The 1976–77 NHL season was the 60th season of the National Hockey League. The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. The Montreal Canadiens once again dominated the playoffs as, for the second straight year, they swept their opponent four games to none in the final series for the Stanley Cup.
League business Two teams relocated: The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. These were the first franchise moves since the original Ottawa Senators had relocated in 1934 to become the St. Louis Eagles. Instability and the poor performances of the Washington Capitals and the Scouts since the 1974 expansion caused the league to shelve an expansion to Denver and Seattle that had been proposed for this season. Seattle would not have a team until the expansion Seattle Kraken in the 2021–22 season.
The 1976 NHL amateur draft was held on June 1, at the NHL offices in Montreal, Quebec. Rick Green was selected first overall by the Washington Capitals.
This season was Clarence Campbell's last as NHL President before he was succeeded by John Ziegler.
Arena changes The relocated Cleveland Barons moved from the Oakland Coliseum Arena to Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum. The relocated Colorado Rockies moved from Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri to McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Regular season The previous season saw the Montreal Canadiens set new records in wins and points. Both of those records were broken again by the Canadiens this season as, with the highest points percentage in post-expansion NHL history (.825), they had 60 wins and 132 points. Their home record was 33 wins, 1 loss, and 6 ties. Scoring 216 more goals than they allowed, the Canadiens were a full 20 points ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, however, were swept in four straight games by the third-place Boston Bruins in the semi-finals. The Bruins were in turn swept by the Canadiens in four straight in the finals.
On February 2, 1977, during a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Ian Turnbull became the first player in NHL history to score five goals on five shots.Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press,
Final standings
Prince of Wales Conference
Clarence Campbell Conference
Playoffs The New York Islanders won six consecutive games before the semifinal and were the only team from the preliminary round to make it to the semifinals, where they lost to the first-ranked, defending, and eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues and dispatched the Islanders in six to reach the final. The losses to the Islanders were the Canadiens' only losses of their playoff run. Second-ranked Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the quarterfinals, before being swept by the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the semifinals.
Playoff seeds The top three teams in each division made the playoffs. All 12 clubs then were seeded 1–12 based on regular season points, regardless of conference or division.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 132 points Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 112 points Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 106 points (49 wins) New York Islanders – 106 points (47 wins) Buffalo Sabres – 104 points Los Angeles Kings – 83 points Pittsburgh Penguins – 81 points (34 wins) Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points (33 wins) Atlanta Flames – 80 points St. Louis Blues, Smythe Division champions – 73 points Minnesota North Stars – 64 points Chicago Black Hawks – 63 points
Playoff bracket The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth.
Regardless of playoff seed, all four division winners received a bye to the Quarterfinals, including this season's 10th overall seeded Smythe Division champion St. Louis Blues.
Each series in the Preliminary Round was played in a best-of-three format while each series in the other three rounds were played in a best-of-seven format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).
Preliminary round
(1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Black Hawks were originally scheduled as the home team for the second game, but its home rink Chicago Stadium had already been booked that night for the second of three Led Zeppelin concerts.Herman, Robin. "Islanders Get Home Ice for All Hawk Games," The New York Times, Tuesday, April 5, 1977. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
(2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (7) Minnesota North Stars
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
(3) Los Angeles Kings vs. (6) Atlanta Flames
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Los Angeles won in a two-game sweep.
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Toronto Maple Leafs
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Toronto won the series 2–1.
Quarterfinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) St. Louis Blues
This was the third, and as of today, most recent, playoff series meeting between the two teams. Montreal won both previous meetings in four-game sweeps in both the 1968 & 1969 Stanley Cup Finals.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (7) Toronto Maple Leafs
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings in the last two seasons. The latter of which Philadelphia won in seven games in last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
Jimmy Watson's game-winning goal with 2:38 left in Game 6 gave the Flyers the series, eliminating Toronto for the second straight year and sending them to the semifinals.
(3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which Boston won in seven games.
Gregg Sheppard's game-winning goal in Game 6 prevented a Kings comeback and won the series for the Bruins.
(4) New York Islanders vs. (5) Buffalo Sabres
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which New York won in six games.
