1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks season

1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks
Division	6th Western
1973–74 record	25–53–0
Goals for	239
Goals against	339
Team information
Coach	Terry Slater, Ted McCaskill
Team leaders
<1972–73 1974–75 > 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. 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 McCleod 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 Aeros 78 48 25 5 318 219 1038 101 Minnesota Fighting Saints 78 44 32 2 332 275 1243 90 Edmonton Oilers 78 38 37 3 268 269 1273 79 Winnipeg Jets 78 34 39 5 264 296 673 73 Vancouver Blazers 78 27 50 1 278 345 1047 55 Los Angeles Sharks 78 25 53 0 239 339 1086 50 Game log Regular season schedule No. R Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 13, 1973 3–4 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 0–1–0 2 L October 16, 1973 0–3 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 0–2–0 3 L October 18, 1973 2–7 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 0–3–0 4 W October 21, 1973 4–1 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 1–3–0 5 W October 23, 1973 4–3 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 2–3–0 6 L October 24, 1973 2–6 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 2–4–0 7 L October 26, 1973 1–3 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 2–5–0 8 L October 27, 1973 1–3 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 2–6–0 9 W October 28, 1973 2–0 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 3–6–0 10 L October 30, 1973 4–6 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 3–7–0 11 L November 2, 1973 1–5 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 3–8–0 12 L November 3, 1973 4–6 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 3–9–0 13 L November 4, 1973 3–6 @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 3–10–0 14 L November 6, 1973 4–5 OT @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 3–11–0 15 W November 7, 1973 3–1 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 4–11–0 16 W November 9, 1973 4–2 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 5–11–0 17 L November 11, 1973 2–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 5–12–0 18 L November 13, 1973 0–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 5–13–0 19 L November 16, 1973 3–4 OT Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 5–14–0 20 L November 18, 1973 2–5 New England Whalers (1973–74) 5–15–0 21 W November 20, 1973 6–2 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 6–15–0 22 L November 22, 1973 3–4 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 6–16–0 23 W November 23, 1973 2–0 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 7–16–0 24 W November 27, 1973 5–4 OT Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 8–16–0 25 W November 30, 1973 5–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 9–16–0 26 W December 1, 1973 5–4 OT @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 10–16–0 27 L December 4, 1973 2–9 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 10–17–0 28 W December 6, 1973 4–3 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 11–17–0 29 W December 12, 1973 7–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 12–17–0 30 L December 14, 1973 0–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 12–18–0 31 L December 15, 1973 4–6 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 12–19–0 32 W December 16, 1973 5–3 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 13–19–0 33 L December 18, 1973 2–5 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 13–20–0 34 L December 21, 1973 3–4 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 13–21–0 35 L December 22, 1973 3–8 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 13–22–0 36 L December 27, 1973 1–5 New England Whalers (1973–74) 13–23–0 37 L December 30, 1973 4–6 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 13–24–0 38 W January 4, 1974 4–3 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 14–24–0 39 W January 8, 1974 4–1 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 15–24–0 40 L January 10, 1974 1–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 15–25–0 41 L January 12, 1974 4–5 @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 15–26–0 42 L January 13, 1974 6–9 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 15–27–0 43 W January 15, 1974 6–4 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 16–27–0 44 W January 18, 1974 4–1 Toronto Toros (1973–74) 17–27–0 45 W January 19, 1974 3–2 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 18–27–0 46 L January 20, 1974 0–3 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 18–28–0 47 L January 22, 1974 1–3 @ Houston Aeros (1973–74) 18–29–0 48 W January 25, 1974 2–0 Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 19–29–0 49 W January 27, 1974 6–3 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 20–29–0 50 L January 29, 1974 0–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 20–30–0 51 L January 31, 1974 4–5 OT @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 