# 1976–77 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1976–77 Detroit Red Wings season was the 51st season for the Detroit franchise, 45th as the Red Wings. The Red Wings failed to qualify to the playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 60 | 8 | 12 | 387 | 171 | 132 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 31 | 15 | 271 | 241 | 83 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 240 | 252 | 81 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 42 | 14 | 221 | 307 | 62 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 16 | 55 | 9 | 183 | 309 | 41 |
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
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—0–5–10–5–12–40–3–32–17–5
Los Angeles
5–0–1—0–4–23–2–15–0–113–6–5
Montreal
5–0–14–0–2—4–0–26–019–0–5
Pittsburgh
4–22–3–10–4–2—1–4–17–13–4
Washington
3–0–30–5–10–64–1–1—7–12–5
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–41–43–21–3–16–13–1
Los Angeles
2–2–12–32–1–21–2–27–8–5
Montreal
2–32–2–15–02–1–111–6–2
Pittsburgh
1–3–14–0–13–0–22–1–210–4–6
Washington
0–4–11–40–53–24–15–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
1–2–12–21–31–35–10–1
Los Angeles
2–22–23–0–10–47–8–1
Montreal
3–0–14–03–14–014–1–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–12–22–1–11–35–9–2
Washington
1–30–1–32–20–2–23–8–5
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
0–40–40–3–10–3–13–13–15–2
Los Angeles
2–22–0–21–32–20–2–27–9–4
Montreal
3–0–13–0–13–0–13–14–016–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–22–23–13–12–1–112–7–1
Washington
1–2–13–11–1–23–12–210–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 7, 1976 | 3–3 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | W | October 9, 1976 | 4–0 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | L | October 12, 1976 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 1–1–1 |
| 4 | L | October 16, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | L | October 17, 1976 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 1–3–1 |
| 6 | W | October 22, 1976 | 5–0 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | L | October 23, 1976 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 2–4–1 |
| 8 | L | October 26, 1976 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 2–5–1 |
| 9 | L | October 28, 1976 | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 2–6–1 |
| 10 | L | October 30, 1976 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 2–7–1 |
| 11 | W | October 31, 1976 | 6–5 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 3–7–1 |
| 12 | W | November 4, 1976 | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 4–7–1 |
| 13 | T | November 7, 1976 | 0–0 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 4–7–2 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1976 | 1–8 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 4–8–2 |
| 15 | L | November 10, 1976 | 4–6 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 4–9–2 |
| 16 | T | November 13, 1976 | 3–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 4–9–3 |
| 17 | L | November 16, 1976 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 4–10–3 |
| 18 | T | November 17, 1976 | 5–5 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 4–10–4 |
| 19 | W | November 19, 1976 | 5–2 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 5–10–4 |
| 20 | L | November 21, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 5–11–4 |
| 21 | W | November 24, 1976 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 6–11–4 |
| 22 | W | November 25, 1976 | 3–1 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 7–11–4 |
| 23 | L | November 27, 1976 | 0–5 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 7–12–4 |
| 24 | L | November 28, 1976 | 1–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 7–13–4 |
| 25 | W | December 1, 1976 | 5–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 8–13–4 |
| 26 | L | December 4, 1976 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 8–14–4 |
| 27 | L | December 11, 1976 | 0–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 8–15–4 |
| 28 | W | December 12, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 9–15–4 |
| 29 | L | December 15, 1976 | 3–7 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 9–16–4 |
| 30 | W | December 16, 1976 | 7–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 10–16–4 |
| 31 | W | December 18, 1976 | 6–3 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 11–16–4 |
| 32 | L | December 19, 1976 | 1–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 11–17–4 |
| 33 | L | December 22, 1976 | 1–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 11–18–4 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1976 | 5–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 12–18–4 |
| 35 | L | December 27, 1976 | 4–7 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 12–19–4 |
| 36 | L | December 29, 1976 | 3–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 12–20–4 |
| 37 | W | December 31, 1976 | 4–2 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 13–20–4 |
| 38 | L | January 2, 1977 | 4–6 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 13–21–4 |
| 39 | T | January 4, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 13–21–5 |
| 40 | L | January 6, 1977 | 2–7 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 13–22–5 |
| 41 | L | January 10, 1977 | 0–2 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 13–23–5 |
| 42 | L | January 12, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 13–24–5 |
| 43 | L | January 13, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 13–25–5 |
| 44 | L | January 15, 1977 | 0–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 13–26–5 |
| 45 | L | January 20, 1977 | 1–3 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 13–27–5 |
| 46 | L | January 22, 1977 | 0–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 13–28–5 |
| 47 | T | January 23, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 13–28–6 |
| 48 | L | January 27, 1977 | 1–4 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 13–29–6 |
| 49 | W | January 29, 1977 | 4–3 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 14–29–6 |
| 50 | L | February 2, 1977 | 1–9 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 14–30–6 |
| 51 | L | February 5, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 14–31–6 |
| 52 | W | February 6, 1977 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 15–31–6 |
| 53 | L | February 10, 1977 | 4–5 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 15–32–6 |
| 54 | T | February 12, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 15–32–7 |
| 55 | L | February 13, 1977 | 3–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 15–33–7 |
| 56 | L | February 15, 1977 | 2–6 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 15–34–7 |
