# 1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's eighth season in the National Hockey League. It was also the Penguins first season in the Norris division of the Prince of Wales Conference. The team qualified for the playoffs for the third time in franchise history, losing to the New York Islanders after gaining a 3–0 lead (in a best-of-seven series) in the quarter-final round.

## Offseason

In early 1975, newspapers reported that the California Golden Seals and Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976–77 season. After staunchly rejecting previous franchise relocation attempts, league president Clarence Campbell saw this as a method by which the NHL might extricate itself from two problem markets, while honoring the expansion commitments it had made. However Seattle Totems owner Vince Abbey missed an opportunity to acquire the Penguins when they were sold in a bankruptcy auction for $4.4 million in June 1975. The Penguins ended up staying in Pittsburgh and ultimately, over time, made Pittsburgh one of the NHL's stronger markets.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 47 | 14 | 19 | 374 | 225 | +149 | 113 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 42 | 17 | 21 | 269 | 185 | +84 | 105 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 37 | 28 | 15 | 326 | 289 | +37 | 89 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 45 | 12 | 259 | 335 | −76 | 58 |
| 5 | Washington Capitals | 80 | 8 | 67 | 5 | 181 | 446 | −265 | 21 |

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—0–5–10–4–22–45–17–14–3
Los Angeles
5–0–1—1–2–33–1–25–0–114–3–7
Montreal
4–0–22–1–3—4–1–16–016–2–6
Pittsburgh
4–21–3–21–4–1—5–111–10–3
Washington
1–50–5–10–61–5—2–21–1
Vs. Adams Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–41–3–12–2–11–3–15–12–3
Los Angeles
3–23–1–12–1–24–0–112–4–4
Montreal
3–0–20–4–15–01–2–29–6–5
Pittsburgh
1–2–20–3–24–0–14–19–6–5
Washington
0–4–10–52–31–43–16–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
2–22–21–2–11–2–16–8–2
Los Angeles
1–2–10–1–31–1–21–2–13–6–7
Montreal
3–0–10–2–22–0–21–2–16–4–6
Pittsburgh
1–1–22–22–21–36–8–2
Washington
0–3–10–41–2–10–41–13–2
Vs. Smythe Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
1–2–13–10–2–20–3–11–35–11–4
Los Angeles
2–23–14–03–0–11–1–213–4–3
Montreal
3–0–14–04–01–2–14–016–2–2
Pittsburgh
2–1–12–0–23–11–1–23–111–4–5
Washington
1–31–30–3–10–40–42–17–1 :