20–31–0 52 L February 1, 1974 0–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 20–32–0 53 L February 3, 1974 2–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 20–33–0 54 L February 7, 1974 4–7 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 20–34–0 55 L February 10, 1974 2–4 Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 20–35–0 56 L February 12, 1974 2–4 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 20–36–0 57 L February 15, 1974 4–6 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 20–37–0 58 L February 17, 1974 0–4 Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 20–38–0 59 W February 20, 1974 4–2 New England Whalers (1973–74) 21–38–0 60 L February 24, 1974 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 21–39–0 61 L February 26, 1974 2–4 @ Chicago Cougars (1973–74) 21–40–0 62 L February 27, 1974 4–5 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 21–41–0 63 L March 2, 1974 7–8 @ New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 21–42–0 64 L March 3, 1974 3–5 @ Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 21–43–0 65 L March 5, 1974 3–6 Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 21–44–0 66 W March 8, 1974 4–1 Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 22–44–0 67 W March 10, 1974 6–5 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 23–44–0 68 L March 12, 1974 1–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1973–74) 23–45–0 69 L March 13, 1974 2–5 @ Vancouver Blazers (1973–74) 23–46–0 70 L March 14, 1974 0–6 Houston Aeros (1973–74) 23–47–0 71 L March 20, 1974 5–8 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 23–48–0 72 L March 22, 1974 2–5 Minnesota Fighting Saints (1973–74) 23–49–0 73 W March 24, 1974 6–3 Winnipeg Jets (1973–74) 24–49–0 74 L March 27, 1974 1–7 @ New England Whalers (1973–74) 24–50–0 75 L March 28, 1974 3–9 @ Quebec Nordiques (1973–74) 24–51–0 76 L March 30, 1974 4–5 OT @ Cleveland Crusaders (1973–74) 24–52–0 77 L March 31, 1974 4–5 @ Toronto Toros (1973–74) 24–53–0 78 W April 4, 1974 6–4 New York Golden Blades/New Jersey Knights (1973–74) 25–53–0 [1] Player stats Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Tardif, 9-Marc9-Marc Tardif LW 75 40 30 70 47 0 10 0 3 Veneruzzo, 18-Gary18-Gary Veneruzzo W 78 39 29 68 68 0 5 0 4 LeBlanc, 10-J.P.10-J.P. LeBlanc C 78 20 46 66 58 0 7 0 0 McDonald, 17-Brian17-Brian McDonald C 56 22 30 52 54 0 4 0 3 Odrowski, 6-Gerry6-Gerry Odrowski D 77 4 32 36 48 0 2 0 0 Thomas, 21-Reg21-Reg Thomas LW 72 14 21 35 22 0 1 0 3 Ward, 12-Ron12-Ron Ward C 40 14 19 33 16 0 3 0 2 Sutherland, 19-Steve19-Steve Sutherland LW 72 20 12 32 182 0 4 0 4 Crashley, 7-Bart7-Bart Crashley D 78 4 26 30 16 0 2 0 1 Walters, 15-Ron15-Ron Walters C 71 14 14 28 28 0 1 0 3 White, 23-Alton23-Alton White RW 48 8 13 21 13 0 0 0 0 Serviss, 24-Tom24-Tom Serviss C 74 6 15 21 37 0 0 2 1 Niekamp, 3-Jim3-Jim Niekamp D 76 2 19 21 95 0 0 0 0 Garwasiuk, 22-Ron22-Ron Garwasiuk LW 51 6 13 19 100 0 0 1 0 Gordon, 20-Don20-Don Gordon RW 29 8 6 14 24 0 1 0 0 Whitlock, 20-Bob20-Bob Whitlock C 14 4 10 14 4 0 1 0 0 Hodgson, 16-Ted16-Ted Hodgson RW 23 3 9 12 22 0 2 0 0 Zrymiak, 8/2/4-Jerry8/2/4-Jerry Zrymiak D 27 2 8 10 8 0 0 0 1 Horton, 5-Bill5-Bill Horton D 60 0 9 9 46 0 0 0 0 Heiskala, 16-Earl16-Earl Heiskala LW 24 2 6 8 45 0 0 0 0 Speck, 8-Fred8-Fred Speck C 18 2 5 7 4 0 0 0 0 Watson, 2-Jim2-Jim Watson D 48 0 6 6 28 0 0 0 0 McCaskill, 11-Ted11-Ted McCaskill C 18 2 2 4 63 0 0 1 0 Young, BillBill Young LW 16 1 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 Willis, 4-Hal4-Hal Willis D 18 1 2 3 24 0 0 0 0 MacSweyn, 4-Ralph4-Ralph MacSweyn D 13 0 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 Slater, 13-Peter13-Peter Slater RW 19 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 Bowman, 16-Kirk16-Kirk Bowman LW 10 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 Hyndman, 4-Mike4-Mike Hyndman RW 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Derksen, 4-Brian4-Brian Derksen D 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Gardner, 30-George30-George Gardner G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gillow, 1-Russ1-Russ Gillow G 18 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Hoganson, 25-Paul25-Paul Hoganson G 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 McLeod, 1-Jim1-Jim McLeod G 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wilkie, 30-Ian30-Ian Wilkie G 23 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Goaltending Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO Wilkie, 30-Ian30-Ian Wilkie 1257 23 11 9 0 82 3.91 1 Hoganson, 25-Paul25-Paul Hoganson 1308 27 6 16 0 102 4.68 0 Gillow, 1-Russ1-Russ Gillow 1041 18 4 13 0 69 3.98 1 McLeod, 1-Jim1-Jim McLeod 969 17 4 13 0 69 4.27 1 Gardner, 30-George30-George Gardner 120 2 0 2 0 13 6.50 0 Team: 4695 78 25 53 0 335 4.28 3 [2] 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. See also 1973–74 WHA season References "1973–74 Los Angeles Sharks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02. "1973-74 Los Angeles Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-02. External links