1976-77 • Franchise

1976-77 Quebec Nordiques

Quebec Nordiques, 1976-77 (Click to enlarge)

Record: 47-31-3, 97 pts
Finish: 1st, East
Playoffs: Won ACVO Cup Championship
Coach: Marc Boileau

Nordiques Preview, 1976-77 • by Barry Wilner • The Hockey News 1977 Yearbook The Quebec Nordiques need no bolstering of their lamp-lighting statistics. They are, however, in dire need of some morale-boosting. The heart of Les Nordiques was torn out by the bloody Calgary series and the hospitalization of Marc Tardif, hockey's top scorer in 1975-76. In addition, the ever useful of Rejean Houle has returned to the Montreal Canadiens. Jean-Guy Gendron has been replaced behind the bench by Mark Boileau, who was hired to improve the team defensively. Tardif's condition is questionable. Without him, the Nordiques will be hard-pressed to finish third in the East. With him, they can be expected to challenge Cincinnati for the runner-up spot behind New England. With Tardif and Houle, they had developed into a mini Montreal-type aggregation of flying Frenchmen. Although the offense undoubtedly will suffer if Tardif is absent, the Nordiques could still rely on Real "Buddy" Cloutier for at least one more season. The MVP of the WHA All-Star game last winter is the brightest young star in the league. By 1977-78 he may be the brightest young star in the NHL for he is coveted by a dozen teams, especially Les Habitants. Usually when Montreal sets its sights on a high-flying Frenchman, he winds up in the tricolour. Cloutier logged 60 goals and 54 assists. Other Nordiques attackmen include Chris Bordeleau, Serge Bernier and defenseman J.-C. Tremblay, who totaled 89 points last year from his blue line post. Both Bordeleau and Bernier topped the 100-point mark. Tremblay will have to concentrate more on defense this year, however, for the Nordiques to be triumphant. Dale Hoganson, the team's best defenseman, is gone, traded to Birmingham. Boileau will have to find help for J.-C. from among a second rate bunch. In goal will be Richard Brodeur, whose 3.82 goals-against average won't impress very many opponents. Brodeur is not a steady netminder, given to moments of indecision and prone to costly mistakes that result in goals. So are his defensemen, so keeping the puck out of the cage will still be a real problem. Quebec allowed 316 goals last year, far higher than Winnipeg's Canadian-division-winning 245 last year. It was the Nordiques super attack, with 371 goals, which enabled Quebec to finish a scant 2 points back of Winnipeg. "All of the players, including the stars, are going to toe the line," Boileau says. "I demand a lot of work from everyone. Start a regular day in the season with 15 minutes of hard skating followed by 50 push-ups before practice begins."

Game Log ... (@ away game, * overtime)

