1973–74 Toronto Toros season

The 1973–74 Toronto Toros season was the team's 1st season in Toronto after their inaugural season as the Ottawa Nationals in 1972-73. The Toros finished 2nd in the Eastern Division and lost in the Semi-finals to the Chicago Cougars 4 games to 3.
==Off-season==
The Nationals were moved to Toronto and sold to John F. Bassett, son of former Toronto Maple Leafs part owner John Bassett. The new owner renamed team the Toros, as its short for Toronto, and its also a Spanish bull. To attract attention, Bassett signed 18 year old Toronto Marlboros star Wayne Dillon, and former Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Brewer to anchor the blueline. The Toros also thought they had a deal to sign Maple Leafs star player Darryl Sittler to a five year, $1 million contract, however, Sittler decided to return to the Leafs.
The Toros originally planned to move the team into a renovated CNE Coliseum, while Bill Ballard, the son of Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard and was running Maple Leaf Gardens due to his father being in prison, was opposed of the renovation and wanted the team to play in the Gardens. The Toros decided to spend the season at Varsity Arena, which seated 4,860 fans.
The Toros jersey colours for their inaugural WHA season were dark blue, white and red with a primarily white home jersey and a primarily dark blue away jersey. Stripes on the body and arms, which contained the word "TOROS", completed the design. The numbers on the sleeves were outlined but the names weren't. The logo was a snorting bull charging out of a circle. The jerseys remained the same for the Toros three year stint in the WHA.
==Regular Season==
The first game for the Toros was played on October 7, 1973 at Varsity Arena, with Toronto tying the Chicago Cougars 4-4. The Toros would get off to a sluggish start, going 0-2-2 in their first four games before defeating the Los Angeles Sharks 3-0 on the road. The team continued to slump, and through their first twelve games, sat with a record of 2-7-3. Toronto would break out of their slump though, and post a record of 17-11-0 in their next 28 games to go over the .500 for the first time. The Toros would keep up their great play, and end the season in second place in the Eastern Division, with a 41-33-4 record, earning 86 points, which was a twelve point improvement over the previous season. Head coach Billy Harris won the Howard Baldwin Trophy, presented to the Coach of the Year.
Offensively, Toronto was led by Wayne Carleton, who finished with a team high 37 goals and 92 points and finished sixth in league scoring. Gavin Kirk had another solid season, earning 68 points in 78 games, while rookie Wayne Dillon earned 65 points in 71 games. The defense was led by Brian Gibbons, who had 35 points, while Carl Brewer chipped in with 25 points. Rick Cunningham led the Toros with 88 penalty minutes.
In goal, Gilles Gratton had the majority of playing time, winning 26 games while posting a GAA of 3.53, along with two shutouts. Les Binkley backed him up, winning 14 games with a team best 3.27 GAA, and a shutout.
As with the Ottawa Nationals the previous season, the team finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division with a 35-39-4 record.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Schedule	Regular Season Schedule	Regular Season Schedule 	Regular Season Schedule	Regular Season Schedule 	Regular Season Schedule	Regular Season Schedule
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record 	Pts
1 	October 7 	Chicago Cougars 	4–4 	Toronto Toros 	0–0–1 	1
2 	October 9 	New York Golden Blades 	3–3 	Toronto Toros 	0–0–2 	2
