# 1975–76 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1975–76 Detroit Red Wings season was the 50th season of competition for the Detroit franchise and 42nd as the Red Wings. The Wings finished fourth in the Norris Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 58 | 11 | 11 | 337 | 174 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 263 | 265 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 339 | 303 | 82 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 226 | 300 | 62 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 11 | 59 | 10 | 224 | 394 | 32 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—2–3–10–5–11–4–13–36–15–3
Los Angeles
3–2–1—2–3–11–54–1–110–11–3
Montreal
5–0–13–2–1—6–06–020–2–2
Pittsburgh
4–1–15–10–6—4–1–113–9–2
Washington
3–31–4–10–61–4–1—5–17–2
Vs. Adams Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Detroit
0–3–21–41–3–11–2–23–12–5
Los Angeles
1–42–33–21–3–17–12–1
Montreal
3–0–23–25–03–1–114–3–3
Pittsburgh
0–3–21–42–2–14–17–10–3
Washington
0–4–10–4–11–3–10–4–11–15–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
3–11–31–32–27–9
Los Angeles
3–11–2–14–00–2–28–5–3
Montreal
4–02–1–13–0–11–2–110–3–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–11–2–13–10–3–16–7–3
Washington
0–40–42–20–3–12–13–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
2–1–13–13–12–1–10–410–8–2
Los Angeles
2–24–02–1–12–1–13–113–5–2
Montreal
2–1–13–14–04–01–1–214–3–3
Pittsburgh
1–2–12–1–12–1–12–22–1–19–7–4
Washington
2–21–2–10–2–20–40–43–14–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 8, 1975 | 1–1 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 9, 1975 | 0–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 11, 1975 | 2–5 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | T | October 15, 1975 | 4–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | T | October 16, 1975 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 0–2–3 |
| 6 | L | October 18, 1975 | 1–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 0–3–3 |
| 7 | L | October 19, 1975 | 1–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 0–4–3 |
| 8 | L | October 22, 1975 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 0–5–3 |
| 9 | L | October 25, 1975 | 3–5 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 0–6–3 |
| 10 | L | October 26, 1975 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 0–7–3 |
| 11 | W | October 29, 1975 | 6–4 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 1–7–3 |
| 12 | L | November 1, 1975 | 1–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 1–8–3 |
| 13 | W | November 2, 1975 | 6–4 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 2–8–3 |
| 14 | L | November 5, 1975 | 3–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 2–9–3 |
| 15 | L | November 8, 1975 | 0–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 2–10–3 |
| 16 | W | November 9, 1975 | 6–3 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 3–10–3 |
| 17 | W | November 13, 1975 | 6–3 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 4–10–3 |
| 18 | W | November 15, 1975 | 3–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 5–10–3 |
| 19 | L | November 16, 1975 | 0–3 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 5–11–3 |
| 20 | T | November 19, 1975 | 3–3 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 5–11–4 |
| 21 | L | November 20, 1975 | 2–7 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 5–12–4 |
| 22 | L | November 22, 1975 | 1–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 5–13–4 |
| 23 | W | November 23, 1975 | 4–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 6–13–4 |
| 24 | L | November 26, 1975 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 6–14–4 |
| 25 | W | November 29, 1975 | 5–3 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 7–14–4 |
| 26 | L | December 3, 1975 | 1–9 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 7–15–4 |
| 27 | L | December 5, 1975 | 2–3 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 7–16–4 |
| 28 | L | December 6, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 7–17–4 |
| 29 | W | December 10, 1975 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 8–17–4 |
| 30 | W | December 12, 1975 | 5–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 9–17–4 |
| 31 | L | December 13, 1975 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 9–18–4 |
| 32 | W | December 17, 1975 | 3–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 10–18–4 |
| 33 | L | December 19, 1975 | 1–4 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 10–19–4 |
| 34 | L | December 20, 1975 | 3–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 10–20–4 |
| 35 | L | December 28, 1975 | 2–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 10–21–4 |
| 36 | W | December 31, 1975 | 4–0 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 11–21–4 |
| 37 | W | January 3, 1976 | 1–0 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 12–21–4 |
| 38 | L | January 4, 1976 | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 12–22–4 |
| 39 | L | January 6, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 12–23–4 |
| 40 | W | January 8, 1976 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 13–23–4 |
| 41 | L | January 10, 1976 | 1–7 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 13–24–4 |
| 42 | L | January 13, 1976 | 0–1 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 13–25–4 |
| 43 | W | January 14, 1976 | 8–3 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 14–25–4 |
| 44 | T | January 17, 1976 | 4–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 14–25–5 |
| 45 | L | January 18, 1976 | 3–8 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 14–26–5 |
| 46 | L | January 22, 1976 | 1–8 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 14–27–5 |
| 47 | L | January 24, 1976 | 1–6 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 14–28–5 |
| 48 | T | January 25, 1976 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 14–28–6 |
| 49 | W | January 27, 1976 | 3–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 15–28–6 |
| 50 | T | January 29, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 15–28–7 |
| 51 | W | January 31, 1976 | 2–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 16–28–7 |
| 52 | W | February 4, 1976 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 17–28–7 |
| 53 | W | February 6, 1976 | 4–3 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 18–28–7 |
| 54 | L | February 7, 1976 | 4–5 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 18–29–7 |
| 55 | L | February 8, 1976 | 0–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 18–30–7 |
| 56 | L | February 11, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 18–31–7 |
