1975–76 Quebec Nordiques season

1975–76 Quebec Nordiques
Division	2nd Canadian
1975–76 record	50–27–4
Home record	33–7–0
Road record	17–20–4
Goals for	371
Goals against	316
Team information
General manager	Maurice Filion
Coach	Jean-Guy Gendron
Captain	Michel Parizeau
Arena	Colisée de Québec
Team leaders
Goals	Marc Tardif (71)
Assists	Marc Tardif and J. C. Tremblay (77)
Points	Marc Tardif (148)
Penalty minutes	Gord Gallant (297)
Wins	Richard Brodeur (44)
Goals against average	Richard Brodeur (3.69)

The 1975–76 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques fourth season, as they were coming off their best season to date in 1974–75, earning 92 points and finishing on top of the Canadian Division in the regular season, and making it to the Avco Cup finals in the playoffs, where they were swept by the Houston Aeros.

Quebec would have a very strong start to the season, and would battle with the Winnipeg Jets all season long on top of the Canadian Division. Quebec would finish the season with a franchise record 50 wins and 104 points, but would finish behind the Jets, who tied the Houston Aeros with the most points in the league at 106. The Nordiques scored a league high 371 goals, and finished with a very impressive record of 33–7–0 at home, tying the Aeros for the best home record in the league.

Offensively, Quebec was led by Marc Tardif, who had the most goals and points in the league with 71 and 148 respectively, while his 77 assists tied teammate J. C. Tremblay for the most in the WHA. Tremblay would finish the year with 89 points, leading the Nordiques blueline. Real Cloutier had a breakout season, scoring 60 goals and earning 114 points, as did Chris Bordeleau, who had 37 goals and 109 points. Rejean Houle and Serge Bernier also finished with over 100 points, as they earned 103 and 102 respectively. Gord Gallant had a team high 297 penalty minutes, while Pierre Roy was not too far behind with 259.

In goal, Richard Brodeur shattered the Nordiques record for wins, earning 44, while he posted a 3.69 GAA and earned 2 shutouts in 69 games. Michel DeGuise backed him up, winning 6 games.

In the opening round of the playoffs, Quebec would face the Calgary Cowboys, who finished the season 3rd in the Canadian Division with 86 points, which was 18 fewer than the Nordiques. Calgary would quiet the Nordiques home crowd in the first game, beating Quebec 3–1, then the Cowboys would win the second game by a score of 8–4 to take a 2–0 series lead. Quebec would fall behind 3–0 in the series after Calgary took the third game by a 3–2 score. The Nordiques managed to squeak out a 4–3 win in the fourth game, however, Calgary would end the series with a 6–4 win at Le Colisée in the fifth game, ending the Nordiques season much sooner than anyone expected.

Season standings

Canadian Division	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Winnipeg Jets	81	52	27	2	345	254	106
Quebec Nordiques	81	50	27	4	371	316	104
Calgary Cowboys	80	41	35	4	307	282	86
Edmonton Oilers	81	27	49	5	268	345	59
Toronto Toros	81	24	52	5	335	398	53