3 	October 11 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–1 	Toronto Toros 	0–1–2 	2
4 	October 14 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	5–2 	Toronto Toros 	0–2–2 	2
5 	October 16 	Toronto Toros 	3–0 	Los Angeles Sharks 	1–2–2 	4
6 	October 18 	Toronto Toros 	1–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–3–2 	4
7 	October 20 	Toronto Toros 	4–6 	Cleveland Crusaders 	1–4–2 	4
8 	October 21 	New England Whalers 	4–3 	Toronto Toros 	1–5–2 	4
9 	October 23 	Toronto Toros 	2–4 	Edmonton Oilers 	1–6–2 	4
10 	October 24 	Toronto Toros 	7–4 	Vancouver Blazers 	2–6–2 	6
11 	October 26 	Toronto Toros 	3–3 	Winnipeg Jets 	2–6–3 	7
12 	October 28 	Chicago Cougars 	3–2 	Toronto Toros 	2–7–3 	7
13 	November 3 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 	New England Whalers 	3–7–3 	9
14 	November 4 	Los Angeles Sharks 	3–6 	Toronto Toros 	4–7–3 	11
15 	November 7 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 	Houston Aeros 	5–7–3 	13
16 	November 9 	Toronto Toros 	2–4 	Los Angeles Sharks 	5–8–3 	13
17 	November 10 	Toronto Toros 	2–3 	Chicago Cougars 	5–9–3 	13
18 	November 11 	Edmonton Oilers 	4–2 	Toronto Toros 	5–10–3 	13
19 	November 17 	Toronto Toros 	2–5 	Chicago Cougars 	5–11–3 	13
20 	November 18 	Winnipeg Jets 	2–6 	Toronto Toros 	6–11–3 	15
21 	November 22 	Toronto Toros 	4–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	7–11–3 	17
22 	November 24 	Toronto Toros 	1–2 	Cleveland Crusaders 	7–12–3 	17
23 	November 25 	Vancouver Blazers 	2–3 	Toronto Toros 	8–12–3 	19
24 	November 27 	Quebec Nordiques 	1–3 	Toronto Toros 	9–12–3 	21
25 	November 30 	Toronto Toros 	2–1 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	10–12–3 	23
26 	December 2 	Houston Aeros 	2–5 	Toronto Toros 	11–12–3 	25
27 	December 5 	Toronto Toros 	3–1 	Vancouver Blazers 	12–12–3 	27
28 	December 6 	Toronto Toros 	3–4 	Edmonton Oilers 	12–13–3 	27
29 	December 7 	Toronto Toros 	4–7 	Winnipeg Jets 	12–14–3 	27
30 	December 9 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	1–10 	Toronto Toros 	13–14–3 	29
31 	December 12 	Toronto Toros 	6–8 	New England Whalers 	13–15–3 	29
32 	December 13 	Cleveland Crusaders 	1–3 	Toronto Toros 	14–15–3 	31
33 	December 15 	Toronto Toros 	3–4 	Cleveland Crusaders 	14–16–3 	31
34 	December 16 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–3 OT 	Toronto Toros 	14–17–3 	31
35 	December 18 	New Jersey Knights 	1–4 	Toronto Toros 	15–17–3 	33
36 	December 21 	Houston Aeros 	1–3 	Toronto Toros 	16–17–3 	35
37 	December 22 	Toronto Toros 	6–4 	Quebec Nordiques 	17–17–3 	37
38 	December 23 	Chicago Cougars 	6–5 	Toronto Toros 	17–18–3 	37
39 	December 29 	Toronto Toros 	9–3 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	18–18–3 	39
40 	December 30 	Winnipeg Jets 	2–5 	Toronto Toros 	19–18–3 	41
41 	January 1 	Cleveland Crusaders 	0–3 	Toronto Toros 	20–18–3 	43
42 	January 6 	New Jersey Knights 	4–2 	Toronto Toros 	20–19–3 	43
43 	January 8 	Toronto Toros 	3–2 	New England Whalers 	21–19–3 	45
44 	January 10 	New England Whalers 	6–6 	Toronto Toros 	21–19–4 	46
45 	January 12 	Toronto Toros 	6–8 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	21–20–4 	46
46 	January 13 	New Jersey Knights 	2–7 	Toronto Toros 	22–20–4 	48
47 	January 16 	Toronto Toros 	1–4 	Houston Aeros 	22–21–4 	48
48 	January 18 	Toronto Toros 	1–4 	Los Angeles Sharks 	22–22–4 	48
49 	January 20 	New England Whalers 	4–8 	Toronto Toros 	23–22–4 	50
50 	January 24 	Cleveland Crusaders 	5–3 	Toronto Toros 	23–23–4 	50
51 	January 27 	Vancouver Blazers 	7–9 	Toronto Toros 	24–23–4 	52
52 	January 29 	Toronto Toros 	1–6 	New Jersey Knights 	24–24–4 	52
53 	January 31 	Los Angeles Sharks 	4–5 OT 	Toronto Toros 	25–24–4 	54
54 	February 1 	Toronto Toros 	1–2 	Quebec Nordiques 	25–25–4 	54
55 	February 3 	Minnesota Fighting Saints	4–5 	Toronto Toros 	26–25–4 	56
56 	February 9 	Toronto Toros 	3–4 	Cleveland Crusaders 	26–26–4 	56
57 	February 10 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 	New Jersey Knights 	27–26–4 	58
58 	February 12 	Quebec Nordiques 	4–6 	Toronto Toros 	28–26–4 	60
59 	February 14 	Toronto Toros 	5–2 	New Jersey Knights 	29–26–4 	62
60 	February 16 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 	Chicago Cougars 	30–26–4 	64
61 	February 17 	Toronto Toros 	2–3 OT 	Edmonton Oilers 	30–27–4 	64
62 	February 19 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 OT 	Vancouver Blazers 	31–27–4 	66
63 	February 22 	Toronto Toros 	3–4 	Winnipeg Jets 	31–28-4 	66
64 	February 24 	New England Whalers 	0–2 	Toronto Toros 	32–28–4 	68
65 	February 27 	Toronto Toros 	3–5 	New England Whalers 	32–29–4 	68
66 	February 28 	Winnipeg Jets 	0–3 	Toronto Toros 	33–29–4 	70
67 	March 3 	Toronto Toros 	5–4 	Chicago Cougars 	34–29–4 	72
68 	March 9 	Toronto Toros 	2–4 	Houston Aeros 	34–30–4 	72
69 	March 10 	Cleveland Crusaders 	3–8 	Toronto Toros 	35–30–4 	74
70 	March 14 	Quebec Nordiques 	3–2 	Toronto Toros 	35–31–4 	74
71 	March 17 	Chicago Cougars 	4–2 	Toronto Toros 	35–32–4 	74
72 	March 18 	Toronto Toros 	5–11 	New Jersey Knights 	35–33–4 	74
73 	March 21 	Houston Aeros 	3–6 	Toronto Toros 	36–33–4 	76
74 	March 24 	Vancouver Blazers 	1–3 	Toronto Toros 	37–33–4 	78
75 	March 28 	Edmonton Oilers 	5–6 OT 	Toronto Toros 	38–33–4 	80
76 	March 30 	Toronto Toros 	3–1 	Quebec Nordiques 	39–33–4 	82
77 	March 31 	Los Angeles Sharks 	4–5 	Toronto Toros 	40–33–4 	84
78 	April 2 	Edmonton Oilers 	2–3 	Toronto Toros 	41–33–4 	86
==Playoffs==
===Toronto Toros 4, Cleveland Crusaders 1===
The Toros opened the playoffs in a best of seven series against the Cleveland Crusaders, who finished in third place in the Eastern Division, three points behind Toronto. The series opened at Varsity Arena, with the Toros shutting out the Crusaders 4-0 in the series opener, followed by a close 4-3 victory in the second game to take a 2-0 series lead. The series shifted to Cleveland for the next two games, however, the Toros took the third game 4-2 to put the Crusaders on the brink of elimination. Cleveland managed to avoid being eliminated in the fourth game, winning 3-2 in overtime, however, the series returned to Toronto for the fifth game, with the Toros winning 4-1 to take the series in five games.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	Record
1	April 7 	Cleveland Crusaders	0–4 	Toronto Toros 	1-0
2	April 9 	Cleveland Crusaders	3–4 	Toronto Toros 	2-0
3	April 12	Toronto Toros 	4–2 	Cleveland Crusaders	3-0
4	April 13	Toronto Toros 	2–3 OT	Cleveland Crusaders	3-1
5	April 15	Cleveland Crusaders	1–4 	Toronto Toros 	4-1
===Chicago Cougars 4, Toronto Toros 3===
Next up for Toronto was the Chicago Cougars, who finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division, five points behind the Toros. The Cougars defeated the first place New England Whalers in seven games to advance to the Divisional Finals. The series opened in Toronto, and the Toros took an early series lead with a 6-4 victory in the first game. The Cougars would win the second game 4-3 to even the series up. The series moved to Chicago for the next two games, and the Cougars took a 2-1 series lead with a 3-2 victory in the third game, however, the Toros won a wild fourth game by a 7-6 score to even the series up again. In the fifth game in Toronto, the Toros took care of the Cougars 5-3 to go up 3-2 in the series. Back in Chicago for the sixth game, the Cougars fought off elimination, easily defeating Toronto by a 9-2 score, setting up a seventh and final game at Varsity Arena. Chicago would upset the favoured Toros, winning the game 5-2 to advance to the Avco Cup Finals, ending Toronto's season.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
1	April 19	Chicago Cougars	4–6 	Toronto Toros 	1-0
2	April 22	Chicago Cougars	4–3 	Toronto Toros 	1-1
3	April 28	Toronto Toros 	2–3 	Chicago Cougars	1-2
4	April 30	Toronto Toros 	7–6 	Chicago Cougars	2-2
5	May 1 	Chicago Cougars	3–5 	Toronto Toros 	3-2
6	May 4 	Toronto Toros 	2–9 	Chicago Cougars	3-3
7	May 6 	Chicago Cougars	5–2 	Toronto Toros 	3-4
==Player Stats==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring Leaders
# 	Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
9 	Wayne Carleton 	78	37	55	92 	31
11	Gavin Kirk 	78	20	48	68 	44
18	Wayne Dillon 	78	30	35	65 	13
7 	Guy Trottier 	71	27	35	62 	58
8 	Rick Sentes 	64	26	34	60 	46
17	Tom Martin 	74	25	32	57 	14
16	Pat Hickey 	78	26	29	55 	52
14	Tom Simpson 	74	33	20	53 	27
19	Bob Leduc 	61	22	29	51 	29
12	Steve King 	67	14	22	36 	26
6 	Brian Gibbons 	78	4 	31	35 	84
15	Brit Selby 	64	9 	17	28 	21
21	Jack Gibson 	61	16	9 	25 	60
2 	Carl Brewer 	77	2 	23	25 	42
4 	Steve Cuddie 	74	5 	18	23 	65
3 	Rick Cunningham	75	2 	19	21 	88
23	Billy Orr 	46	3 	9 	12 	16
5 	Mike Amodeo 	77	0 	11	11 	82
22	Gerrard Gibbons	26	1 	4 	5 	23
20	Peter Marrin 	31	1 	4 	5 	4
10	Lou Nistico 	13	1 	3 	4 	14
33	Gilles Gratton 	57	0 	4 	4 	28
 	Bill Holden 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	Rich Dupras 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
29	Frank Blum 	5 	0 	0 	0 	0
30	Les Binkley 	27	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	T	GA 	SO	GAA 	Save %
Bill Holden 	1 	10 	1 	0 	0	0 	0 	0.00	1.000
Frank Blum 	5 	131 	1 	0 	0	5 	0 	2.29	.924
Les Binkley 	27	1412	14	9 	1	77 	1 	3.27	.901
Gilles Gratton	57	3200	26	24	3	188	2 	3.53	.895
===Playoff Stats===
;Scoring Leaders
Player 	GP	G	A 	Pts	PIM
Wayne Carleton	12	2	12	14 	4
Rick Sentes 	12	7	4 	11 	19
Wayne Dillon 	12	5	6 	11 	9
Tom Martin 	12	7	3 	10 	2
Guy Trottier 	12	5	5 	10 	4
;Goaltending
Player 	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA 	Save %
Gilles Gratton	10	539	5	3	25	1 	2.78	
Les Binkley 	5 	182	2	2	17	0 	5.60	
==Awards and Records==
*Howard Baldwin Trophy (Coach of the Year): Bill Harris
*Wayne Carleton, Center, WHA Second Team All-Star
==Draft Picks==
Toronto's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.
Round	# 	Player 	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	4 	Paulin Bordeleau	 	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
2 	18 	Pat Hickey 	 	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
4 	43 	Peter Marrin 	 	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5 	52 	Bob Dailey 	 	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5 	56 	Lou Nistico 	 	London Knights (OHA)
6 	69 	Doug Ferguson 	 	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
7 	78 	Gerrard Gibbons 	 	St. Mary's University (CIAU)
7 	82 	Gord Titcomb 	 	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
8 	95 	John Campbell 	 	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
9 	106	Guido Tenesi 	 	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
==Farm Teams==
*Mohawk Valley Comets, NAHL
==Gallery==
1973-Dec13-Leduc-Trottier-Morrison.jpg|Bob Leduc, Guy Trottier, Kevin Morrison, December 18, 1973.
73-74WHATorosOttawaGameAd.jpg|The Toros played some home games in Ottawa.
==See Also==
*1973–74 WHA season
==References==
*SHRP Sports
*The Internet Hockey Database
*Toronto Toros Attendance Figures (Archived 2009-10-21)
Toronto Toros season, 1973–74
Toronto Toros season, 1973–74
Category:Toronto Toros seasons