1981–82 NHL season
1981–82 NHL season
1981–82 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 6, 1981 – May 16, 1982 |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 21 |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Dale Hawerchuk |
Picked by | Winnipeg Jets |
Regular season | |
Season champions | New York Islanders |
Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Mike Bossy (Islanders) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | New York Islanders |
Runners-up | Vancouver Canucks |
The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against, thus replacing the Vezina Trophy in that qualifying criteria. The Vezina Trophy would thereafter be awarded to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position. The New York Islanders won their third straight Stanley Cup by sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in four games.
1981–82 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 6, 1981 – May 16, 1982 |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 21 |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Dale Hawerchuk |
Picked by | Winnipeg Jets |
Regular season | |
Season champions | New York Islanders |
Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Mike Bossy (Islanders) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | New York Islanders |
Runners-up | Vancouver Canucks |
League business
Prior to the start of the season, the divisions of the league were re-aligned to reduce travel costs. The Patrick Division, which had heretofore been in the Clarence Campbell Conference, switched to the Prince of Wales Conference, while the Norris Division went the other way, going from the Wales Conference to the Campbell Conference. This divisional alignment existed until the 1993–94 season, at which point both the divisions and the conferences of the league were renamed to reflect geography.
The schedule and playoff format were also altered. Previously, each team played every other team four times, and the 16-team playoff format had the four divisional champions joined by 12 wild-cards; for all intents and purposes, the divisions were meaningless. Also, under the old format, teams were paired in the first round based on record (i.e., 1st vs. 16th, 2nd vs. 15th, etc.), and then re-paired in each succeeding round based on record (i.e., highest seeded first round winner vs. lowest seeded first round winner, second highest first round winner vs. second lowest first round winner, etc.)
The new format called for each team in the three five-team divisions to play their four divisional opponents eight times each (32 games) and the remaining 16 league teams three times each (48 games). In addition, each team in the six-team division was to play their five divisional opponents seven times each (35 games) and the remaining 15 league teams three times each (45 games). As to the playoffs, the top four teams in each division qualified — no more wild-cards — with 1st Place playing 4th Place, and 2nd Place playing 3rd Place, in the divisional semifinals; the two winners meeting in the divisional finals; followed by the respective conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals. With the exception of the first round changing from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven in 1987, this schedule and playoff arrangement continued until 1993.
Beginning with this season, the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Campbell Bowl were awarded to the Wales Conference (after 1993; Eastern Conference) playoffs champion and the Campbell Conference (after 1993; Western Conference) playoffs champion, respectively.
Regular season
The New York Islanders led the league with 118 points, seven more than second place Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders also set a league record by winning 15 consecutive games from January 21 to February 20 although this was later eclipsed by the Pittsburgh Penguins' 17-game winning streak[1] from March 9 to April 10, 1993. However, the Islanders 15-game winning streak was accomplished before the advent of the extra OT period in the NHL regular season. The Penguins would need to win 2 of their games in the OT period (in games 2 and 15) and would not have accomplished their streak in 1982 without the extra period, as two of their games would have ended in a tie.
The Edmonton Oilers' young superstar Wayne Gretzky broke several records, including the record of 50 goals in 50 games, set by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy, by scoring 50 goals in only 39 games. Gretzky also broke Phil Esposito's record of 76 goals in a season with 92, his own assists record of 109 which was set the prior season with 120, and his own point total of 164 which was also set the prior season with 212. He was the first, and thus far only, player to ever score 200 points in a season. The Oilers set a record for most goals in a season with 417, in which Gretzky scored or assisted on over half.
The New York Islanders' Mike Bossy set a regular season scoring record for right-wingers with 147 points in an 80 game season, and finished as runner-up to Gretzky for the Art Ross Trophy.
This was the final season of the Colorado Rockies before moving to New Jersey to become the Devils. NHL play would return to Colorado in 1995, when the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup after moving from Quebec.