Semifinals
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (4) New York Islanders
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Montreal won in five games.
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (3) Boston Bruins
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Philadelphia won in five games.
Stanley Cup Final
This was the 16th playoff series meeting between these two teams. Montreal lead 13–2 in previous meetings. They last met in the 1971 Stanley Cup quarterfinals, in which Montreal upset Boston in seven games.
The defending champion Montreal Canadiens took on the "Original Six" rival, the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the Final. Both teams had swept a series and had lost only two games in the earlier rounds. The Canadiens swept the series in four games to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
Awards 1977 NHL awardsPrince of Wales Trophy:(Wales Conference regular season champion) Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:(Campbell Conference regular season champion) Philadelphia FlyersArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer, regular season) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Ed Westfall, New York IslandersCalder Memorial Trophy:(Top first-year player) Willi Plett, Atlanta FlamesConn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:(Most valuable player, regular season) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensJack Adams Award:(Best coach) Scotty Bowman, Montreal CanadiensJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Larry Robinson, Montreal CanadiensLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles KingsLester B. Pearson Award:(Outstanding player, regular season) Guy Lafleur, Montreal CanadiensVezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens
All-Star teams First Team Position Second TeamKen Dryden, Montreal Canadiens GRogie Vachon, Los Angeles KingsLarry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens DDenis Potvin, New York IslandersBorje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs DGuy Lapointe, Montreal CanadiensMarcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings CGilbert Perreault, Buffalo SabresGuy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens RWLanny McDonald, Toronto Maple LeafsSteve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens LWRick Martin, Buffalo Sabres
Player statistics
Scoring leaders GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens 80 56 80 136 20 Marcel Dionne Los Angeles Kings 80 53 69 122 12 Steve Shutt Montreal Canadiens 80 60 45 105 28 Rick MacLeish Philadelphia Flyers 79 49 48 97 42 Gilbert Perreault Buffalo Sabres 80 39 56 95 30 Tim Young Minnesota North Stars 80 29 66 95 58 Jean Ratelle Boston Bruins 78 33 61 94 22 Lanny McDonald Toronto Maple Leafs 80 46 44 90 77 Darryl Sittler Toronto Maple Leafs 73 38 52 90 89 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers 80 27 63 90 71 Source: NHL.
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SOMichel Larocque Montreal Canadiens 26 1525 53 2.09 19 2 4 4Ken Dryden Montreal Canadiens 56 3275 117 2.14 41 6 8 10Chico Resch N.Y. Islanders 46 2711 103 2.28 26 13 6 4Billy Smith N.Y. Islanders 36 2089 98 2.50 21 8 6 2Don Edwards Buffalo Sabres 25 1480 62 2.51 16 7 2 2Gerry Desjardins Buffalo Sabres 49 2871 126 2.63 31 12 6 3Bernie Parent Philadelphia Flyers 61 3525 159 2.71 35 13 12 5Rogatien Vachon Los Angeles Kings 68 4059 184 2.72 33 23 12 8Denis Herron Pittsburgh Penguins 34 1920 94 2.94 15 11 5 1Dunc Wilson Pittsburgh Penguins 45 2627 129 2.95 18 19 8 5
Coaches
Patrick Division Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton New York Islanders: Al Arbour New York Rangers: John Ferguson Sr. Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero
Adams Division Boston Bruins: Don Cherry Buffalo Sabres: Floyd Smith Cleveland Barons: Jack Evans Toronto Maple Leafs: Red Kelly
Norris Division Detroit Red Wings: Larry Wilson Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman Pittsburgh Penguins: Ken Schinkel Washington Capitals: Tom McVie
Smythe Division Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay and Bill White Colorado Rockies: Johnny Wilson Minnesota North Stars: Ted Harris St. Louis Blues: Emile Francis Vancouver Canucks: Phil Maloney and Orland Kurtenbach
Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1976–77 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Mike Palmateer, Toronto Maple Leafs Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres Reed Larson, Detroit Red Wings Brian Engblom*, Montreal Canadiens Don Murdoch, New York Rangers Bernie Federko, St. Louis Blues Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues Randy Carlyle, Toronto Maple Leafs