1976–77 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1976–77 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 51st season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a 32–30–18 record in 1975–76, earning 82 points, and finishing in first place in the Smythe Division. In the playoffs, the Black Hawks were quickly swept out in four games by the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL quarter-finals.[1]

1976–77 Chicago Black Hawks
Division3rd Smythe
Conference7th Campbell
1976–77 record26–43–11
Home record19–16–5
Road record7–27–6
Goals for240
Goals against298
Team information
General ManagerTommy Ivan
CoachBilly Reay (10–19–5)
Bill White (16–24–6)
CaptainStan Mikita
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsDarcy Rota and Ivan Boldirev (24)
AssistsIvan Boldirev (38)
PointsIvan Boldirev (62)
Penalty minutesPhil Russell (233)
Plus/minusBobby Orr (+6)
WinsTony Esposito (25)
Goals against averageTony Esposito (3.45)

During the off-season, the Hawks made a big free agent signing, as the club signed eight time Norris Trophy winner Bobby Orr. Orr missed the majority of the 1975–76 due to a knee injury, as he was limited to ten games in his final season with the Boston Bruins. The team also named Keith Magnuson to become a co-captain, joining Stan Mikita and Pit Martin in that role. The NHL also made a few changes, as the Kansas City Scouts were relocated to Denver, Colorado, and renamed the Colorado Rockies, while the California Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and were renamed the Cleveland Barons.

The Black Hawks got off to a solid start to the season, as in the month of October, they had a 7–5–1 record, however, injuries took a toll on the team, and the Hawks fell into a slump. The Hawks went 3–14–4 in their next 21 games which cost longtime head coach Billy Reay his job. Reay had been with Chicago since 1963, and left the team with a record of 516-335-161 in his fourteen seasons with the club. He was replaced by recently retired Black Hawks defenseman Bill White, who played with the team from 1969–1975. Under White, the Hawks played better hockey, as they went 13–12–5 in his first 30 games, however, the team would go on an eight-game losing streak, and find themselves battling the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot in the Smythe Division. The Hawks eventually finished the season with a 26–43–11 record, earning 63 points, and squeaked into the post-season. The 26 victories and 63 points was their fewest total since the team won 24 games and earned 55 points in 1957–58, while their 43 losses was their highest since losing 51 games in 1953–54.[2]

Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Ivan Boldirev, who had a team high 24 goals, 38 assists and 62 points. Darcy Rota tied Boldirev for the team lead in goals, as he also scored 24 times, while earning 46 points. Pit Martin had 17 goals and 53 points, while Stan Mikita had 19 goals and 49 points while appearing in only 57 games. On defense, Dick Redmond led the way, scoring 22 goals and 47 points, while Phil Russell had 9 goals and 45 points from the blueline, along with a team high 233 penalty minutes. Bobby Orr, limited to only 20 games, earned 23 points, while posting a team best +6 rating.

In goal, Tony Esposito played the majority of the games, winning 25 games, while registering a GAA of 3.45, and earning two shutouts.[3]

The Hawks opened the playoffs in a best of three preliminary series against the New York Islanders, who finished in second place in the Patrick Division with 106 points, which was 43 more than the Hawks. The series opened with two games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York, and the Islanders made quick work of the Hawks in the first game, easily winning 5–2 to take the series lead. New York would then complete the two game sweep, narrowly defeating the Hawks 2–1 in the second game, as Chicago was swept out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Season standings
Smythe Division GP W L T GF GA Pts
St. Louis Blues803239923927673
Minnesota North Stars8023391824031064
Chicago Black Hawks8026431124029863
Vancouver Canucks8025421323529463
Colorado Rockies8020461422630754