| 57 | W | February 14, 1976 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 19–31–7 |
| 58 | L | February 15, 1976 | 5–8 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 19–32–7 |
| 59 | L | February 18, 1976 | 3–5 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 19–33–7 |
| 60 | L | February 21, 1976 | 1–5 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 19–34–7 |
| 61 | T | February 22, 1976 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 19–34–8 |
| 62 | L | February 25, 1976 | 0–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 19–35–8 |
| 63 | T | February 26, 1976 | 1–1 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 19–35–9 |
| 64 | L | February 28, 1976 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 19–36–9 |
| 65 | W | March 3, 1976 | 3–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 20–36–9 |
| 66 | L | March 6, 1976 | 1–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 20–37–9 |
| 67 | L | March 7, 1976 | 1–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 20–38–9 |
| 68 | L | March 10, 1976 | 3–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 20–39–9 |
| 69 | W | March 13, 1976 | 4–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 21–39–9 |
| 70 | L | March 16, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 21–40–9 |
| 71 | W | March 18, 1976 | 6–3 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 22–40–9 |
| 72 | W | March 20, 1976 | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 23–40–9 |
| 73 | W | March 21, 1976 | 6–0 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 24–40–9 |
| 74 | W | March 24, 1976 | 7–3 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 25–40–9 |
| 75 | W | March 27, 1976 | 8–0 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 26–40–9 |
| 76 | L | March 28, 1976 | 0–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 26–41–9 |
| 77 | L | March 30, 1976 | 3–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 26–42–9 |
| 78 | T | March 31, 1976 | 4–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 26–42–10 |
| 79 | L | April 3, 1976 | 3–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) | 26–43–10 |
| 80 | L | April 4, 1976 | 5–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 26–44–10 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 80 | 26 | 56 | 82 | 85 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 77 | 27 | 39 | 66 | 203 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Michel Bergeron | RW | 72 | 32 | 27 | 59 | 48 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 80 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 71 | -9 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Bill Hogaboam | C | 50 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 30 | -8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Rick Lapointe | D | 80 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 95 | -3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 69 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 59 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Bloom | LW | 76 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 99 | -19 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mickey Redmond | RW | 37 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 10 | -17 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 57 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 302 | -9 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Grant | RW | 39 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 20 | -17 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 53 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 22 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 79 | 0 | 18 | 18 | 322 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buster Harvey | RW | 35 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 46 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 39 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Salovaara | D | 63 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 52 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 77 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 129 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Cameron | D | 38 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 49 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Korney | RW | 27 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 23 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 37 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 68 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Hextall Jr. | C | 21 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Wong | C | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Bathe | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Martineau | RW | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nahrgang | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Giacomin | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Grant | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Mann | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian McCutcheon | LW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Richardson | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Watts | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jim Rutherford | 2640 | 44 | 13 | 25 | 6 | 158 | 3.59 | 4 |
| Ed Giacomin | 1740 | 29 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 100 | 3.45 | 2 |
| Doug Grant | 120 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | 240 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 5.50 | 0 |
| Terry Richardson | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 295 | 3.69 | 6 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Rick Lapointe | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 2 | 23 | Jerry Rollins | Canada | Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL) |
| 3 | 37 | Al Cameron | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 3 | 45 | Blair Davidson | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 3 | 50 | Clark Hamilton | Canada | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 4 | 59 | Mike Wirachowsky | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 5 | 77 | Mike Wong | United States | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 95 | Mike Harazny | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 7 | 113 | Jean-Luc Phaneuf | Canada | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 131 | Steve Carlson | United States | Johnstown Jets (NAHL) |
| 9 | 148 | Gary Vaughan | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 10 | 164 | Jean Thibodeau | Canada | Shawinigan Dynamos (QMJHL) |
| 11 | 176 | Dave Hanson | United States | Colorado College (WCHA) |
| 11 | 178 | Rob Larson | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |