1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins season

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 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.

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

^[1]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.

Schedule and results

1977–78 Schedule

October: 3–5–1 (Home: 2–3–0 ; Road: 1–2–1), 7 Points

November: 4–6–3 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 0–6–2), 11 Points

December: 4–6–4 (Home: 2–3–2 ; Road: 2–3–2), 12 Points

January: 5–5–3 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 2–3–1), 13 Points

February: 4–2–5 (Home: 2–2–2 ; Road: 2–0–3), 13 Points

March: 2–11–2 (Home: 1–4–2 ; Road: 1–7–0), 6 Points

April: 3–2–0 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 1–1–0), 6 Points

Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie

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^[2]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Pronovost, JosephJoseph Pronovost	79	40	25	65	-16 !–16	50
Mahovlich, PeterPeter Mahovlich^†	57	25	36	61	4	37
Malone, WilliamWilliam Malone	78	18	43	61	-16 !–16	80
Carr, GeneGene Carr^†	70	17	37	54	-15 !–15	76
Kehoe, RickRick Kehoe	70	29	21	50	-18 !–18	10
Chapman, BlairBlair Chapman	75	24	20	44	-11 !–11	37
Edur, ThomasThomas Edur^†	58	5	38	43	-9 !–9	18
Schultz, DaveDave Schultz^†	66	9	25	34	-9 !–9	378
Bianchin, WayneWayne Bianchin	61	20	13	33	-14 !–14	40
Corrigan, MikeMike Corrigan	25	8	12	20	-7 !–7	10
Stackhouse, RonaldRonald Stackhouse	50	5	15	20	-16 !–16	36
Spencer, BrianBrian Spencer	79	9	11	20	-18 !–18	81
Burrows, DavidDavid Burrows	67	4	15	19	-30 !–30	24
Anderson, RussellRussell Anderson	74	2	16	18	-5 !–5	150
Lee, PeterPeter Lee	60	5	13	18	-11 !–11	19
MacDonald, LowellLowell MacDonald	19	5	8	13	0	2
Paradise, RobertRobert Paradise	64	2	10	12	-30 !–30	53
Flesch, JohnJohn Flesch	29	7	5	12	-7 !–7	19
Larouche, PierrePierre Larouche^‡	20	6	5	11	-13 !–13	0
Owchar, DennisDennis Owchar^‡	22	2	8	10	-12 !–12	23
Campbell, ColinColin Campbell	55	1	9	10	-19 !–19	103
Cassidy, TomTom Cassidy	26	3	4	7	-4 !–4	15
Apps Jr., SylSyl Apps Jr.^‡	9	0	7	7	0	0
Faubert, MarioMario Faubert	18	0	6	6	2	11
Hamilton, JamesJames Hamilton	25	2	4	6	-3 !–3	2
Sanderson, DerekDerek Sanderson	13	3	1	4	-6 !–6	0
Cossette, JacquesJacques Cossette	19	1	2	3	-5 !–5	4
Morrison, LewLew Morrison	8	0	2	2	3	0
Monahan, HartlandHartland Monahan^‡	7	2	0	2	-7 !–7	2
Price, ThomasThomas Price	10	0	0	0	-4 !–4	0
Davis, KimKim Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total		254	411	665	—	1,280

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[3]
Player	GP	W	L	T	GA
Herron, DenisDenis Herron	60	20	25	15	210
Wilson, DuncDunc Wilson	21	5	11	3	95
Redquest, GregGreg Redquest	1	0	0	0	3
Laxton, GordonGordon Laxton	2	0	1	0	9
Total		25	37	18	317

^†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.