The Winnipeg Jets completed one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in league history as the Jets went from nine wins and 32 points in 1980-81 to 33 wins and 80 points.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 46 | 17 | 17 | 360 | 223 | 1463 | 109 |
Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 323 | 285 | 1266 | 96 |
Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 26 | 15 | 307 | 273 | 1425 | 93 |
Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 33 | 31 | 16 | 356 | 345 | 1757 | 82 |
Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 264 | 351 | 1493 | 60 |
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Islanders | 80 | 54 | 16 | 10 | 385 | 250 | 118 |
New York Rangers | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 316 | 306 | 92 |
Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 38 | 31 | 11 | 325 | 313 | 87 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 310 | 337 | 75 |
Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 319 | 338 | 65 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 37 | 23 | 20 | 346 | 288 | 94 |
Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 319 | 332 | 80 |
St. Louis Blues | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 315 | 349 | 72 |
Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 332 | 363 | 72 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 20 | 44 | 16 | 298 | 380 | 56 |
Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 21 | 47 | 12 | 270 | 351 | 54 |
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 417 | 295 | 111 |
Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 30 | 33 | 17 | 290 | 286 | 77 |
Calgary Flames | 80 | 29 | 34 | 17 | 334 | 345 | 75 |
Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 314 | 369 | 63 |
Colorado Rockies | 80 | 18 | 49 | 13 | 241 | 362 | 49 |
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||
A1 | Montreal | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
A4 | Quebec | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
A4 | Quebec | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
A2 | Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
A2 | Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
A3 | Buffalo | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
A4 | Quebec | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Prince of Wales Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
P1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
P1 | NY Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
P4 | Pittsburgh | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
P1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
P2 | NY Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
P2 | NY Rangers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
P3 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
P1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
S2 | Vancouver | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
N1 | Minnesota | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
N4 | Chicago | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
N4 | Chicago | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
N3 | St. Louis | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
N2 | Winnipeg | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
N3 | St. Louis | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
N4 | Chicago | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Clarence Campbell Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
S2 | Vancouver | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
S1 | Edmonton | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
S4 | Los Angeles | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
S4 | Los Angeles | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
S2 | Vancouver | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
S2 | Vancouver | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
S3 | Calgary | 0 |
The 1982 playoffs used a new format. Four teams from each division would qualify for the playoffs, and played a best-of-five semifinal round followed by a best-of-seven series to determine the division playoff champions. The Adams and Patrick winners would meet in the Wales Conference Final, while the Norris and Smythe winners played in the Campbell Conference Final. The two Conference Champions played for the Stanley Cup. With the exception of extending the first round to a best-of-seven in 1987, this format remained in place through the 1993 playoffs.
The first round of the 1982 playoffs saw three first-place teams (Edmonton, Minnesota, and Montreal) upset by fourth-place teams, a round which featured what is still the greatest comeback in NHL history: The Kings' 6–5 win over Edmonton in game three. After trailing 5–0 after two periods, the Kings scored five third period goals—three in the last 5:22, the final goal coming with only five seconds left in regulation. Los Angeles then scored on a face-off early in overtime, thus completing the "Miracle on Manchester".
The eventual champion New York Islanders nearly lost in the first round as well, dropping games three and four of their first round playoff series with Pittsburgh after crushing the Penguins in the first two games. In game five, the Islanders scored twice in the last five minutes to force overtime and then won the series on John Tonelli's goal 6:19 into the extra session. This served as a wake-up call for New York, who lost only two more games the rest of the way as they rolled to their third straight Stanley Cup. Their Final opponents, the Vancouver Canucks, finished the regular season with only 77 points, defeating three teams beneath them in the standings (Calgary 75, Los Angeles 63, and Chicago 72) in the much weaker Campbell Conference.
Stanley Cup Finals
New York won series 4–0 |
Awards
From this season forward, the Prince of Wales and Clarence S. Campbell trophies were given to the playoff champions of the respective conferences.
1982 NHL awards | |
---|---|
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference champion) | New York Islanders |
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference champion) | Vancouver Canucks |
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Glenn Resch, Colorado Rockies |
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets |
Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
Frank J. Selke Trophy: (Best defensive forward) | Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins |
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
Jack Adams Award: (Best coach) | Tom Watt, Winnipeg Jets |
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks |
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins |
Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
NHL Plus/Minus Award: (Player with best plus/minus record) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
William M. Jennings Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) | Rick Wamsley, Denis Herron, Montreal Canadiens |
Vezina Trophy: (Best goaltender) | Billy Smith, New York Islanders |
Lester Patrick Trophy: (Service to hockey in the U.S.) | Emile Francis |
All-Star teams
First Team | Position | Second Team |
---|---|---|
Billy Smith, New York Islanders | G | Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers |
Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks | D | Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers |
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | D | Brian Engblom, Montreal Canadiens |
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | C | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | RW | Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins |
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers | LW | John Tonelli, New York Islanders |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 92 | 120 | 212 |
Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 80 | 64 | 83 | 147 |
Peter Stastny | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 46 | 93 | 139 |
Dennis Maruk | Washington Capitals | 80 | 60 | 76 | 136 |
Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 80 | 50 | 79 | 129 |
Denis Savard | Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 87 | 119 |
Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 50 | 67 | 117 |
Bobby Smith | Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 43 | 71 | 114 |
Dino Ciccarelli | Minnesota North Stars | 76 | 55 | 51 | 106 |
Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 39 | 67 | 106 |
Source: NHL.[4]
Leading goaltenders
Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denis Herron | Montreal | 27 | 1547 | 68 | 3 | 2.64 |
Rick Wamsley | Montreal | 38 | 2206 | 101 | 2 | 2.75 |
Billy Smith | New York Islanders | 46 | 2685 | 133 | 0 | 2.97 |
Roland Melanson | New York Islanders | 44 | 2460 | 109 | 1 | 3.23 |
Grant Fuhr | Edmonton | 48 | 2847 | 157 | 0 | 3.31 |
Richard Brodeur | Vancouver | 52 | 3010 | 168 | 2 | 3.35 |
Marco Baron | Boston | 44 | 2515 | 144 | 1 | 3.44 |
Gilles Meloche | Minnesota | 51 | 3026 | 175 | 1 | 3.47 |
Don Edwards | Buffalo | 62 | 3500 | 205 | 0 | 3.51 |
Eddie Mio | New York Rangers | 25 | 1500 | 89 | 0 | 3.56 |
Coaches
Patrick Division
New York Islanders: Al Arbour
New York Rangers: Herb Brooks
Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn and Bob McCammon
Pittsburgh Penguins: Eddie Johnston
Washington Capitals: Danny Belisle
Adams Division
Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers
Buffalo Sabres: Jimmy Roberts
Hartford Whalers: Larry Pleau
Montreal Canadiens: Bob Berry
Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron
Norris Division
Chicago Black Hawks: Keith Magnuson and Bob Pulford
Detroit Red Wings: Wayne Maxner
Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
St. Louis Blues: Red Berenson
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Nykoluk
Winnipeg Jets: Tom Watt
Smythe Division
Calgary Flames: Al MacNeil
Colorado Rockies: Bill MacMillan
Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
Los Angeles Kings: Parker MacDonald
Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale and Roger Neilson
Milestones
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1981–82 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
Jiri Bubla, Vancouver Canucks
Garth Butcher, Vancouver Canucks
Bob Carpenter, Washington Capitals
Gaetan Duchesne, Washington Capitals
Ron Francis, Hartford Whalers
Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers
Randy Gregg*, Edmonton Oilers
Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets
Ivan Hlinka, Vancouver Canucks
Tim Hunter, Calgary Flames
Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers
Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames
Bernie Nicholls, Los Angeles Kings
Marian Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
Thomas Steen, Winnipeg Jets
Tony Tanti, Chicago Black Hawks
John Vanbiesbrouck, New York Rangers
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1981–82 (listed with their last team):
Don Marcotte, Boston Bruins
Dick Redmond, Boston Bruins
Rogie Vachon, Boston Bruins
Yvon Lambert, Buffalo Sabres
Bill Clement, Calgary Flames
Bob Murdoch, Calgary Flames
Eric Vail, Detroit Red Wings
Dave Keon, Hartford Whalers
Paul Shmyr, Hartford Whalers
Rick Martin, Los Angeles Kings
Steve Vickers, New York Rangers
Bob Dailey, Philadelphia Flyers
Jimmy Watson, Philadelphia Flyers
Gregg Sheppard, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ron Stackhouse, Pittsburgh Penguins
Don Luce, Toronto Maple Leafs
Rene Robert, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bob Kelly, Washington Capitals
Jean Pronovost, Washington Capitals
1982 Trading deadline trades
Trading Deadline: March 9, 1982[6]
March 8, 1982: Laurie Boschman traded from Toronto to Edmonton for Walt Poddubny and Phil Drouillard.
March 8, 1982: Kari Eloranta traded from Calgary to St. Louis for future considerations.
March 8, 1982: Jim Korn traded from Detroit to Toronto for Toronto's fourth-round choice in 1982 NHL Entry Draft (Craig Coxe) and Toronto's fifth-round choice in 1983 NHL Entry Draft (Joe Kocur).
March 9, 1982: Todd Bidner traded from Washington to Edmonton for Doug Hicks.
March 9, 1982: Ed Cooper traded from Colorado to Edmonton for Stan Weir.
March 9, 1982: Tony Currie, Jim Nill, Rick Heinz and St. Louis' fourth-round choice in 1982 Entry Draft (Shawn Kilroy) traded from St. Louis to Vancouver for Glen Hanlon.
March 9, 1982: Miroslav Frycer and Quebec's seventh-round choice in 1982 Entry Draft (Jeff Triano) traded from Quebec to Toronto for Wilf Paiement.
March 9, 1982: Guy Lapointe traded from Montreal to St. Louis for St. Louis' second-round choice in 1983 Entry Draft (Sergio Momesso).
See also
List of Stanley Cup champions
1981 NHL Entry Draft
34th National Hockey League All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
1981 Canada Cup
1981 in sports
1982 in sports