Review: 1976-77 Quebec Nordiques Postcards

The Quebec Nordiques released a set of 20 postcards during the 1976-77 season, back when the team was still a part of the World Hockey Association. Like so many other team-issued postcard sets, this set is minimalist, with basic color photos on the front and scant information on the back. These postcards give us a good look back at a time when hair was long and helmets were few and far between.

Player Selection (5 out of 5)
The Nordiques’ best players from the 1976-77 roster are featured in this set. The team’s top two goaltenders, Richard Brodeur and Serge Aubry, are here. So are the 18 skaters that played in the most games for the team, such as captain Marc Tardiff and high-scoring winger Real Cloutier.

Front Design (4 out of 5)
1970s hockey postcards have their own unique — almost cliched — aesthetic, with a player emerging from a darkened background, hitting the brakes and spraying ice everywhere. That describes every card in this set except for the goalies, who are posed in front of their nets.  The drawback of the darkened backgrounds is that, while it looks cool, the player’s hair always tends to blend in with the black background. A facsimile autograph adorns the bottom. The design can get a bit old, but it gets the job done.

Stats & Info / Back Design (3 out of 5)
These are postcards, meant for mailing notes to your friends in other cities (remember that?), so there is not a lot of room for stats.

Still, each card manages to squeeze in the players name, number, position, height, weight, birth date and birthplace.

There are no Hall of Fame players or major superstars in this set, but if you like old time hockey or WHA artifacts, the 1976-77 Nordiques Postcards are a nice collectible piece of history.

BONUS
For your viewing pleasure, here is the entire 20 postcard set.

Serge Aubry – Goaltender – #25

Paul Baxter – Defense – #4

Jean Berner – Defense – #24

Serge Berner – Center – #21

Christian Bordeleau – Center – #11

Paulin Bordeleau – Right Wing – #17

Andre Bourdrais – Center – #18

Curt Brackenbury – Right Wing – #15

Richard Brodeur – Goaltender – #1

Real Cloutier – Right Wing – #9

Charles Constantin – Left Wing – #9

James (Jim) Dorey – Defense – #7

Robert (Bob)  Fitchner – Center – #12

Richard Grenier – Left Wing – #16

Francois Lacombe – Defense – #22

Pierre Roy – Defense – #10

Steve Sutherland – Left Wing – #19

Marc Tardiff – Left Wing – #8

Jean-Claude Tremblay – Defense – #3

Wally Weir – Defense – #2