seemingly unlikely locales of Birmingham, Houston and iation will likely fade from the memories of most hockey Phoenix. Indeed, Phoenix later joined the NHL in an fans, or be remembered for its inefficiently run teams, ironic turn of events, as the Winnipeg Jets moved to sometimes low quality of play (especially in its early Arizona in 1996. Houston has been seriously considered years), and its contributions to the anecdotal history of as an expansion site, while the Deep South now boasts the sport. Its appropriate legacy, however, should be for four clubs: Tampa Bay, Miami (Florida), Raleigh- its pioneering forays into Europe, its adoption of rules Durham (Carolina), and Nashville. The Carolina team is (such as overtime periods) now in use in the NHL, its the relocated Hartford Whalers, who left Connecticut in efforts in “non-traditional” markets, and, most import- 1997. A new expansion team in Atlanta (2000) relocated antly, its choice to abolish the reserve clause and the to Winnipeg in 2011, resurrecting the Jets nickname. resultant rise in players’ freedoms and salaries. The The NHL has enjoyed increased prosperity since World Hockey Association has earned its appreciation: 1979, adding ten new teams through 2017 (and a the league served a progressive, innovative purpose, and probable eleventh in 2021). The World Hockey Assoc- it served it well.

Terms of the 1979 National Hockey League & World Hockey Association Merger

The four incoming WHA teams were to pay the NHL $24 million, with $18.5 million due by June 1, 1979, and the remainder due no later than 1984  Each incoming WHA team was to have $1.5 million in available capital and pay up to $1.5 million to cover litigation and contract buy-outs of unwanted players  Each WHA team could protect any player whose rights were not held by an NHL team  The four surviving WHA teams were to pay Cincinnati $3.5 million and Birmingham $2.8 million to fold  NHL teams that reclaimed a player through the Reclamation Draft were responsible for contracts and obligations of that player  The four WHA teams could repurchase up to two goaltenders and two skaters as priority selections, at a cost of $125,000 per player  The 17 NHL teams could then protect 15 skaters and two goaltenders  Exempt from the protected lists were first-year professionals and college prospects claimed by an NHL team  Each NHL team had to give up (“lose”) 4 players in the Expansion Draft  The costs of each selection were deducted from the WHA teams’ entry fees  Under-age players from Birmingham and Cincinnati were made available in the 1979 Amateur Draft (renamed the Entry Draft since some of the players were not amateurs in 1978-79)  The four incoming WHA teams would draft in the 18-21 positions of the Entry Draft  Any first-year professional claimed by his NHL team must stay with that team for two years. If the NHL team wished to trade that player or send him to the minor leagues, he must be first made available to his old WHA team for $100  The four WHA teams could not participate in any decisions regarding further expansion through 1981, but would share in any revenues  The three Canadian-based WHA teams would be allowed to develop their own television networks but could not share in national television revenue with the other three Canadian-based NHL teams until 1984  Gordie Howe was exempted from the draft and remained the property of New England (Hartford) by fiat.

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