Michigan Stags The Michigan Stags were a professional ice hockey team based out of Detroit , USA that played in the World Hockey Association . The team only played part of one season , 1974 – 75 . On January 18 , 1975 , the franchise moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blades . Before being in Detroit , the franchise was known as the Los Angeles Sharks . While in Detroit , the team played at Cobo Arena ; in Baltimore , the Baltimore Civic Center . Michigan Stags . Having made their fortunes in industrial chemicals , Detroiters Charles Nolton and Peter Shagena bought the Los Angeles Sharks from Dennis Murphy and re - named the club the Michigan Stags . Coached by former Red Wing player and coach Johnny Wilson , the Stags began play in the 1974 – 75 season . The owners believed the Stags would and could be an alternative to the NHL ' s Detroit Red Wings ' fans . With the Wings struggling on the ice and the WHA gaining popularity , the Stags ' opportunity would be great . Unfortunately , the Stags were as much of a disaster on ice as were the Red Wings . The team was composed of journeymen at best , with the exceptions of star left winger Marc Tardif , veteran Western leaguer Gary Veneruzzo and beleaguered ex - NHL goaltender Gerry Desjardins . On a side note Desjardins found his way back to the NHL in mid season and helped lead the Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup finals . The Stags also had problems with attendance . The team played over . 500 at home but only averaged around 3 , 000 fans a game , not nearly enough to break even . The team was eventually forced to trade Tardif to Quebec for Pierre Guite , Michel Rouleau and famed minor league sniper Alain Caron . Scheduling glitches delayed the highly anticipated return of Gordie Howe to Detroit until early February , before which time the team folded on January 18 , 1975 . Baltimore Blades . The Baltimore Blades were created a week after the demise of the Stags and were operated by the league . The Blades played out of the Baltimore Civic Center , but attendance did not improve , and was not helped by the team finishing out the season with a 3 - 13 - 1 record . At season ' s end , the league contemplated moving the franchise to Seattle , but the move never materialized and the Blades folded outright . Players from the Michigan / Baltimore team , along with those of the defunct Chicago Cougars , were put into a dispersal draft to be claimed by other WHA teams . The team ' s final record was 21 - 53 - 4 , the second worst in the league that season and far out of a playoff spot . Veneruzzo was the leading scorer for the team with a 33 - 27 - 60 mark , nearly twice as much as anyone else save for Jean - Paul LeBlanc . Media coverage . The Stags ' radio station was WWJ ( AM ) . Gary Morrel was play - by - play announcer and local sports radio voice Norm Plummer handled color commentary . Michigan played just one game on local television : the season opener against the Indianapolis Racers , broadcast live from Indianapolis on WXON Channel 20 . Detroit radio icon Vince Doyle called play - by - play and former Red Wing Marty Pavlich was the color commentator . The Stags won the game , 4 - 2 , but few saw it ; the Stags were up against game five of the 1974 World Series . Eight other games were scheduled to be televised but money became a problem by mid - November , especially after Michigan lost 11 of their next 12 following their season - opening win . Season - by - season record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes "