Editing Bobby Hull (section)

===WHA career===
Long unhappy with his poor salary despite being one of hockey's preeminent superstars, Hull responded to overtures from the upstart [[World Hockey Association]]'s [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]] in [[1972–73 WHA season|1972]] by jesting that he would jump to them for a million dollars, a sum then considered absurd. Gathering the other league owners together to contribute to the unprecedented amount on the grounds that inking such a major star gave instant credibility to the new rival league that was competing directly against the entrenched NHL, Jets owner [[Ben Hatskin]] agreed to the sum, and signed Hull as a [[player-coach]] for a contract worth $1.75&nbsp;million over 10 years plus a $1&nbsp;million signing bonus.<ref name="wapo_obit">{{cite news |last1=Sumner |first1=Ben |title=Bobby Hull, hockey’s ‘Golden Jet’ of the ice, dies at 84 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/30/bobby-hull-hockey-dead/ |access-date=16 November 2024 |work=Washington Post |date=30 January 2023}}</ref> Although his debut with Winnipeg was held up in litigation by the NHL, Hull instantly became the WHA's greatest star winning the [[Gordie Howe Trophy]] as league MVP in 1972–73 and 1974–75. With Swedish linemates [[Anders Hedberg]] and [[Ulf Nilsson (ice hockey)|Ulf Nilsson]] he formed one of the most formidable forward lines of the 1970s (known as "The Hot Line"), leading the Jets to two [[Avco World Trophy|AVCO Cup]]s during his time with the club. His best performance was during the [[1974–75 WHA season|1974–75 season]], when he scored 77 goals to set a new professional mark, while adding 65 assists for a total of 142 points, five behind the league leader, one of two times he finished second in the point-scoring race in the WHA. In the five WHA seasons in which he played more than half the schedule, he was voted a [[WHA All-Star Team|First-Team]] All-Star thrice and a Second-Team All-Star twice, while tallying 50 goals and 100 points four times each.

Because he joined the rival league, Hull was not allowed to represent [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Team Canada]] in the [[1972 Summit Series]], which pitted Canada's top NHL players against the [[Soviet Union national ice hockey team|USSR's national team]]. Two years later, a [[1974 Summit Series|second Summit Series]] was held in which Hull and other top WHA stars (including [[Gordie Howe]], who had been retired from the NHL at the time of the initial Summit Series) competed against the Soviet national team. The WHA lost the series four games to one (three ending in a tie), despite Hull's seven goals. He was a key member of the Canadian squad that won the [[1976 Canada Cup]], though, scoring five goals and three assists in seven games.