# 1976 WHA playoffs

The 1976 WHA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the World Hockey Association's 1975-1976 season. The fourth WHA tournament, it was the only one with ten teams in competition with each other. The Winnipeg Jets won the Avco Cup over the Houston Aeros for their first ever championship. Ulf Nilsson was named the WHA Playoff MVP.

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals April 9-30 | Quarterfinals April 9-30 | Quarterfinals April 9-30 | Semifinals April 23 - May 16 | Semifinals April 23 - May 16 | Semifinals April 23 - May 16 | Avco Cup May 20-27 | Avco Cup May 20-27 | Avco Cup May 20-27 |
| W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | | | | | | |
| W3 | San Diego Mariners | 2 | | | | | | |
| W3 | San Diego Mariners | 2 | W1 | Houston Aeros | 4 | | | |
| | | | E3 | New England Whalers | 3 | | | |
| E3 | New England Whalers | 4 | E3 | New England Whalers | 3 | | | |
| E3 | New England Whalers | 4 | | | | ' | ' | ' |
| E1 | Indianapolis Racers | 3 | | | | ' | ' | ' |
| E1 | Indianapolis Racers | 3 | | | | C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 |
| | | | | | | W1 | Houston Aeros | 0 |
| C3 | Calgary Cowboys | 4 | | | | W1 | Houston Aeros | 0 |
| C2 | Quebec Nordiques | 1 | | | | | | |
| C2 | Quebec Nordiques | 1 | C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | | | |
| | | | C3 | Calgary Cowboys | 1 | | | |
| C1 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | C3 | Calgary Cowboys | 1 | | | |
| C4 | Edmonton Oilers | 0 | | | | | | |
| Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | Preliminary Round | | | |
| New England Whalers | New England Whalers | 3 | San Diego Mariners | San Diego Mariners | 3 | | | |
| Cleveland Crusaders | Cleveland Crusaders | 0 | Phoenix Roadrunners | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2 | | | |

## Preliminary Round
### San Diego Mariners vs. Phoenix Roadrunners

Unusually, Game 5 had no penalties called for the duration of the game. It also was the last playoff game played in the state of Arizona until the Arizona Coyotes played in 1997.

### New England Whalers vs. Cleveland Crusaders

Mike Rogers delivered the go-ahead goal in Game 3 with four minutes remaining to eliminate Cleveland. This was the final game played by the Crusaders in Cleveland, as they relocated to Minnesota in the offseason when the National Hockey League approved the move of the California Golden Seals to Cleveland.

## Quarterfinals
### (C3) Calgary Cowboys vs. (C2) Quebec Nordiques

In a shocking upset, the Cowboys prevailed over the Nordiques. However, it mostly became known for an infamous brawl during Game 2 that saw eleven ejections, a coach suspended the rest of the series, and criminal matters. 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 Fernand Lalonde, who had the incident investigated as a criminal matter. Jodzio was suspended indefinitely by the league, and later pleaded guilty in a Quebec court to a charge of assault over the incident. Cowboys coach Joe Crozier was suspended for the rest of the series.

### (W1) Houston Aeros vs. (W3) San Diego Mariners
## Semifinals
### (C1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (C3) Calgary Cowboys

Winnipeg beat Calgary in five games.
In Game 3, Lynn Powis and Don Tannahill each recorded a goal three seconds apart from each other, the fastest in WHA history.

### (W1) Houston Aeros vs. (E3) New England Whalers
## Avco Cup Finals

The first two games were tight affairs that Winnipeg won before a four-goal first period in Game 3 and three in the first period in Game 4 carried them to victory.
* Winnipeg won series 4–0

## Statistical leaders
### Skaters

These were the top ten skaters based on points.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Ulf Nilsson | Winnipeg Jets | 13 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 15 | 6 |
| Bobby Hull | Winnipeg Jets | 13 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 15 | 4 |
| Anders Hedberg | Winnipeg Jets | 13 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 15 |
| Tom Webster | New England Whalers | 17 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 6 |
| Mark Howe | Houston Aeros | 17 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 18 |
| Terry Ruskowski | Houston Aeros | 16 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 64 |
| Rosaire Paiement | New England Whalers | 17 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 3 | 41 |
| John Tonelli | Houston Aeros | 17 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 8 |
| Thommie Bergman | Winnipeg Jets | 13 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 8 |
| Mike Ford | Winnipeg Jets | 12 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 8 |
| Mike Rogers | New England Whalers | 17 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 2 |
| Peter Sullivan | Winnipeg Jets | 13 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 0 |