# 1973–74 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights season

The 1973–74 New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights season was the second season of operation of the franchise in the World Hockey Association.
The club was known as the New York Raiders in the previous season. With a change in ownership, the financially challenged team was renamed the New York Golden Blades for the start of this season. The team drew as few as 500 ticket buyers to some home games, and the latest (of 18) owners folded operations. The league took over operations and moved the team to the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey on November 21, 1973, renaming the franchise the Jersey Knights.
This was the last season of operation in the Northeast megalopolis area, as the franchise relocated to San Diego, California, becoming the San Diego Mariners for the 1974–75 WHA season.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Eastern Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| New England Whalers | 78 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 291 | 260 | 875 | 90 |
| Toronto Toros | 78 | 41 | 33 | 4 | 304 | 272 | 871 | 86 |
| Cleveland Crusaders | 78 | 37 | 32 | 9 | 266 | 264 | 1007 | 83 |
| Chicago Cougars | 78 | 38 | 35 | 5 | 271 | 273 | 1041 | 81 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 78 | 38 | 36 | 4 | 306 | 280 | 909 | 80 |
| NY Golden Blades / Jersey Knights | 78 | 32 | 42 | 4 | 268 | 313 | 933 | 68 |

### Game log

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 6, 1973 | 2–2 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | T | October 9, 1973 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 0–0–2 |
| 3 | L | October 11, 1973 | 3–4 | Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 0–1–2 |
| 4 | L | October 14, 1973 | 1–2 OT | New England Whalers (1973–74) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | L | October 18, 1973 | 1–6 | Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 0–3–2 |
| 6 | L | October 20, 1973 | 1–8 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 0–4–2 |
| 7 | W | October 21, 1973 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 1–4–2 |
| 8 | L | October 22, 1973 | 1–4 | @ New England Whalers (1973–74) | 1–5–2 |
| 9 | W | October 24, 1973 | 5–2 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 2–5–2 |
| 10 | L | October 25, 1973 | 3–8 | New England Whalers (1973–74) | 2–6–2 |
| 11 | L | October 28, 1973 | 0–2 | Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 2–7–2 |
| 12 | L | November 2, 1973 | 1–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 2–8–2 |
| 13 | W | November 3, 1973 | 4–0 | @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 3–8–2 |
| 14 | W | November 4, 1973 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 4–8–2 |
| 15 | L | November 6, 1973 | 0–8 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 4–9–2 |
| 16 | L | November 7, 1973 | 1–10 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 4–10–2 |
| 17 | W | November 10, 1973 | 4–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 5–10–2 |
| 18 | L | November 12, 1973 | 2–3 OT | @ New England Whalers (1973–74) | 5–11–2 |
| 19 | L | November 17, 1973 | 2–3 | Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 5–12–2 |
| 20 | W | November 18, 1973 | 5–3 | Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 6–12–2 |
| 21 | W | November 25, 1973 | 3–1 | Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 7–12–2 |
| 22 | L | November 26, 1973 | 2–4 | @ New England Whalers (1973–74) | 7–13–2 |
| 23 | L | November 29, 1973 | 2–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 7–14–2 |
| 24 | W | December 2, 1973 | 2–1 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 8–14–2 |
| 25 | L | December 5, 1973 | 2–5 | @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 8–15–2 |
| 26 | W | December 6, 1973 | 3–2 | Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 9–15–2 |
| 27 | W | December 8, 1973 | 3–1 | @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 10–15–2 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1973 | 1–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 10–16–2 |
| 29 | W | December 12, 1973 | 4–2 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 11–16–2 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1973 | 1–3 | @ New England Whalers (1973–74) | 11–17–2 |
| 31 | L | December 16, 1973 | 6–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 11–18–2 |
| 32 | L | December 18, 1973 | 1–4 | @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 11–19–2 |
| 33 | W | December 21, 1973 | 5–1 | Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 12–19–2 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1973 | 6–3 | Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 13–19–2 |
| 35 | W | December 28, 1973 | 5–3 | Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 14–19–2 |
| 36 | L | December 29, 1973 | 0–3 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 14–20–2 |
| 37 | W | December 30, 1973 | 6–2 | Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 15–20–2 |
| 38 | W | January 5, 1974 | 2–1 | Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 16–20–2 |
| 39 | W | January 6, 1974 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 17–20–2 |
| 40 | L | January 7, 1974 | 4–5 | Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 17–21–2 |
| 41 | L | January 13, 1974 | 2–7 | @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 17–22–2 |
| 42 | L | January 16, 1974 | 2–4 | @ New England Whalers (1973–74) | 17–23–2 |
| 43 | L | January 18, 1974 | 4–7 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 17–24–2 |
| 44 | W | January 19, 1974 | 5–4 OT | @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 18–24–2 |
| 45 | L | January 20, 1974 | 3–9 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 18–25–2 |
| 46 | W | January 22, 1974 | 6–2 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 19–25–2 |
| 47 | W | January 23, 1974 | 4–1 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 20–25–2 |
| 48 | L | January 27, 1974 | 3–6 | Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 20–26–2 |
| 49 | W | January 29, 1974 | 6–1 | Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 21–26–2 |
| 50 | W | January 31, 1974 | 4–1 | New England Whalers (1973–74) | 22–26–2 |
| 51 | L | February 3, 1974 | 3–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 22–27–2 |
| 52 | L | February 4, 1974 | 1–7 | Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 22–28–2 |
| 53 | L | February 5, 1974 | 0–4 | @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 22–29–2 |
| 54 | W | February 7, 1974 | 7–4 | @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 23–29–2 |
| 55 | L | February 9, 1974 | 2–5 | @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 23–30–2 |
| 56 | L | February 10, 1974 | 4–5 | Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 23–31–2 |
| 57 | L | February 14, 1974 | 2–5 | Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 23–32–2 |
| 58 | W | February 15, 1974 | 6–2 | Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 24–32–2 |
| 59 | W | February 17, 1974 | 10–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 25–32–2 |
| 60 | W | February 18, 1974 | 4–3 | Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 26–32–2 |
| 61 | L | February 20, 1974 | 2–7 | @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) | 26–33–2 |
| 62 | L | February 24, 1974 | 4–7 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 26–34–2 |
| 63 | T | February 28, 1974 | 3–3 | New England Whalers (1973–74) | 26–34–3 |
| 64 | W | March 2, 1974 | 8–7 | Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 27–34–3 |
| 65 | W | March 4, 1974 | 7–6 OT | Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) | 28–34–3 |
| 66 | L | March 8, 1974 | 2–7 | New England Whalers (1973–74) | 28–35–3 |
| 67 | L | March 10, 1974 | 2–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) | 28–36–3 |
| 68 | W | March 11, 1974 | 10–2 | Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) | 29–36–3 |
| 69 | W | March 15, 1974 | 5–3 | Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 30–36–3 |
| 70 | T | March 16, 1974 | 4–4 | @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 30–36–4 |
| 71 | W | March 18, 1974 | 11–5 | Toronto Toros (1973–74) | 31–36–4 |
| 72 | W | March 20, 1974 | 8–5 | @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 32–36–4 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1974 | 1–4 | @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 32–37–4 |
| 74 | L | March 25, 1974 | 1–4 | Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) | 32–38–4 |
| 75 | L | March 27, 1974 | 4–6 | @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) | 32–39–4 |
| 76 | L | March 31, 1974 | 2–4 | Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) | 32–40–4 |
| 77 | L | April 2, 1974 | 3–7 | @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) | 32–41–4 |
| 78 | L | April 4, 1974 | 4–6 | @ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74) | 32–42–4 |

