Chicago Cougars 1972-73 to 1974-75

Owners

Walter Kaiser

Jordon Kaiser

Rinks

International Amphitheater

Seasons & Leaders

1972-73 Record 26-50-2, 54 pts Coach Marcel Pronovost Goals 33, Rosaire Paiement 31, Rick Morris Assists 63, Bob Sicinski 45, Reggie Fleming Points 88, Bob Sicinski 69, Rosaire Paiement Penalty Min. 117, Rosaire Paiement 95, Reggie Fleming Wins 22, Jim McLeod Goals Against 3.32, Jim McLeod Shutouts 1, Jim McLeod

1973-74 Record 38-35-5, 81 pts Coach Pat Stapleton (player-coach) Jacques Demers (bench) Goals 33, Ralph Backstrom 30, Rosaire Paiement Assists 52, Pat Stapleton 50, Ralph Backstrom Points 83, Ralph Backstrom 73, Rosaire Paiement Penalty Min. 157, Larry Mavety 148, Darryl Maggs Wins 25, Cam Newton Goals Against 3.14, Cam Newton Shutouts 1, Cam Newton

1974-75 Record 30-47-1, 61 pt Coach Pat Stapleton (player-coach) Jacques Demers (bench) Goals 42, Gary MacGregor 27, Francois Rochon Assists 48, Rosaire Paiement 34, Gary MacGregor Points 76, Gary MacGregor 74, Rosaire Paiement Penalty Min. 137, Darryl Maggs 126, Larry Mavety Wins 18, Dave Dryden Goals Against 3.87, Dave Dryden Shutouts 1, Dave Dryden

Complete Roster & Regular Season Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Paiement, Rosaire	234	89	127	216	321
Popiel, Jan	199	71	73	144	187
Mavety, Larry	201	34	98	132	356
Sicinski, Bob	146	36	92	128	26
Backstrom, Ralph	148	48	74	122	54
Liddington, Bob	229	69	40	109	71
Morris, Rick	230	63	46	109	334
Harris, Duke	118	39	57	96	83
Stapleton, Pat	146	10	82	92	82
Whitlock, Bobby	127	39	47	86	97
Fleming, Reggie	119	25	57	82	144
Rochon, Francois	140	39	40	79	46
MacGregor, Gary	78	42	34	76	26
Hardy, Joe	94	25	41	66	63
Maggs, Darryl	155	14	49	63	285
Lomenda, Mark	69	16	33	49	21
Zaine, Rod	220	11	33	44	58
Proceviat, Dick	144	6	37	43	97
Mara, Peter	57	17	21	38	16
Benzelock, Jim	106	15	21	36	56
Coates, Brian	85	22	12	34	40
Lodboa, Dan	59	15	18	33	16
Anderson, Ron F.	75	3	26	29	34
Barber, Butch	75	4	19	23	39
Baltimore, Bryon	77	8	12	20	110
Gordon, Don	65	9	9	18	19
Watson, Jim	60	2	11	13	53
Glenwright, Brian	63	5	7	12	0
Sarrazin, Dick	33	3	8	11	2
Knibbs, Darrel	41	3	8	11	0
Cahan, Larry	78	1	10	11	46
McCallum, Dunc	31	0	10	10	24
Angotti, Lou	26	2	5	7	9
Nesterenko, Eric	29	2	5	7	8
Blanchette, Bernie	24	2	3	5	8
Shmyr, John	43	1	3	4	13
Rombough, Lorne	3	1	2	3	0
Walter, Dave	10	1	1	2	4
Hatoum, Ed	15	1	1	2	2
Kokkola, Keith	33	0	2	2	69
Brackenbury, Curt	4	0	1	1	11
Connelly, Gary	4	0	1	1	2
Dryden, Dave (G)	45	0	1	1	4
McLeod, Jim (G)	54	0	1	1	2
Newton, Cam (G)	77	0	1	1	0
Dumas, Rich (G)	1	0	0	0	0
Forey, Connie	1	0	0	0	0
Jones, James W.	1	0	0	0	0
Menard, Paul (G)	1	0	0	0	0
MacKenzie, Al	2	0	0	0	0
Pritchard, Jim	2	0	0	0	0
Trooien, Jerry	2	0	0	0	0
Viau, Pierre	4	0	0	0	0
Coutu, Rich (G)	21	0	0	0	0
McGlynn, Dick	30	0	0	0	12
Gill, Andre (G)	46	0	0	0	6

