1974–75 Kansas City Scouts season

Offseason

Sid Abel was hired as the general manager of the team on April 13, 1974, signing a three-year contract. Bep Guidolin was hired to be the coach of the team in May 1974.

NHL draft

Expansion draft

Regular season

Along with the Washington Capitals, the Scouts joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season. With a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association, the talent pool available to stock the new teams was extremely thin. In their first season, the Capitals would set an NHL record for futility, losing 67 of 80 games, and only winning one on the road. The Scouts fared only marginally better, and the expansion was widely seen as having been a mistake.

They played their home games at Kemper Arena. The team was not a particular success either at the gate or on the ice. Rising oil prices and a falling commodity market made for hard going in the Midwest during the 1970s.

• October 9, 1974 – The Scouts played their first game in franchise history against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The final score was 6–2 in favor of the Maple Leafs.
• November 2, 1974 – The first home game in Kansas City Scouts history was played. The opponent was the Chicago Blackhawks and the Blackhawks won the game by a score of 5–4.
• November 3, 1974 – The Scouts won their first game in franchise history by defeating their expansion brethren, the Washington Capitals by a 5–4 score.
• November 13, 1974 – The Scouts won their first home game in franchise history. The final score was 5–3 in a triumph over their cross-state rivals, the St. Louis Blues.
• December 9, 1974 – Prior to a morning practice, the team was informed that head athletic trainer Gordon Marchant had committed suicide at his farm near Plattsburg, Missouri north of Kansas City. Clinton County (Missouri) Sheriff Ray Boyd stated Marchant died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Marchant's body was discovered by Scouts equipment manager James Kraus.
• January 23, 1975 – The Scouts had their biggest win of the season by defeating the Boston Bruins by a score of 3–2 in Boston. Gary Croteau's second-period goal turned out to be the game-winner. Following the game, a Boston fan attempted to attack Croteau at the Scouts' bench, but Boston police intervened.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- |1||L||October 9, 1974||2–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||0–1–0 |- |2||L||October 12, 1974||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1974–75) ||0–2–0 |- |3||L||October 13, 1974||2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||0–3–0 |- |4||L||October 18, 1974||2–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) ||0–4–0 |- |5||L||October 19, 1974||0–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) ||0–5–0 |- |6||T||October 23, 1974||4–4 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||0–5–1 |- |7||L||October 25, 1974||3–5 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) ||0–6–1 |- |8||L||October 27, 1974||2–8 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1974–75) ||0–7–1

| Legend:

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Defensemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Transactions

Trades

References

Books

Websites

• Scouts on Hockey Database
• Scouts on Database Hockey
• Scouts Game Log on Database Hockey
• 1974–1975 Scouts Transactions (Archived 2009-05-27)

References

1. [http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/kansascity/kcscouts.html Kansas City Scouts]
2. {{harvnb. Currier. 2022
3. {{harvnb. Currier. 2022
4. {{harvnb. Currier. 2022
5. {{harvnb. Currier. 2022
6. {{harvnb. Treasure. 2018
7. {{harvnb. Treasure. 2018
8. "1974-75 Kansas City Scouts Schedule".