# 1977–78 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1977–78 Winnipeg Jets season was the Jets' sixth season of operation in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Jets, finalists in 1977, qualified first for the playoffs and the championship against the New England Whalers in the Final. It was the Jets' second Avco Cup win.
As of 2025 this is the most recent season any Winnipeg-based major professional hockey team has won a division championship, although the Jets would go on to defend the Avco Cup the following year (their last as a WHA organization before joining the National Hockey League).

## Regular season
### Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
| WHA Team | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Winnipeg Jets | 50 | 28 | 2 | 102 | 381 | 270 | 988 |
| New England Whalers | 44 | 31 | 5 | 93 | 335 | 269 | 1255 |
| Houston Aeros | 42 | 34 | 4 | 88 | 296 | 302 | 1543 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 40 | 37 | 3 | 83 | 349 | 347 | 1185 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 38 | 39 | 3 | 79 | 309 | 307 | 1296 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 36 | 41 | 3 | 75 | 287 | 314 | 2177 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 35 | 42 | 3 | 73 | 298 | 332 | 1701 |
| Indianapolis Racers | 24 | 51 | 5 | 53 | 267 | 353 | 1189 |
| Soviet All-Stars | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 36 | 120 |
| Czechoslovakia All-Stars | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 40 | 87 |

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 12, 1977 | 7–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 13, 1977 | 5–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 15, 1977 | 5–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | W | October 16, 1977 | 9–1 | Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 4–0–0 |
| 5 | L | October 21, 1977 | 2–5 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | W | October 23, 1977 | 10–3 | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 5–1–0 |
| 7 | L | October 26, 1977 | 3–5 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | W | October 28, 1977 | 3–2 | Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 6–2–0 |
| 9 | W | October 30, 1977 | 5–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 7–2–0 |
| 10 | W | November 2, 1977 | 6–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 8–2–0 |
| 11 | W | November 4, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 9–2–0 |
| 12 | W | November 5, 1977 | 6–1 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 10–2–0 |
| 13 | W | November 9, 1977 | 4–3 | Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 11–2–0 |
| 14 | L | November 11, 1977 | 2–3 OT | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 11–3–0 |
| 15 | L | November 13, 1977 | 2–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 11–4–0 |
| 16 | L | November 15, 1977 | 6–7 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 11–5–0 |
| 17 | T | November 16, 1977 | 2–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 11–5–1 |
| 18 | L | November 18, 1977 | 2–3 | @ New England Whalers (1977–78) | 11–6–1 |
| 19 | W | November 19, 1977 | 6–4 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 12–6–1 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 12–7–1 |
| 21 | L | November 27, 1977 | 3–4 OT | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 12–8–1 |
| 22 | L | December 2, 1977 | 1–4 | @ New England Whalers (1977–78) | 12–9–1 |
| 23 | L | December 3, 1977 | 5–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 12–10–1 |
| 24 | L | December 4, 1977 | 2–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 12–11–1 |
| 25 | W | December 7, 1977 | 5–2 | Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 13–11–1 |
| 26 | L | December 9, 1977 | 3–4 OT | Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 13–12–1 |
| 27 | W | December 11, 1977 | 7–1 | Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 14–12–1 |
| 28 | W | December 13, 1977 | 5–1 | Czechoslovakia (1977–78) | 15–12–1 |
| 29 | W | December 17, 1977 | 6–3 | @ New England Whalers (1977–78) | 16–12–1 |
| 30 | W | December 18, 1977 | 7–3 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 17–12–1 |
| 31 | W | December 20, 1977 | 6–4 | Soviet All-Stars (1977–78) | 18–12–1 |
| 32 | W | December 21, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 19–12–1 |
| 33 | W | December 23, 1977 | 6–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 20–12–1 |
