1973–74 Toronto Toros season

The 1973–74 Toronto Toros season was the team's first season in Toronto, as they spent their inaugural season as the Ottawa Nationals in 1972–73.[1][2]

1973–74 Toronto Toros
League4th WHA
Division2nd Eastern
1973–74 record41–33–4
Home record25–11–3
Road record16–22–1
Goals for304
Goals against272
Team information
General managerA.J. (Buck) Houle
CoachBilly Harris
CaptainWayne Carleton
Alternate captainsBob Leduc
Brian Gibbons (unconfirmed)
Gavin Kirk
ArenaVarsity Arena (30 games)
Ottawa Civic Center (9 games)
Average attendance4,291 (73.5%)
Team leaders
GoalsWayne Carleton (37)
AssistsWayne Carleton (55)
PointsWayne Carleton (92)
Penalty minutesRick Cunningham (88)
WinsGilles Gratton (26)
Goals against averageLes Binkley (3.27)

Offseason

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 it is 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.

As the Ottawa Nationals the previous season, the team finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division with a 35-39-4 record, losing to the New England Whalers in the first round of the playoffs.

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.

Season standings
Eastern Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
New England Whalers784331429126087590
Toronto Toros784133430427287186
Cleveland Crusaders7837329266264100783
Chicago Cougars7838355271273104181
Quebec Nordiques783836430628090980
NY Golden Blades / Jersey Knights783242426831393368

Game log
Regular season schedule
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 7Chicago Cougars4–4Toronto Toros0–0–11
2October 9New York Golden Blades3–3Toronto Toros0–0–22
3October 11Quebec Nordiques4–1Toronto Toros0–1–22
4October 14Minnesota Fighting Saints5–2Toronto Toros0–2–22
5October 16Toronto Toros3–0Los Angeles Sharks1–2–24
6October 18Toronto Toros1–4Quebec Nordiques1–3–24
7October 20Toronto Toros4–6Cleveland Crusaders1–4–24
8October 21New England Whalers4–3Toronto Toros1–5–24
9October 23Toronto Toros2–4Edmonton Oilers1–6–24
10October 24Toronto Toros7–4Vancouver Blazers2–6–26
11October 26Toronto Toros3–3Winnipeg Jets2–6–37
12October 28Chicago Cougars3–2Toronto Toros2–7–37
13November 3Toronto Toros5–4New England Whalers3–7–39
14November 4Los Angeles Sharks3–6Toronto Toros4–7–311
15November 7Toronto Toros5–4Houston Aeros5–7–313
16November 9Toronto Toros2–4Los Angeles Sharks5–8–313
17November 10Toronto Toros2–3Chicago Cougars5–9–313
18November 11Edmonton Oilers4–2Toronto Toros5–10–313
19November 17Toronto Toros2–5Chicago Cougars5–11–313
20November 18Winnipeg Jets2–6Toronto Toros6–11–315
21November 22Toronto Toros4–2Quebec Nordiques7–11–317
22November 24Toronto Toros1–2Cleveland Crusaders7–12–317
23November 25Vancouver Blazers2–3Toronto Toros8–12–319
24November 27Quebec Nordiques1–3Toronto Toros9–12–321
25November 30Toronto Toros2–1Minnesota Fighting Saints10–12–323
26December 2Houston Aeros2–5Toronto Toros11–12–325
27December 5Toronto Toros3–1Vancouver Blazers12–12–327
28December 6Toronto Toros3–4Edmonton Oilers12–13–327
29December 7Toronto Toros4–7Winnipeg Jets12–14–327
30December 9Minnesota Fighting Saints1–10Toronto Toros13–14–329
31December 12Toronto Toros6–8New England Whalers13–15–329
32December 13Cleveland Crusaders1–3Toronto Toros14–15–331
33December 15Toronto Toros3–4Cleveland Crusaders14–16–331
34December 16Quebec Nordiques4–3 OTToronto Toros14–17–331
35December 18Jersey Knights1–4Toronto Toros15–17–333
36December 21Houston Aeros1–3Toronto Toros16–17–335
37December 22Toronto Toros6–4Quebec Nordiques17–17–337
38December 23Chicago Cougars6–5Toronto Toros17–18–337
39December 29Toronto Toros9–3Minnesota Fighting Saints18–18–339
40December 30Winnipeg Jets2–5Toronto Toros19–18–341
41January 1Cleveland Crusaders0–3Toronto Toros20–18–343
42January 6Jersey Knights4–2Toronto Toros20–19–343
43January 8Toronto Toros3–2New England Whalers21–19–345
44January 10New England Whalers6–6Toronto Toros21–19–446
45January 12Toronto Toros6–8Minnesota Fighting Saints21–20–446
46January 13Jersey Knights2–7Toronto Toros22–20–448
47January 16Toronto Toros1–4Houston Aeros22–21–448
48January 18Toronto Toros1–4Los Angeles Sharks22–22–448
49January 20New England Whalers4–8Toronto Toros23–22–450
50January 24Cleveland Crusaders5–3Toronto Toros23–23–450
51January 27Vancouver Blazers7–9Toronto Toros24–23–452
52January 29Toronto Toros1–6Jersey Knights24–24–452
53January 31Los Angeles Sharks4–5 OTToronto Toros25–24–454
54February 1Toronto Toros1–2Quebec Nordiques25–25–454
55February 3Minnesota Fighting Saints4–5Toronto Toros26–25–456
56February 9Toronto Toros3–4Cleveland Crusaders26–26–456
57February 10Toronto Toros5–4Jersey Knights27–26–458
58February 12Quebec Nordiques4–6Toronto Toros28–26–460
59February 14Toronto Toros5–2Jersey Knights29–26–462
60February 16Toronto Toros5–4Chicago Cougars30–26–464
61February 17Toronto Toros2–3 OTEdmonton Oilers30–27–464
62February 19Toronto Toros5–4 OTVancouver Blazers31–27–466
63February 22Toronto Toros3–4Winnipeg Jets31–28-466
64February 24New England Whalers0–2Toronto Toros32–28–468
65February 27Toronto Toros3–5New England Whalers32–29–468
66February 28Winnipeg Jets0–3Toronto Toros33–29–470
67March 3Toronto Toros5–4Chicago Cougars34–29–472
68March 9Toronto Toros2–4Houston Aeros34–30–472
69March 10Cleveland Crusaders3–8Toronto Toros35–30–474
70March 14Quebec Nordiques3–2Toronto Toros35–31–474
71March 17Chicago Cougars4–2Toronto Toros35–32–474
72March 18Toronto Toros5–11Jersey Knights35–33–474
73March 21Houston Aeros3–6Toronto Toros36–33–476
74March 24Vancouver Blazers1–3Toronto Toros37–33–478
75March 28Edmonton Oilers5–6 OTToronto Toros38–33–480
76March 30Toronto Toros3–1Quebec Nordiques39–33–482
77March 31Los Angeles Sharks4–5Toronto Toros40–33–484
78April 2Edmonton Oilers2–3Toronto Toros41–33–486

