# 1974–75 WHA season

The 1974–75 WHA season was the third season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. The Houston Aeros won the Avco World Trophy for the second straight year in dominating fashion, losing only one time in the playoffs.

## Regular season

The WHA expanded by adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners, and splitting into three divisions: Western, Eastern, and Canadian. The top two teams in each division qualified for the playoffs along with the two next best teams overall. Prior to the season, Southern California welcomed the Jersey Knights, who moved to San Diego and became the Mariners, and said goodbye to the Los Angeles Sharks, who moved to Detroit and became the Michigan Stags. Midway through the season, the Stags moved to Baltimore and became the Blades; they folded for good after the season. Chicago also folded at season's end. Also, the New England Whalers left Boston for Hartford, but played the first half of the season in Springfield, Massachusetts until construction on the Hartford Civic Center was finished.
The NHL also expanded this season, to 18 teams, making a total of 32 clubs playing major professional hockey in North America. This number has not been surpassed, though the NHL expanded to 32 teams in 2021.

### Final standings

| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Quebec Nordiques | 78 | 46 | 32 | 0 | 92 | 331 | 299 | 1132 |
| Toronto Toros | 78 | 43 | 33 | 2 | 88 | 349 | 304 | 883 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 38 | 35 | 5 | 81 | 322 | 293 | 869 |
| Vancouver Blazers | 78 | 37 | 39 | 2 | 76 | 256 | 270 | 1075 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 78 | 36 | 38 | 4 | 76 | 279 | 279 | 896 |
| Eastern Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| New England Whalers | 78 | 43 | 30 | 5 | 91 | 274 | 279 | 867 |
| Cleveland Crusaders | 78 | 35 | 40 | 3 | 73 | 236 | 258 | 1273 |
| Chicago Cougars | 78 | 30 | 47 | 1 | 61 | 261 | 312 | 1086 |
| Indianapolis Racers | 78 | 18 | 57 | 3 | 39 | 216 | 338 | 970 |
| Western Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Houston Aeros | 78 | 53 | 25 | 0 | 106 | 369 | 247 | 1257 |
| San Diego Mariners | 78 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 90 | 326 | 268 | 1058 |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | 78 | 42 | 33 | 3 | 87 | 308 | 279 | 1233 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 78 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 86 | 300 | 265 | 1388 |
| Michigan Stags / Baltimore Blades | 78 | 21 | 53 | 4 | 46 | 205 | 341 | 1104 |

## Player stats
### Scoring leaders

$_{Boldednumbersindicateseasonleaders}$
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Andre Lacroix | San Diego Mariners | 78 | 41 | 106 | 147 | 63 |
| Bobby Hull | Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 77 | 65 | 142 | 41 |
| Serge Bernier | Quebec Nordiques | 76 | 54 | 68 | 122 | 75 |
| Ulf Nilsson | Winnipeg Jets | 78 | 26 | 94 | 120 | 79 |
| Larry Lund | Houston Aeros | 78 | 33 | 75 | 108 | 68 |
| Wayne Rivers | San Diego Mariners | 78 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 52 |
| Anders Hedberg | Winnipeg Jets | 65 | 53 | 47 | 100 | 45 |
| Gordie Howe | Houston Aeros | 75 | 34 | 65 | 99 | 84 |
| Wayne Dillon | Toronto Toros | 77 | 29 | 66 | 95 | 22 |
| Mike Walton | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 75 | 48 | 45 | 93 | 33 |

### Leading goaltenders

$_{Boldednumbersindicateseasonleaders}$
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
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Ron Grahame | Houston Aeros | 43 | 2590 | 33 | 10 | 0 | 131 | 4 | 90.0 | 3.03 |
| Bob Whidden | Cleveland Crusaders | 29 | 1654 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 89 | 0 | 91.2 | 3.23 |
| Wayne Rutledge | Houston Aeros | 35 | 2092 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 113 | 2 | 89.2 | 3.24 |
| Ernie Wakely | Winnipeg - San Diego | 41 | 2418 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 131 | 3 | 90.0 | 3.25 |
| Gerry Cheevers | Cleveland Crusaders | 52 | 3076 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 167 | 4 | 90.5 | 3.26 |
| Jack Norris | Phoenix Roadrunners | 33 | 1962 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 107 | 1 | 89.1 | 3.27 |
| John Garrett | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 58 | 3294 | 30 | 23 | 2 | 180 | 2 | 90.5 | 3.28 |
| Gary Kurt | Phoenix Roadrunners | 47 | 2841 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 156 | 2 | 88.5 | 3.27 |
| Jacques Plante | Edmonton Oilers | 40 | 1592 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 88 | 1 | 89.0 | 3.32 |
| Don McLeod | Vancouver Blazers | 71 | 4124 | 32 | 35 | 2 | 230 | 1 | 89.1 | 3.35 |

## All-Star game

At Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, the West defeated the East 6–4.

## Avco World Trophy playoffs

Eight teams qualified for the playoffs; the top two teams in each division and the next two teams with the highest point totals. The teams were then pooled together, according to point totals, to determine quarter-final match-ups. The three division winners were guaranteed the top three seeds, according to their point totals. Teams were not "reseeded" after the quarter-final round.
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | | | | | | |
| E2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 1 | | | | | | |
| E2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 1 | W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | | | |
| | | | W2 | San Diego Mariners | 0 | | | |
| W2 | San Diego Mariners | 4 | W2 | San Diego Mariners | 0 | | | |
| C2 | Toronto Toros | 2 | | | | | | |
| C2 | Toronto Toros | 2 | | | | W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 |
| | | | | | | C1 | Quebec Nordiques | 0 |
| E1 | New England Whalers | 2 | | | | | | | C1 | Quebec Nordiques | 0 |
| W3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 4 | | | | | | |
| W3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 4 | W3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | 2 | | | |
| | | | C1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | | | |
| C1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | C1 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | | | |
| W4 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1 | | | | | | |

## WHA awards
### Trophies

| Avco World Trophy: | Houston Aeros |
| Gary L. Davidson Award: | Bobby Hull, Winnipeg Jets |
| Bill Hunter Trophy: | Andre Lacroix, San Diego Mariners |
| Lou Kaplan Trophy: | Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg Jets |
| Ben Hatskin Trophy: | Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros |
| Dennis A. Murphy Trophy: | J. C. Tremblay, Quebec Nordiques |
| Paul Deneau Trophy: | Mike Rogers, Edmonton Oilers |
| Howard Baldwin Trophy: | Sandy Hucul, Phoenix Roadrunners |
| WHA Playoff MVP: | Ron Grahame, Houston Aeros |

### All-Star Team

| Position | First Team | Second Team |
| Centre | Andre Lacroix, San Diego | Serge Bernier, Quebec |
| Right Wing | Gordie Howe, Houston | Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg |
| Left Wing | Bobby Hull, Winnipeg | Marc Tardif, Quebec |
| Defence | J. C. Tremblay, Quebec | Poul Popiel, Houston |
| Defence | Kevin Morrison, San Diego | Barry Long, Edmonton |
| Goaltender | Ron Grahame, Houston | Gerry Cheevers, Cleveland |