The 1985–86

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

season was the Nordiques seventh 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 ...

. The Nordiques, led by their new captain

Peter Stastny Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, captured their first division title since the 1976–77 season but were swept of the first round of the playoffs by the

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 ...

Offseason

The Nordiques had a pretty quiet off-season, with the only trade during the summer was acquiring

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

from the

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 ...

for

Brad Maxwell Bradley Robert Maxwell (born July 8, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player renowned as a playmaking defenceman. He featured in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals with the Minnesota North Stars. After having won the Memorial Cup in 19 ...

. Anderson was second in Leafs scoring with 32 goals and 63 points in 1984–85. Quebec also made a trade late in the pre-season, as the Nordiques acquired

Gilbert Delorme Gilbert Delorme (born November 25, 1962, in Boucherville, Quebec) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for five NHL teams. He played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, Detroit Red Wi ...

from 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 s ...

for Bruce Bell. Delorme, a stay-at-home defenseman, had two goals and 14 points in 74 games with the Blues. The Nordiques signed free agent Tony Currie from 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 ...

, while they lost

Blake Wesley Blake Wesley may refer to: * Blake Wesley (basketball), American basketball player * Blake Wesley (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player See also

* Wesley Blake, American professional wrestler {{Human name disambiguation, name=Wesley, Blake ...

, who signed with the

Regular season

The Nordiques started the season with a seven-game winning streak, however, the club fell into a slump, and had a 3-10-1 record in their next fourteen games to fall to 10-10-1. Quebec returned to their winning ways, going unbeaten in their next eight games, and found themselves battling with 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 ...

and

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 ...

for first place in the

Adams Division The NHL's Adams Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Adams, the founder of the Boston Bruins. It is the forerunner of the ...

. The Nordiques fell into another slump, losing five of their next six games, however, the team then won seven in a row to improve to 25-15-2, and had a narrow two point lead over the Canadiens for first in the division. The Nordiques and Canadiens would continue to battle for the division title for the remainder of the season, and it was the Nordiques, who finished the year 43-31-6, earning 92 points, who came out of top to win the

for the first time in team history. Offensively, Quebec was led by

, who led the club with 122 points, as he scored 41 goals and added 81 assists, to finish sixth in

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 ...

scoring. Stastny also became the Nordiques captain in November, when the club traded away former captain

Mario Marois Mario Marois (born December 15, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. Biography As a youth, Marois played in the 1968, 1969 and 1970 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from L'Ancienne-Lorette, ...

to the

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 ...

Michel Goulet Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. H ...

had his fourth consecutive 50+ goal season, as he finished in fifth in the league with 53 goals. Goulet added 51 assists to earn 104 points, breaking the 100 point barrier for the third time in four seasons.

Anton Stastny Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

had a solid season, scoring 31 goals and 74 points, while

Dale Hunter Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights o ...

earned 28 goals and 70 points, along with a club high 265 penalty minutes. On defense, the Nordiques were led by

Robert Picard Robert Rene Joseph Picard (born May 25, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. Career Robert Picard established himself as a highly regarded defensive prospect with the Montreal Juniors and Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge from 19 ...

, who earned 34 points in 48 games with Quebec after being acquired in the

trade. Twenty-one-year-old David Shaw, in his first full NHL season, had seven goals and 26 points. In goal,

Clint Malarchuk Clint Malarchuk (born May 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1981 and 1992. He has been a coach for four NHL teams and two minor league teams, most recently the C ...

emerged as the starter, as he won 26 games, a 3.21 GAA, and four shutouts, all team highs, in his first full NHL season.

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

The Nordiques opened the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs with a best of five

semi-final series against the

. Despite finishing the season with a 40-36-4 record, earning 84 points, the Whalers finished in fourth place in the Adams Division. The series opened with two games at

Le Colisée Le Colisée is an indoor arena in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. It is primarily used for basketball games, and it is the home arena of the French Pro A League club Élan Chalon. The arena seats 5,000 people. History In 2016, the 2016 FIBA Europe ...

, however, the Whalers stunned the Nordiques with a 3-2 overtime victory to win the first game. Hartford then took a 2-0 series lead, as they easily defeated the favoured Nordiques 4-1 in the second game. The series moved to the

Hartford Civic Center Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

for the third game. The Whalers continued to dominate in the third game, destroying Quebec 9-4, to sweep the first place Nordiques out of the post-season.

Hartford Whalers 3, Quebec Nordiques 0

Player statistics

Awards and records

* First NHL All-Star team:

Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1985–86 season.

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the

1985 NHL Entry Draft The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was the 23rd NHL Entry Draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams sele ...

which was held at the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Land ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Farm teams

Fredericton Express The Fredericton Express were a professional ice hockey team based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League between 1981 and 1988. The Express were affiliated with the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks o ...

(

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1985-86 Quebec Nordiques Season Quebec Nordiques season, 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques seasons Que Adams Division champion seasons