1976–77 Quebec Nordiques season

1976–77 Quebec Nordiques
Avco Cup champions
Eastern Division champions
Division	1st Eastern
1976–77 record	47–31–3
Home record	29–10–1
Road record	18–21–2
Goals for	353
Goals against	295
Team information
General manager	Maurice Filion
Coach	Marc Boileau
Captain	Marc Tardif
Alternate captains	Serge Bernier Jim Dorey
Arena	Colisée de Québec
Team leaders
Goals	Real Cloutier (66)
Assists	Real Cloutier & Christian Bordeleau (75)
Points	Real Cloutier (141)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (244)
Plus/minus	Real Cloutier (+47)
Wins	Richard Brodeur (29)
Goals against average	Richard Brodeur (3.45)

The 1976–77 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques fifth season, as they were coming off their best season to date in 1975–76, earning a team record 50 victories and 104 points, as they finished in second place in the Canadian Division. In the post-season, Quebec win their first Avco Cup in team history. Serge Bernier would win the WHA Playoff MVP trophy, as he earned 36 points for the Nordiques in 17 post-season games.

Offseason

During the off-season, the league saw the Toronto Toros move to Birmingham, Alabama, and be renamed the Birmingham Bulls, while the Cleveland Crusaders moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to become the second version of the Minnesota Fighting Saints. The league was back to twelve teams from fourteen the previous season, as the original Fighting Saints and Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics franchise folded midway through the 1975–76 season. The Nordiques would move from the Canadian Division to the Eastern Division, joining the Birmingham Bulls, Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers, Minnesota Fighting Saints and New England Whalers in the division.

The Nordiques also made a head coaching change after their disappointing playoff appearance, as head coach Jean-Guy Gendron was relieved of his duties, and former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Marc Boileau was his replacement.

Regular season

Quebec would have a very strong start to the season, winning eight of their first nine games to take a lead in the Eastern Division. The Nordiques would cool off, as they had a record of 8–11–1 in their next twenty games, however, Quebec snapped out of their slump and won nine games in a row to take control of the Division. The Nordiques would finish the season on top of the Eastern Division with a 47–31–3 record, earning 97 points, which was fourteen points higher than the second place Cincinnati Stingers.

Offensively, Quebec was led by Real Cloutier, who won the Bill Hunter Trophy awarded to the player who leads the league in scoring. Cloutier scored 66 goals and 75 assists for a league best 141 points. Marc Tardif scored 49 goals and 109 points despite missing 19 games, while Christian Bordeleau 32 goals and tied Cloutier with a team high 75 assists to earn 107 points for the season. Serge Bernier narrowly missed out on the 100 point club, as he scored 43 goals and 96 points in 74 games. On defense, newly acquired Jim Dorey led the blueline with 47 points in 73 games, while J. C. Tremblay had another productive season, earning 35 points in 53 games. Paul Baxter had a team high 244 penalty minutes, which was the second highest total in the league.

In goal, Richard Brodeur had the majority of playing time, winning 29 games, while posting a team best 3.45 GAA, along with 2 shutouts. Ed Humphreys and Serge Aubry split the backup duties, with Humphreys winning twelve games and a 3.58 GAA, while Aubry won six games with a 3.98 GAA.

Season standings

Eastern Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Quebec Nordiques	81	47	31	3	353	295	97
Cincinnati Stingers	81	39	37	5	354	303	83
Indianapolis Racers	81	36	37	8	276	305	80
New England Whalers	81	35	40	6	275	290	76
Birmingham Bulls	81	31	46	4	289	309	66
Minnesota Fighting Saints	42	19	18	5	136	129	43