Complete Playoff Scoring Totals

Player (G: Goaltender)	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Penalty Min.
Backstrom, Ralph	18	5	14	19	4
Paiement, Rosaire	18	9	6	15	16
Sicinski, Bob	18	6	8	14	0
Popiel, Jan	18	8	5	13	12
Stapleton, Pat	18	0	13	13	36
Hardy, Joe	17	4	8	12	13
Mavety, Larry	18	4	8	12	46
Harris, Duke	18	6	6	12	2
Gordon, Don	18	4	8	12	4
Liddington, Bob	18	6	5	11	11
Maggs, Darryl	18	3	5	8	71
Morris, Rick	18	4	3	7	42
Watson, Jim	18	2	3	5	18
Fleming, Reggie	12	0	4	4	12
Proceviat, Dick	13	0	4	4	10
Benzelock, Jim	18	2	2	4	36
Rochon, Francois	9	2	1	3	0
Coates, Brian	17	0	3	3	35
Zaine, Rod	18	2	1	3	2
Newton, Cam (G)	10	0	0	0	0
Gill, Andre (G)	11	0	0	0	0

Complete Regular Season Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
Cam Newton	77	4637	269	1	37-38-2	3.48
Jim McLeod	54	2996	166	1	22-25-2	3.32
Dave Dryden	45	2728	176	1	18-26-1	3.87
Coutu, Rich	21	1267	80	0	9-11-1	3.79
Gill, Andre	46	2512	164	0	8-31-2	3.92
Dumas, Rich	1	1	0	0	0-0-0	0.00
Menard, Paul	1	45	5	0	0-1-0	6.67

Complete Playoff Goaltending

Goaltender	Games	Minutes	Goals	Shutouts	Record	Average
Gill, Andre	11	614	38	0	6-5	3.71
Newton, Cam	10	486	34	0	2-5	4.20

