Bob Leduc: Maine Nordiques

Bob Leduc closed out his professional hockey career in the North American Hockey League. When the Maine Nordiques and the NAHL ceased to exist after the 1976-77 season, so did Leduc’s career. Never did he play in the National Hockey League but Leduc played 158 regular season games in the WHA in the rebel league’s first three seasons.

Bob Leduc – NAHL

Leduc played for the Maine Nordiques in 1975-76 and 1976-77. In his first year, he took on the dual role of player / head coach. Over 67 regular season games, he put in decent numbers with 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points. The Nordiques finished last overall but because the Cape Codders folded mid-season, Maine qualified for the post season. They were an early exit, losing 3-1 to the Beauce Jaros in the opening round.

In 1976-77, Jean-Charles Gravel took over the head coaching duties with the Nordiques and Bob played just 25 regular season games. He contributed four goals and totalled 14 points. Maine was much improved and placed second in the eight team league. In what would be his final year in professional hockey, Leduc added nine points over 12 playoff games. The Nordiques reached the Lockhart Cup finals before being swept in four games by the Syracuse Blazers.

Bob Leduc – Pro Hockey

Between 1964-65 and 1976-77, Bob played in the AHL, EHL, WHA and NAHL. Most of his career was spent in the American Hockey League with the Providence Reds. With Providence, he played 496 regular season games, scoring 129 goals and assisting on 185 for 314 points.

Despite finishing with a below .500 record, in three years Leduc was with the Reds, the team did quite well in the post season. In 1967-68, Providence placed seventh in the eight team league. Yet, they reached the semi-finals before falling to the Quebec Aces, 3-1.

The following year, their regular season status improved to fifth out of eight and the Reds once again advanced to the Calder Cup semi-finals against Quebec. This time, Providence pushed the best of five series to the limit before succumbing to the Aces.

In 1970-71, the AHL was split into two four team divisions. Providence placed first in the Eastern Division, despite having just 69 points over 72 games. The Reds were fourth overall in the league. Once again, they did well in the playoffs, this time advancing all the way to the Calder Cup finals before being swept by the Springfield Kings in four games.

For the World Hockey Association’s inaugural season in 1972-73, Leduc was a member of the Ottawa Nationals. Playing all 78 games, he put in one of best years in pro hockey with 55 points. Bob moved with the Nationals to Toronto for the following season as the franchise became known as the Toros.  Leduc totalled 51 points in just 61 games and the Toros found some success in the playoffs. Toronto reached the semi-finals against the Chicago Cougars and pushed the series to the seven game limit before falling. At one point, Toronto led the series 3-2.

In 1974-75, Leduc took on the dual role of player/head coach with the Toros, although he played in just 19 games during the regular season and none in the playoffs. Toronto placed second in the five team Canadian Division and fifth overall in the 14 team league with 88 points in 78 games. However, the Toros fell in the opening round to the San Diego Mariners in six games.

Bob Leduc – Hockey Card

Bob got his mug on mainstream cardboard just once. The Bob Leduc rookie card appears as number 322 in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set. The last series of that set featured players in their brand new WHA uniforms. Leduc was shown as a member of the Ottawa Nationals.

 

Guy Trottier: Coach and Star of the Buffalo Norsemen

Guy Trottier played his last of 14 years in professional hockey with the Buffalo Norsemen of the NAHL. Trottier also acted as the head coach of the Norsemen, a team that finished fourth in the West Division with 30 wins and 60 points over the 74 game schedule. Buffalo met the Johnstown Jets in the opening round and lost three games to two. The final and deciding game of the series was a 1-0 win by the Jets. Trottier finished the year with a respectable 36 goals and 22 assists for 58 points over 56 regular season games.

Trottier played pro from 1963-64 to 1975-76, appearing in five different leagues, the IHL, AHL, NHL, WHA and NAHL. At the highest level, Guy played 115 games in the National Hockey League between 1968-69 and 1971-72 with the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. His World Hockey Association career lasted 174 games from 1972-73 to 1974-75 with the Ottawa Nationals, Toronto Toros and Michigan Stags.

In just his second year of pro hockey, Trottier tied for fourth place in the IHL with 46 goals as a member of the Dayton Gems. The following year, the numbers improved greatly with Guy placing third with 68 goals and tied for second with 132 points, just one off the leader. In 1966-67, He scored a career high 71 goals with the Gems to lead the IHL, 19 goals more than the second place finisher. His 135 point placed his second, four behind Len Thornson of the Fort Wayne Komets.

Trottier led the American Hockey League in goal scoring for the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons with the Buffalo Bisons. In the first year, he scored 45 goals and in 1969-70, the final year of existence for the Bisons, Guy scored 55.

Only two mainstream hockey cards were ever produced featuring Trottier. His 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee rookie card is valued as a common. The card had him in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. His 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee card is valued at a whopping $8 as it’s part of the first set of WHA hockey cards that came at the back end of the 1972-73 NHL set. Guy is on the card as a member of the Ottawa Nationals.

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957-58	Trois Rivieres Lions	QHL	2	0	0	0	0
1963-64	Phila-.Greensboro	EHL	27	14	16	30	38
1963-64	Port Huron Flags	IHL	42	19	15	34	52
1964-65	Dayton Gems	IHL	68	46	42	88	56
1965-66	Dayton Gems	IHL	66	68	64	132	16
1966-67	Dayton Gems	IHL	67	71	64	135	23
1967-68	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	41	16	19	35	6
1968-69	New York Rangers	NHL	2	0	0	0	0
1968-69	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	72	45	37	82	21
1969-70	Buffalo Bisons	AHL	71	55	33	88	8
1970-71	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	61	19	5	24	21
1971-72	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	52	9	12	21	16
1972-73	Ottawa Nationals	WHA	72	26	32	58	25
1973-74	Toronto Toros	WHA	71	27	35	62	58
1974-75	Dayton Gems	IHL	20	12	5	17	6
1974-75	Toronto Toros	WHA	14	4	4	8	4
1974-75	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades	WHA	17	5	4	9	2
1975-76	Buffalo Norsemen	NAHL	56	36	22	58	59
	NHL Totals		115	28	17	45	37
	WHA Totals		174	62	75	137	89