1978-79 Pro Hockey Season

There’s a lot of hockey history to be remembered with these cards. The ‘78-79 season would be the last year before the merger with the World Hockey Association. The New York/Montreal title series matchup would be the last time two “Original Six” teams would meet for the championship until 2013 (Boston and Chicago). With the merger of the Cleveland and Minnesota franchises, the league was reduced to 17 teams, it’s the last time a “big four” pro sports league got smaller.

The cards are presented in a concise “end of season” format. This means (with a few exceptions) players are carded only with the team they last played-for, and only players with a minimum of 20 games played are included in the main set. We think this best reflects the way the majority of tabletop gamers enjoy a current season card set, focusing on hockey’s “playoff push” with a streamlined presentation that showcases the major players.

This set was originally released in digital format only as part of the 2023 Holiday Sale. It was a collaborative effort with PLAAY gamer Rob Gallamore, who is not only a passionate hockey and sports board game fan, but also a hockey scout with many years of experience. We worked with Rob to create the parameters for the set, and then produced the card set in team colors from Rob’s ratings.