Sting in the Big Leagues: The Cincinnati Stingers' Journey to the NHL

[Greenert11]

The year is 1977. Star Wars opens in cinemas, Elvis Presley Dies at the age of 42 and Quebec adopts French as the official language. In the world of hockey, the Montreal Canadiens were riding high on their success, having just won their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship by sweeping the Boston Bruins in the finals. This impressive win marked the Canadiens' 20th championship victory in league history, solidifying their reputation as one of the most dominant teams in the NHL.. However, the NHL was not without its challenges, as it was in the midst of a fierce battle against its rival league, the World Hockey Association (WHA). Despite this, the Quebec Nordiques, one of the WHA's original teams, emerged victorious by securing their first Avco Cup championship after a grueling seven-game series against the Bobby Hull-led Winnipeg Jets.

The offseason in hockey provides an opportunity for league officials to discuss possible mergers, and in the 1970s, the NHL and the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA) were engaged in heated negotiations. The NHL had a long history of outlasting rival leagues, including the PCHA and WCHL, but the WHA posed a significant threat. The WHA had driven up player salaries and successfully challenged the NHL's reserve clause, while also luring a number of NHL veterans and rookies to their league. Despite the WHA's initial success, the league faced significant challenges behind the scenes. Teams struggled to keep up with the increasing demands of player salaries, and unstable ownership groups caused frequent relocation and suspension of operations. Ultimately, the WHA found itself losing the war against the NHL.

In the late 1970s, discussions intensified between the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association (WHA) regarding a possible merger. The push for unification was spearheaded by John Ziegler Jr., who had recently been appointed as the President of the NHL and was more open to the idea than his predecessor, Clarence Campbell. Under the proposed merger, six WHA teams - the Cincinnati Stingers, Edmonton Oilers, Houston Aeros, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets - would join the NHL. However, the NHL required a 3/4 majority vote from team owners to approve the merger, meaning that just five owners could prevent the deal from going through. Opposition to the merger was led by Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard, and he had the support of several other teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadian teams were concerned about splitting their revenue from Hockey Night in Canada between three new markets, while Boston didn't want to share its market with a team in the New England area. Chicago had also soured on the idea of the merger after losing their star player, Bobby Hull, to the WHA.

In a historic move, the NHL owners voted 14-4 in favor of a merger with the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1977. This decision brought six WHA teams - the Cincinnati Stingers, Edmonton Oilers, Houston Aeros, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets - into the NHL for the upcoming 1977-78 season. However, each WHA team had to pay a $6 million franchise fee for the right to enter the NHL. Unfortunately, not all WHA teams were included in the merger. The San Diego Mariners, Calgary Cowboys, Minnesota Fighting Saints, and Phoenix Roadrunners all folded during the negotiations. The remaining clubs - the Birmingham Bulls and Indianapolis Racers - received $1.5 million each and joined the Central Hockey League, a minor league owned by the NHL. As part of the merger, the New England Whalers were renamed the Hartford Whalers after the Boston Bruins objected to the team naming themselves after the New England region. Despite this minor setback, each WHA team was able to retain its full roster and player rights, which helped to ensure a smooth transition into the NHL.

The NHL expanded to 24 teams for the 1977-78 season with the addition of the six former WHA teams, which accounted for one-quarter of the league. This gave the former WHA teams significant leverage in league-wide votes, and they quickly established themselves as competitive and respected members of the NHL. For the 1977-78 season, the former WHA teams played only amongst themselves, while the following season they played just two games against each of the 18 NHL teams. This gradual integration into the league allowed the former WHA teams to adjust to the NHL's style of play and helped to ensure a smooth transition for all involved.

[Greenert11]

[Greenert11]

[jcard]

Originally Posted by Greenert11

Attachment 947383

The 1977-98 season? THAT is going to be one long grind…

[Greenert11]

Originally Posted by jcard

The 1977-98 season? THAT is going to be one long grind…

Good eye, fixed now. Thanks.

[Greenert11]

To bolster the team's depth a bit I signed a few free agents

LD Thommy Abrahamsson formerly New England Whalers
LD Pekka Rautakallio formerly Phoenix Roadrunners
RW Gary Sabourin formerly Cleveland Barons
RD Mike Boland formerly Kansas City Scouts
LW Stan Gilbertson formerly Pittsburgh Penguins

These additions should help out the team's extremely weak blueline.

With the emergence of Mike Liut on the goaltending charts, I placed backup Paul Hoganson on the trade block and was able to ship him off to Buffalo.

To Buffalo
(G) Paul Hoganson

To Cincinnati
(RW) Ric Seiling

Ric Seiling is a 19-year-old talented rookie and is sure to play some big games this year for us.