Schedule and results

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 9	Calgary Cowboys	2–5	Quebec Nordiques	1–0–0	2
2	October 10	Birmingham Bulls	3–4	Quebec Nordiques	2–0–0	4
3	October 12	San Diego Mariners	4–6	Quebec Nordiques	3–0–0	6
4	October 16	Quebec Nordiques	8–2	New England Whalers	4–0–0	8
5	October 17	Cincinnati Stingers	5–2	Quebec Nordiques	4–1–0	8
6	October 19	Quebec Nordiques	6–5	Birmingham Bulls	5–1–0	10
7	October 21	Quebec Nordiques	4–2	Calgary Cowboys	6–1–0	12
8	October 23	Houston Aeros	2–6	Quebec Nordiques	7–1–0	14
9	October 26	Phoenix Roadrunners	3–11	Quebec Nordiques	8–1–0	16
10	October 29	Quebec Nordiques	4–6	Indianapolis Racers	8–2–0	16
11	October 30	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–5	Quebec Nordiques	9–2–0	18
12	November 2	Phoenix Roadrunners	5–3	Quebec Nordiques	9–3–0	18
13	November 6	Birmingham Bulls	5–6	Quebec Nordiques	10–3–0	20
14	November 9	Birmingham Bulls	3–4	Quebec Nordiques	11–3–0	22
15	November 13	Minnesota Fighting Saints	4–2	Quebec Nordiques	11–4–0	22
16	November 14	Indianapolis Racers	3–1	Quebec Nordiques	11–5–0	22
17	November 16	Quebec Nordiques	4–8	Winnipeg Jets	11–6–0	22
18	November 18	Quebec Nordiques	9–5	Minnesota Fighting Saints	12–6–0	24
19	November 19	Quebec Nordiques	1–4	Calgary Cowboys	12–7–0	24
20	November 21	Quebec Nordiques	5–8	Edmonton Oilers	12–8–0	24
21	November 23	Winnipeg Jets	4–7	Quebec Nordiques	13–8–0	26
22	November 25	Quebec Nordiques	5–0	Indianapolis Racers	14–8–0	28
23	November 26	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints	14–9–0	28
24	November 27	Indianapolis Racers	8–2	Quebec Nordiques	14–10–0	28
25	November 30	New England Whalers	1–2	Quebec Nordiques	15–10–0	30
26	December 3	Quebec Nordiques	5–5	New England Whalers	15–10–1	31
27	December 5	Winnipeg Jets	4–6	Quebec Nordiques	16–10–1	33
28	December 7	Edmonton Oilers	4–2	Quebec Nordiques	16–11–1	33
29	December 9	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Phoenix Roadrunners	17–11–1	35
30	December 11	Houston Aeros	1–4	Quebec Nordiques	18–11–1	37
31	December 12	New England Whalers	1–5	Quebec Nordiques	19–11–1	39
32	December 14	New England Whalers	3–1	Quebec Nordiques	19–12–1	39
33	December 18	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Calgary Cowboys	19–13–1	39
34	December 19	Quebec Nordiques	3–5	San Diego Mariners	19–14–1	39
35	December 21	Quebec Nordiques	2–3	Birmingham Bulls	19–15–1	39
36	December 22	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	Minnesota Fighting Saints	20–15–1	41
37	December 26	Quebec Nordiques	12–3	Winnipeg Jets	21–15–1	43
38	December 28	Quebec Nordiques	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	22–15–1	45
39	January 4	New England Whalers	3–5	Quebec Nordiques	23–15–1	47
40	January 7	Quebec Nordiques	7–3	New England Whalers	24–15–1	49
41	January 9	San Diego Mariners	2–5	Quebec Nordiques	25–15–1	51
42	January 20	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	New England Whalers	26–15–1	53
43	January 22	Calgary Cowboys	3–5	Quebec Nordiques	27–15–1	55
44	January 25	Indianapolis Racers	1–3	Quebec Nordiques	28–15–1	57
45	January 26	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Quebec Nordiques	28–16–1	57
46	January 28	Quebec Nordiques	6–5	Indianapolis Racers	29–16–1	59
47	January 29	Cincinnati Stingers	2–7	Quebec Nordiques	30–16–1	61
48	February 1	Indianapolis Racers	4–5	Quebec Nordiques	31–16–1	63
49	February 2	Quebec Nordiques	5–6	Indianapolis Racers	31–17–1	63
50	February 4	Quebec Nordiques	0–7	Birmingham Bulls	31–18–1	63
51	February 6	Cincinnati Stingers	1–6	Quebec Nordiques	32–18–1	65
52	February 8	Winnipeg Jets	7–2	Quebec Nordiques	32–19–1	65
53	February 11	Quebec Nordiques	5–1	Indianapolis Racers	33–19–1	67
54	February 12	Quebec Nordiques	3–7	Houston Aeros	33–20–1	67
55	February 15	Quebec Nordiques	2–4	Houston Aeros	33–21–1	67
56	February 16	Quebec Nordiques	4–2	San Diego Mariners	34–21–1	69
57	February 19	Quebec Nordiques	1–3	Cincinnati Stingers	34–22–1	69
58	February 22	Indianapolis Racers	2–4	Quebec Nordiques	35–22–1	71
59	February 24	Quebec Nordiques	6–10	Birmingham Bulls	35–23–1	71
60	February 25	Quebec Nordiques	2–5	Cincinnati Stingers	35–24–1	71
61	February 26	Birmingham Bulls	3–5	Quebec Nordiques	36–24–1	73
62	March 1	Quebec Nordiques	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	37–24–1	75
63	March 2	Quebec Nordiques	3–4	Winnipeg Jets	37–25–1	75
64	March 5	San Diego Mariners	0–6	Quebec Nordiques	38–25–1	77
65	March 6	Quebec Nordiques	2–6	New England Whalers	38–26–1	77
66	March 8	Phoenix Roadrunners	2–9	Quebec Nordiques	39–26–1	79
67	March 12	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Quebec Nordiques	39–26–2	80
68	March 13	New England Whalers	3–5	Quebec Nordiques	40–26–2	82
69	March 15	Quebec Nordiques	3–4	Houston Aeros	40–27–2	82
70	March 17	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	Phoenix Roadrunners	41–27–2	84
71	March 18	Quebec Nordiques	3–7	Cincinnati Stingers	41–28–2	84
72	March 19	Calgary Cowboys	0–8	Quebec Nordiques	42–28–2	86
73	March 22	Houston Aeros	2–6	Quebec Nordiques	43–28–2	88
74	March 23	Quebec Nordiques	6–4	Cincinnati Stingers	44–28–2	90
75	March 24	Quebec Nordiques	3–4	Indianapolis Racers	44–29–2	90
76	March 26	Cincinnati Stingers	6–4	Quebec Nordiques	44–30–2	90
77	March 27	Cincinnati Stingers	0–4	Quebec Nordiques	45–30–2	92
78	April 2	Quebec Nordiques	6–5	Phoenix Roadrunners	46–30–2	94
79	April 3	Quebec Nordiques	0–7	San Diego Mariners	46–31–2	94
80	April 5	New England Whalers	2–7	Quebec Nordiques	47–31–2	96
81	April 6	Quebec Nordiques	2–2	Cincinnati Stingers	47–31–3	97

