The 1985–86 NHL season was the 69th

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 ...

. This season saw the league's Board of Governors introduce the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy (french: Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) during the NHL regular season. If two teams are tied for the mo ...

, which would go to the team with the best overall record in the NHL

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

. 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 ...

would be the first winners of this award. 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 ...

defeated the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

four games to one in the final series to win the

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 ...

League business

On June 13, 1985, the NHL board of governors voted 17–4 in favour of amending a penalty rule. Previously, coincidental minor penalties would result in 4-on-4 play. The amendment allowed teams to substitute another player to keep the play 5-on-5. It was seen by many as a shot at trying to slow down the high-flying

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 ...

was quoted as saying, ''"I think the NHL is making a big mistake. I think the NHL should be more concerned with butt-ending, spearing, and three-hour hockey games than getting rid of 4-on-4 situations."'' It wasn't until

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, with the Oiler dynasty (five

cups CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a host that can accept print jobs ...

in seven years) having ended, that the NHL reverted to the original 4-on-4 rules.

Regular season

The Edmonton Oilers once again regained control of top spot in the NHL and were awarded with the

—the first time the trophy had been awarded for the best record—while last year's best team, 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 ...

slipped to second. The Flyers continued their dominance of the Wales Conference despite the death of their Vezina-winning goaltender,

Pelle Lindbergh Göran Per-Eric "Pelle" Lindbergh (; May 24, 1959 – November 11, 1985) was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goa ...

, in a car accident on November 11. Edmonton's

won his seventh straight

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 dona ...

and his sixth straight

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 ...

. This season saw Gretzky score 52 goals, and set records of 163 assists and 215 points. This was the fourth time in five years that Gretzky reached the 200 point plateau; no other player has reached 200 point mark, although

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

would garner 199 points in 76 games in 1988–89. Edmonton's

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

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 ...

broke

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

's record of 46 goals for most goals in a season by a defenceman by scoring 48 times.

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalty Minutes''

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

The 1986 playoffs saw three first place teams eliminated in the opening round and the fourth, Edmonton, bowed out in the second. The Montreal Canadiens decided to go with a rookie goaltender by the name of

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

. This decision proved to be a good one just like when the Canadiens rode rookie goalie

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...

to a Stanley Cup championship in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. In the Final, the Canadiens beat the

, who were also riding a rookie netminder, Mike Vernon. Patrick Roy won the

Conn Smythe Trophy The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general man ...

as the playoff MVP and had a sparkling 1.92 goals against average along with 15 wins. The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs are the last time to date (as of 2021) that all active Canadian teams have qualified in the same season. It is also the second time that all seven active teams at the time qualified, the first occurring three years earlier. Also, 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 ...

won their only playoff series during their tenure in Hartford against the

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 ...

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

After a 2-year trial of the 2–3–2 home ice format, the finals reverted to the 2–2–1–1–1 format.

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Source: NHL

Leading goaltenders

Source: NHL

Coaches

Patrick Division

*New Jersey Devils:

Doug Carpenter Doug Carpenter (born July 1, 1942, in Cornwall, Ontario) is a former head coach in the National Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the International Hockey League and the American Hockey League, and is a former hockey player i ...

*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 Bo ...

*New York Rangers:

Ted Sator Ted Sator (born November 18, 1949) is an American professional coach (ice hockey), ice hockey coach. He has twelve seasons of National Hockey League (NHL) coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach for various teams and head coach of the N ...

*Philadelphia Flyers:

Mike Keenan Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL team ...

*Pittsburgh Penguins: Bob Berry *Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

Adams Division

*Boston Bruins:

Butch Goring Robert Thomas "Butch" Goring (born October 22, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and Boston Bruins. He is a four- ...

*Buffalo Sabres:

Jim Schoenfeld James Grant Schoenfeld (born September 4, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently was the assistant general manager with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), as well as an inte ...

and

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: Jack Evans *Montreal Canadiens:

Jean Perron Jean Perron (born October 5, 1946) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and sports commentator, best known for being the 16th head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, serving from 1985 to 1988. Perron has more recently served as the head coach for Israe ...

*Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron

Norris Division

*Chicago Black Hawks:

Bob Pulford Robert Jesse Pulford (born March 31, 1936) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spe ...

*Detroit Red Wings:

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 ...

and

Brad Park Douglas Bradford "Brad" Park (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A defenceman, Park played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. Considered to be on ...