no.	Date	Opponent	Score		w-l-t	pts	gf-ga	no.	Date	Opponent	Score		w-l-t	pts	gf-ga
1.	Oct 9	Calgary	5-2	W	1-0-0	2	5-2	41.	Jan 9	San Diego	5-2	W	25-15-1	51	185-145
2.	Oct 10	Birmingham	*4-3	W	2-0-0	4	9-5	42.	Jan 20	@ New England	5-4	W	26-15-1	53	190-149
3.	Oct 12	San Diego	6-4	W	3-0-0	6	15-9	43.	Jan 22	Calgary	5-3	W	27-15-1	55	195-152
4.	Oct 16	@ New England	8-2	W	4-0-0	8	23-11	44.	Jan 25	Indianapolis	*2-1	W	28-15-1	57	197-153
5.	Oct 17	Cincinnati	2-5	L	4-1-0	8	25-16	45.	Jan 26	Edmonton	*4-5	L	28-16-1	57	201-158
6.	Oct 19	@ Birmingham	*6-5	W	5-1-0	10	31-21	46.	Jan 28	@ Indianapolis	6-5	W	29-16-1	59	207-163
7.	Oct 21	@ Calgary	4-2	W	6-1-0	12	35-23	47.	Jan 29	Cincinnati	7-2	W	30-16-1	61	214-165
8.	Oct 23	Houston	6-2	W	7-1-0	14	41-25	48.	Feb 1	Indianapolis	5-4	W	31-16-1	63	219-169
9.	Oct 26	Phoenix	11-3	W	8-1-0	16	52-28	49.	Feb 2	@ Indianapolis	5-6	L	31-17-1	63	224-175
10.	Oct 29	@ Indianapolis	4-6	L	8-2-0	16	56-34	50.	Feb 4	@ Birmingham	0-7	L	31-18-1	63	224-182
11.	Oct 30	Minnesota	5-1	W	9-2-0	18	61-35	51.	Feb 6	Cincinnati	6-1	W	32-18-1	65	230-183
12.	Nov 2	Phoenix	3-5	L	9-3-0	18	64-40	52.	Feb 8	Winnipeg	2-7	L	32-19-1	65	232-190
13.	Nov 6	Birmingham	6-5	W	10-3-0	20	70-45	53.	Feb 11	@ Indianapolis	5-1	W	33-19-1	67	237-191
14.	Nov 9	Birmingham	4-3	W	11-3-0	22	74-48	54.	Feb 12	@ Houston	3-7	L	33-20-1	67	240-198
15.	Nov 13	Minnesota	2-4	L	11-4-0	22	76-52	55.	Feb 15	@ Houston	2-4	L	33-21-1	67	242-202
16.	Nov 14	Indianapolis	1-3	L	11-5-0	22	77-55	56.	Feb 16	@ San Diego	4-2	W	34-21-1	69	246-204
17.	Nov 16	@ Winnipeg	4-8	L	11-6-0	22	81-63	57.	Feb 19	@ Cincinnati	1-3	L	34-22-1	69	247-207
18.	Nov 18	@ Minnesota	9-5	W	12-6-0	24	90-68	58.	Feb 22	Indianapolis	4-2	W	35-22-1	71	251-209
19.	Nov 19	@ Calgary	1-4	L	12-7-0	24	91-72	59.	Feb 24	@ Birmingham	6-10	L	35-23-1	71	257-219
20.	Nov 21	@ Edmonton	5-6	L	12-8-0	24	96-78	60.	Feb 25	@ Cincinnati	2-5	L	35-24-1	71	259-224
21.	Nov 23	Winnipeg	7-4	W	13-8-0	26	103-82	61.	Feb 26	Birmingham	5-3	W	36-24-1	73	264-227
22.	Nov 25	@ Indianapolis	5-0	W	14-8-0	28	108-82	62.	Mar 1	@ Edmonton	5-4	W	37-24-1	75	269-231
23.	Nov 26	@ Minnesota	2-4	L	14-9-0	28	110-86	63.	Mar 2	@ Winnipeg	*3-4	L	37-25-1	75	272-235
24.	Nov 27	Indianapolis	2-8	L	14-10-0	28	112-94	64.	Mar 5	San Diego	6-0	W	38-25-1	77	278-235
25.	Nov 30	New England	2-1	W	15-10-0	30	114-95	65.	Mar 6	@ New England	2-6	L	38-26-1	77	280-241
26.	Dec 3	@ New England	5-5	T	15-10-1	31	119-100	66.	Mar 8	Phoenix	9-2	W	39-26-1	79	289-243
27.	Dec 5	Winnipeg	6-4	W	16-10-1	33	125-104	67.	Mar 12	Edmonton	3-3	T	39-26-2	80	292-246
28.	Dec 7	Edmonton	2-4	L	16-11-1	33	127-108	68.	Mar 13	New England	5-3	W	40-26-2	82	297-249
29.	Dec 9	@ Phoenix	5-4	W	17-11-1	35	132-112	69.	Mar 15	@ Houston	3-4	L	40-27-2	82	300-253
30.	Dec 11	Houston	4-1	W	18-11-1	37	136-113	70.	Mar 17	@ Phoenix	4-3	W	41-27-2	84	304-256
31.	Dec 12	New England	5-1	W	19-11-1	39	141-114	71.	Mar 18	@ Cincinnati	3-7	L	41-28-2	84	307-263
32.	Dec 14	New England	1-3	L	19-12-1	39	142-117	72.	Mar 19	Calgary	8-0	W	42-28-2	86	315-263
33.	Dec 18	@ Calgary	2-4	L	19-13-1	39	144-121	73.	Mar 22	Houston	6-2	W	43-28-2	88	321-265
34.	Dec 19	@ San Diego	3-5	L	19-14-1	39	147-126	74.	Mar 23	@ Cincinnati	6-4	W	44-28-2	90	327-269
35.	Dec 21	@ Birmingham	2-3	L	19-15-1	39	149-129	75.	Mar 24	@ Indianapolis	3-4	L	44-29-2	90	330-273
36.	Dec 22	@ Minnesota	4-3	W	20-15-1	41	153-132	76.	Mar 26	Cincinnati	4-6	L	44-30-2	90	334-279
37.	Dec 26	@ Winnipeg	12-3	W	21-15-1	43	165-135	77.	Mar 27	Cincinnati	4-0	W	45-30-2	92	338-279
38.	Dec 28	@ Edmonton	3-2	W	22-15-1	45	168-137	78.	Apr 2	@ Phoenix	*6-5	W	46-30-2	94	344-284
39.	Jan 4	New England	5-3	W	23-15-1	47	173-140	79.	Apr 3	@ San Diego	0-7	L	46-31-2	94	344-291
40.	Jan 7	@ New England	7-3	W	24-15-1	49	180-143	80.	Apr 5	New England	7-2	W	47-31-2	96	351-293
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	81.	Apr 6	@ Cincinnati	2-2	T	47-31-3	97	353-295

