The 1981–82 Winnipeg Jets season was the team's third season in the

National Hockey League 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 ...

and tenth season overall. The club's on-ice performance vastly improved compared to the previous season when the Jets won only nine games. The Jets finished with a .500 record and, for the first time in its history, qualified for 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 ...

Offseason

After a very disappointing 1980-81, in which the Jets won only nine games and finished in last place in the

, the club announced on May 14, 1981, that Tom Watt would become the new head coach of the team. Watt spent the 1980-81 season as an assistant coach under

Harry Neale Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster. Coaching career Following his playing career, Neale got his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary Schoo ...

on the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. This would be Watt's first NHL head coaching job. The Jets also announced that

Dave Christian David William Christian (born May 12, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Additionally he played for five National H ...

would become the new captain of the team. Christian, who was a part of the 1980 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal, became the third captain of the team since the Jets joined the NHL. The NHL announced a new divisional realignment based on geography, as the Jets were shifted from the

Smythe Division The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the league ...

to the

Norris Division The NHL's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. When the NHL realigned into geographic divisions in 1981, the division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference, where it comprised the league's Great Lakes a ...

, where they would join the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

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 ...

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. On June 10, 1981, the Jets went into 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 ...

with the first overall selection, and the club used it to select

Dale Hawerchuk Dale Martin Hawerchuk (April 4, 1963 – August 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Drafted first overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Hawerchuk played in the National Hockey League (NHL) fo ...

from the

Cornwall Royals The Cornwall Royals were a junior ice hockey team based in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981, and the Ontario Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. This team shared its name with o ...

of the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

. Hawerchuk scored 81 goals and 183 points in 72 games with Cornwall, followed by 15 goals and 35 points in 19 playoff games with the team, leading them to the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

. At the

1981 Memorial Cup 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 FMLN launches its first major offens ...

, Hawerchuk had eight goals and 12 points in five games, leading Cornwall to the championship. With their second selection, Winnipeg selected

Scott Arniel Scott William Arniel (born September 17, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current associate coach of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets. Previously, he was the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and assoc ...

, who also played with the

. Arniel had 52 goals and 123 points with Cornwall, followed by 14 goals and 33 points in 19 playoff games, and six goals and eight points in five

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

games, helping the Royals win the

. On July 3, 1981, Winnipeg acquired

Bryan Maxwell Bryan Clifford Maxwell (born September 7, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 331 games in the National Hockey League and 124 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Cleveland Crusaders, Cincinna ...

Ed Staniowski Edward Emile Staniowski (born July 7, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers in the National Hockey League. He won the Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Aw ...

and Paul MacLean from the

for Scott Campbell and John Markell. Maxwell, a stay-at-home defenseman, had three goals and 13 points in 40 games with the Blues in 1980-81, while Staniowski posted a 10-3-3 record with a 4.28 GAA in 19 games as a backup to

Mike Liut Michael Dennis Liut (born January 7, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Liut played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1977 to 1979 and for the St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, a ...

in St. Louis. MacLean had 36 goals and 78 points in 80 games with the

Salt Lake Golden Eagles The Salt Lake Golden Eagles were a minor professional hockey team based in Salt Lake City from 1969 to 1994. History They played in the Western Hockey League from 1969 to 1974, the Central Hockey League from 1974 to 1984 and the International H ...

of the CHL. Twelve days later on July 15, 1981, the Jets were involved in a three-way deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

. Winnipeg originally traded

Ivan Hlinka Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 – August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history. A big centre, his playing style was comparable to Phil ...

to the

for

Brent Ashton Brent Kenneth Ashton (born May 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League between 1979 and 1993. Despite being a fine goalscoring winger, he was known during his career f ...

and the Canucks fourth round draft pick at the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. The Jets then traded Ashton and their own third round pick in the

to the

for

Lucien DeBlois Joseph Lucien Jean Gonzague DeBlois (born June 21, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right wing / centre. Career Born in Joliette, Quebec, DeBlois was selected in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers in the first r ...

. DeBlois had 26 goals and 42 points in 74 games with Colorado during the 1980-81 season. One day before the regular season began, on October 5, 1981, the Jets picked up

Serge Savard Serge Aubrey Savard, OC, CQ (born January 22, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, most famously with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations with t ...

from the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the waiver draft. Savard, who played with the Canadiens since the 1966-67 season, had four goals and 17 points in 77 games during the 1980-81 season. Savard was a seven time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

champion.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

They faced the

in the Division Semifinals, losing 3 games to 1.

Player statistics

Awards and records

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

Jack Adams Award The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 47 times to 39 coaches. The winner is selecte ...

: Tom Watt

Transactions

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

Draft picks

The Jets selected the following players at the

, which was held at the

Montreal Forum Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the h ...

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, on June 10, 1981.

NHL Amateur Draft

Farm teams

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981-82 Winnipeg Jets season Winnipeg Jets season, 1981-82 Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) seasons

Winn Winn may refer to: Places In the United States: * Winn, Maine, a town in Penobscot County * Winn, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Winn Parish, Louisiana Other uses * Winn (surname) (including a list of people with the name) * WINN, an ...

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

Draft picks

NHL Amateur Draft

Farm teams

See also

References