| 1975–76 WHA season | |
| League: | World Hockey Association |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Top Scorer: | Marc Tardif (Quebec) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Bill Hunter Trophy |
| Finals: | Avco World Trophy |
| Finals Champ: | Winnipeg Jets |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Houston Aeros |
| Seasonslistnames: | WHA |
The 1975–76 WHA season was the fourth season of the World Hockey Association. After the Baltimore Blades and Chicago Cougars folded, the league stayed at 14 teams by adding the Cincinnati Stingers and Denver Spurs. In addition, the Vancouver Blazers franchise moved to Calgary and became the Cowboys. Midway through the season, the Spurs moved to Ottawa and became the Civics, though the team folded shortly thereafter when the sale of the franchise fell through. The Minnesota Fighting Saints became the second team to fold mid-season when the franchise was not financially successful, despite having a winning record at the time. Theoretically, fourteen teams would play 80 games each, but only twelve teams finished the season, with cancelled games involving the Civics or Saints being rescheduled on the fly, and four of five Canadian Division teams played 81 games, as a result.
| 1975-76 World Hockey Association | ||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian | Calgary Cowboys | Calgary, Alberta | Stampede Corral | 7,475 |
| Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton, Alberta | Northlands Coliseum | 16,000 | |
| Quebec Nordiques | Quebec City, Quebec | Colisée de Québec | 10,004 | |
| Toronto Toros | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 16,316 | |
| Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Winnipeg Arena | 10,100 | |
| Eastern | Cincinnati Stingers | Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverfront Coliseum | 12,823 |
| Cleveland Crusaders | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | 18,544 | |
| Indianapolis Racers | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | 15,993 | |
| New England Whalers | Hartford, Connecticut | Hartford Civic Center | 10,507 | |
| Western | Denver Spurs Ottawa Civics | Denver, Colorado Ottawa, Ontario | McNichols Sports Arena Ottawa Civic Centre | 15,900 9,000 |
| Houston Aeros | Houston, Texas | The Summit | 14,906 | |
| Minnesota Fighting Saints | St. Paul, Minnesota | St. Paul Civic Center | 16,000 | |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | Phoenix, Arizona | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 13,730 | |
| San Diego Mariners | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena | 12,920 | |
| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Jets | 81 | 52 | 27 | 2 | 106 | 345 | 254 | 940 | |
| Quebec Nordiques | 81 | 50 | 27 | 4 | 104 | 371 | 316 | 1654 | |
| Calgary Cowboys | 80 | 41 | 35 | 4 | 86 | 307 | 282 | 1064 | |
| Edmonton Oilers | 81 | 27 | 49 | 5 | 59 | 268 | 345 | 991 | |
| 81 | 24 | 52 | 5 | 53 | 335 | 398 | 1099 | ||
| Denver Spurs / Ottawa Civics+ | 41 | 14 | 26 | 1 | 29 | 134 | 172 | 536 |
+team started season in Western Division when playing in Denver; transferred by league to Canadian Division shortly after moving to Ottawa.
| Eastern Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Racers | 80 | 35 | 39 | 6 | 76 | 245 | 247 | 1301 | |
| Cleveland Crusaders | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 75 | 273 | 279 | 1356 | |
| New England Whalers | 80 | 33 | 40 | 7 | 73 | 255 | 290 | 1012 | |
| 80 | 35 | 44 | 1 | 71 | 285 | 340 | 1344 |
| Western Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Aeros | 80 | 53 | 27 | 0 | 106 | 341 | 263 | 1093 | |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 84 | 302 | 287 | 1292 | |
| San Diego Mariners | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 78 | 303 | 290 | 716 | |
| 59 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 64 | 211 | 212 | 1354 |
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 71 | 77 | 148 | 79 | |||
| 80 | 53 | 70 | 123 | 30 | |||
| 80 | 60 | 54 | 114 | 27 | |||
| 78 | 38 | 76 | 114 | 54 | |||
| 80 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 109 | |||
| 74 | 37 | 72 | 109 | 42 | |||
| 76 | 50 | 55 | 105 | 48 | |||
| 81 | 51 | 52 | 103 | 61 | |||
| 70 | 34 | 68 | 102 | 91 | |||
| 78 | 32 | 70 | 102 | 76 |
Bolded numbers indicate season leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties, GA = Goals against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1860 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 85 | 0 | 91.0 | 2.74 | |||
| 62 | 3612 | 41 | 17 | 1 | 171 | 5 | 90.3 | 2.84 | |||
| 25 | 1456 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 77 | 1 | 90.1 | 3.17 | |||
| 41 | 2412 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 128 | 1 | 89.1 | 3.18 | |||
| 67 | 3824 | 35 | 27 | 4 | 208 | 3 | 89.5 | 3.25 |
The 4th annual WHA All-Star Game featured a Canadian-based All-Star team vs a United States-based All-Star team, with the game taking place in Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Canadians won the game 6–1, with Real Cloutier and Paul Shmyr being named MVPs.
The New England Whalers, Cleveland Crusaders, the Phoenix Roadrunners and the San Diego Mariners participated in preliminary rounds, with two teams advancing to the main bracket. The Whalers beat the Crusaders in three games, while the Mariners beat the Roadrunners in five games.
| Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | ||
| 1 | April 9 | 2–3 OT | 0-1 | |||
| 2 | April 10 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2–4 | San Diego Mariners | 1-1 | |
| 3 | April 13 | San Diego Mariners | 4–6 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1-2 | |
| 4 | April 15 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 1–5 | San Diego Mariners | 2-2 | |
| 5 | April 17 | San Diego Mariners | 2–1 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 3-2 |
| Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | |
| 1 | April 9 | 3–5 | 1-0 | ||
| 2 | April 10 | New England Whalers | 6–1 | Cleveland Crusaders | 2-0 |
| 3 | April 11 | New England Whalers | 3–2 | Cleveland Crusaders | 3-0 |
(1) Winnipeg Jets VS. (1) Houston Aeros:Jets sweep series 4–0
| Position | First Team | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre | Robbie Ftorek, Phoenix | ||
| Right Wing | Anders Hedberg, Winnipeg | Real Cloutier, Quebec | |
| Left Wing | Bobby Hull, Winnipeg | ||
| Defence | Kevin Morrison, San Diego | ||
| Defence | Pat Stapleton, Indianapolis | ||
| Goaltender | Ron Grahame, Houston |