Player Scoring

pos.	#	Player	gp	g	a	pts	pim	+/-	ppg	shg	sog	sc%	gp	g	a	pts	pim
G	25	Aubry, Serge	21	0	1	1	0	-	0	0	0	-	3	0	0	0	0
D	4	Baxter, Paul	66	6	17	23	244	+14	0	0	123	0.049	12	2	2	4	35
D	24	Bernier, Jean	72	2	13	15	23	+2	1	0	115	0.017	9	0	2	2	0
C	21	Bernier, Serge	74	43	53	96	94	+1	11	4	293	0.147	17	14	22	36	10
C	11	Bordeleau, Christian	72	32	75	107	34	+28	6	0	230	0.139	8	4	5	9	0
RW	17	Bordeleau, Paulin	80	42	41	83	52	+7	8	8	210	0.200	16	12	9	21	12
LW	18	Boudrias, Andre	74	12	31	43	12	+3	1	0	92	0.130	17	3	12	15	6
RW	15	Brackenbury, Curt	77	16	13	29	146	+2	0	0	112	0.143	17	3	5	8	51
G	1	Brodeur, Richard	53	0	1	1	0	-	0	0	0	-	17	0	2	2	0
RW	9	Cloutier, Real	76	66	75	141	39	+47	25	1	332	0.199	17	14	13	27	10
LW	14	Constantin, Charles	77	14	19	33	93	+1	1	0	117	0.120	15	0	1	1	15
D	7	Dorey, Jim	73	13	34	47	102	+26	1	3	135	0.096	10	0	2	2	28
LW	20	Dube, Norm	39	15	18	33	8	+11	1	0	75	0.200	14	3	12	15	11
D	20	Dubois, Michel	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.000	2	0	1	1	0
C	12	Fitchner, Bob	81	9	30	39	105	+1	1	0	110	0.082	17	3	3	6	16
C	16	Grenier, Richard	34	11	9	20	4	-6	2	0	60	0.183	-	-	-	-	-
LW	6	Guite, Pierre	35	2	6	8	67	-3	0	0	48	0.042	17	5	0	5	9
G	30	Humphreys, Ed	22	0	1	1	0	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
D	22	Lacombe, Francois	81	5	22	27	86	+17	0	0	141	0.035	17	4	3	7	16
D	5	Lariviere, Garry	15	0	3	3	8	+7	0	0	18	0.000	17	0	10	10	10
D	10	Roy, Pierre	29	3	5	8	50	+10	0	0	35	0.086	-	-	-	-	-
LW	19	Sutherland, Steve	36	6	9	15	34	+6	0	0	60	0.100	17	5	0	5	16
LW	8	Tardif, Marc	62	49	60	109	65	+29	10	0	220	0.223	12	4	10	14	8
D	3	Tremblay, J.C.	53	4	31	35	10	+2	2	0	75	0.053	17	2	9	11	2
D	2	Weir, Wally	69	3	17	20	197	+13	0	0	123	0.024	17	1	5	6	13

