It was the first ever meeting between Soviet Union and NHL calibre Canadian ice hockey players.
In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets.
In February 1972, the Miami Screaming Eagles of the WHA signed Bernie Parent to a contract,[1] and when Bobby Hull was signed on June 27, 1972, to play with the Winnipeg Jets, the Chicago Black Hawks sued, claiming a violation of the reserve clause in NHL contracts.
Others soon followed Hull to the WHA, including, J. C. Tremblay, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny McKenzie.
The California Golden Seals, chafing under the unorthodox ownership of the unpopular Charlie Finley, were also a victim of the WHA, losing eight key players.
The 1972 NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 8 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
In addition, the Chicago Black Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals without a captain, the last time this would happen until 2014.
Montreal won the five-game regular season series earning six of ten points.
They last met in the previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals which New York won in a four-game sweep.
[3] 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 1972–73 (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 1972–73 (listed with their last team): NOTE: Plante, Stapleton, Backstrom, Howell and Balon would finish their major professional careers in the World Hockey Association.
HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV.