1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks season

The 1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks season was the Los Angeles Sharks' second and final season in Los Angeles in the World Hockey Association. The club finished last in the WHA Western Division and missed the playoffs. They moved to Detroit, MI after the season and became the Michigan Stags.[1][2]

1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks
Division6th Western
1973–74 record25–53–0
Home record17-22-0
Road record8-31-0
Goals for239
Goals against339
Team information
General managerDennis Murphy
CoachTerry Slater (5-14-0)
Ted McCaskill (20-39-0)
CaptainTed McCaskill (until mid-November)
Alternate captainsGerry Odrowski
Jim Watson
ArenaL.A. Sports Arena
Average attendance5,338 (36.7%)
Team leaders
GoalsMarc Tardif (40)
AssistsJ.P. LeBlanc (46)
PointsMarc Tardif (70)
Penalty minutesSteve Sutherland (182)
WinsIan Wilkie (11)
Goals against averageIan Wilkie (3.92)

Offseason

The Sharks lured promising left wing Marc Tardif from the Montreal Canadiens to jump to the Sharks.

Regular season

The Sharks attempted to build on their first season by signing their first bonafide NHL star in the Montreal Canadiens' Marc Tardif. And while the offense featured five 20 goal scorers (Tardif with 40, Gary Veneruzzo with 39, Brian McDonald with 22, and J.P. LeBlanc and Steve Sutherland with 20 apiece), they still ranked last in the league in scoring. The defense was equally porous, falling from 3rd in the league to 11th (next to last). Last year's #1 goalie George Gardner played only 2 games due to injuries, and Russ Gillow suffered from injuries and the "sophomore jinx" as his GAA went from 2.91 in 1972–73 to 3.98 in 1973–74. The other goalies that were brought in didn't fare much better, with Ian Wilkie sporting an unimpressive 3.91 GAA, Jim McLeod at 4.27, and Paul Hoganson even worse with a 4.68 GAA. The special teams, which were solid the season before, also fell on hard times as the power play ranked 9th and the penalty killing went from 3rd in the league to last. The Sharks ended up with the worst record in the league, and endured losing streaks of 9 and 6 games. The only noteworthy item was that they became the first team ever to have no ties (the WHA 10-minute overtime rule helped, but WHA teams still averaged 4 ties per season).

Final standings
Western Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Houston Aeros78482553182191038101
Minnesota Fighting Saints7844322332275124390
Edmonton Oilers7838373268269127379
Winnipeg Jets783439526429667373
Vancouver Blazers7827501278345104755
Los Angeles Sharks7825530239339108650

Game log
Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 13, 19733–4Houston Aeros (1973–74)0–1–0
2LOctober 16, 19730–3Toronto Toros (1973–74)0–2–0
3LOctober 18, 19732–7Chicago Cougars (1973–74)0–3–0
4WOctober 21, 19734–1@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)1–3–0
5WOctober 23, 19734–3Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)2–3–0
6LOctober 24, 19732–6@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)2–4–0
7LOctober 26, 19731–3@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)2–5–0
8LOctober 27, 19731–3@ New England Whalers (1973–74)2–6–0
9WOctober 28, 19732–0@ New York Golden Blades (1973–74)3–6–0
10LOctober 30, 19734–6Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)3–7–0
11LNovember 2, 19731–5Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)3–8–0
12LNovember 3, 19734–6@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)3–9–0
13LNovember 4, 19733–6@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)3–10–0
14LNovember 6, 19734–5 OT@ Chicago Cougars (1973–74)3–11–0
15WNovember 7, 19733–1@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)4–11–0
16WNovember 9, 19734–2Toronto Toros (1973–74)5–11–0
17LNovember 11, 19732–6@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)5–12–0
18LNovember 13, 19730–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)5–13–0
19LNovember 16, 19733–4 OTCleveland Crusaders (1973–74)5–14–0
20LNovember 18, 19732–5New England Whalers (1973–74)5–15–0
21WNovember 20, 19736–2Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)6–15–0
22LNovember 22, 19733–4Chicago Cougars (1973–74)6–16–0
23WNovember 23, 19732–0Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)7–16–0
24WNovember 27, 19735–4 OTWinnipeg Jets (1973–74)8–16–0
25WNovember 30, 19735–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)9–16–0
26WDecember 1, 19735–4 OT@ Chicago Cougars (1973–74)10–16–0
27LDecember 4, 19732–9@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)10–17–0
28WDecember 6, 19734–3Houston Aeros (1973–74)11–17–0
29WDecember 12, 19737–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)12–17–0
30LDecember 14, 19730–1@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)12–18–0
31LDecember 15, 19734–6@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)12–19–0
32WDecember 16, 19735–3Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)13–19–0
33LDecember 18, 19732–5Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)13–20–0
34LDecember 21, 19733–4@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)13–21–0
35LDecember 22, 19733–8@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)13–22–0
36LDecember 27, 19731–5New England Whalers (1973–74)13–23–0
37LDecember 30, 19734–6Houston Aeros (1973–74)13–24–0
38WJanuary 4, 19744–3Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)14–24–0
39WJanuary 8, 19744–1Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)15–24–0
40LJanuary 10, 19741–7@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)15–25–0
41LJanuary 12, 19744–5@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)15–26–0
42LJanuary 13, 19746–9@ New England Whalers (1973–74)15–27–0
43WJanuary 15, 19746–4Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)16–27–0
44WJanuary 18, 19744–1Toronto Toros (1973–74)17–27–0
45WJanuary 19, 19743–2@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)18–27–0
46LJanuary 20, 19740–3Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)18–28–0
47LJanuary 22, 19741–3@ Houston Aeros (1973–74)18–29–0
48WJanuary 25, 19742–0Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)19–29–0
49WJanuary 27, 19746–3@ Jersey Knights (1973–74)20–29–0
50LJanuary 29, 19740–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)20–30–0
51LJanuary 31, 19744–5 OT@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)20–31–0
52LFebruary 1, 19740–4@ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)20–32–0
53LFebruary 3, 19742–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)20–33–0
54LFebruary 7, 19744–7Jersey Knights (1973–74)20–34–0
55LFebruary 10, 19742–4Chicago Cougars (1973–74)20–35–0
56LFebruary 12, 19742–4Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)20–36–0
57LFebruary 15, 19744–6Houston Aeros (1973–74)20–37–0
58LFebruary 17, 19740–4Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)20–38–0
59WFebruary 20, 19744–2New England Whalers (1973–74)21–38–0
60LFebruary 24, 19743–5Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)21–39–0
61LFebruary 26, 19742–4@ Chicago Cougars (1973–74)21–40–0
62LFebruary 27, 19744–5@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)21–41–0
63LMarch 2, 19747–8@ Jersey Knights (1973–74)21–42–0
64LMarch 3, 19743–5@ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)21–43–0
65LMarch 5, 19743–6Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)21–44–0
66WMarch 8, 19744–1Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)22–44–0
67WMarch 10, 19746–5Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)23–44–0
68LMarch 12, 19741–8@ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74)23–45–0
69LMarch 13, 19742–5@ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74)23–46–0
70LMarch 14, 19740–6Houston Aeros (1973–74)23–47–0
71LMarch 20, 19745–8Jersey Knights (1973–74)23–48–0
72LMarch 22, 19742–5Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74)23–49–0
73WMarch 24, 19746–3Winnipeg Jets (1973–74)24–49–0
74LMarch 27, 19741–7@ New England Whalers (1973–74)24–50–0
75LMarch 28, 19743–9@ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74)24–51–0
76LMarch 30, 19744–5 OT@ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74)24–52–0
77LMarch 31, 19744–5@ Toronto Toros (1973–74)24–53–0
78WApril 4, 19746–4Jersey Knights (1973–74)25–53–0

