1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's eighth season in the National Hockey League. It was also the Penguins first season in the Norris division of the Prince of Wales Conference. The team qualified for the playoffs for the third time in franchise history, losing to the New York Islanders after gaining a 3–0 lead (in a best-of-seven series) in the quarter-final round.

1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division3rd Norris
Conference5th Wales
1974–75 record37–28–15
Goals for326
Goals against289
Team information
General managerJack Button
CoachMarc Boileau
CaptainRon Schock
Alternate captainsSyl Apps
Dave Burrows
Bob Paradise
ArenaPittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
GoalsJean Pronovost (43)
AssistsRon Schock (63)
PointsRon Schock (86)
Penalty minutesColin Campbell (172)
WinsGary Inness (24)
Goals against averageGary Inness (3.09)

Offseason

In early 1975, newspapers reported that the California Golden Seals and Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976–77 season. After staunchly rejecting previous franchise relocation attempts, league president Clarence Campbell saw this as a method by which the NHL might extricate itself from two problem markets, while honoring the expansion commitments it had made. However Seattle Totems owner Vince Abbey missed an opportunity to acquire the Penguins when they were sold in a bankruptcy auction for $4.4 million in June 1975.[1] The Penguins ended up staying in Pittsburgh and ultimately, over time, made Pittsburgh one of the NHL's stronger markets.[2][3]

Regular season

Final standings
Norris Division[4]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Montreal Canadiens80471419374225+149113
2Los Angeles Kings80421721269185+84105
3Pittsburgh Penguins80372815326289+3789
4Detroit Red Wings80234512259335−7658
5Washington Capitals808675181446−26521

Schedule and results
1974–75 Schedule
October: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–2–1 ; Road: 1–2–0), 5 Points
November: 6–6–3 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 3–4–1), 15 Points
December: 4–6–4 (Home: 3–0–4 ; Road: 1–6–0), 12 Points
January: 8–3–2 (Home: 7–0–1 ; Road: 1–3–1), 18 Points
February: 7–3–3 (Home: 3–1–2 ; Road: 4–2–1), 17 Points
March: 9–4–2 (Home: 7–0–0 ; Road: 2–4–2), 20 Points
April: 1–2–0 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 0–2–0), 2 Points
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

Preliminary Round vs. St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh won series 2–0

Quarterfinals vs. New York Islanders
New York won series 4–3

Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[7]
Player GP W L T GA SO
Gary Inness572418101612
Michel Plasse†20954730
Bob Johnson12341400
Denis Herron‡3110110
Total3728152852
Playoffs[8]
Player GP W L T GA SO
Gary Inness9540240
Total540240

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records
  • Jean Pronovost became the first player to score 300 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–5 tie with Boston on October 23.
  • Syl Apps Jr. became the first player to record 200 assists for the Penguins. He did so in a 7–5 win over Toronto on December 30.
  • Jean Pronovost became the first person to play 500 games for the Penguins. He did so in an 8–6 win over New York on March 2.
  • Pierre Larouche established a rookie record for the Penguins in terms of goals (31) assists (37) and points (68).
  • Ron Schock established a new franchise record for assists in a season with 63, besting the previous high of 61 held by Syl Apps Jr..
  • Ron Schock established a new franchise record for points in a season with 86, besting the previous high of 85 held by Syl Apps Jr..
  • Ron Stackhouse established a new franchise defenseman record for assists (45) and points (60) in a season. He topped the previous highs held by Duane Rupp (28 assists) and Darryl Edstrand (39 points).

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1974–75 season:

Trades
June 4, 1974 To Vancouver Canucks

Ab DeMarco Jr.

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Barry Wilkins

September 13, 1974 To Toronto Maple Leafs

Blaine Stoughton
1977 1st round pick

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Rick Kehoe

November 2, 1974 To Vancouver Canucks

Ab DeMarco Jr.

