Wha

WHA

By johnfuller86

  • Founding

    Founding
    The world hockey association was founded by Denis Murphy and Gary Davidson. The two also founded the American Basketball Association. They quickly recruited Bill Hunter, president of the western canada hockey league. Murphy and Hunter went across the country to find owners for new franchises. They announced that the league would start in 1972 with 10 teams

  • Problems

    Problems
    The WHA were plagued with problems right from the beginning. The Calgary Broncos, The Dayton Arrows, Miami Screaming Eagles, and The San Fransico Sharks Folded before the first season.

  • Talent in the WHA

    Talent in the WHA
    The WHA took many players from the NHL, including Bernie Parent, Garry Cheevers, Derek Sanders, J.C. Trembly, Ted Green, and Chicago Blackhawks star Bobby Hull. Once Gordie Howe retired from the NHL he was signed by the New England Whalers. The WHA also starting recruiting players from Europe and the United States, which the NHL did not bother to do.

  • Endorsments

    Endorsments
    There were no endorsment deals with the WHA or any of its teams because the league was thought to be a rival league of the NHL and there was more money available in the NHL.

  • Television and Radio

    Television and Radio
    The WHA teams wer brodcasted by local radio and TV stations and were rarely televised nationaly. CBS aired the first nationaly televised game in 1973 when the Winnipeg Jets faced the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

  • Decline and Merger

    Decline and Merger
    There was talk with the NHL and the WHA about merging into one league. This was not very popular with the owners of the NHL. At first, six of the eight teams would move to the NHL. This was due to finiancial troubles in the league.

  • Merger

    Merger
    An announcement was made in early 1979 that four teams from the WHA would join the NHL. The Edmonton Oiler, Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, and Quebec Nordiques joined the league. The NHL treated this as expansion and not as a merger, so every player from the rosters could be taken by other NHL teams and the new teams had to pay a fee of $6 million. The Edmonto Oilers are the only current franchise to survive, the other three times relocated to Carolina, Phoenix, and Colorado

  • Legacy of the WHA

    Legacy of the WHA
    The WHA folded in 1979 after the merger into the NHL. The WHA had lasting affects on the NHL, the NHL started scouting in Europe because of the success the WHA had with Europeans. Some of the best players ever began their careers in the WHA such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. The Edmonton Oilers would become the greatest team to come out of the WHA, winning five stanley cups, and considered to be the team of the decade in the 1980.