The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and Prince of Wales Trophy (previously awarded to the first-place finishers of the West Division and East Division respectively) now became awarded to the first-place finishers of the Campbell Conference and the Wales Conference, respectively.
In early 1975, newspapers reported that the California Golden Seals and Pittsburgh Penguins were to be relocated to Denver and Seattle respectively, in an arrangement that would have seen the two teams sold to groups in those cities that had already been awarded "conditional" franchises for the 1976–77 season.
After staunchly rejecting previous franchise relocation attempts, league president Clarence Campbell saw this as a method by which the NHL might extricate itself from two problem markets, while honoring the expansion commitments it had made.
The respective divisional leaders of the Norris (Montreal Canadiens), Patrick (Philadelphia Flyers), and Adams (Buffalo Sabres) all had 113 points.
By virtue of having the most wins, the Flyers were accorded the league's best record and held home-ice advantage in the playoffs, where they eventually met the Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Bobby Orr won the scoring title for the second time, the only defenceman in the history of the NHL to accomplish this feat.
The Kings, with their disciplined defensive style, and excellent goaltending tandem of Rogie Vachon and Gary Edwards, battled Montreal all year for first place.
Proponents of this re-seeding state that it makes the regular season more important by rewarding teams with better records with potentially easier matchups.
In addition, it avoids the potential issue of two lower seeded teams (who may have pulled early round upsets) playing each other in the next round while two higher seeded teams are playing each other (as is possible in a "bracketed" playoff format like in the NBA).
The biggest beneficiary of this format was the Vancouver Canucks, who were ninth overall in the regular season but received a first-round bye for winning the relatively weak Smythe Division.
The team that suffered the most from the new format, the Los Angeles Kings, had the fourth best overall record but had to play in the risky mini series where they were upset by the twelfth-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1.
This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with St. Louis winning the only previous meeting in six games in the 1970 Stanley Cup Semifinals.
The Buffalo Sabres entered the playoffs as the Adams Division champions, the Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions, and the second seed overall earning 113 points during the regular season, losing the most wins tie-breaker to Philadelphia while winning the same tie-breaker over Montreal.
The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the Norris Division champions, and the third seed overall earning 113 points during the regular season, losing the tie-breaker to both Philadelphia and Buffalo in total wins.
This series also marked the first appearance of a team representing Vancouver in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 51 years.
They became the second North American professional sports team (after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs) to accomplish such a feat.
This would mark the last time an NHL team forced a seventh game of a best-of-seven series after trailing 3–0 until the Flyers themselves did so against Boston in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with Montreal winning the only previous meeting in six games in the 1973 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
In the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in six games.
[4] Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Source: NHL.
Unable to sign a U.S. national television contract for the 1975–76 season, the league put together a broadcast syndication package called the NHL Network to have games aired on various independent stations.