Game log

Regular season
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 7Chicago Black Hawks6–4St. Louis Blues1–0–02
2October 9Chicago Black Hawks1–2New York Islanders1–1–02
3October 10Vancouver Canucks1–5Chicago Black Hawks2–1–04
4October 13Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Chicago Black Hawks3–1–06
5October 15Chicago Black Hawks3–5Colorado Rockies3–2–06
6October 17Minnesota North Stars0–3Chicago Black Hawks4–2–08
7October 19Chicago Black Hawks0–3Cleveland Barons4–3–08
8October 21Chicago Black Hawks1–5Philadelphia Flyers4–4–08
9October 23Chicago Black Hawks3–4Minnesota North Stars4–5–08
10October 24St. Louis Blues2–7Chicago Black Hawks5–5–010
11October 27Montreal Canadiens4–4Chicago Black Hawks5–5–111
12October 30Chicago Black Hawks6–5Detroit Red Wings6–5–113
13October 31Washington Capitals4–5Chicago Black Hawks7–5–115
14November 4Chicago Black Hawks5–7Boston Bruins7–6–115
15November 6Chicago Black Hawks3–11Montreal Canadiens7–7–115
16November 7Colorado Rockies3–2Chicago Black Hawks7–8–115
17November 10Philadelphia Flyers2–2Chicago Black Hawks7–8–216
18November 12Chicago Black Hawks5–4Washington Capitals8–8–218
19November 14Los Angeles Kings4–5Chicago Black Hawks9–8–220
20November 17Chicago Black Hawks2–3New York Rangers9–9–220
21November 19Chicago Black Hawks3–5Atlanta Flames9–10–220
22November 21Chicago Black Hawks0–5Pittsburgh Penguins9–11–220
23November 24Chicago Black Hawks5–4Los Angeles Kings10–11–222
24November 27Chicago Black Hawks3–4Vancouver Canucks10–12–222
25December 1Boston Bruins5–3Chicago Black Hawks10–13–222
26December 4Chicago Black Hawks2–2Toronto Maple Leafs10–13–323
27December 5Vancouver Canucks4–2Chicago Black Hawks10–14–323
28December 8Montreal Canadiens4–3Chicago Black Hawks10–15–323
29December 11Chicago Black Hawks1–3Atlanta Flames10–16–323
30December 12New York Islanders6–2Chicago Black Hawks10–17–323
31December 16Chicago Black Hawks1–4Philadelphia Flyers10–18–323
32December 18New York Rangers3–3Chicago Black Hawks10–18–424
33December 19St. Louis Blues6–4Chicago Black Hawks10–19–424
34December 21Chicago Black Hawks3–3Minnesota North Stars10–19–525
35December 22Buffalo Sabres4–2Chicago Black Hawks10–20–525
36December 26Colorado Rockies3–5Chicago Black Hawks11–20–527
37December 29Detroit Red Wings3–6Chicago Black Hawks12–20–529
38December 31Chicago Black Hawks2–2Colorado Rockies12–20–630
39January 2Toronto Maple Leafs4–6Chicago Black Hawks13–20–632
40January 5Buffalo Sabres1–2Chicago Black Hawks14–20–634
41January 8Chicago Black Hawks2–4Pittsburgh Penguins14–21–634
42January 9Boston Bruins4–2Chicago Black Hawks14–22–634
43January 12New York Islanders1–2Chicago Black Hawks15–22–636
44January 15Chicago Black Hawks4–1Toronto Maple Leafs16–22–638
45January 16New York Rangers5–2Chicago Black Hawks16–23–638
46January 18Chicago Black Hawks7–7Colorado Rockies16–23–739
47January 19St. Louis Blues5–3Chicago Black Hawks16–24–739
48January 22Chicago Black Hawks3–0Detroit Red Wings17–24–741
49January 23Philadelphia Flyers2–2Chicago Black Hawks17–24–842
50January 27Chicago Black Hawks1–1Vancouver Canucks17–24–943
51January 30Cleveland Barons3–9Chicago Black Hawks18–24–945
52February 2Atlanta Flames2–4Chicago Black Hawks19–24–947
53February 3Chicago Black Hawks0–6Philadelphia Flyers19–25–947
54February 5Chicago Black Hawks3–5Cleveland Barons19–26–947
55February 6Minnesota North Stars3–0Chicago Black Hawks19–27–947
56February 9Washington Capitals4–4Chicago Black Hawks19–27–1048
57February 12Colorado Rockies2–4Chicago Black Hawks20–27–1050
58February 13Atlanta Flames2–4Chicago Black Hawks21–27–1052
59February 15Chicago Black Hawks1–5St. Louis Blues21–28–1052
60February 16Chicago Black Hawks0–3Buffalo Sabres21–29–1052
61February 19Chicago Black Hawks2–6Minnesota North Stars21–30–1052
62February 20Toronto Maple Leafs10–8Chicago Black Hawks21–31–1052
63February 23Detroit Red Wings2–5Chicago Black Hawks22–31–1054
64February 26New York Rangers1–2Chicago Black Hawks23–31–1056
65February 27Vancouver Canucks4–3Chicago Black Hawks23–32–1056
66March 2Chicago Black Hawks3–6Buffalo Sabres23–33–1056
67March 3Chicago Black Hawks4–7Washington Capitals23–34–1056
68March 6Chicago Black Hawks2–6Boston Bruins23–35–1056
69March 8Chicago Black Hawks1–7Los Angeles Kings23–36–1056
70March 10Chicago Black Hawks0–5Vancouver Canucks23–37–1056
71March 12Chicago Black Hawks1–5Montreal Canadiens23–38–1056
72March 16New York Islanders5–0Chicago Black Hawks23–39–1056
73March 19Chicago Black Hawks2–2New York Islanders23–39–1157
74March 20Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Chicago Black Hawks24–39–1159
75March 23Los Angeles Kings3–1Chicago Black Hawks24–40–1159
76March 26Minnesota North Stars2–7Chicago Black Hawks25–40–1161
77March 27Chicago Black Hawks5–3New York Rangers26–40–1163
78March 30Chicago Black Hawks1–4St. Louis Blues26–41–1163
79April 1Chicago Black Hawks4–6Atlanta Flames26–42–1163
80April 3Cleveland Barons4–2Chicago Black Hawks26–43–1163

New York Islanders 2, Chicago Black Hawks 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 5Chicago Black Hawks2–5New York Islanders0–1
2April 7Chicago Black Hawks1–2New York Islanders0–2

Season stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Ivan Boldirev8024386240
Pit Martin7517365322
Stan Mikita5719304920
Dick Redmond8022254730
Darcy Rota7624224682

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Tony Esposito6940672536823423.45
Michel Dumas52410121704.23
Mike Veisor31801201304.33
Gilles Villemure63120412805.38

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Kirk Bowman21010
Dennis Hull21010
Grant Mulvey21012
Dale Tallon20110
Bob Murray20112

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Tony Esposito212002603.00

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft at the NHL Office in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
19Real Cloutier CanadaQuebec Nordiques (WHA)
227Jeff McDill CanadaVictoria Cougars (WCHL)
345Thomas Gradin SwedenModo Hockey (Sweden)
463Dave Debol United StatesUniversity of Michigan (NCAA)
581Terry McDonald CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
699John Peterson CanadaUniversity of Notre Dame (NCAA)
7115John Rothstein United StatesUniversity of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)

References
  1. 1975–76 NHL Season Summary – Hockey-Reference.com
  2. 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks Games – Hockey-Reference.com
  3. "Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history : Tony Esposito". Archived from the original on 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-07-24.

Sources
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