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Barry Wilkins

December 14, 1974 To Washington Capitals

Ron Lalonde

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Lew Morrison

January 10, 1975 To Kansas City Scouts

Denis Herron
Jean-Guy Lagace

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Michel Plasse

January 20, 1975 To St. Louis Blues

Bernie Lukowich

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Bob Stumpf

January 21, 1975 To Washington Capitals

Ron Jones

 To Pittsburgh Penguins

Pete Laframboise

Additions and subtractions
Additions
PlayerFormer teamVia
Harvey BennettDes Moines Capitols (IHL)free agency (1974–06–25)
Kelly PrattJacksonville Barons (AHL)free agency (1974–07–15)
Subtractions
PlayerNew teamVia
Andy BrownIndianapolis Racers (WHA)free agency (1974)
Duane RuppVancouver Blazers (WHA)free agency (1974–06)
Jim WileyVancouver CanucksIntra-League Draft (1974–06–10)
Robin BurnsKansas City ScoutsExpansion Draft (1974–06–12)
Yvon LabreWashington CapitalsExpansion Draft (1974–06–12)
Ted SnellKansas City ScoutsExpansion Draft (1974–06–12)

Roster
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
26 Syl Apps Jr. (A) C R 27 1964 Toronto, Ontario
9 Ernest Arnason RW R 23 1971 Dauphin, Manitoba
28 Harvey Bennett C L 22 Undrafted Cranston, Rhode Island
27 Yves Bergeron RW R 23 1972 Malartic, Quebec
14 Wayne Bianchin RW L 21 1973 Nanaimo, British Columbia
4 David Burrows (A) D L 26 Undrafted Toronto, Ontario
6 Colin Campbell D L 22 1973 Toronto, Ontario
23 Nelson Debenedet LW L 27 Undrafted Cordenons, Italy
7 Steve Durbano D L 23 1971 Toronto, Ontario
24 Mario Faubert D R 20 1974 Valleyfield, Quebec
11 Vic Hadfield LW L 34 Undrafted Oakville, Ontario
30 Gary Inness G L 25 Undrafted Toronto, Ontario
1 Bob Johnson G L 26 Undrafted Farmington, Michigan
8 Rick Kehoe RW R 23 1971 Windsor, Ontario
22 John Kelly RW L 28 1967 Fort William, Ontario
27 Pete Laframboise LW L 25 1970 Ottawa, Ontario
10 Pierre Larouche C R 19 1974 Taschereau, Quebec
18 Lowell MacDonald LW R 33 Undrafted New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
15 Bob McManama C L 23 Undrafted Belmont, Massachusetts
16 Lew Morrison RW R 27 1968 Gainsborough, Saskatchewan
25 Dennis Owchar D R 22 1973 Dryden, Ontario
2 Robert Paradise (A) D L 31 Undrafted St. Paul, Minnesota
31 Michel Plasse G L 26 1968 Montreal, Quebec
12 Kelly Pratt RW R 22 Undrafted High Prairie, Alberta
19 Jean Pronovost RW R 29 Undrafted Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
17 Ron Schock (C) C L 31 Undrafted Chapleau, Ontario
3 Ronald Stackhouse D R 25 1969 Haliburton, Ontario
29 Bob Stumpf RW R 22 1973 Milo, Alberta
5 Barry Wilkins D L 28 Undrafted Toronto, Ontario

Draft picks
See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1974 NHL amateur draft.[9]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 8 Pierre Larouche C  Canada Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
2 27[a] Jacques Cossette RW  Canada Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
4 62 Mario Faubert D  Canada St. Louis University (NCAA)
5 80 Bruce Aberhart G  Canada London Knights (OHA)
6 98 William Schneider LW  United States University of Minnesota (NCAA)
7 116 Rob Laird LW  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)
8 133 Larry Finck D  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
9 150 Jim Chicoyne D  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
10 166 Rick Uhrich RW  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)
11 181 Serge Gamelin RW  Canada Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
12 195 Rich Perron D  Canada Quebec Ramparts (QMJHL)
13 206 Rick Hindmarch RW  Canada University of Calgary (CIAU)
14 216 Bill Davis D  Canada Colgate University (NCAA)
15 223 James Mathers D  United States Northeastern University (NCAA)
Draft notes[10]

References
  • "1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  • Player stats at Hockey Database
  • Game log on NHL Database
  1. "Seattle group bids today for Penguins". The Seattle Times. June 30, 1975. p. F1.
  2. Anderson, Shelly (2007-11-07). "Penguins Notebook: In this case, No. 20 ranking is huge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  3. Collier, Gene (2008-05-25). "This is Hockeytown?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  4. "1974-1975 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  5. "1974–1975 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  6. "1974–1975 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  7. "1974–1975 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  8. "1974–1975 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
  9. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  10. "1974 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
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