## Schedule and results

1974–75 Schedule :
October: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–2–1; Road: 1–2–0), 5 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
1Oct 9Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Minnesota North StarsMet Center1–0–02
2Oct 12Detroit Red Wings2–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–0–04
3Oct 19Philadelphia Flyers6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–1–04
4Oct 20Pittsburgh Penguins1–5Atlanta FlamesOmni Coliseum2–2–04
5Oct 23Boston Bruins5–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–2–15
6Oct 26New York Rangers5–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–3–15
7Oct 28Pittsburgh Penguins0–2Los Angeles KingsThe Forum2–4–15 :
November: 6–6–3 (Home: 3–2–2; Road: 3–4–1), 15 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
8Nov 1Pittsburgh Penguins4–7Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum2–5–15
9Nov 3Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium2–5–26
10Nov 5Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Kansas City ScoutsKemper Arena3–5–28
11Nov 7Los Angeles Kings5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–6–28
12Nov 9California Golden Seals2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena4–6–210
13Nov 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–8Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium4–7–210
14Nov 13New York Islanders2–8Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–7–212
15Nov 16Washington Capitals1–8Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–7–214
16Nov 17Pittsburgh Penguins6–0Washington CapitalsCapital Centre7–7–216
17Nov 19Pittsburgh Penguins3–4New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum7–8–216
18Nov 20Pittsburgh Penguins8–5Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens8–8–218
19Nov 23Los Angeles Kings0–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena8–8–319
20Nov 24Pittsburgh Penguins5–7New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)8–9–319
21Nov 27Montreal Canadiens3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena8–10–319
22Nov 30Buffalo Sabres5–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena8–10–420 :
December: 4–6–4 (Home: 3–0–4; Road: 1–6–0), 12 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
23Dec 1Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium8–11–420
24Dec 4Toronto Maple Leafs2–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–11–422
25Dec 7Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum9–12–422
26Dec 8Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Boston BruinsBoston Garden9–13–422
27Dec 12Montreal Canadiens3–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–13–523
28Dec 14Chicago Black Hawks3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–13–525
29Dec 15Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium11–13–527
30Dec 18Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens11–14–527
31Dec 19Kansas City Scouts4–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–14–628
32Dec 21Pittsburgh Penguins7–8Minnesota North StarsMet Center11–15–628
33Dec 22Pittsburgh Penguins0–4Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum11–16–628
34Dec 26St. Louis Blues2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–16–729
35Dec 28Atlanta Flames3–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–16–830
36Dec 30Toronto Maple Leafs5–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena12–16–832 :
January: 8–3–2 (Home: 7–0–1; Road: 1–3–1), 18 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
37Jan 2Minnesota North Stars3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–16–834
38Jan 4Vancouver Canucks3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–16–836
39Jan 8Pittsburgh Penguins5–7Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium14–17–836
40Jan 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Atlanta FlamesOmni Coliseum14–17–937
41Jan 11California Golden Seals3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–17–939
42Jan 15Atlanta Flames3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–17–941
43Jan 18Boston Bruins4–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–17–1042
44Jan 19Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Washington CapitalsCapital Centre17–17–1044
45Jan 22California Golden Seals5–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–17–1046
46Jan 25New York Rangers2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–17–1048
47Jan 26Pittsburgh Penguins2–7Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum19–18–1048
48Jan 29Chicago Black Hawks1–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–18–1050
49Jan 30Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium20–19–1050 :
February: 7–3–3 (Home: 3–1–2; Road: 4–2–1), 17 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
50Feb 1Pittsburgh Penguins4–4St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Arena20–19–1151
51Feb 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum21–19–1153
52Feb 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Los Angeles KingsThe Forum22–19–1155
53Feb 7Pittsburgh Penguins4–1California Golden SealsOakland Coliseum Arena23–19–1157
54Feb 11Pittsburgh Penguins1–2New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum23–20–1157
55Feb 12Buffalo Sabres3–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena23–20–1258
56Feb 15Pittsburgh Penguins8–3Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens24–20–1260
57Feb 16New York Islanders2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena25–20–1262
58Feb 19Los Angeles Kings2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena25–20–1363
59Feb 22St. Louis Blues2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena26–20–1365
60Feb 23Detroit Red Wings3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena26–21–1365
61Feb 25Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Boston BruinsBoston Garden26–22–1365
62Feb 26Washington Capitals1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena27–22–1367 :
March: 9–4–2 (Home: 7–0–0; Road: 2–4–2), 20 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
63Mar 1Vancouver Canucks3–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena28–22–1369
64Mar 2Pittsburgh Penguins8–6New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)29–22–1371
65Mar 5Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Kansas City ScoutsKemper Arena29–22–1472
66Mar 8Philadelphia Flyers2–8Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena30–22–1474
67Mar 9Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium30–23–1474
68Mar 12Boston Bruins3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena31–23–1476
69Mar 13Pittsburgh Penguins0–6Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum31–24–1476
70Mar 15Washington Capitals1–12Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena32–24–1478
71Mar 16Kansas City Scouts3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena33–24–1480
72Mar 18Pittsburgh Penguins2–5St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Arena33–25–1480
73Mar 19Pittsburgh Penguins3–3California Golden SealsOakland Coliseum Arena33–25–1581
74Mar 22Pittsburgh Penguins0–4Los Angeles KingsThe Forum33–26–1581
75Mar 26Montreal Canadiens4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena34–26–1583
76Mar 29Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium35–26–1585
77Mar 30Minnesota North Stars1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena36–26–1587 :
April: 1–2–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 0–2–0), 2 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
78Apr 2Pittsburgh Penguins0–6Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum36–27–1587
79Apr 5Detroit Red Wings1–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena37–27–1589
80Apr 6Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Washington CapitalsCapital Centre37–28–1589 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs
### Preliminary Round vs. St. Louis Blues

* Pittsburgh won series 2–0

### Quarterfinals vs. New York Islanders

* New York won series 4–3

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Ron Schock | 80 | 23 | 63 | 86 | 22 | 36 |
| Syl Apps Jr. | 79 | 24 | 55 | 79 | 8 | 43 |
| Jean Pronovost | 78 | 43 | 32 | 75 | 13 | 37 |
| Vic Hadfield | 78 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 5 | 72 |
| Pierre Larouche | 79 | 31 | 37 | 68 | 2 | 52 |
| Rick Kehoe | 76 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 18 | 22 |
| Lowell MacDonald | 71 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 16 | 24 |
| Ron Stackhouse | 72 | 15 | 45 | 60 | 13 | 52 |
| Chuck Arnason | 78 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 0 | 32 |
| J. Bob Kelly | 69 | 27 | 24 | 51 | 6 | 120 |
| Barry Wilkins$^†$ | 59 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 29 | 97 |
| Colin Campbell | 59 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 28 | 172 |
| Bob Paradise | 78 | 3 | 15 | 18 | –2 | 109 |
| Pete Laframboise$^†$ | 35 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 8 |
| Dave Burrows | 78 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 49 |
| Dennis Owchar | 46 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 67 |
| Bob McManama | 40 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 6 |
| Lew Morrison$^†$ | 52 | 7 | 5 | 12 | –5 | 4 |
| Jean-Guy Lagace$^‡$ | 27 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 39 |
| Nelson Debenedet | 31 | 6 | 3 | 9 | –3 | 11 |
| Kelly Pratt | 22 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 15 |
| Ron Lalonde$^‡$ | 24 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Ab Demarco Jr.$^‡$ | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –4 | 4 |
| Mario Faubert | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | –2 | 6 |
| Steve Durbano | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Yves Bergeron | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 0 |
| Harvey Bennett, Jr. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 0 |
| Bob Stumpf$^†$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 4 |
| Wayne Bianchin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 326 | 528 | 854 | — | 1,091 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Ron Stackhouse | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| J. Bob Kelly | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
| Pierre Larouche | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Chuck Arnason | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Vic Hadfield | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Lowell MacDonald | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Jean Pronovost | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Syl Apps Jr. | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Ron Schock | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Colin Campbell | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 21 |
| Dave Burrows | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Rick Kehoe | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Owchar | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob McManama | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Pete Laframboise | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Paradise | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Barry Wilkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Bignell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lew Morrison | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 27 | 41 | 68 | — | 124 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Gary Inness | 57 | 24 | 18 | 10 | 161 | 2 |
| Michel Plasse$^†$ | 20 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 73 | 0 |
| Bob Johnson | 12 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 0 |
| Denis Herron$^‡$ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 37 | 28 | 15 | 285 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Gary Inness | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 5 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records

