The 1976–77 NHL season was the 60th season of the National Hockey League. The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. The Montreal Canadiens once again dominated the playoffs as, for the second straight year, they swept their opponent four games to none in the final series for the Stanley Cup.
Two teams relocated: The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. These were the first franchise moves since the original Ottawa Senators had relocated in 1934 to become the St. Louis Eagles. Instability and the poor performances of the Washington Capitals and the Scouts since the 1974 expansion caused the league to shelve an expansion to Denver and Seattle that had been proposed for this season. Seattle would not have a team until the expansion Seattle Kraken in the 2021–22 season.
This season was Clarence Campbell's last as NHL President before he was succeeded by John Ziegler.
The previous season saw the Montreal Canadiens set new records in wins and points. Both of those records were broken again by the Canadiens this season as, with the highest points percentage in post-expansion NHL history (.825), they had 60 wins and 132 points. Their home record was 33 wins, 1 loss, and 6 ties. Scoring 216 more goals than they allowed, the Canadiens were a full 20 points ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, however, were swept in four straight games by the third-place Boston Bruins in the semi-finals. The Bruins were in turn swept by the Canadiens in four straight in the finals.
On February 2, 1977, Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Ian Turnbull became the first player in NHL history to score five goals on five shots.[1]
[2]
[2]
[2]
[2]
The New York Islanders won six consecutive games before the semifinal and were the only team from the preliminary round to make it to the semifinals, where they lost to the first-ranked, defending, and eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues and dispatched the Islanders in six to reach the final. The losses to the Islanders were the Canadiens' only losses of their playoff run. Second-ranked Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the quarterfinals, before being swept by the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the semifinals.
For the 1977 playoffs, the top three teams in each division were awarded playoff berths. These twelve teams were then ranked 1–12 according to their regular season records, regardless of divisional affiliation. The four division winners automatically qualified for the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight teams (2nd and 3rd place teams in each division) played a preliminary round. For the preliminary round, the best non-division winner played the twelfth-ranked team, the second-best non-division winner played the eleventh-ranked team, and the third-best non-division winner played the third-lowest ranked non-division winner. (This did not necessarily have to be the tenth-ranked team, as a tenth-ranked team could win its division. St. Louis did win the Smythe Division as the tenth-ranked playoff team.) The remaining two non-division winners formed the final preliminary round pairing. The preliminary round consisted of a best-of-three series with game one played on the home ice of the higher-ranked team, and game two on the home ice of the lower-ranked team. If a deciding game three was necessary, it was played on the home ice of the higher-ranked team.
For the quarterfinal, semifinal, and the Stanley Cup Finals, each series was a best-of-seven, with home-ice advantage in games 1, 2, 5, and 7 (if necessary) going to the team with the better regular season record. The other team hosted games 3, 4, and 6 (if necessary). The four preliminary round winners joined the four division winners for the quarterfinals. The matchups were determined according to regular season records regardless of divisional affiliations. Of the eight remaining teams, the top-ranked team played the lowest-ranked remaining team, the second-highest-ranked remaining team played the second-lowest-ranked remaining team, and so on. The four quarterfinal winners advanced to the semifinals, with the match-ups again being reseeded by regular season records. The highest-ranked remaining team played the lowest-ranked remaining team, and the other two teams formed the second semifinal. The two semifinal winners played each other in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points.
Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Black Hawks were originally scheduled as the home team for the second game, but its home rink Chicago Stadium had already been booked that night for the second of three Led Zeppelin concerts.[3]
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Los Angeles won in a two-game sweep.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Toronto won the series 2–1.
This was the third, and as of 2023, most recent, playoff series meeting between the two teams. Montreal won both previous meetings in four-game sweeps in both the 1968 & 1969 Stanley Cup Finals.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings in the last two seasons. The latter of which Philadelphia won in seven games in last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which Boston won in seven games.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which New York won in six games.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Montreal won in five games.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Philadelphia won in five games.
This was the 16th playoff series meeting between these two teams. Montreal lead 13–2 in previous meetings. They last met in the 1971 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which Montreal upset Boston in seven games.
The defending champion Montreal Canadiens took on the "Original Six" rival, the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the Finals. Both teams had swept a series and had lost only two games in the earlier rounds. The Canadiens swept the series in four games to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Source: NHL.[4]
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1976–77 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1976–77 (listed with their last team):
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. CTV stopped regularly airing HNIC-produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts, and started to give the rights to these midweek games back to local stations.
In the U.S., this was the second season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package.