Playoffs

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.

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.

Toronto Toros 4, Cleveland Crusaders 1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 7Cleveland Crusaders0–4Toronto Toros1-0
2April 9Cleveland Crusaders3–4Toronto Toros2-0
3April 12Toronto Toros4–2Cleveland Crusaders3-0
4April 13Toronto Toros2–3 OTCleveland Crusaders3-1
5April 15Cleveland Crusaders1–4Toronto Toros4-1

Chicago Cougars 4, Toronto Toros 3 - Semifinals
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 19Chicago Cougars4–6Toronto Toros1-0
2April 22Chicago Cougars4–3Toronto Toros1-1
3April 28Toronto Toros2–3Chicago Cougars1-2
4April 30Toronto Toros7–6Chicago Cougars2-2
5May 1Chicago Cougars3–5Toronto Toros3-2
6May 4Toronto Toros2–9Chicago Cougars3-3
7May 6Chicago Cougars5–2Toronto Toros3-4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Carleton7837559231
Gavin Kirk7820486844
Wayne Dillon7830356513
Guy Trottier7127356258
Rick Sentes6426346046
Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAASave %
Bill Holden110100000.001.000
Frank Blum5131100502.29.924
Les Binkley27141214917713.27.901
Gilles Gratton5732002624318823.53.895

Playoff stats
Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Carleton12212144
Rick Sentes12741119
Wayne Dillon1256119
Tom Martin1273102
Guy Trottier1255104
Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAASave %
Gilles Gratton10539532512.78
Les Binkley5182221705.60

Draft picks

Toronto's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
14Paulin Bordeleau CanadaToronto Marlboros (OHA)
218Pat Hickey CanadaHamilton Red Wings (OHA)
443Peter Marrin CanadaToronto Marlboros (OHA)
552Bob Dailey CanadaToronto Marlboros (OHA)
556Lou Nistico CanadaLondon Knights (OHA)
669Doug Ferguson CanadaHamilton Red Wings (OHA)
778Gerrard Gibbons CanadaSt. Mary's University (CIAU)
782Gord Titcomb CanadaSt. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
895John Campbell CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
9106Guido Tenesi United StatesOshawa Generals (OHA)

See also

References
  1. World Hockey Association (1973). WHA 1973-74 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  2. World Hockey Association (1974). WHA 1974-75 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
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