| 34 | W | December 26, 1977 | 9–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 21–12–1 |
| 35 | W | January 6, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 22–12–1 |
| 36 | W | January 8, 1978 | 4–2 | Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 23–12–1 |
| 37 | W | January 11, 1978 | 11–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 24–12–1 |
| 38 | L | January 13, 1978 | 2–3 | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 24–13–1 |
| 39 | W | January 14, 1978 | 6–3 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 25–13–1 |
| 40 | L | January 15, 1978 | 3–4 OT | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 25–14–1 |
| 41 | W | January 18, 1978 | 5–1 | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 26–14–1 |
| 42 | T | January 20, 1978 | 4–4 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 26–14–2 |
| 43 | L | January 22, 1978 | 4–5 | Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 26–15–2 |
| 44 | L | January 25, 1978 | 2–6 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 26–16–2 |
| 45 | L | January 26, 1978 | 1–2 OT | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 26–17–2 |
| 46 | L | January 28, 1978 | 5–8 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 26–18–2 |
| 47 | W | January 29, 1978 | 8–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 27–18–2 |
| 48 | W | January 31, 1978 | 7–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 28–18–2 |
| 49 | W | February 4, 1978 | 7–5 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 29–18–2 |
| 50 | W | February 5, 1978 | 4–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 30–18–2 |
| 51 | W | February 8, 1978 | 9–0 | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 31–18–2 |
| 52 | W | February 10, 1978 | 10–2 | Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 32–18–2 |
| 53 | W | February 11, 1978 | 5–3 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 33–18–2 |
| 54 | W | February 12, 1978 | 6–5 | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 34–18–2 |
| 55 | W | February 15, 1978 | 6–5 | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 35–18–2 |
| 56 | W | February 16, 1978 | 2–1 OT | @ New England Whalers (1977–78) | 36–18–2 |
| 57 | W | February 18, 1978 | 4–0 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 37–18–2 |
| 58 | W | February 19, 1978 | 5–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 38–18–2 |
| 59 | W | February 22, 1978 | 4–2 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 39–18–2 |
| 60 | W | February 24, 1978 | 7–2 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 40–18–2 |
| 61 | W | February 26, 1978 | 9–6 | Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 41–18–2 |
| 62 | L | March 1, 1978 | 3–4 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 41–19–2 |
| 63 | L | March 3, 1978 | 1–5 | Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) | 41–20–2 |
| 64 | L | March 4, 1978 | 6–8 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 41–21–2 |
| 65 | L | March 5, 1978 | 3–4 | Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 41–22–2 |
| 66 | W | March 9, 1978 | 6–5 | Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 42–22–2 |
| 67 | W | March 11, 1978 | 7–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 43–22–2 |
| 68 | W | March 12, 1978 | 3–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 44–22–2 |
| 69 | W | March 15, 1978 | 8–4 | Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 45–22–2 |
| 70 | L | March 17, 1978 | 2–6 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 45–23–2 |
| 71 | W | March 19, 1978 | 5–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 46–23–2 |
| 72 | W | March 22, 1978 | 5–3 | @ New England Whalers (1977–78) | 47–23–2 |
| 73 | W | March 25, 1978 | 3–1 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) | 48–23–2 |
| 74 | L | March 28, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 48–24–2 |
| 75 | W | March 30, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) | 49–24–2 |
| 76 | L | April 1, 1978 | 2–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) | 49–25–2 |
| 77 | L | April 4, 1978 | 3–6 | @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 49–26–2 |
| 78 | W | April 6, 1978 | 7–4 | New England Whalers (1977–78) | 50–26–2 |
| 79 | L | April 7, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1977–78) | 50–27–2 |
| 80 | L | April 9, 1978 | 4–5 | Houston Aeros (1977–78) | 50–28–2 |

## Playoffs

Due to their victory over the Bulls, they earned a bye to the Finals while the other two Semifinal winners faced off against each other.