* Jean Pronovost became the first player to score 300 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–5 tie with Boston on October 23.
* Syl Apps Jr. became the first player to record 200 assists for the Penguins. He did so in a 7–5 win over Toronto on December 30.
* Jean Pronovost became the first person to play 500 games for the Penguins. He did so in an 8–6 win over New York on March 2.
* Pierre Larouche established a rookie record for the Penguins in terms of goals (31) assists (37) and points (68).
* Ron Schock established a new franchise record for assists in a season with 63, besting the previous high of 61 held by Syl Apps Jr.
* Ron Schock established a new franchise record for points in a season with 86, besting the previous high of 85 held by Syl Apps Jr.
* Ron Stackhouse established a new franchise defenseman record for assists (45) and points (60) in a season. He topped the previous highs held by Duane Rupp (28 assists) and Darryl Edestrand (39 points). He also tied Edstrand for the team record with 15 goals.

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1974–75 season:

### Trades

| June 4, 1974 | To Vancouver Canucks Ab DeMarco Jr. | To Pittsburgh Penguins Barry Wilkins |
| September 13, 1974 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Blaine Stoughton 1977 1st round pick (Trevor Johansen) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Rick Kehoe |
| November 2, 1974 | To Vancouver Canucks Ab DeMarco Jr. | To Pittsburgh Penguins Barry Wilkins |
| December 14, 1974 | To Washington Capitals Ron Lalonde | To Pittsburgh Penguins Lew Morrison |
| January 10, 1975 | To Kansas City Scouts Denis Herron Jean-Guy Lagace | To Pittsburgh Penguins Michel Plasse |
| January 20, 1975 | To St. Louis Blues Bernie Lukowich | To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Stumpf |
| January 21, 1975 | To Washington Capitals Ron Jones | To Pittsburgh Penguins Pete Laframboise |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Harvey Bennett | Des Moines Capitols (IHL) | free agency (1974–06–25) |
| Kelly Pratt | Jacksonville Barons (AHL) | free agency (1974–07–15) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Andy Brown | Indianapolis Racers (WHA) | free agency (1974) |
| Duane Rupp | Vancouver Blazers (WHA) | free agency (1974–06) |
| Jim Wiley | Vancouver Canucks | Intra-League Draft (1974–06–10) |
| Robin Burns | Kansas City Scouts | Expansion Draft (1974–06–12) |
| Yvon Labre | Washington Capitals | Expansion Draft (1974–06–12) |
| Ted Snell | Kansas City Scouts | Expansion Draft (1974–06–12) |

## Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1974 NHL amateur draft.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 8 | Pierre Larouche | C | Canada | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 27 | Jacques Cossette | RW | Canada | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 62 | Mario Faubert | D | Canada | St. Louis University (NCAA) |
| 5 | 80 | Bruce Aberhart | G | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 6 | 98 | William Schneider | LW | United States | University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 7 | 116 | Rob Laird | LW | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 8 | 133 | Larry Finck | D | Canada | St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA) |
| 9 | 150 | Jim Chicoyne | D | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) |
| 10 | 166 | Rick Uhrich | RW | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 11 | 181 | Serge Gamelin | RW | Canada | Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL) |
| 12 | 195 | Rich Perron | D | Canada | Quebec Ramparts (QMJHL) |
| 13 | 206 | Rick Hindmarch | RW | Canada | University of Calgary (CIAU) |
| 14 | 216 | Bill Davis | D | Canada | Colgate University (NCAA) |
| 15 | 223 | James Mathers | D | United States | Northeastern University (NCAA) |

### Draft notes

* The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a January 17, 1974, trade that sent Steve Durbano, Ab DeMarco, and Bob Kelly to the Penguins in exchange for Bryan Watson, Greg Polis and this pick.
* $^a$ The Detroit Red Wings' second-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of an October 6, 1972, trade that sent Roy Edwards to the Red Wings in exchange for a 1973 second-round pick and this pick.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a June 27, 1974, trade that sent Nelson Debenedet to the Penguins in exchange for Hank Nowak and this pick.