Playoffs

In the opening round of the playoffs, Quebec would face the New England Whalers in a best of seven series. The Whalers finished the year with a record of 35–40–6, earning 76 points, which was 21 fewer than the Nordiques. The series opened with two games at Le Colisée, with Quebec winning them both, by scores of 5–2 and 7–3, to take the series lead. The series moved over to New England for the next two games, however, Quebec stayed hot and defeated the Whalers 4–3 in overtime in the third game to take a 3–0 lead in the series. New England fought off elimination in the fourth game, defeating the Nordiques 6–4, however, in the fifth game played back in Quebec, the Nordiques shutout New England 3–0 to win the series.

In the Eastern Division finals, the Nordiques faced off against the Indianapolis Racers, who finished the regular season in third place in the Eastern Division with a 36–37–8 record. The Racers swept the second place Cincinnati Stingers in the opening round to advance to the division finals. The series opened with two games in Quebec, and the Nordiques stayed unbeaten on home ice during the post-season, as they defeated Indianapolis 3–1 and 8–3 to take the early series lead. The series shifted over to Indianapolis for the next two games, but the Nordiques won the third game, defeating the Racers 6–5 in overtime to put them on the brink of elimination. Indianapolis finally managed to win a game in the fourth game of the series, shutting out the Nordiques 2–0, however, with the series back in Quebec for the fifth game, the Nordiques remained hot on home ice, easily winning the game 8–3, and advancing to the Avco Cup finals.

