1973–74 Chicago Cougars season explained

Arena:	International Amphitheatre Randhurst Ice Arena (five playoff games)
Attendance:	4,924 (54.7%)
League:	WHA
Season:	1973–74
Year:	1973
Team:	Chicago Cougars
Record:	38–35–5
Homerecord:	23-13-3
Roadrecord:	15-22-2
Division:	East
Divisionrank:	4th
Generalmanager:	Jacques Demers (Director of Player Personnel)
Goalsfor:	271
Goalsagainst:	273
Goalsleader:	Ralph Backstrom (33)
Assistsleader:	Pat Stapleton (52)
Pointsleader:	Ralph Backstrom (83)
Pimleader:	Larry Mavety (157)
Winsleader:	Cam Newton (25)
Gaaleader:	Cam Newton (3.14)

The 1973–74 Chicago Cougars season was the Chicago Cougars' second season of operation in the World Hockey Association. The team qualified for the playoff and won two playoff series to make it to the Avco Cup Final before losing to the Houston Aeros.^{[1] [2]}

Offseason

The Chicago Cougars revamped their lineup during the off-season in hopes of escaping the cellar.The Cougars strengthened their defense by signing National Hockey League all-star defenceman Pat Stapleton from the Chicago Blackhawks as a player-coach, Darryl Maggs from the California Golden Seals and goaltender Cam Newton from the Pittsburgh Penguins. To the forward line, the Cougars signed Ralph Backstrom, also from the Blackhawks, Eric Nesterenko, who had spent a season in Switzerland after a long career with the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs, and junior all-star Frank Rochon from the Sherbrooke Beavers, and acquired Joe Hardy from the Cleveland Crusaders and Duke Harris from the Houston Aeros.^[3]

Regular season

The Cougars scored 26 more goals than the previous season and reduced the goals against by 22 to post a 50% improvement in points and secure the final playoff spot in the East Division by a single point over the Quebec Nordiques.