Schedule and results

1975–76 regular season
October Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 1 October 9 Winnipeg Jets 5–3 Quebec Nordiques 0–1–0 0 2 October 11 Toronto Toros 3–7 Quebec Nordiques 1–1–0 2 3 October 14 Edmonton Oilers 5–8 Quebec Nordiques 2–1–0 4 4 October 18 Houston Aeros 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 3–1–0 6 5 October 21 New England Whalers 1–6 Quebec Nordiques 4–1–0 8 6 October 25 Toronto Toros 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 5–1–0 10 7 October 28 Quebec Nordiques 2–5 Toronto Toros 5–2–0 10 8 October 29 Quebec Nordiques 2–4 New England Whalers 5–3–0 10 9 October 31 Quebec Nordiques 2–6 Cleveland Crusaders 5–4–0 10
November Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 10 November 1 Quebec Nordiques 5–4 Indianapolis Racers 6–4–0 12 11 November 2 Quebec Nordiques 1–0 Winnipeg Jets 7–4–0 14 12 November 4 Quebec Nordiques 4–3 Edmonton Oilers 8–4–0 16 13 November 5 Quebec Nordiques 2–4 Calgary Cowboys 8–5–0 16 14 November 6 Quebec Nordiques 5–3 Denver Spurs 9–5–0 18 15 November 8 Indianapolis Racers 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 10–5–0 20 16 November 9 Phoenix Roadrunners 3–7 Quebec Nordiques 11–5–0 22 17 November 11 Minnesota Fighting Saints 6–8 Quebec Nordiques 12–5–0 24 18 November 15 Quebec Nordiques 3–1 New England Whalers 13–5–0 26 19 November 18 Cincinnati Stingers 4–6 Quebec Nordiques 14–5–0 28 20 November 20 Winnipeg Jets 3–2 Quebec Nordiques 14–6–0 28 21 November 22 Quebec Nordiques 9–6 Cincinnati Stingers 15–6–0 30 22 November 23 Quebec Nordiques 0–4 Houston Aeros 15–7–0 30 23 November 27 Quebec Nordiques 1–5 San Diego Mariners 15–8–0 30 24 November 29 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Phoenix Roadrunners 15–8–1 31 25 November 30 Quebec Nordiques 2–1 Phoenix Roadrunners 16–8–1 33
December Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 26 December 2 Cleveland Crusaders 2–9 Quebec Nordiques 17–8–1 35 27 December 5 Quebec Nordiques 4–7 Toronto Toros 17–9–1 35 28 December 7 Quebec Nordiques 3–2 Winnipeg Jets 18–9–1 37 29 December 9 Quebec Nordiques 1–4 Calgary Cowboys 18–10–1 37 30 December 10 Quebec Nordiques 4–7 Edmonton Oilers 18–11–1 37 31 December 12 Quebec Nordiques 4–6 Toronto Toros 18–12–1 37 32 December 13 Toronto Toros 3–6 Quebec Nordiques 19–12–1 39 33 December 16 Calgary Cowboys 3–7 Quebec Nordiques 20–12–1 41 34 December 18 Winnipeg Jets 4–5 Quebec Nordiques 21–12–1 43 35 December 20 Calgary Flames 7–8 Quebec Nordiques 22–12–1 45 36 December 21 Quebec Nordiques 7–11 Cincinnati Stingers 22–13–1 45 37 December 23 Quebec Nordiques 4–10 San Diego Mariners 22–14–1 45 38 December 27 Edmonton Oilers 3–6 Quebec Nordiques 23–14–1 47 39 December 28 Quebec Nordiques 6–1 Toronto Toros 24–14–1 49 40 December 30 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Minnesota Fighting Saints 24–14–2 50
January Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 41 January 2 Quebec Nordiques 4–5 Cleveland Crusaders 24–15–2 50 42 January 3 Phoenix Roadrunners 4–1 Quebec Nordiques 24–16–2 50 43 January 10 San Diego Mariners 3–4 Quebec Nordiques 25–16–2 52 44 January 15 Calgary Cowboys 3–5 Quebec Nordiques 26–16–2 54 45 January 17 Toronto Toros 3–4 Quebec Nordiques 27–16–2 56 46 January 21 Indianapolis Racers 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 28–16–2 58 47 January 25 Edmonton Oilers 6–7 Quebec Nordiques 29–16–2 60 48 January 27 Cincinnati Stingers 1–9 Quebec Nordiques 30–16–2 62 49 January 30 Quebec Nordiques 3–3 Toronto Toros 30–16–3 63 50 January 31 Toronto Toros 4–8 Quebec Nordiques 31–16–3 65
February Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 51 February 3 Winnipeg Jets 4–5 Quebec Nordiques 32–16–3 67 52 February 5 Quebec Nordiques 2–4 Indianapolis Racers 32–17–3 67 53 February 7 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Calgary Cowboys 32–17–4 68 54 February 8 Quebec Nordiques 5–4 Edmonton Oilers 33–17–4 70 55 February 11 Quebec Nordiques 6–4 Winnipeg Jets 34–17–4 72 56 February 12 Quebec Nordiques 4–6 Minnesota Fighting Saints 34–18–4 72 57 February 15 Quebec Nordiques 4–2 Houston Aeros 35–18–4 74 58 February 17 San Diego Mariners 2–5 Quebec Nordiques 36–18–4 76 59 February 22 New England Whalers 0–4 Quebec Nordiques 37–18–4 78 60 February 24 Houston Aeros 1–4 Quebec Nordiques 38–18–4 80 61 February 28 Winnipeg Jets 4–3 Quebec Nordiques 38–19–4 80
March Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 62 March 2 Quebec Nordiques 2–5 Toronto Toros 38–20–4 80 63 March 4 Quebec Nordiques 1–4 Calgary Cowboys 38–21–4 80 64 March 5 Quebec Nordiques 5–4 Edmonton Oilers 39–21–4 82 65 March 7 Quebec Nordiques 2–4 Edmonton Oilers 39–22–4 82 66 March 9 Quebec Nordiques 4–7 Calgary Cowboys 39–23–4 82 67 March 10 Quebec Nordiques 3–10 Winnipeg Jets 39–24–4 82 68 March 12 Quebec Nordiques 10–8 Winnipeg Jets 40–24–4 84 69 March 14 Toronto Toros 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 40–25–4 84 70 March 16 New England Whalers 1–5 Quebec Nordiques 41–25–4 86 71 March 19 Quebec Nordiques 4–3 Toronto Toros 42–25–4 88 72 March 20 Calgary Cowboys 8–7 Quebec Nordiques 42–26–4 88 73 March 21 Quebec Nordiques 6–3 Edmonton Oilers 43–26–4 90 74 March 23 Cleveland Crusaders 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 43–27–4 90 75 March 25 Edmonton Oilers 5–7 Quebec Nordiques 44–27–4 92 76 March 27 Calgary Cowboys 4–6 Quebec Nordiques 45–27–4 94 77 March 30 Edmonton Oilers 3–8 Quebec Nordiques 46–27–4 96
April Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 78 April 1 Edmonton Oilers 2–7 Quebec Nordiques 47–27–4 98 79 April 3 Toronto Toros 1–5 Quebec Nordiques 48–27–4 100 80 April 4 Quebec Nordiques 5–4 Toronto Toros 49–27–4 102 81 April 6 Toronto Toros 6–10 Quebec Nordiques 50–27–4 104
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1976 Avco Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals vs. (C3) Calgary Cowboys – Cowboys win 4–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 10 Calgary Cowboys 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 0–1 2 April 11 Calgary Cowboys 8–4 Quebec Nordiques 0–2 3 April 14 Quebec Nordiques 2–3 Calgary Cowboys 0–3 4 April 16 Quebec Nordiques 4–3 Calgary Cowboys 1–3 5 April 18 Calgary Cowboys 6–4 Quebec Nordiques 1–4
Legend:   Win   Loss

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Marc Tardif	81	71	77	148	79
Real Cloutier	80	60	54	114	27
Chris Bordeleau	74	37	72	109	42
Rejean Houle	81	51	52	103	61
Serge Bernier	70	34	68	102	91

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	Save %
Richard Brodeur	69	3967	44	21	2	244	2	3.69	.890
Michel DeGuise	18	835	6	5	2	60	0	4.35	.870
Pete Donnelly	4	129	0	1	0	10	0	4.65	.846

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Real Cloutier	5	4	5	9	0
Serge Bernier	5	2	6	8	6
Dale Hoganson	5	1	3	4	2
Steve Sutherland	5	2	1	3	17
Pierre Roy	5	1	2	3	29

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Richard Brodeur	5	299	1	4	22	0	4.41

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks at the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	14	Pierre Mondou	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
2	29	Doug Halward	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
3	44	Pierre Giroux	Canada	Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
4	59	Ted Bulley	Canada	Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
5	73	Andre LePage	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
6	87	Jean Trottier	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
7	100	Mike Backman	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
8	112	Michel Brisebois	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
9	124	Michel Hamel	Canada	Laval National (QMJHL)
10	137	Florent Fortier	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

External links

Hockey-Reference