The 1981–82

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

season was the Oilers'

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, as they finished with a franchise record 48 wins and 111 points, and won the Smythe Division for the first time in team history. The Oilers set an NHL record with 417 goals, the first time in NHL history that a team finished with over 400 goals.

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

continued rewriting the record books, scoring an NHL record 92 goals, which included 50 goals in 39 games, also an NHL record. Gretzky's 212 points was also a record, and it was the first time in NHL history that a player had over 200 points, as he won his third

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

and his second

Art Ross Trophy The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

broke the 50 goal plateau for the first time in his career, while

Glenn Anderson Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...

got 105 points.

Paul Coffey Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among ...

led the defense with 89 points. In goal,

Grant Fuhr Grant Scott Fuhr (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who is best remembered for a decade of stellar play for the Edmonton Oilers i ...

became the starting goalie, and would break the Oilers franchise record for wins in a season with 28. He also led the club with a 3.31 GAA and a .898 save percentage. For the first time in their short NHL history, the Oilers entered the

Stanley Cup Playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...

as a clear favorite to make a deep postseason run. Going into the playoffs, the Oilers faced the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, and after splitting the first 2 games, the Oilers held a 5–0 lead on the Kings heading into the 3rd period of game 3. Los Angeles came back to tie the game 5–5, before completing the comeback with an overtime goal, taking a 2–1 series lead. The game came to be known as the ''

Miracle on Manchester The Miracle on Manchester is the nickname given to a National Hockey League (NHL) playoff game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers that took place on April 10, 1982 in the league's 65th season. The game, the third in a best-of-five ...

''. Edmonton came back to tie the series in game 4, but the Kings eliminated Edmonton in game 5, shocking the hockey world, and ending the Oilers season a lot sooner than expected.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Associated Press Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to ...

Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)
/ref> *

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

: Wayne Gretzky *

Lester B. Pearson Award Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

: Wayne Gretzky *

NHL Plus/Minus Award The NHL Plus-Minus Award was a trophy awarded annually by the National Hockey League to the ice hockey "player, having played a minimum of 60 games, who leads the league in plus-minus statistics." It was sponsored by a commercial business, and it ...

: Wayne Gretzky * First NHL All-Star team: Wayne Gretzky and

* Second NHL All-Star team:

and

Records

*417: An NHL team record for most goals in a single season. ::*400: A new NHL team record for most goals in a single season on March 26, 1982. *212: An NHL record for most points in a single season by

. ::*165: A new NHL record for most points in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on February 19, 1982. *200: First NHL player to hit a 200-point-milestone by Wayne Gretzky on March 25, 1982. *120: An NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky. ::*110: A new NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on March 19, 1982. *92: An NHL record for most goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky. ::*77: A new NHL record for most goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on February 24, 1982. *68: An NHL record for most even strength goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky. ::*53: A new NHL record for most even strength goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on February 17, 1982.

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

''* Later traded to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Free agents

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the

1981 NHL Entry Draft Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Fr ...

References

*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1981-82 Edmonton Oilers Season Edmonton Oilers season, 1981-82 Edmon Edmonton Oilers seasons Smythe Division champion seasons