### Winnipeg Jets 4, Birmingham Bulls 1

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 14 | Birmingham Bulls | 3–9 | Winnipeg Jets | 1–0 |
| 2 | April 16 | Birmingham Bulls | 3–8 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–0 |
| 3 | April 19 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–3 | Birmingham Bulls | 2–1 |
| 4 | April 21 | Winnipeg Jets | 5–1 | Birmingham Bulls | 3–1 |
| 5 | April 23 | Birmingham Bulls | 2–5 | Winnipeg Jets | 4–1 |

### Winnipeg Jets 4, New England Whalers 0 – Avco Cup Finals

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | May 12 | New England Whalers | 1–4 | Winnipeg Jets | 1–0 |
| 2 | May 14 | New England Whalers | 2–5 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–0 |
| 3 | May 19 | Winnipeg Jets | 10–2 | New England Whalers | 3–0 |
| 4 | May 22 | Winnipeg Jets | 5–3 | New England Whalers | 4–0 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG |
| Ulf Nilsson | C | 73 | 37 | 89 | 126 | 89 | 41 | 7 | 3 |
| Anders Hedberg | RW | 77 | 63 | 59 | 122 | 60 | 60 | 17 | 6 |
| Bobby Hull | LW | 77 | 46 | 71 | 117 | 23 | 55 | 10 | 0 |
| Kent Nilsson | C | 80 | 42 | 65 | 107 | 8 | 27 | 18 | 0 |
| Willy Lindstrom | RW | 77 | 30 | 30 | 60 | 42 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Peter Sullivan | C | 77 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 43 | −12 | 3 | 1 |
| Lars-Erik Sjoberg | D | 78 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 72 | 60 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Guindon | LW | 77 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 18 | −1 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Kryskow | LW | 71 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| Dan Labraaten | LW | 47 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 62 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 43 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Lynn Powis | C | 55 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Barry Long | D | 78 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 42 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 80 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 48 | −4 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Dunn | D | 66 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 79 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Ted Green | D | 73 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 52 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 57 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 39 | −6 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Baird | D | 49 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Kent Ruhnke | RW | 21 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Clackson | D | 52 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 203 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hornung | D | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Amodeo | D | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | G | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Bromley | G | 39 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Davis | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −9 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Ford | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 | 0 |
| Fran Huck | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 | 0 |
| Markus Mattsson | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gary Bromley | 2252 | 39 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 124 | 3.30 | 1 |
| Joe Daley | 2075 | 37 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 114 | 3.30 | 1 |
| Markus Mattsson | 511 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 30 | 3.52 | 0 |
| Team: | 4838 | 80 | 50 | 28 | 2 | 268 | 3.32 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GWG |
| Anders Hedberg | RW | 9 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| Ulf Nilsson | C | 9 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 0 |
| Bobby Guindon | LW | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 9 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| Bobby Hull | LW | 9 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 2 |
| Kent Nilsson | C | 9 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Lars-Erik Sjoberg | D | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| Dave Kryskow | LW | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Willy Lindstrom | RW | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 0 |
| Peter Sullivan | C | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| Barry Long | D | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Mike Amodeo | D | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| Ken Baird | D | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Lynn Powis | C | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Dave Dunn | D | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Kent Ruhnke | RW | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Dan Labraaten | LW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Ted Green | D | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Ford | D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Clackson | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 61 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | G | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 |
| Gary Bromley | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gary Bromley | 268 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1.57 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | 271 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 2.88 | 0 |
| Team: | 539 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 20 | 2.23 | 0 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

Winnipeg's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Ron Duguay (C) | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) |
| 1 | 8 | Miles Zaharko (D) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 3 | 28 | Mark Lofthouse (RW) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 4 | 37 | Don Laurence (C) | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHA) |
| 5 | 46 | Bill Stewart (D) | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |
| 6 | 55 | Ric Seiling (RW) | Canada | St. Catharines Fincups (OHA) |
| 7 | 64 | Jim Hamilton (LW) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 8 | 72 | Warren Holmes (C) | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 9 | 80 | Mike Keating (LW) | Canada | St. Catharines Fincups (OHA) |
| 10 | 88 | Murray Bannerman (G) | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |