# 1976–77 Cleveland Barons season

The 1976–77 Cleveland Barons season was the first season for this franchise in Cleveland, after nine seasons in the San Francisco Bay Area as the Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals. The Barons displaced the World Hockey Association's Cleveland Crusaders, who elected to relocate to Minnesota and become the Minnesota Fighting Saints.
The Barons played in the tough Adams Division and spent most of the season in last place. Midway through the season, majority owner Melvin Swig announced the team might have trouble finishing the season. The club missed payroll twice in February, and only a loan from the league and NHLPA kept the team afloat. Following the season, minority owner George Gund III purchased a controlling interest in the club.

## Offseason
### Amateur Draft

The franchise participated in the 1976 Amateur Draft as the California Golden Seals, the move to Cleveland not being approved until mid-July.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 5. | Bjorn Johansson | Sweden | HK Örebro (Sweden Division 1) |
| 2 | 23. | Vern Stenlund | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 41. | Mike Fidler | United States | Boston University Terriers (ECAC) |
| 4 | 59. | Warren Young | Canada | Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA) |
| 5 | 77. | Darcy Regier | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL) |
| 5 | 79. | Cal Sandbeck | United States | University of Denver Pioneers (WCHA) |
| 6 | 95. | Jouni Rinne | Finland | Lukko (SM-liiga) |

## Regular season

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 312 | 240 | 106 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 48 | 24 | 8 | 301 | 220 | 104 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 301 | 285 | 81 |
| Cleveland Barons | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | 240 | 292 | 63 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Boston
—3–35–13–2–111–6–1
Buffalo
3–3—5–15–0–113–4–1
Cleveland
1–51–5—2–44–14–0
Toronto
2–3–10–5–14–2—6–10–1
Vs. Norris Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
4–12–2–13–23–1–14–0–116–6–3
Buffalo
4–13–22–2–10–4–14–113–10–2
Cleveland
2–31–2–20–50–3–25–08–13–4
Toronto
3–1–12–1–21–2–21–2–22–39–9–7
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
2–21–2–14–0–11–38–7–2
Buffalo
2–1–11–3–14–02–29–6–2
Cleveland
2–1–10–3–10–3–11–3–13–10–4
Toronto
4–12–1–11–2–11–2–18–6–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
4–03–11–2–12–1–14–014–4–2
Buffalo
3–13–0–12–1–12–23–0–113–4–3
Cleveland
3–12–1–11–1–22–1–12–1–110–5–5
Toronto
1–2–12–1–13–12–22–1–110–7–3 :

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1976–77 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

#### Detailed records

Wales Conference :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pts. | Goals scored | Goals allowed |
| Adams Division |||||||
| Boston Bruins | 1–2–0 | 0–3–0 | 1–5–0 | 2 | 18 | 26 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 0–3–0 | 1–2–0 | 1–5–0 | 2 | 15 | 27 |
| Cleveland Barons | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 0–3–0 | 2–1–0 | 2–4–0 | 4 | 20 | 25 |
| | 1–8–0 | 3–6–0 | 4–14–0 | 8 | 53 | 78 |
| Norris Division |||||||
| Detroit Red Wings | 2–0–0 | 0–3–0 | 2–3–0 | 4 | 17 | 17 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1–1–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–2–2 | 4 | 13 | 13 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 0–2–0 | 0–3–0 | 0–5–0 | 0 | 9 | 25 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–1–2 | 0–2–0 | 0–3–2 | 2 | 12 | 14 |
| Washington Capitals | 2–0–0 | 3–0–0 | 5–0–0 | 10 | 25 | 9 |
| | 5–4–3 | 3–9–1 | 8–13–4 | 20 | 76 | 78 |
Campbell Conference :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pts. | Goals scored | Goals allowed |
| Patrick Division |||||||
| Atlanta Flames | 1–1–0 | 1–0–1 | 2–1–1 | 5 | 12 | 12 |
| New York Islanders | 0–2–0 | 0–1–1 | 0–3–1 | 1 | 11 | 20 |
| New York Rangers | 0–1–1 | 0–2–0 | 0–3–1 | 1 | 10 | 15 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 1–1–1 | 0–2–0 | 1–3–1 | 3 | 15 | 27 |
| | 1–5–2 | 2–5–2 | 3–10–4 | 10 | 48 | 74 |
| Smythe Division |||||||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 2–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 3–1–0 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–1–1 | 5 | 15 | 15 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 1–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–2 | 4 | 11 | 12 |
| St. Louis Blues | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–1–1 | 4 | 15 | 15 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 1–0–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–1–1 | 5 | 17 | 13 |
| | 6–0–4 | 4–5–0 | 10–5–5 | 21 | 71 | 68 |

## Player stats
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Dennis Maruk | | 80 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 68 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Al MacAdam | | 80 | 22 | 41 | 63 | 68 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Wayne Merrick | | 80 | 18 | 38 | 56 | 25 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Murdoch | | 57 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 30 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Rick Hampton | | 57 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 13 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Dave Gardner | | 76 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 9 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Mike Fidler | | 46 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 17 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Mike Christie | | 79 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 79 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Ralph Klassen | | 80 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 23 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Greg Smith | | 74 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 65 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Frank Spring | | 26 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 6 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Girard | | 68 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 33 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Brent Meeke | | 49 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jim Neilson | | 47 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 42 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Gary Sabourin | | 33 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jim Moxey$^‡$ | | 35 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 20 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Juha Widing$^†$ | | 29 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Stewart | | 73 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 108 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jim Pappin | | 24 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Len Frig | | 66 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 213 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Fred Ahern | | 25 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Phil Roberto | | 21 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Glenn Patrick | | 35 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 70 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Ken Kuzyk | | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Angie Moretto | | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Gilles Meloche | | 51 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Charlie Simmer | | 24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bjorn Johansson | | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Gary Holt | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Gary Edwards$^†$ | | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Lyle Bradley | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Tom Price$^‡$ | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Vern Stenlund | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Rick Shinske | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Gary Simmons$^‡$ | | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Barons. Stats reflect time with the Barons only. $^‡$Traded/released mid-season

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Gilles Meloche | | 51 | 2961 | 19 | 24 | 6 | 171 | 2 | 3.47 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |
| Gary Simmons$^‡$ | | 15 | 840 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 51 | 1 | 3.64 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |
| Gary Edwards$^†$ | | 17 | 999 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 68 | 2 | 4.08 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Seals. Stats reflect time with the Seals only. $^‡$Traded mid-season

## Transactions

The Barons were involved in the following transactions during the 1976–77 season:

### Trades

| January 22, 1977 | To Cleveland Barons Gary Edwards Juha Widing | To Los Angeles Kings Jim Moxey Gary Simmons |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Ken Kuzyk | Boston University (NCAA) | free agency (September 1976) |
| Phil Roberto | Colorado Rockies | free agency (1976-12-24) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Tom Price | Pittsburgh Penguins | free agency (1977-02-28) |