*Minnesota North Stars:

Lorne Henning Lorne Henning (born February 22, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He most recently served as Director of Player Personnel and Assistant General Manager for the NHL's Vancouver Canucksbr> Born in Melfort, ...

*St. Louis Blues:

Jacques Demers Jacques Demers (born August 25, 1944) is a former Canadian Senator, former broadcaster and former professional ice hockey head coach. After a lengthy coaching career in the World Hockey Association and in the National Hockey League, Demers bec ...

*Toronto Maple Leafs:

Dan Maloney Daniel Charles "Snowshoes" Maloney (September 24, 1950 – November 19, 2018) was a professional ice hockey left winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) and NHL coach. Playing career Drafted 14th overall by the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1970 ...

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: Pat Quinn *Vancouver Canucks: Tom Watt *Winnipeg Jets:

Barry Long Barry Long (1 August 1926 – 6 December 2003
''

John Ferguson, Sr. John Bowie "Fergy" Ferguson Sr. (September 5, 1938 – July 14, 2007) was a professional ice hockey player and executive. Ferguson played left wing for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971. After retiring from active play, he became a coach ...

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1985–86 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *

Bill Ranford William Edward Ranford (born December 14, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Los Angeles Kings. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall, by the B ...

, Boston Bruins *

Daren Puppa Daren James Puppa (born March 23, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the NHL. During his career, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the 1985 NCAA Championship ...

, Buffalo Sabres * Brian Bradley, Calgary Flames *

Gary Suter Gary Lee Suter (born June 24, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1985 and 2002. He was a ninth round selection of the Calgary Flames, 180th overa ...

, Calgary Flames *

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, ...

*, Calgary Flames *

Adam Oates Adam Robert Oates (born August 27, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, former co-head coach for the New Jersey Devils and former head coach for the Washington Capitals. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Petr Klima Petr is a Czech given name for males and a Czech surname. Petr is the Czech form of ''Peter''. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and poli ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Bob Probert Robert Alan Probert (June 5, 1965 – July 5, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Probert played for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including be ...

, Detroit Red Wings *

Shayne Corson Shayne Paul Corson (born August 13, 1966) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars. During hi ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Kirk McLean Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Ran ...

, New Jersey Devils * Craig Wolanin, New Jersey Devils *

Scott Mellanby Scott Edgar Mellanby (born June 11, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He primarily played right wing throughout his NHL career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former ''H ...

, Philadelphia Flyers *

Craig Simpson Craig Andrew Simpson (born February 15, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres. He is currently a broadc ...

, Pittsburgh Penguins * Jeff Brown, Quebec Nordiques *

Cliff Ronning Clifford John Ronning (born October 1, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the seventh round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, 134th overall. During a National Hockey League (NHL) c ...

*, St. Louis Blues *

Wendel Clark Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs *

Dave Lowry David John Lowry (born February 14, 1965) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. He is currently an associate coach with the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in the NHL from 1985 to 2004. Lowr ...

, Vancouver Canucks *

Jim Sandlak James Sandlak, Jr. (born December 12, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League and was known as "the House" due to his large stature. Playing career Sandlak played major junior w ...

, Vancouver Canucks

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1985–86 (listed with their last team): *

Tom Lysiak Thomas James Lysiak (April 22, 1953 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, he was additionally selected by the Houston A ...

, Chicago Black Hawks * Mike Rogers, Edmonton Oilers *

Mario Tremblay Joseph Daniel Mario Tremblay (born September 2, 1956) is a former professional ice hockey player and former coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, he was a five-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens. He was honou ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Bob Nystrom Robert Thore Nystrom (born October 10, 1952) is a Swedish-Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972– 86. He is best remembered as having scored the ...

, New York Islanders *

, Philadelphia Flyers *

Denis Herron Denis Bernard Herron (born June 18, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Kansas City Scouts, and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. Playing career Herron played juni ...

, Pittsburgh Penguins *

Don Edwards William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California for 32 years in the late 20th century. Early life Edwar ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs *

Marian Stastny Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs * Jiri Bubla, Vancouver Canucks *

Dan Bouchard Daniel Hector Bouchard (born December 12, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques, and original Winnipeg Jets. Career ...

, Winnipeg Jets

References

* * * * ;Notes

External links

Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1985-86 NHL season 1985–86 in Canadian ice hockey by league 1985–86 in American ice hockey by league

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