The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th

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 ...

of 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 ...

. The

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

won their fourth

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 ...

in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the

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 ...

four games to none. No team in any major professional North American sport has won four consecutive playoff championships since.

League business

Prior the start of the season, 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 ...

moved to

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

where they were renamed

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, leaving

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

without an NHL franchise until

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. They were also moved to the

Patrick Division The Patrick Division is a former division of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons unt ...

, forcing the reluctant

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

to leave 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 ...

and take Colorado's place in 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 leagu ...

. This would be the last relocation of an NHL team and the last time a team would be transferred to a new division, until 1993. After the season, a last-minute sale of the

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 ...

Harry Ornest Harry Ornest (June 30, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was a sports entrepreneur who once owned the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also played minor league baseba ...

prevented

Wild Bill Hunter William Dickenson "Wild Bill" Hunter, (May 5, 1920 – December 16, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey player, general manager and coach. Hunter was involved in hockey, Canadian football, baseball, softball and curling, but he is best known for f ...

from purchasing that team and moving it to

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. The Calgary Flames played their final season at the 7,000-plus seat

Stampede Corral The Stampede Corral was a multi-purpose venue (ice hockey, professional wrestling, rodeo, tennis) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located on the grounds of Stampede Park, the arena was completed in 1950 at a cost of C$1.25 million ($ million tod ...

before moving into the

Olympic Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flam ...

, which had a capacity of 16,605. At the end of the season, the

long pants ''Long Pants'' (also known as ''Johnny Newcomer'') is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, and Priscilla Bonner. Plot The silent ...

worn by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

and

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

were banned, due to player safety concerns.

Regular season

The last remaining players from the

Original Six The Original Six () are the teams that comprised the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leaf ...

era (prior to the Expansion Era)–

Carol Vadnais Carol Marcel Vadnais (September 25, 1945 – August 31, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1966–67 until 1982–83. Vadnais won the Stanley Cup twice during his ...

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 ...

and

Wayne Cashman Wayne Cashman (born June 24, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played seventeen seasons for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helped them win the Stanley Cup twice, and was the last ac ...

–all retired after this season. Cashman was the last to play, losing in the

Wales Conference Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 20 ...

Finals as a member of the Bruins. The

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

led the league in overall points with 110. The defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders fell from first overall and finished tied for 6th overall and the high-powered, high offence, Edmonton Oilers tied for second overall. The Oilers set a new record, which they had set the previous year, for most goals in a season with 424 and were led by

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 ...

's 196 points. The Oilers also tied the

' 1970–71 record for most 100-point players in one season as Wayne Gretzky,

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 ...

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named on ...

, and

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 ...

all scored more than 100 points. The

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Final standings

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

The 1983 Playoffs marked the first time that seven NHL teams based in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Quebec, Winnipeg, and Calgary) had qualified. Since the 1967–68 expansion, all the Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs on five other occasions – 1969 (Montreal and Toronto), 1975, 1976 and 1979 (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), and 1986 (the same seven as in 1983), the last time to date (as of 2022) that all active Canadian teams qualified.

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

All-Star teams

Source: NHL.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points'' Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

''Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts''

Coaches

Patrick Division

*New Jersey Devils:

Bill MacMillan William Stewart MacMillan (born March 7, 1943) is a Canadian former hockey coach and player. MacMillan played and later coached in the National Hockey League (NHL). After several years with the Canadian national team, including playing at two Wo ...

*New York Islanders:

Al Arbour Alger Joseph Arbour (November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He is third to Joel Quenneville for games coached in National Hockey League history and fifth all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowm ...

*New York Rangers:

Herb Brooks Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' ...

*Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn *Pittsburgh Penguins:

Eddie Johnston Edward Joseph Johnston (born November 24, 1935) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former coach and general manager in the National Hockey League. His professional career spanned fifty-three years (twenty-two ...

*Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

Adams Division

*Boston Bruins:

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

*Buffalo Sabres:

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

*Hartford Whalers:

Larry Kish Larry Kish (born December 11, 1941 in Welland, Ontario) is a former professional hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League for 49 games during the 1982–83 NHL season. Kish played minor hockey for Pe ...

John Cunniff John Paul Cunniff (July 9, 1944 – May 10, 2002) was an American NHL hockey coach and former professional player who appeared in 65 World Hockey Association regular season games between 1972 and 1976. Cunniff was inducted into the United States ...

and

Larry Pleau Lawrence Winslow Pleau (born January 29, 1947) is an American former ice hockey player who is currently the senior advisor to the general manager for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He formerly served as senior vice presid ...

*Montreal Canadiens: Bob Berry *Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron

Norris Division

*Chicago Black Hawks: Orval Tessier *Detroit Red Wings: Nick Polano *Minnesota North Stars:

Glen Sonmor Glen Robert Sonmor (April 22, 1929 – December 14, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, scout and coach. He played 28 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1953 to 1955, though most of his career was ...

*St. Louis Blues:

Barclay Plager Barclay Graham Plager (March 26, 1941 – February 6, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach for the St. Louis Blues. Playing career The oldest of three hockey playing brothers (with Bill and Bob), Plager played junio ...

*Toronto Maple Leafs:

Mike Nykoluk Michael Andrew Nykoluk (December 11, 1934 – January 31, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 32 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1956–57. The rest of his playing ...

Smythe Division

*Calgary Flames: Bob Johnson *Edmonton Oilers:

Glen Sather Glen Cameron “Slats” Sather (born September 2, 1943) is a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. He is the current senior advisor and alternate governor of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the Rangers ...

*Los Angeles Kings:

Don Perry Donald Frederick Perry (March 16, 1930 – April 15, 2019) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and coach. Biography Perry, born in Edmonton, Alberta, began his playing career with Edmonton area junior league teams. He broke into professional ...

*Vancouver Canucks:

Roger Neilson Roger Paul Neilson, (June 16, 1934 – June 21, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, most notably in the NHL, where he served with eight teams in a checkered career. Known as Captain Video because of his technological contributi ...

*Winnipeg Jets: Tom Watt

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1982–83 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *

Gord Kluzak Gordon Glen Kluzak (born March 4, 1964) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1982 to 1991. He was selected first overall by the Bruins in the 1982 NHL Entry Dra ...

, Boston Bruins *

Dave Andreychuk David John Andreychuk (born September 29, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Ligh ...

, Buffalo Sabres *

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was th ...

, Buffalo Sabres *

Jamie Macoun Jamie Neil Macoun (born August 17, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) during a 17-year career. An undrafted player, Macoun played three seasons of college h ...

, Calgary Flames *

Murray Craven Murray Dean Craven (born July 20, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1982–83 and 1999–2000 and former vice president of the Vegas Golden Knights. Playing car ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Brian Bellows Brian Edward Bellows (born September 1, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty ...

, Minnesota North Stars *

Craig Ludwig Craig Lee Ludwig (born March 15, 1961) is an American former professional hockey player. He played as a defenceman in the National Hockey League from 1982 to 1999 and was renowned for his shot-blocking ability. Ludwig was the color analyst for th ...

, Montreal Canadiens * Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens *

Pat Verbeek Patrick Martin Verbeek (born May 24, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current general manager of the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Verbeek played for five teams over a 20-year playing career, ea ...

, New Jersey Devils * Bob Froese, Philadelphia Flyers *

Dave Poulin David James Poulin (born December 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. P ...

, Philadelphia Flyers *

Ron Sutter Ronald T. Sutter (born December 2, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the Player Development coach for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the brother of Brian, Brent, Darryl, ...

, Philadelphia Flyers *

Rich Sutter Richard G. Sutter (born December 2, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, C ...

, Pittsburgh Penguins *

Gary Leeman Gary Spencer Leeman (born February 19, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the NHL. In 1990, he became the second Toronto Maple Leaf player ever to score 50 goals or more in a single NHL season, after Rick Vaive did it in ...

*, Toronto Maple Leafs *

Michel Petit Michel Petit (born February 12, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1982–83 NHL season to the 1998–99 NHL season. Upon his retirement Petit had played for a then- ...

, Vancouver Canucks *

Patrik Sundstrom Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, Vancouver Canucks *

Scott Stevens Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a defenseman, Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues and New Jers ...

, Washington Capitals *

Brian Hayward Brian George Hayward (born June 25, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who currently serves as a color analyst for Anaheim Ducks broadcasts on Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West and KDOC. Playing career Hayward played coll ...

, Winnipeg Jets *

Brian Mullen Brian Patrick Mullen (born March 16, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) playing for the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, and New York Islanders ...

, Winnipeg Jets

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1982–83 (listed with their last team): *

, Boston Bruins (Last player from the Original Six Era) *

Gilles Gilbert Gilles Gilbert (born March 31, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who was drafted in the third round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft from the London Knights. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minneso ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Reggie Leach Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Garry Unger Garry Douglas Unger (born December 7, 1947) is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1983. Playing career Unger set an NHL record by playing 914 consecutive games in the regu ...

, Edmonton Oilers *

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

, Los Angeles Kings * Rejean Houle, Montreal Canadiens *

, New Jersey Devils * John Davidson, New York Rangers * Ulf Nilsson, New York Rangers * Ian Turnbull, Pittsburgh Penguins * Jacques Richard, Quebec Nordiques *

Marc Tardif Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is ...

, Quebec Nordiques * Vaclav Nedomansky, St. Louis Blues *

, Winnipeg Jets

References

* * * * ;Notes

External links

Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1982-83 NHL season 1 1

League business

Regular season

Final standings

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Coaches

Patrick Division

Adams Division

Norris Division

Smythe Division

Milestones

Debuts

Last games

See also

References

External links