History

Placing a team in Chicago, if done right and had a few breaks gone the WHA's way, could have been a huge positive for the fledgling league. Unfortunately, the Chicago team encountered obstacle after obstacle, and lasted just three seasons. Chicago, the United States' second-largest city in 1972, was home to the Black Hawks of the NHL, with a loyal and extensive fan base. But not unlike New York, the city was so big that a second team might work, akin to the Cubs-White Sox arrangement the city has had with Major League Baseball. Working in favor of the new team was a planned arena to be built in the suburb of Rosemont, near the O'Hare Airport. The arena would not be ready until 1974, as was first announced. The Cougars, as the new team was known, hoped to be the hockey tenant in the new Arena. Also working in favor of the Chicago entry was the fact that — in July 1972 — the WHA would sign the Black Hawks' biggest star, Bobby Hull, to its new league. Having a team in Chicago meant sure sellouts whenever Hull's Winnipeg Jets came to town. Original franchise rights went to John Tierney in November 1971. But then six months of inaction followed, with two more ownership changes. In Spring 1972, brothers Walter and Jordon Kaiser, two Chicagoland real estate developers, assumed control of the team. The Kaisers were ideal owners, with a background in gymnasiums and fitness centers, and with funds to support the team during its lean initial years. But the Cougars had done little in building a team. A couple of players had been signed but then jumped back to the NHL. As the Kaisers assumed control, there was essentially no team in place and no one in charge. Moving fast, a front office was assembled, Marcel Pronovost was hired to coach, and players were signed. The Cougars would play, for the time being, at the International Amphitheatre. The older arena was too small to fit a standard ice sheet, and it featured odd seating configurations such that the playing surface was "sunk" below the surrounding seats. This was purely a temporary home, the team gambling that the Rosemont Arena (to be called the Horizon) would be ready by 1974. The first-year team featured one NHLer of note, Rosaire Paiement, who had shown he could score goals while playing for the Vancouver Canucks. An old Black Hawk fan favorite, rough-and-tough Reggie Fleming, signed on. Larry Cahan was the only NHLer of note on the backline. Jimmy McLeod and Andre Gill, both with some NHL experience, tended goal. The rest of the team was composed of players formerly buried in the minor leagues and brand-new graduating juniors and collegiate players. The delays ultimately hurt the team. The Cougars started the season on a 2-12-1 run, and ended the season on a 2-12-1 run, losing 50 games overall and the only team to not be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Paiement scored 33 goals to lead the team, and Bob Sicinksi, with no NHL experience, became the team's best playmaker, with 63 assists and 88 points. Fleming had 23 goals, his best year as a pro. Jim McLeod won 22 games and a respectable 3.32 average, but his understudy, Andre Gill, won just 4 of 28 decisions. Over the Summer of 1973, the Cougars inked two star players, Pat Stapleton and Ralph Backstrom, both from the cross-town rival Black Hawks. Backstrom's pedigree included years winning the Stanley Cup with Montreal during the 1960s, plus time with the Los Angeles Kings before moving onto the Black Hawks in 1971. Stapleton was a long-time star defenseman for the Hawks. Acquiring both gave the second-year Cougars instant credibility. Stapleton would assume the player-coach role. Assisting him behind the bench was a young Jacques Demers, in the first of what would be many coaching roles he would assume in the WHA and later, the NHL. Behind Backstrom's 33 goals and Stapleton's 58 points, the improved Cougars secured the fourth-place finish in the Eastern Division with a 38-35-5 record, barely ahead of the Quebec Nordiques. The Cougars then went on the unlikeliest of playoff runs, beating Toronto and last year's champs New England in successive series, both going the full seven games and both clinching wins on enemy ice. The Cougars had advanced to the Championship round of the AVCO Cup playoffs, squaring off against Houston. In a bizarre sequence of events, the travelling production of the play Peter Pan caused delays in both Houston and Chicago. In Houston, games were merely postponed until a free date was open, but in Chicago, the Amphitheatre was completely booked. The only alternative was to play the games at a community skating rink, the Randhurst Twin Ice Arena in suburban Mount Prospect. The Cougars simply could not keep up with Gordie Howe and the Aeros, losing in four straight in the 1974 Finals. By 1974, the arena situation was becoming critical. The Rosemont arena was still drawings on paper. Construction had yet to start, and ultimately would not be completed until 1980. Playing at the Amphitheatre was not possible in the long term. The success of the team in the 1974 playoffs gave cause to play another season, the team now augmented by goaltender Dave Dryden (from Buffalo) and junior scoring star Gary MacGregor (100 goals for Cornwall in 1973-74). Whatever lucky charm the team had in 1973-74 disappeared. The Cougars started slowly and never got untracked, winning just 30 games and losing 47. There was no future for the Cougars in Chicago without a major-league arena, and by late 1974 and none forthcoming, the Kaisers wanted out. When no takers came forward to buy the team, three Chicago players — Ralph Backstrom, Pat Stapleton and Dave Dryden — achieved a sports first by purchasing controlling interest of the Cougars on December 28, 1974. The Kaiser brothers retained the season ticket revenue, and the player-owners could only hope to recoup their investment by the walk-up crowds and a future sale of the team. Unfortunately, attendance to the Cougar games was low, and the three player-owners lost heavily. It was clear that the WHA had played out its string in Chicago. No substantive offers were made to purchase the team, and there was no way it could survive continuing to play in Chicago at the Amphitheater. Instead, a new team, the Denver Spurs, was created in May 1975, stocked with most of the remaining roster of the Cougars team. In June 1975, the Cougars were formally dissolved by the league.

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• Article: Color of Hockey: Alton White (The Hockey News), by William Douglas — March 8, 2020
• Review: US Sports History, by Rick Macales — Feb 6, 2021
• Podcast: Good Seats Still Available, by Tim Hanlon — Feb 28, 2021
• Podcast: Digital to Dice (Youtube), by Dave Gardner — July 3, 2022

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