# 1977–78 Cleveland Barons season

The 1977–78 Cleveland Barons season was the team's eleventh and final season in the NHL. The relocation to Cleveland did not cure the attendance problems that plagued the franchise from its inception in Oakland as the Seals in 1967. In June 1978, with both the Barons and the Minnesota North Stars on the verge of folding, the league approved an arrangement in which the two teams were permitted to merge under the ownership of Barons owner George Gund III. The merged franchise continued as the Minnesota North Stars, and assumed the Barons' old place in the Adams Division. Fifteen seasons later, the North Stars relocated to Dallas and became the Stars, bringing the NHL to Texas for the first time. The NHL returned to both the Buckeye State and the North Star State when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild both began play in 2000.

## Offseason
### Amateur draft

Cleveland's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the NHL's office in Montreal on June 14, 1977.
Players drafted by the Cleveland Barons in 1977 and their NHL career regular season statistics :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | W | L | T | GAA |
| 1 | 5 | Mike Crombeen | Forward | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) | 475 | 55 | 68 | 123 | 218 | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | 23 | Dan Chicoine | Right wing | Canada | Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL) | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 41 | Reg Kerr | Defense | Canada | Kamloops Chiefs (WHL) | 263 | 66 | 94 | 160 | 169 | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 42 | Guy Lash | Right wing | Canada | Winnipeg Monarchs (WCHL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | 59 | John Baby | Defense | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) | 26 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 26 | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | 77 | Owen Lloyd | Defense | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | 95 | Jeff Allan | Defense | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | 113 | Mark Toffolo | Defense | United States | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | 128 | Grant Eakin | Left wing | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Regular season

On December 11, 1977, Tom Bladon of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first defenceman in NHL history to score 8 points in one game. He scored four goals and four assists versus the Cleveland Barons. It was 25% of his point total for the entire season.

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 51 | 18 | 11 | 333 | 218 | 113 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 44 | 19 | 17 | 288 | 215 | 105 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 271 | 237 | 92 |
| Cleveland Barons | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 230 | 325 | 57 |
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
1977–78 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Boston
—2–43–1–25–0–110–5–3
Buffalo
4–2—4–22–3–110–7–1
Cleveland
1–3–22–4—2–45–13–2
Toronto
0–5–13–2–14–2—7–9–2
Vs. Norris Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
4–0–15–00–4–15–04–0–118–4–3
Buffalo
2–2–13–0–23–20–0–53–1–111–5–9
Cleveland
2–2–11–3–11–40–52–36–17–2
Toronto
2–1–22–30–4–12–34–0–110–11–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
2–1–11–34–11–2–18–7–2
Buffalo
2–1–13–22–1–13–0–110–4–3
Cleveland
1–2–11–1–21–30–4–13–10–4
Toronto
2–31–33–13–19–8–0
Vs. Smythe Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
3–13–0–13–14–02–0–215–2–3
Buffalo
2–1–13–13–14–01–0–313–3–4
Cleveland
1–31–1–23–0–11–2–12–1–18–7–5
Toronto
2–1–14–04–02–0–23–0–115–1–4 :

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1977–78 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 | 0–1–2 | 1–2–0 | 1–3–2 | 4 | 17 | 21 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 1–2–0 | 1–2–0 | 2–4–0 | 4 | 20 | 38 |
| Cleveland Barons | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–1–0 | 0–3–0 | 2–4–0 | 4 | 17 | 23 |
| | 3–4–2 | 2–7–0 | 5–11–2 | 12 | 54 | 82 |
| Norris Division |||||||
| Detroit Red Wings | 1–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–2–1 | 5 | 15 | 16 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1–1–0 | 0–2–1 | 1–3–1 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1–2–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–4–0 | 2 | 11 | 23 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–2–0 | 0–3–0 | 0–5–0 | 0 | 12 | 21 |
| Washington Capitals | 1–2–0 | 1–1–0 | 2–3–0 | 4 | 14 | 21 |
| | 4–8–1 | 2–9–1 | 6–17–2 | 14 | 61 | 93 |
Campbell Conference :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pts. | Goals scored | Goals allowed |
| Patrick Division |||||||
| Atlanta Flames | 0–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–2–1 | 3 | 16 | 23 |
| New York Islanders | 1–0–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–2 | 4 | 14 | 14 |
| New York Rangers | 1–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–3–0 | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 0–1–1 | 0–3–0 | 0–4–1 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| | 2–3–3 | 1–7–1 | 3–10–4 | 10 | 48 | 84 |
| Smythe Division |||||||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 1–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–3–0 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1–0–1 | 0–1–1 | 1–1–2 | 4 | 15 | 15 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 1–0–1 | 2–0–0 | 3–0–1 | 7 | 20 | 12 |
| St. Louis Blues | 0–1–1 | 1–1–0 | 1–2–1 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2–0–0 | 0–1–1 | 2–1–1 | 5 | 16 | 11 |
| | 5–2–3 | 3–5–2 | 8–7–5 | 21 | 67 | 66 |