## Player stats

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| 7-Andre Lacroix | C | 78 | 31 | 80 | 111 | 54 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 4-Kevin Morrison | D | 78 | 24 | 43 | 67 | 132 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 12-Wayne Rivers | RW | 73 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 25-Gene Peacosh | LW | 68 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 15-Brian Morenz | C | 75 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 17-Ken Block | D | 74 | 3 | 43 | 46 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-Bob Jones | LW | 78 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 18-Mike Laughton | C | 71 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 14-Brian Bradley | LW | 78 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 9-Norm Ferguson | RW | 75 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 21-Don Herriman | LW | 44 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 59 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 19-Brian Perry | C | 71 | 20 | 11 | 31 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 3-Harry Howell | D | 65 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6-Bobby Sheehan | C | 50 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 26-Bob Brown | D | 59 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11-Craig Reichmuth | LW | 72 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8-Garry Peters | C | 34 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20-Ted Scharf | RW | 63 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 107 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5-Dean Boylan | D | 61 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 112 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24-Bill Speer | D | 66 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2-Bob Winograd | D | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36-Joe Junkin | G | 53 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30-Gary Kurt | G | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23-Ray LaRose | D | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28-Bob Barber | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22-Claude Chartre | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19-Lee Inglis | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1-Jim McLeod | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| 36-Joe Junkin | 3122 | 53 | 21 | 25 | 4 | 197 | 3.79 | 1 |
| 30-Gary Kurt | 1089 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 75 | 4.13 | 0 |
| 1-Jim McLeod | 516 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 36 | 4.19 | 0 |
| Team: | 4727 | 78 | 32 | 42 | 4 | 308 | 3.91 | 1 |
Note: Pos = Position; 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;

## Transactions

Jim McLeod traded to Los Angeles Sharks for Russ Gillow & Earl Heiskala, January, 1974. Earl Heiskala refused to report and was suspended.
Bobby Sheehan to Edmonton Oilers for future considerations (Bob Falkenburg), March, 1974.

## Draft picks

New York's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 16 | Al Sims (D) | Canada | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 28 | John Wensink (LW) | Netherlands | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 54 | Doug Marit (D) | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 6 | 67 | Dennis Ververgaert (RW) | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 7 | 80 | Lowell Ostlund (D) | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 8 | 93 | Paul Granchukoff (F) | United States | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 9 | 104 | Rick Austin (RW) | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) |
| 10 | 115 | Brian Dick (C) | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHL) |