1972–73 WHA season

The 1972–73 WHA season was the first season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Gary Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy and promised to ice twelve teams in various markets around Canada and the United States to rival the National Hockey League. The league instituted a ten-minute sudden-death overtime period for games not decided in the first sixty minutes while still awarding a point for a tie if a goal was not scored; the NHL (which abolished overtime since 1942) did not adopt overtime until 1982. The league championship trophy, the Avco World Trophy, was donated by AVCO Financial Services Corporation along with $500,000. The New England Whalers won the first Avco World Trophy.