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
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	USA !	Anderson, RussellRussell Anderson	2.0 !D	L	23	1975	Minneapolis, Minnesota
14	CAN !	Bianchin, WayneWayne Bianchin	7.0 !RW	L	24	1973	Nanaimo, British Columbia
4	CAN !	Burrows, DavidDavid Burrows	2.0 !D	L	29	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
6	CAN !	Campbell, ColinColin Campbell	2.0 !D	L	25	1973	Toronto, Ontario
26	CAN !	Carr, GeneGene Carr	4.0 !C	L	26	1971	Nanaimo, British Columbia
28	CAN !	Cassidy, TomTom Cassidy	4.0 !C	L	26	1972	Blind River, Ontario
9	CAN !	Chapman, BlairBlair Chapman	7.0 !RW	R	21	1976	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
27	CAN !	Corrigan, MikeMike Corrigan	6.0 !LW	L	32	Undrafted	Ottawa, Ontario
20	CAN !	Cossette, JacquesJacques Cossette	7.0 !RW	R	23	1974	Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
16	CAN !	Davis, KimKim Davis	4.0 !C	L	20	1977	Flin Flon, Manitoba
2	CAN !	Edur, ThomasThomas Edur	2.0 !D	R	23	1974	Toronto, Ontario
5	CAN !	Faubert, MarioMario Faubert	2.0 !D	R	23	1974	Valleyfield, Quebec
11	CAN !	Flesch, JohnJohn Flesch	7.0 !RW	L	24	1973	Sudbury, Ontario
23	CAN !	Hamilton, JamesJames Hamilton	7.0 !RW	L	21	1977	Barrie, Ontario
1	CAN !	Herron, DenisDenis Herron	1.0 !G	L	25	1972	Chambly, Quebec
17	CAN !	Kehoe, RickRick Kehoe	7.0 !RW	R	26	1971	Windsor, Ontario
30	CAN !	Laxton, GordonGordon Laxton	1.0 !G	L	23	1975	Montreal, Quebec
10	GBR !	Lee, PeterPeter Lee	7.0 !RW	R	22	1976	Ellesmere, Great Britain
18	CAN !	MacDonald, LowellLowell MacDonald	6.0 !LW	R	36	Undrafted	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
20	CAN !	Mahovlich, PeterPeter Mahovlich	4.0 !C	L	31	1963	Timmins, Ontario
12	CAN !	Malone, WilliamWilliam Malone	4.0 !C	L	22	1976	Fredericton, New Brunswick
16	CAN !	Morrison, LewLew Morrison	7.0 !RW	R	30	1968	Gainsborough, Saskatchewan
24	USA !	Paradise, RobertRobert Paradise	2.0 !D	L	34	Undrafted	St. Paul, Minnesota
25	CAN !	Price, ThomasThomas Price	2.0 !D	—	23	1974	Toronto, Ontario
19	CAN !	Pronovost, JosephJoseph Pronovost	7.0 !RW	R	32	Undrafted	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
25	CAN !	Redquest, GregGreg Redquest	1.0 !G	L	21	1976	Toronto, Ontario
16	CAN !	Sanderson, DerekDerek Sanderson	4.0 !C	L	31	Undrafted	Niagara Falls, Ontario
8	CAN !	Schultz, DaveDave Schultz	6.0 !LW	L	28	1969	Waldheim, Saskatchewan
22	CAN !	Spencer, BrianBrian Spencer	6.0 !LW	L	28	1969	Fort St. James, British Columbia
3	CAN !	Stackhouse, RonaldRonald Stackhouse	2.0 !D	R	28	1969	Haliburton, Ontario
29	CAN !	Wilson, DuncDunc Wilson	1.0 !G	L	30	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario

Draft picks

The 1977 NHL Amateur Draft was held in Montreal, Quebec.^[4]

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

↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
↑ "1977–1978 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
↑ "1977–1978 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.

Pittsburgh Penguins seasons

1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1977–78 NHL season

Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia

Adams	Boston Buffalo Cleveland Toronto

Norris	Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington

Smythe	Chicago Colorado Minnesota St. Louis Vancouver

See also	Draft All-Star Game 1978 Stanley Cup Finals

Pittsburgh Penguins

Founded in 1967
Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Franchise

History

Personnel

Owners: Ronald Burkle; Mario Lemieux
General manager: Jim Rutherford
Head coach: Mike Sullivan
Team captain: Sidney Crosby
Current roster

Arenas

Main facilities: Civic Arena; PPG Paints Arena

Training facilities: Brantford Civic Centre; Rostraver Ice Garden; Island Sports Center; IceoPlex at Southpointe; UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex

Rivalries

Affiliates

AHL: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

ECHL: Wheeling Nailers

General managers

Head coaches

Media

Networks

TV	Root Sports Pittsburgh

Radio	WXDX WBGG

Broadcasters

TV	Paul Steigerwald Bob Errey

Radio	Mike Lange Phil Bourque

Culture and lore

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