1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	4th Norris
Conference	7th Wales
1977–78 record	25–37–18
Goals for	254
Goals against	321
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Johnny Wilson
Captain	Jean Pronovost
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Jean Pronovost (40)
Assists	Greg Malone (43)
Points	Jean Pronovost (65)
Penalty minutes	Dave Schultz (378)
Wins	Denis Herron (20)
Goals against average	Denis Herron (3.57)

The 1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 11th in the National Hockey League. They finished fourth in the Norris Division, thus did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. This was their worst regular season since 1974, with only 68 points, and the first time since 1974 that the Penguins did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

In the off-season head coach Ken Schinkel was replaced by former Kings, Red Wings and Rockies head coach Johnny Wilson. Veterans Vic Hadfield and Ed Van Impe retired. Defensive forward J. Bob Kelly's contract ended and he took his services to Chicago, while Captain Ron Schock was traded to the Sabres (Jean Pronovost was named captain in his place).

Regular season

In an attempt to replace Kelly general manager Baz Bastien acquired former Flyer enforcer Dave Schultz early in the season, but the price was high: Syl Apps, Jr., one of the team's all-time leading scorers. Schultz was traded the following season.

Frustrated with the performance of talented winger Pierre Larouche, Bastien dealt the 22-year-old to the Montreal Canadiens for veteran Pete Mahovlich and prospect Peter Lee on November 29, 1977. Larouche would go on to win two Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens, while Mahovlich was traded to the Red Wings less than two years later. Lee would fail to live up to his promise, scoring an average of only 0.57 points per game over the course of six seasons with the Penguins.

The high roster turnover, particularly from three of the previous season's top five scorers, contributed to the Penguins missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

Division standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	59	10	11	359	183	129
Detroit Red Wings	80	32	34	14	252	266	78
Los Angeles Kings	80	31	34	15	243	245	77
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	25	37	18	254	321	68
Washington Capitals	80	17	49	14	195	321	48

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

The Penguins failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1973–74 season, ending their three season playoff streak.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jean Pronovost	79	40	25	65	–16	50
Peter Mahovlich†	57	25	36	61	4	37
Greg Malone	78	18	43	61	–16	80
Gene Carr†	70	17	37	54	–15	76
Rick Kehoe	70	29	21	50	–18	10
Blair Chapman	75	24	20	44	–11	37
Tom Edur†	58	5	38	43	–9	18
Dave Schultz†	66	9	25	34	–9	378
Wayne Bianchin	61	20	13	33	–14	40
Mike Corrigan	25	8	12	20	–7	10
Ron Stackhouse	50	5	15	20	–16	36
Brian Spencer	79	9	11	20	–18	81
Dave Burrows	67	4	15	19	–30	24
Russ Anderson	74	2	16	18	–5	150
Peter Lee	60	5	13	18	–11	19
Lowell MacDonald	19	5	8	13	0	2
Bob Paradise	64	2	10	12	–30	53
John Flesch	29	7	5	12	–7	19
Pierre Larouche‡	20	6	5	11	–13	0
Dennis Owchar‡	22	2	8	10	–12	23
Colin Campbell	55	1	9	10	–19	103
Tom Cassidy	26	3	4	7	–4	15
Syl Apps Jr.‡	9	0	7	7	0	0
Mario Faubert	18	0	6	6	2	11
James Hamilton	25	2	4	6	–3	2
Derek Sanderson	13	3	1	4	–6	0
Jacques Cossette	19	1	2	3	–5	4
Lew Morrison	8	0	2	2	3	0
Hartland Monahan‡	7	2	0	2	–7	2
Thomas Price	10	0	0	0	–4	0
Kim Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total		254	411	665	—	1,280

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Denis Herron	60	20	25	15	210	0
Dunc Wilson	21	5	11	3	95	0
Greg Redquest	1	0	0	0	3	0
Gordon Laxton	2	0	1	0	9	0
Total		25	37	18	317	0