Game log

Regular season schedule
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 7, 1973	4–4	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	0–0–1
2	W	October 11, 1973	4–3	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	1–0–1
3	L	October 13, 1973	4–6	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	1–1–1
4	L	October 14, 1973	2–3 OT	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	1–2–1
5	W	October 18, 1973	7–2	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	2–2–1
6	L	October 20, 1973	3–4	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	2–3–1
7	L	October 21, 1973	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	2–4–1
8	W	October 25, 1973	4–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	3–4–1
9	W	October 28, 1973	3–2	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	4–4–1
10	W	October 30, 1973	4–1	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	5–4–1
11	W	November 3, 1973	7–4	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	6–4–1
12	W	November 6, 1973	5–4 OT	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	7–4–1
13	W	November 10, 1973	3–2	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	8–4–1
14	L	November 13, 1973	2–5	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	8–5–1
15	W	November 15, 1973	3–2	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	9–5–1
16	W	November 17, 1973	5–2	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	10–5–1
17	L	November 18, 1973	3–5	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	10–6–1
18	W	November 22, 1973	4–3	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	11–6–1
19	L	November 24, 1973	3–5	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	11–7–1
20	L	December 1, 1973	4–5 OT	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	11–8–1
21	L	December 2, 1973	3–4	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	11–9–1
22	L	December 4, 1973	0–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	11–10–1
23	L	December 8, 1973	1–3	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	11–11–1
24	L	December 9, 1973	1–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	11–12–1
25	L	December 11, 1973	3–5	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	11–13–1
26	W	December 15, 1973	5–2	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	12–13–1
27	W	December 16, 1973	3–2	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	13–13–1
28	T	December 18, 1973	3–3	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	13–13–2
29	L	December 21, 1973	1–5	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	13–14–2
30	W	December 23, 1973	6–5	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	14–14–2
31	L	December 26, 1973	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	14–15–2
32	W	December 28, 1973	6–4	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	15–15–2
33	L	December 29, 1973	0–3	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	15–16–2
34	W	December 30, 1973	5–3	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	16–16–2
35	W	January 1, 1974	5–4	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	17–16–2
36	L	January 5, 1974	5–6	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	17–17–2
37	L	January 6, 1974	0–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	17–18–2
38	T	January 8, 1974	0–0	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	17–18–3
39	L	January 13, 1974	1–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	17–19–3
40	W	January 17, 1974	5–2	@ New England Whalers (1973–74)	18–19–3
41	W	January 19, 1974	5–2	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	19–19–3
42	W	January 22, 1974	5–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	20–19–3
43	L	January 25, 1974	2–6	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	20–20–3
44	W	January 30, 1974	4–2	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	21–20–3
45	L	February 1, 1974	2–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	21–21–3
46	L	February 3, 1974	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	21–22–3
47	W	February 5, 1974	3–1	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	22–22–3
48	L	February 6, 1974	2–7	@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	22–23–3
49	W	February 9, 1974	5–2	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	23–23–3
50	W	February 10, 1974	4–2	@ Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	24–23–3
51	W	February 12, 1974	3–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	25–23–3
52	L	February 14, 1974	3–5	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	25–24–3
53	L	February 16, 1974	4–5	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	25–25–3
54	L	February 17, 1974	5–6	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	25–26–3
55	L	February 18, 1974	3–4	@ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	25–27–3
56	W	February 21, 1974	5–4	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	26–27–3
57	L	February 23, 1974	0–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	26–28–3
58	L	February 24, 1974	1–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	26–29–3
59	W	February 26, 1974	4–2	Los Angeles Sharks (1973–74)	27–29–3
60	L	February 28, 1974	4–9	Houston Aeros (1973–74)	27–30–3
61	W	March 1, 1974	7–4	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	28–30–3
62	L	March 3, 1974	4–5	Toronto Toros (1973–74)	28–31–3
63	L	March 5, 1974	2–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	28–32–3
64	W	March 7, 1974	3–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	29–32–3
65	W	March 9, 1974	5–4 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)	30–32–3
66	W	March 12, 1974	5–3	New England Whalers (1973–74)	31–32–3
67	W	March 14, 1974	7–4	Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)	32–32–3
68	W	March 16, 1974	4–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)	33–32–3
69	W	March 17, 1974	4–2	@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)	34–32–3
70	L	March 19, 1974	4–7	Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	34–33–3
71	T	March 21, 1974	5–5	Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	34–33–4
72	W	March 23, 1974	4–1	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	35–33–4
73	T	March 24, 1974	3–3	@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)	35–33–5
74	W	March 26, 1974	4–2	Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	36–33–5
75	W	March 29, 1974	5–2	@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)	37–33–5
76	L	March 31, 1974	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)	37–34–5
77	W	April 2, 1974	7–3	New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74)	38–34–5
78	L	April 3, 1974	1–3	@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)	38–35–5

^[4]

Playoffs

Chicago Cougars 4, New England Whalers 3 - Division Quarterfinals

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 6		4 – 6		0–1
2	April 7	Chicago Cougars	3 – 4 OT	New England Whalers	0–2
3	April 9	New England Whalers	6 – 8	Chicago Cougars	1–2
4	April 10	New England Whalers	1 – 2 OT	Chicago Cougars	2–2
5	April 12	Chicago Cougars	4 – 2	New England Whalers	2–3
6	April 14	New England Whalers	2 – 0	Chicago Cougars	3–3
7	April 16	Chicago Cougars	3 – 2	New England Whalers	4–3

Chicago Cougars 4, Toronto Toros 3 - Semifinals

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 19		4–6	Toronto Toros	0-1
2	April 22		4–3	Toronto Toros	1-1
3	April 28	Toronto Toros	2–3		2-1
4	April 30	Toronto Toros	7–6		2-2
5	May 1		3–5	Toronto Toros	2-3
6	May 4	Toronto Toros	2–9		3-3
7	May 6		5–2	Toronto Toros	4-3

