• Prior to the season, the best Canadian NHL players took on the best from the Soviet Union in the first ever Summit Series. The first four games were played in various Canadian arenas; the last four in Moscow. The Canadians won the series, 4-3 with one tie, after Paul Henderson scored with 34 seconds remaining in the eighth and final game. The players received no money, no trophy and no medals -- simply the satisfaction of winning and a swelling of national pride in Canada.

• A new rival league, the World Hockey Association, begins play, siphoning talent from NHL rosters. Among NHL stars defecting to the new league are Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Bernie Parent, J.C. Tremblay and Johnnie McKenzie.

• In response to the WHA's startup, the NHL hastily adds two new teams -- the Atlanta Flames and the New York Islanders -- in an attempt to bar the WHA from newly constructed arenas in Long Island and the Georgia capital.

• The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks in six games to win their 18th Stanley Cup.