## Player stats
### Skaters

Note: GP= Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes; +/- = Plus/minus
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- |
| Dennis Maruk | | 76 | 36 | 35 | 71 | 50 | −26 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Fidler | | 78 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 38 | −13 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kris Manery | | 78 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 14 | −15 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Al MacAdam | | 80 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 42 | −19 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dave Gardner | | 75 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 10 | −16 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bob Murdoch | | 71 | 14 | 26 | 40 | 27 | −18 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Greg Smith | | 80 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 92 | −26 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rick Hampton | | 77 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 19 | −24 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chuck Arnason$^†$ | | 40 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 8 | −2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Walt McKechnie$^†$ | | 53 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 12 | −8 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jim Neilson | | 68 | 2 | 21 | 23 | 20 | −25 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. P. Parise$^†$ | | 40 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 27 | −15 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rick Shinske | | 47 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 6 | −12 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jean Potvin$^†$ | | 40 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 30 | −4 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bob Stewart | | 72 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 84 | −25 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ken Kuzyk | | 28 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | −1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| John Baby | | 24 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 26 | −10 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Fred Ahern$^‡$ | | 36 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 48 | −16 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Crombeen | | 48 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −26 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wayne Merrick$^‡$ | | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 13 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Christie$^‡$ | | 34 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 49 | −14 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rick Jodzio$^†$ | | 38 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 43 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Randy Holt$^†$ | | 48 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 229 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bob Girard$^‡$ | | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ralph Klassen$^‡$ | | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dennis O'Brien$^{†‡}$ | | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31 | −13 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reg Kerr | | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Darcy Regier$^‡$ | | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gary Edwards | | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jeff Allan | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bjorn Johansson | | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dan Chicoine | | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gilles Meloche | 27 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Barons. Stats reflect time with the Barons only. $^‡$Traded 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 | 27 | 54 | 3100 | 16 | 27 | 8 | 195 | 1 | 3.77 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |
| Gary Edwards | | 30 | 1700 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 128 | 0 | 4.52 | – | – | – | – | – | – | -.-- |

## Transactions

The Barons were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season:

### Trades

| August 17, 1977 | To Cleveland Barons rights to Mike Eaves | To St. Louis Blues Len Frig |
| November 23, 1977 | To Cleveland Barons Randy Holt | To Chicago Black Hawks Reg Kerr |
| December 9, 1977 | To Cleveland Barons Walt McKechnie | To Washington Capitals Bob Girard 2nd round pick in 1978 draft (Paul MacKinnon) |
| January 9, 1978 | To Cleveland Barons Chuck Arnason Rick Jodzio | To Colorado Rockies Fred Ahern Ralph Klassen |
| January 10, 1978 | To Cleveland Barons J. P. Parise Jean Potvin 4th round pick in 1978 draft (cancelled by Barons-North Stars merger) | To New York Islanders Wayne Merrick Darcy Regier |
| January 12, 1978 | To Cleveland Barons Dennis O'Brien | To Colorado Rockies Mike Christie |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Kris Manery | University of Michigan (NCAA) | free agency (1977–10) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Phil Roberto | Birmingham Bulls (WHA) | free agency (July 1977) |
| Charlie Simmer | Los Angeles Kings | free agency (1977-08-08) |
| Gary Holt | St. Louis Blues | free agency (1977-10-20) |
| Dennis O'Brien | Boston Bruins | waivers (1978-03-10) |

## Playoffs

The Barons did not qualify for the playoffs.