1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 86 Dennis Maruk Hockey Card (Front)
1976-77 O-Pee-Chee 86 Dennis Maruk Hockey Card (Back)
1976-77 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
One of only three Seals’ players to play in every game last season. Dennis makes up for his lack of size with strong scoring punch. He led California with five shorthanded goals. Dennis was named MVP for 1974-75 in the OHA.
En Français
Dennis et deux autres joueurs des Seals participèrent à chaque match de 1975-76. En dépit de sa taille moyenne, Dennis est un bon compteur. J.P.U. de l’A.H.O. pour 1974-75.
Details
Along with Dennis Maruk, Al MacAdam and Bob Girard also played the full schedule for the California Seals in 1975-76. With 62 points on 30 goals and 32 assists, Maruk finished a single point behind MacAdam for the team lead. The performance placed the rookie third in voting for the Calder Trophy behind Glenn Resch and winner Bryan Trottier.
He made his mark early in the season with a four goal game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On November 18, 1975, the Seals were visiting the Pens at the Civic Arena. The score ended up 5-3 with Maruk scoring all but one of the goals for California. His hat trick goal was one of the shorthanded goals mentioned in the info snippet on the back of this card. Gary Inness was in net for the Penguins.
Dennis was the Red Tilson Trophy winner in 1974-75 as a member of the London Knights. In his three seasons with London, Maruk totaled no less than 112 points each year. In his final campaign, he scored 66 goals and assisted on 79 for 145 points. This placed him third in the overall scoring race behind Bruce Boudreau and Tim Young.
Despite his powerful offensive abilities, Maruk was overlooked until the second round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. In the end, the only player picked ahead of him to play more games in the NHL was Mel Bridgman. The only other player in that draft to finish their NHL career with more points was Dave Taylor, a lowly 15th round pick by the Los Angeles Kings.
Between 1975-76 and 1988-89, Dennis Maruk appeared in 888 regular season and 34 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Washington Capitals and Minnesota North Stars. He was the first in Washington history to score 50 and 60 goals. His 76 assists and 136 points put up in 1981-82 remain as franchise records today.