| 57 | T | February 17, 1977 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 15–34–8 |
| 58 | L | February 19, 1977 | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 15–35–8 |
| 59 | L | February 20, 1977 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 15–36–8 |
| 60 | L | February 23, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 15–37–8 |
| 61 | W | February 24, 1977 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 16–37–8 |
| 62 | L | February 26, 1977 | 3–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 16–38–8 |
| 63 | L | March 1, 1977 | 3–8 | @ Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 16–39–8 |
| 64 | L | March 3, 1977 | 2–4 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 16–40–8 |
| 65 | L | March 5, 1977 | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 16–41–8 |
| 66 | L | March 9, 1977 | 3–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 16–42–8 |
| 67 | L | March 10, 1977 | 2–4 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 16–43–8 |
| 68 | L | March 12, 1977 | 0–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 16–44–8 |
| 69 | T | March 13, 1977 | 3–3 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 16–44–9 |
| 70 | L | March 15, 1977 | 1–7 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 16–45–9 |
| 71 | L | March 17, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 16–46–9 |
| 72 | L | March 20, 1977 | 1–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 16–47–9 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1977 | 0–6 | Boston Bruins (1976–77) | 16–48–9 |
| 74 | L | March 24, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 16–49–9 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1977 | 0–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 16–50–9 |
| 76 | L | March 27, 1977 | 0–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 16–51–9 |
| 77 | L | March 29, 1977 | 1–6 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 16–52–9 |
| 78 | L | March 31, 1977 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 16–53–9 |
| 79 | L | April 2, 1977 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 16–54–9 |
| 80 | L | April 3, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 16–55–9 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 80 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 50 | −24 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 79 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 274 | −20 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 78 | 14 | 32 | 46 | 158 | −35 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 80 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 25 | −25 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Michel Bergeron | RW | 74 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 98 | −40 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 61 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 39 | −11 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 34 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 64 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Buster Harvey | RW | 54 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 18 | −13 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 74 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 40 | −16 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Nahrgang | D | 53 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 34 | −12 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Al Cameron | D | 80 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 112 | −43 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Wilson | D | 77 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 56 | −20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Lapointe | D | 49 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 80 | −17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 52 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 28 | −23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Grant | RW | 42 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | −34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Joly | D | 53 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 14 | −22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 71 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 63 | −18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Bloom | LW | 45 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 22 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Sheehan | C | 34 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | −10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Ritchie | LW | 17 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Williams | C | 44 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | −17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Murray | D | 23 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | −18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Kelly | RW | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | −8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Coates | RW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Schofield | D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Giacomin | G | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reed Larson | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 48 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Watson | D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Berry | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fern LeBlanc | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Martineau | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian McCutcheon | LW | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Richardson | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Schamehorn | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ed Giacomin | 1791 | 33 | 8 | 18 | 3 | 107 | 3.58 | 3 |
| Jim Rutherford | 2740 | 48 | 7 | 34 | 6 | 180 | 3.94 | 0 |
| Terry Richardson | 269 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 4.01 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 16 | 55 | 9 | 305 | 3.81 | 3 |
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 1976 NHL Amateur Draft held in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Fred Williams | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 2 | 22 | Reed Larson | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 3 | 40 | Fred Berry | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 4 | 58 | Kevin Schamehorn | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 5 | 78 | Dwight Schofield | United States | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 94 | Tony Horvath | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 111 | Fern LeBlanc | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 120 | Claude Legris | Canada | Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) |