[3]

Player stats
Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
9-Marc TardifLW754030704701003
18-Gary VeneruzzoW78392968680504
10-J.P. LeBlancC78204666580700
17-Brian McDonaldC56223052540403
6-Gerry OdrowskiD7743236480200
21-Reg ThomasLW72142135220103
12-Ron WardC40141933160302
19-Steve SutherlandLW722012321820404
7-Bart CrashleyD7842630160201
15-Ron WaltersC71141428280103
23-Alton WhiteRW4881321130000
24-Tom ServissC7461521370021
3-Jim NiekampD7621921950000
22-Ron GarwasiukLW51613191000010
20-Don GordonRW298614240100
20-Bob WhitlockC144101440100
16-Ted HodgsonRW233912220200
8/2/4-Jerry ZrymiakD27281080001
5-Bill HortonD60099460000
16-Earl HeiskalaLW24268450000
8-Fred SpeckC1825740000
2-Jim WatsonD48066280000
11-Ted McCaskillC18224630010
Bill YoungLW1613440000
4-Hal WillisD18123240000
4-Ralph MacSweynD1303360000
13-Peter SlaterRW1911220000
16-Kirk BowmanLW1002200000
4-Mike HyndmanRW801100000
4-Brian DerksenD100020000
30-George GardnerG200000000
1-Russ GillowG1800020000
25-Paul HogansonG2700000000
1-Jim McLeodG1700000000
30-Ian WilkieG2300020000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
30-Ian Wilkie1257231190823.911
25-Paul Hoganson13082761601024.680
1-Russ Gillow1041184130693.981
1-Jim McLeod969174130694.271
30-George Gardner1202020136.500
Team:469578255303354.283

[4]

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

The Sharks' decline in the standings and quality of play was poorly timed in that the NHL's Los Angeles Kings across town were beginning a resurgence that would see them make the playoffs for the next decade. The novelty of the WHA wore off, and attendance dropped measurably. After the 1973-74 season, the Sharks moved to Detroit, MI and became the Michigan Stags. After 43 games in Detroit MI, the Stags moved to Baltimore and finished out the season as the Baltimore Blades.

Tom Gilmore traded to Edmonton Oilers for Ron Walters, October, 1973.

George Gardner & Ralph MacSweyn traded to Vancouver Blazers for Ron Ward, October, 1973.

Ian Wilkie purchased from Edmonton Oilers, November, 1973.

Mike Hyndman sold to Phoenix Roadrunners(WHL), December, 1973.

Peter Slater sold to Denver Spurs (WHL), December, 1973.

Russ Gillow & Earl Heiskala traded to Jersey Knights for Jim McLeod, January, 1974.

Don Gordon & Jim Watson traded to Chicago Cougars for Bobby Whitlock, February, 1974.

Ron Ward traded to Cleveland Crusaders for Ted Hodgson & Bill Young, February, 1974.

Ian Wilkie traded to Edmonton Oilers for Wayne Zuk, March, 1974.

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.[5]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
18Reg Thomas (C) CanadaLondon Knights (OHA)
222Paul Sheard (LW) CanadaOttawa 67's (OHA)
334Doug Gibson (C) CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHA)
447Jim Cowell (F) CanadaOttawa 67's (OHA)
450Peter Crosbie (G) CanadaLondon Knights (OHA)
560Dennis Abgrall (RW) CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WCHL)
673Stu Davison (C) CanadaCornwall Royals (QMJHL)
786David Lee (LW) CanadaOttawa 67's (OHA)
898Sam Clegg (G) CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
9109Randy Aimoe (D) CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)

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.
  3. "1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  4. "1973-74 Los Angeles Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  5. "1973 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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