Houston Aeros 4, Chicago Cougars 0 - Avco Cup Finals

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 12		3–2		0–1
2	May 15		6–1		0–2
3	May 17		4–7		0–3
4	May 19		2–6		0–4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 78 33 50 83 26 0 6 2 8 C 78 30 43 73 87 0 7 0 3 C 77 24 35 59 55 0 4 0 2 D 78 6 52 58 44 0 2 1 0 D 77 15 36 51 157 0 4 0 4 LW 73 26 21 47 20 0 4 1 2 C 69 11 29 40 8 0 1 0 1 LW 63 22 17 39 36 0 6 0 4 C 52 16 19 35 26 0 6 1 2 LW 76 17 16 33 140 0 1 0 2 RW 64 14 16 30 20 0 3 0 1 D 78 8 22 30 148 0 0 0 1 LW 69 12 11 23 27 0 1 0 1 D 77 2 20 22 55 0 0 0 1 C 77 5 13 18 17 0 0 1 0 D/LW 45 2 12 14 49 0 1 0 2 LW 50 10 3 13 14 0 0 1 1 RW 53 6 7 13 19 0 0 0 0 RW 23 5 4 9 9 0 3 0 0 RW 29 2 5 7 8 0 1 0 0 LW 15 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 1 D 23 0 5 5 22 0 0 0 0 D 43 1 3 4 13 0 0 0 1 LW 3 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 1 RW 4 0 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 RW 4 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 G 45 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 C 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 G 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO 2732 45 25 18 2 143 3.14 1 1207 20 9 10 1 75 3.73 0 803 13 4 7 2 46 3.44 0 Team: 4742 78 38 35 5 264 3.34 1

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 18 5 14 19 4 0 0 1 C 18 9 6 15 16 0 0 2 C 18 6 8 14 0 0 0 2 LW 18 8 5 13 12 0 0 1 D 12 0 13 13 36 0 0 0 RW 18 6 6 12 2 0 0 0 RW 18 4 8 12 4 0 0 0 C 17 4 8 12 13 0 0 0 D 18 4 8 12 46 0 0 1 LW 18 6 5 11 11 0 0 0 D 18 3 5 8 71 0 0 0 LW 18 4 3 7 42 0 0 0 D 18 2 3 5 18 0 0 0 RW 18 2 2 4 36 0 0 0 D/LW 12 0 4 4 12 0 0 0 D 13 0 4 4 10 0 0 0 LW 9 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 C 18 2 1 3 2 0 0 0 LW 17 0 3 3 35 0 0 0 G 11 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 G 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO 614 11 6 5 38 3.71 0 486 10 2 5 34 4.20 0 Team: 1100 18 8 10 72 3.93 0

^[5]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Transactions

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
	To New York Golden Blades Butch Barber	To Chicago Cougars Wally Olds
	To New York Golden Blades Jim McLeod	To Chicago Cougars cash
	To Cleveland Crusaders rights to Larry Hillman	To Chicago Cougars Joe Hardy
	To Houston Aeros cash	To Chicago Cougars Duke Harris
	To Vancouver Blazers Ed Hatoum	To Chicago Cougars cash
	To Los Angeles Sharks Bob Whitlock	To Chicago Cougars Jim Watson Don Gordon	^[6]

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.^[7]

Round		Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	1	Bob Neely (D)		Peterborough Petes (OHA)
2	15	Larry Goodenough (D)		London Knights (OHA)
3	27	Frank Rochon (LW)		Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
4	40	Terry Ewasiuk (LW)		Victoria Cougars (WCHL)
6	66	Keith Smith (D)		Brown University (ECAC)
7	79	Dennis Desgagnes (C)		Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
8	92	J. P. Burgoyne (D)		Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
9	103	Gordon Halliday (F)		University of Pennsylvania (ECAC)
10	114	Mike Haramis (RW)		Laval National (QMJHL)

See also

• 1973–74 WHA season

Notes and References

1. Book: World Hockey Association . World Hockey Association . 1973 . WHA 1973-74 Media Guide . World Hockey Association.
2. Book: World Hockey Association . World Hockey Association . 1974 . WHA 1974-75 Media Guide . World Hockey Association.
3. . New Faces in WHA for '73-74. Hockey Digest. Des Moines. Norman Jacobs. December 1973.
4. Web site: 1973–74 Chicago Cougars Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-29 .
5. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-29 . 1973-74 Chicago Cougars Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.
6. Book: World Hockey Association . World Hockey Association . 1974 . WHA 1974-75 Media Guide . World Hockey Association.
7. Web site: 1973 WHA Amateur Draft . hockeyDB.com . December 19, 2018.