Goaltending

Goaltender	gp	min	ga	en	so	w-l-t	gaa	sog	sv%	gp	min	ga	w-l	gaa
Aubry, Serge	21	769	51	2	1	6-8-0	3.98	370	0.862	3	18	1	0-0	3.33
Brodeur, Richard	53	2906	167	1	2	29-18-2	3.45	1392	0.880	17	1007	55	12-5	3.28
Humphreys, Ed	22	1240	74	0	1	12-8-1	3.58	617	0.880	-	-	-	-	-

Transactions

• Paul Baxter signed to contract, Jun 1976
• Richard Grenier acquired from Calgary for future considerations, Jul 1976
• Francois Lacombe acquired from Calgary for future considerations, Aug 1976
• Rights to Paulin Bordeleau acquired from Birmingham for future considerations, Aug 1976
• Jim Corsi, Wally Weir signed to contracts, Sep 1976
• Rights to Andre Boudrias acquired from Minnesota for rights to Gord Gallant, Sep 1976
• Jim Dorey acquired from Birmingham as future consideration of trade for Dale Hoganson, Sep 1976
• Pierre Roy traded to Cincinnati for Pierre Guite, Jan 1977
• Garry Lariviere purchased from Phoenix, Mar 1977

Splits versus opposing teams, home and away, and by month

opponent	overall	gf-ga	home	gf-ga	away	gf-ga
Birmingham	5-3-0	33-39	4-0-0	19-14	1-3-0	14-25
Calgary	4-2-0	25-15	3-0-0	18-5	1-2-0	7-10
Cincinnati	4-5-1	37-35	3-2-0	23-14	1-3-1	14-21
Edmonton	2-3-1	22-24	0-2-1	9-12	2-1-0	13-12
Houston	3-3-0	24-20	3-0-0	16-5	0-3-0	8-15
Indianapolis	6-5-0	42-40	3-2-0	14-18	3-3-0	28-22
Minnesota	3-2-0	22-17	1-1-0	7-5	2-1-0	15-12
New England	8-2-1	52-33	5-1-0	25-13	3-1-1	27-20
Phoenix	5-1-0	38-22	2-1-0	23-10	3-0-0	15-12
San Diego	4-2-0	24-20	3-0-0	17-6	1-2-0	7-14
Winnipeg	3-3-0	34-30	2-1-0	15-15	1-2-0	19-15
October	9-2-0	61-35	6-1-0	39-20	3-1-0	22-15
November	6-8-0	53-60	4-4-0	27-33	2-4-0	26-27
December	7-5-1	54-42	3-2-0	18-13	4-3-1	36-29
January	8-1-0	46-28	5-1-0	28-16	3-0-0	18-12
February	6-8-0	50-62	4-1-0	22-17	2-7-0	28-45
March	9-6-1	74-52	6-1-1	45-16	3-5-0	29-36
April	2-1-1	15-16	1-0-0	7-2	1-1-1	8-14

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