The Nordiques opponents in the Avco Cup finals was the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg was the defending champions, as they won the 1976 Avco Cup. The Jets had a record of 46–32–2, finishing with 94 points, and in second place in the Western Division. Winnipeg defeated the Edmonton Oilers and Houston Aeros to earn a spot in the finals. The series opened with two games in Quebec, and the Jets ended the Nordiques home ice winning streak with a 2–1 victory in the first game. Quebec evened the series with a 6–1 thumping in the second game. The series moved to Winnipeg for the next two games, and the Jets used their home ice to their advantage, as they took the third game by a 6–1 score, however, the Nordiques would once again even the series up, defeating Winnipeg 4–2 in the fourth game. The series was back in Quebec for the fifth game, and the Nordiques destroyed the Jets 8–3 to take their first lead in the series, and were now only one win away from the championship. The Jets responded in the sixth game played back in Winnipeg, crushing the Nordiques 12–3, to set up a seventh and deciding game in Quebec. The Nordiques would take control of the seventh game early, coasting their way to an 8–2 victory, and winning their first Avco Cup in team history. Serge Bernier would win the WHA Playoff MVP trophy, as he earned 36 points for the Nordiques in 17 post-season games.

Quebec Nordiques 4, New England Whalers 1 – Division Quarterfinals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 9	New England Whalers	2–5	Quebec Nordiques	1–0
2	April 12	New England Whalers	3–7	Quebec Nordiques	2–0
3	April 14	Quebec Nordiques	4–3	New England Whalers	3–0
4	April 16	Quebec Nordiques	4–6	New England Whalers	3–1
5	April 19	New England Whalers	0–3	Quebec Nordiques	4–1

Quebec Nordiques 4, Indianapolis Racers 1 – Division Semifinals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 23	Indianapolis Racers	1–3	Quebec Nordiques	1–0
2	April 25	Indianapolis Racers	3–8	Quebec Nordiques	2–0
3	April 28	Quebec Nordiques	6–5	Indianapolis Racers	3–0
4	April 30	Quebec Nordiques	0–2	Indianapolis Racers	3–1
5	May 2	Indianapolis Racers	3–8	Quebec Nordiques	4–1

Quebec Nordiques 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 – Avco Cup Finals

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 11	Winnipeg Jets	2–1	Quebec Nordiques	0–1
2	May 15	Winnipeg Jets	1–6	Quebec Nordiques	1–1
3	May 18	Quebec Nordiques	1–6	Winnipeg Jets	1–2
4	May 20	Quebec Nordiques	4–2	Winnipeg Jets	2–2
5	May 22	Winnipeg Jets	3–8	Quebec Nordiques	3–2
6	May 24	Quebec Nordiques	3–12	Winnipeg Jets	3–3
7	May 26	Winnipeg Jets	2–8	Quebec Nordiques	4–3

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Real Cloutier	76	66	75	141	39
Marc Tardif	62	49	60	109	65
Chris Bordeleau	72	32	75	107	34
Serge Bernier	74	43	53	96	94
Paulin Bordeleau	80	42	41	83	52

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	Save %
Richard Brodeur	53	2906	29	18	2	167	2	3.45	.880
Ed Humphreys	22	1240	12	8	1	74	1	3.58	.880
Serge Aubry	21	769	6	5	0	51	1	3.98	.862

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Serge Bernier	17	14	22	36	10
Real Cloutier	17	14	13	27	10
Paulin Bordeleau	16	12	9	21	12
Norm Dube	14	3	12	15	11
Andre Boudrias	17	3	12	15	6

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA	Save %
Serge Aubry	3	18	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.000
Richard Brodeur	17	1007	12	5	55	1	3.28	.882

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks at the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	Rick Green	Canada	London Knights (OMJHL)
2	19	Bob Manno	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)
3	32	Al Glendinning	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
4	44	Maurice Barrette	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5	56	Garth MacGuigan	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
6	68	Claude Periard	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
7	80	Denis Charbonneau	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
10	114	Pierre Brassard	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)