8	6
Dale Hoganson	5	1	3	4	2
Steve Sutherland	5	2	1	3	17
Pierre Roy	5	1	2	3	29

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Richard Brodeur	5	299	1	4	22	0	4.41

Awards and Records

• Gordie Howe Trophy (MVP): Marc Tardif
• Bill Hunter Trophy (Scoring Leader): Marc Tardif
• Marc Tardif, Left Wing, WHA First Team All-Star
• J.C. Tremblay, Defense, WHA First Team All-Star
• Real Cloutier, Right Wing, WHA Second Team All-Star

Draft Picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	14	Pierre Mondou	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
2	29	Doug Halward	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
3	44	Pierre Giroux	Canada	Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
4	59	Ted Bulley	Canada	Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
5	73	Andre LePage	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
6	87	Jean Trottier	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
7	100	Mike Backman	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
8	112	Michel Brisebois	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
9	124	Michel Hamel	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
10	137	Florent Fortier	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

Farm Teams

• Maine Nordiques, NAHL

Gallery

Ralph Backstrom scores on Michel DeGuise, November 6, 1975.

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database