1976 – 77 Quebec Nordiques season The 1976 – 77 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques 5th season , as they were coming off their best season to date in 1975 – 76 , earning a team record 50 victories and 104 points , as they finished in second place in the Canadian Division . In the post - season , Quebec was upset by the Calgary Cowboys in the WHA quarter - finals . Offseason . During the off - season , the league saw the Toronto Toros move to Birmingham , Alabama , and be renamed the Birmingham Bulls , while the Cleveland Crusaders moved to Minneapolis , Minnesota to become the second version of the Minnesota Fighting Saints . The league was back to twelve teams from fourteen the previous season , as the original Fighting Saints and Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics franchise folded midway through the 1975 - 76 season . The Nordiques would move from the Canadian Division to the Eastern Division , joining the Birmingham Bulls , Cincinnati Stingers , Indianapolis Racers , Minnesota Fighting Saints and New England Whalers in the division . The Nordiques also made a head coaching change after their disappointing playoff appearance , as head coach Jean - Guy Gendron was relieved of his duties , and former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Marc Boileau was his replacement . Regular season . Quebec would have a very strong start to the season , winning eight of their first nine games to take a lead in the Eastern Division . The Nordiques would cool off , as they had a record of 8 - 11 - 1 in their next twenty games , however , Quebec snapped out of their slump and won nine games in a row to take control of the Division . The Nordiques would finish the season on top of the Eastern Division with a 47 - 31 - 3 record , earning 97 points , which was fourteen points higher than the second place Cincinnati Stingers . Offensively , Quebec was led by Real Cloutier , who won the Bill Hunter Trophy awarded to the player who leads the league in scoring . Cloutier scored 66 goals and 75 assists for a league best 141 points . Marc Tardif scored 49 goals and 109 points despite missing 19 games , while Christian Bordeleau 32 goals and tied Cloutier with a team high 75 assists to earn 107 points for the season . Serge Bernier narrowly missed out on the 100 point club , as he scored 43 goals and 96 points in 74 games . On defense , newly acquired Jim Dorey led the blueline with 47 points in 73 games , while J . C . Tremblay had another productive season , earning 35 points in 53 games . Paul Baxter had a team high 244 penalty minutes , which was the second highest total in the league . In goal , Richard Brodeur had the majority of playing time , winning 29 games , while posting a team best 3 . 45 GAA , along with 2 shutouts . Ed Humphreys and Serge Aubry split the backup duties , with Humphreys winning twelve games and a 3 . 58 GAA , while Aubry won six games with a 3 . 98 GAA . Playoffs . In the opening round of the playoffs , Quebec would face the New England Whalers in a best of seven series . The Whalers finished the year with a record of 35 - 40 - 6 , earning 76 points , which was 21 fewer than the Nordiques . The series opened with two games at Le Colisee , with Quebec winning them both , by scores of 5 - 2 and 7 - 3 , to take the series lead . The series moved over to New England for the next two games , however , Quebec stayed hot and defeated the Whalers 4 - 3 in overtime in the third game to take a 3 - 0 lead in the series . New England fought off elimination in the fourth game , defeating the Nordiques 6 - 4 , however , in the fifth game played back in Quebec , the Nordiques shutout New England 3 - 0 to win the series . In the Eastern Division finals , the Nordiques faced off against the Indianapolis Racers , who finished the regular season in third place in the Eastern Division with a 36 - 37 - 8 record . The Racers swept the second place Cincinnati Stingers in the opening round to advance to the division finals . The series opened with two games in Quebec , and the Nordiques stayed unbeaten on home ice during the post - season , as they defeated Indianapolis 3 - 1 and 8 - 3 to take the early series lead . The series shifted over to Indianapolis for the next two games , but the Nordiques won the third game , defeating the Racers 6 - 5 in overtime to put them on the brink of elimination . Indianapolis finally managed to win a game in the fourth game of the series , shutting out the Nordiques 2 - 0 , however , with the series back in Quebec for the fifth game , the Nordiques remained hot on home ice , easily winning the game 8 - 3 , and advancing to the Avco Cup finals . The Nordiques opponents in the Avco Cup finals was the Winnipeg Jets . Winnipeg was the defending champions , as they won the 1976 Avco Cup . The Jets had a record of 46 - 32 - 2 , finishing with 94 points , and in second place in the Western Division . Winnipeg defeated the Edmonton Oilers and Houston Aeros to earn a spot in the finals . The series opened with two games in Quebec , and the Jets ended the Nordiques home ice winning streak with a 2 - 1 victory in the first game . Quebec evened the series with a 6 - 1 thumping in the second game . The series moved to Winnipeg for the next two games , and the Jets used their home ice to their advantage , as they took the third game by a 6 - 1 score , however , the Nordiques would once again even the series up , defeating Winnipeg 4 - 2 in the fourth game . The series was back in Quebec for the fifth game , and the Nordiques destroyed the Jets 8 - 3 to take their first lead in the series , and were now only one win away from the championship . The Jets responded in the sixth game played back in Winnipeg , crushing the Nordiques 12 - 3 , to set up a seventh and deciding game in Quebec . The Nordiques would take control of the seventh game early , coasting their way to an 8 - 2 victory , and winning their first Avco Cup in team history . Serge Bernier would win the WHA Playoff MVP trophy , as he earned 36 points for the Nordiques in 17 post - season games . Playoff stats . Goaltending . Team Roster Draft picks . Quebec ' s draft picks from the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft .