1972–73 NHL season

The 1972–73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. For the first time since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926, the National Hockey League had serious competition. A new professional hockey league, the World Hockey Association, made its season debut with 12 new teams, many of which were based in the same cities as NHL teams. Unlike the Western Hockey League, though, the new World Hockey Association would not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets.
The first thing the WHA did was sign Bobby Hull, and the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming
a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts. Others soon followed Hull to the
WHA, including Bernie Parent, J.C. Tremblay, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers and
Johnny McKenzie. In the expansion draft, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames made their picks and eleven Islander players skipped off to the WHA. The California Golden Seals, chafing under the unorthodox ownership of the unpopular Charlie Finley, were
also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players.

Regular season
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
 East Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Montreal Canadiens 7852 10 16  120 329 184 783 Boston Bruins 78 51 22 5  107 330 235 1097 New York Rangers 78 47 23 8  102 297 208 765 Buffalo Sabres 7837 27 14 88 257 219 940 Detroit Red Wings 78 37 29 12  86 265 243 893 Toronto Maple Leafs  7827 41 10  64 247 279 716 Vancouver Canucks  7822 47 9  53 233 339 943 New York Islanders 78 12 60 6  30 170 347 881

 West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Chicago Black Hawks 78 42 27 9  93 284 225 864 Philadelphia Flyers 78  37 30 11  85 296 256 1756 Minnesota North Stars 7837 30 11  85 254 230 881 St. Louis Blues 78 32 34 12  76 233 251 1195 Pittsburgh Penguins 7832 37 9  73 257 265 866 Los Angeles Kings 7831 36 11  73 232 245 888 Atlanta Flames 78 25 38 15  65 191 239 852 California Golden Seals  78 16 46 16  48 213 323 840

Scoring leaders
 Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Phil Esposito  Boston Bruins  78  55  75  130  87 Bobby Clarke  Philadelphia Flyers  78  37  67  104  80 Bobby Orr  Boston Bruins  63  29  72  101  99 Rick MacLeish  Philadelphia Flyers  78  50  50  100  69 Jacques Lemaire  Montreal Canadiens  77  44  51  95  16 Jean Ratelle  New York Rangers  78  41  53  94  12 Mickey Redmond  Detroit Red Wings  76  52  41  93  24 John Bucyk  Boston Bruins  78  40  53  93  12 Frank Mahovlich  Montreal Canadiens  78  38  55  93  51 Jim Pappin  Chicago Black Hawks  76  41  51  92  82

Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket

NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy:  Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:  Chicago Black HawksArt Ross Memorial Trophy:  Phil Esposito, Boston BruinsBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:  Lowell MacDonald, Pittsburgh PenguinsCalder Memorial Trophy:  Steve Vickers, New York RangersConn Smythe Trophy:  Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:  Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia FlyersJames Norris Memorial Trophy:  Bobby Orr, Boston BruinsLady Byng Memorial Trophy:  Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo SabresLester B. Pearson Award:  Phil Esposito, Boston BruinsNHL Plus/Minus Award:  Jacques Laperriere, Montreal CanadiensVezina Trophy:  Ken Dryden, Montreal CanadiensLester Patrick Trophy:  Walter L. Bush, Jr.

All-Star teams
 First Team    Position    Second TeamKen Dryden, Montreal Canadiens GTony Esposito, Chicago Black HawksBobby Orr, Boston Bruins DBrad Park, New York RangersGuy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens DBill White, Chicago Black HawksPhil Esposito, Boston Bruins CBobby Clarke, Philadelphia FlyersMickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings RWYvan Cournoyer, Montreal CanadiensFrank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens LWDennis Hull, Chicago Black Hawks

References
Hockey Database
NHL.com

Category:1972 in North America
Category:1973 in North America
Category:National Hockey League seasons