| 1973–74 NHL season | |
| Duration: | October 10, 1973 – May 19, 1974 |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 1973 NHL Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Season: | Regular season |
| No Of Teams: | 16 |
| No Of Games: | 78 |
| Tv: | CBC, CTV, SRC (Canada) NBC (United States) |
| Mvp: | Phil Esposito (Bruins) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Phil Esposito (Bruins) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 1974 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1974 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Bernie Parent (Flyers) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1973–74 NHL season was the 57th season of the National Hockey League. The Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup championship, the team's first. The team was the first of the post-1967 teams to win the Cup.
With owner Charles O. Finley unable to find a buyer, the league took over operation of the troubled California Golden Seals in February 1974. Fred Glover then resigned as general manager-coach. Garry Young,who had served a previous hitch as general manager, agreed to return.Marshall Johnston, a defenseman for the Seals, retired and took overas coach.
The Philadelphia Flyers, who developed the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" because of their physical style of play, dethroned the Chicago Black Hawks as the West Division champions behind the dominant play of Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent.
The New York Rangers were floundering under new coach Larry Popeinand were in danger of missing the playoffs, and Emile Francis took over the coaching reins. The Rangers then improved enough to get into the playoffs.
Tragedy hit the NHL in the early morning hours of February 21 when 44 year-old Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tim Horton was killed in an automobile accident. He had been returning to Buffalo from Toronto at the time.
In the East Division, the Boston Bruins regained the top spot in the East and the league, behind an ongoing offensive juggernaut that saw Bruins' players finish 1–2–3–4 in NHL scoring (Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Ken Hodge, and Wayne Cashman) for the second and most recent time in league history.
The playoffs began on April 9 with the first round, which was played between divisional opponents. The top teams all won their first rounds, with one mild upset, as the third-place New York Rangers defeated the second-place Montreal Canadiens, marking the third straight year that they had defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round. In the second round, the teams played an inter-divisional round to determine the finalists. The Eastern champion Boston Bruins took on the Western's second-place Chicago Black Hawks, while the Western champion Philadelphia Flyers took on the New York Rangers. Boston won its series in six games to take one Finals spot, while Philadelphia won its series against the New York Rangers in seven games to make the team's first Finals appearance. In doing so, the Flyers became the first-ever post 1967 NHL expansion team to win a playoff series against an Original Six opponent. In the Finals, the Flyers won the series in six games against the Bruins to win not only the franchise's first championship but also to become the first post 1967 NHL expansion team and thus the first non 'Original Six' NHL team to win the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Maroons in 1935.[1]
The Boston Bruins finished first in the league with 113 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished fourth in the East Division with 86 points. This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams. Toronto lead 8–4 in previous meetings. Boston won their most recent meeting in five games in the 1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals. Boston won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.
The Montreal Canadiens finished second in the East Division with 99 points. The New York Rangers finished third with 94 points. This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the ten previous series. They last met in the 1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals which New York won in six games. Montreal won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.
The Philadelphia Flyers finished first in the West Division and second in the league with 112 points. The Atlanta Flames finished fourth with 74 points, the lowest points earned by any playoff team in 1974. The Atlanta Flames made their first playoff appearance in their second season after entering the league in the previous year. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's six-game regular season series.
The Chicago Black Hawks finished second in the West Division with 105 points. The Los Angeles Kings finished third in the West Division with 78 points. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won this year's six-game regular season series earning eight of twelve points.
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Boston winning all three previous series. Boston won their most recent meeting in a four-game sweep in the 1970 Stanley Cup Semifinals. Chicago won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New York won this year's five-game regular season series earning six of ten points.
See main article: 1974 Stanley Cup Finals.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Bruins made their thirteenth Finals appearance; winning in their last appearance in 1972 where they defeated the New York Rangers in six games. The Flyers made their first Finals appearance in their seventh season since entering the league in the 1967–68 NHL season. Boston won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points. Boston was the prohibitive favorite entering the series.
However, the Philadelphia Flyers stunned the Bruins in six games to become the first non-Original Six team to win the Stanley Cup since 1935 and the first expansion team to do so since the league began expanding in 1967.
A new award, the Jack Adams for the best coach, was introduced for this season. The first winner was Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers.
| 1974 NHL awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| Boston Bruins | |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
| Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Art Ross Trophy
| Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins | |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
| Henri Richard, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy
| Denis Potvin, New York Islanders | |
| Conn Smythe Trophy
| Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Hart Memorial Trophy
| Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins | |
| Jack Adams Award
| Fred Shero, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy
| Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
| Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins | |
| Lester B. Pearson Award
| Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks and Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| First team | Position | Second team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers | align=center | G | Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Bill White, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Brad Park, New York Rangers | align=center | D | Barry Ashbee, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins | align=center | C | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Ken Hodge, Boston Bruins | align=center | RW | Mickey Redmond, Detroit Red Wings |
| Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres | align=center | LW | Wayne Cashman, Boston Bruins |
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 78 | 68 | 77 | 145 | 58 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 74 | 32 | 90 | 122 | 82 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 76 | 50 | 55 | 105 | 43 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 78 | 30 | 59 | 89 | 111 | ||
| Philadelphia Flyers | 77 | 35 | 52 | 87 | 113 | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 52 | 34 | 86 | 38 | ||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 75 | 24 | 61 | 85 | 37 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 38 | 46 | 84 | 55 | ||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 43 | 39 | 82 | 14 | ||
| New York Rangers | 78 | 25 | 57 | 82 | 148 | ||
| Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 20 | 62 | 82 | 138 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 73 | 4314 | 136 | 1.89 | 47 | 13 | 12 | 12 | |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 4143 | 141 | 2.04 | 34 | 14 | 21 | 10 | |
| Boston Bruins | 21 | 1170 | 46 | 2.36 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 32 | 1752 | 79 | 2.71 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 0 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 42 | 2410 | 111 | 2.76 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 1 | |
| Atlanta Flames | 46 | 2660 | 123 | 2.77 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 5 | |
| L.A. Kings | 65 | 3751 | 175 | 2.80 | 28 | 26 | 10 | 5 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | 27 | 1431 | 69 | 2.89 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 24 | 1412 | 68 | 2.89 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 1 | |
| Boston Bruins | 54 | 3210 | 158 | 2.95 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 6 | |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1973–74 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1973–74 (listed with their last team):
NOTE: Frank Mahovlich would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV.
This was the second season under the U.S. rights agreement with NBC, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and playoff games.