^†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

• Ron Stackhouse became the first defenseman to score 200 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 7–4 win over Chicago on November 12th.
• Jean Pronovost became the first person to play 700 games for the Penguins. He did so in a 3–5 loss to Los Angeles on December 8th.
• Jean Pronovost became the first player to score 300 goals for the Penguins. He did so in a 3–1 win over New York on January 22nd.
• Jean Pronovost became the first player to score 600 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–3 win over Toronto on April 2nd.
• Jean Pronovost established a career franchise record for games (753), goals (316) and points (603). He had led in goals since 1972 and games and points since 1973.
• Syl Apps, Jr. established a career franchise record for assists (349). He had led the category since 1972.
• Dave Schultz established a franchise record for penalty minutes in a season with 378. He was also the first to record 300 PIMs in a season, beating the previous high of 212 held by Bryan Watson.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season:

Trades

September 20, 1977	To Buffalo Sabres Ron Schock	To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Spencer
October 1, 1977	To Washington Capitals rights to Don Awrey	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Paradise
October 16, 1977	To Washington Capitals 1979 1st round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Hartland Monahan
November 2, 1977	To Los Angeles Kings Syl Apps Jr. Hartland Monahan	To Pittsburgh Penguins Gene Carr Dave Schultz 1978 4th round pick
November 29, 1977	To Montreal Canadiens Pierre Larouche future considerations (rights to Peter Marsh)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Peter Lee Pete Mahovlich
December 2, 1977	To Colorado Rockies Dennis Owchar	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Edur
June 13, 1978	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Burrows 1978 6th round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Randy Carlyle George Ferguson

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Tom Cassidy Boston Bruins free agency (1977-10-11) John Flesch Minnesota North Stars free agency (1978-02-04) Derek Sanderson Vancouver Canucks free agency (1978-03-14)

Subtractions Player New team Via J. Bob Kelly Chicago Black Hawks free agency (1977-08-17) Peter Marsh Montreal Canadiens to complete trade that sent Pierre Larouche to Canadiens (1977-12-15)

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
7		Russell Anderson	D	L	23	1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota
14		Wayne Bianchin	RW	L	24	1973	Nanaimo, British Columbia
4		David Burrows	D	L	29	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
6		Colin Campbell	D	L	25	1973	Toronto, Ontario
26		Gene Carr	C	L	26	1971	Nanaimo, British Columbia
28		Tom Cassidy	C	L	26	1972	Blind River, Ontario
9		Blair Chapman	RW	R	21	1976	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
27		Mike Corrigan	LW	L	32	Undrafted	Ottawa, Ontario
20		Jacques Cossette	RW	R	23	1974	Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
16		Kim Davis	C	L	20	1977	Flin Flon, Manitoba
2		Thomas Edur	D	R	23	1974	Toronto, Ontario
5		Mario Faubert	D	R	23	1974	Valleyfield, Quebec
11		John Flesch	RW	L	24	1973	Sudbury, Ontario
23		James Hamilton	RW	L	21	1977	Barrie, Ontario
1		Denis Herron	G	L	25	1972	Chambly, Quebec
17		Rick Kehoe	RW	R	26	1971	Windsor, Ontario
30		Gordon Laxton	G	L	23	1975	Montreal, Quebec
10		Peter Lee	RW	R	22	1976	Ellesmere, Great Britain
18		Lowell MacDonald	LW	R	36	Undrafted	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
20		Peter Mahovlich	C	L	31	1963	Timmins, Ontario
12		William Malone	C	L	22	1976	Fredericton, New Brunswick
16		Lew Morrison	RW	R	30	1968	Gainsborough, Saskatchewan
24		Robert Paradise	D	L	34	Undrafted	St. Paul, Minnesota
25		Thomas Price	D	—	23	1974	Toronto, Ontario
19		Jean Pronovost (C)	RW	R	32	Undrafted	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
25		Greg Redquest	G	L	21	1976	Toronto, Ontario
16		Derek Sanderson	C	L	31	Undrafted	Niagara Falls, Ontario
8		Dave Schultz	LW	L	28	1969	Waldheim, Saskatchewan
22		Brian Spencer	LW	L	28	1969	Fort St. James, British Columbia
3		Ronald Stackhouse	D	R	28	1969	Haliburton, Ontario
29		Dunc Wilson	G	L	30	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

The 1977 NHL amateur draft was held in Montreal, Quebec.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	30	James Hamilton	Right Wing	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
3	48	Kim Davis	Center	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4	66	Mark Johnson	Center	United States	U. of Wisconsin (NCAA)
6	102	Gregory Millen	Goaltender	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database