The only other notable transaction was Toronto trading away young star Ian Turnbull and a 7th-round pick to the Flyers for Veteran Ross Lonsberry and rookie Goaltender Rick St. Croix not a good trade for Toronto.

[Greenert11]

In their first preseason game as an NHL franchise, the Cincinnati Stingers faced off against the Boston Bruins at home in front of a crowd of 8,732 excited fans. Unfortunately for the Stingers faithful, the game did not go as planned, and they suffered a heavy defeat, losing 8-2.

The game started off poorly for Cincinnati, with Boston's Milke Milbury scoring the opening goal just 2 minutes into the game, Brad Park would continue the scoring for the Bruins shortly after to extend the lead. The Stingers managed to get on the board early in the first period, with a goal from Rick Dudley, but Boston quickly responded with another goal to secure a two-goal lead. Terry O'Reilly of the Bruins would score the lone goal in the second period, further increasing their lead.

Despite some solid saves from Cincinnati goaltender, Ernie Wakely, the Bruins continued to pour on the pressure in the third period, scoring four more goals to complete the 8-2 victory. Terry O'Reilly was named the first star of the game, with an impressive performance that included one goal and three assists.

While the result was disappointing for the Stingers, there were some positives to take away from the game. Rick Dudley's goal showed that the team had some offensive firepower, and Wakely’s 56-save performance in net gave the team some hope going forward. However, it was clear that the team had a lot of work to do before the start of the regular season.

2-8 L, BOS
3-2 W, @LAK
8-7 W, @PHI
2-2 T, HOU
2-7 L, @ATL
1-5 L, BUF
3-7 L, @PHI

A record of 2-4-1 in preseason, no big surprises there but would like to tighten up defensively as many of the games were blowouts. Robbie Ftorek lead the team with 3 goals and 10 points in preseason.

[jcard]

Originally Posted by Greenert11

Good eye, fixed now. Thanks.

I hope that it was taken in good fun, because that was certainly how it was intended. Your presentation is quite enjoyable to read and reflects an obvious engagement with your project.

[Greenert11]

Originally Posted by jcard

I hope that it was taken in good fun, because that was certainly how it was intended. Your presentation is quite enjoyable to read and reflects an obvious engagement with your project.

It was haha, I write all my text on google docs and use chatgpt to rewrite some of it, and then have a chrome extension for spelling and grammatical errors but mistakes always slip through lol. Thanks for the feedback glad you can enjoy.

[Greenert11]

• Oct 14th, Claude Larose, tied for team lead in goals has been injured after suffering a torn groin, Larose is expected to miss 2-3 months

[Greenert11]

• After the 5-2 win on November 16th against the Quebec Nordiques, Rick Dudley was assessed a lengthy 7-game suspension after an illegal check to the head against a Nordiques Player

[Greenert11]

• December 1st, Ric Seiling is out for 1-2 months with a lower-body injury, Seiling has 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points, and missing him is a big loss

Rough month for the Stingers, ended up trading away some goalie depth and aging players for some younger guys that will hopefully help the team for years to come. Bobby Simpson is a 21 year old winger that was taken in the second round of the 1976 entry draft, Paul Harrison is a 22 year old goalie who was taken in the third round of the 1975 entry draft.
Our goalie tandem is now the youngest in the league at a combined age of 43.

[Greenert11]

The best month for the Stingers yet going 8-4-2. We now have a considerable lead over the Edmonton and Houston for the last playoff spot. Bobby Simpson who we traded for from Atlanta has completely stepped up his game putting up 8 goals, and 3 assists for 11 points in just 15 games.

[Greenert11]

• Feb 26th, Ric Seiling injured again, expected to miss 1-2 months
• Trade Deadline coming up on March 2nd, we will see if any big moves are made. I don't expect to make any moves, i'm content with how the team has performed so far.

[Greenert11]

• Ric Seiling returns from injury in time for the playoffs
• Ended the season with a strong month overtaking Hartford for 3rd in the division which will put us against the Quebec Nordiques in the first round of the playoffs, overall a very successful regular season.

[Greenert11]

[Greenert11]

Well, I certainly did not see this coming. Not only did we sweep the Nordiques three straight we did it in dominating fashion outscoring them 19-8. The Nordiques had been trouble for us all season but the players really stepped up when push came to shove. Blaine Stoughton had a monster series and leads the team in goals (6) assists (5) and points (11). My expectations for this season have been exceeded. Onto the next series!

[Greenert11]

The Jets will be a monumental challenge for the Stingers. The Jets easily took the regular season division title this season with a 106-point year and a goal differential of +123. The team is driven by the Hot Line consisting of 3, 100+ point players in Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson, and Anders Hedberg. Best of luck to the Stingers!

[Greenert11]

[Greenert11]