1983–84 NHL season

National Hockey League season August 2023 1983–84 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 4, 1983 – May 19, 1984 Draft 1983 NHL Draft List of first overall NHL draft picks Brian Lawton Minnesota North Stars Regular season Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) Hart Memorial Trophy Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) Art Ross Trophy Playoffs 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup 1984 Stanley Cup Final Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders Mark Messier (Oilers) Conn Smythe Trophy 1984–85 1982–83 NHL 80 21 CBC, SRC (Canada)USA (United States) The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup Final. League business Ownership changes Arthur M. Wirtz, long-time chairman and part-owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, died at the age of 82 on July 21, 1983.McFarlane 1989 233 His son, Bill, took over ownership of the team. St. Louis Blues owner Ralston Purina announced that it would sell the team to a group led by World Hockey Association (WHA) and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter, with the intent on relocating the Blues to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/21/sports/saskatoon-group-purchases-blues.html Saskatoon Group Purchases Blues The New York Times April 21, 1983 However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 15–3 vote on May 18,May 19, 1983 Blues' Transfer Rejected The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/19/sports/blues-transfer-rejected.html feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough to support an NHL team, and also wary of Hunter's involvement based on his roles in the WHA.Gretz Adam PHT Time Machine: When Blues skipped NHL draft https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/07/23/pht-time-machine-when-blues-skipped-nhl-draft/ ProHockeyTalk August 13, 2018 July 23, 2018Blair Jeff October 26, 2014 How Saskatoon almost landed an NHL team in 1983 Rogers Hometown Hockey http://www.hometownhockey.com/news/how-saskatoon-almost-landed-an-nhl-team-in-1983/ dead August 3, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20150617040755/http://www.hometownhockey.com/news/how-saskatoon-almost-landed-an-nhl-team-in-1983/ June 17, 2015 Ralston then filed an anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. They also requested that the court allow them to give up the team and bar the NHL from interfering with the sale of the team. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL entry draft, they did not send a representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. The day after the draft, the NHL filed a counter-suit against Ralston, accusing Ralston of "damaging the league by willfully, wantonly and maliciously collapsing its St. Louis Blues hockey operation." The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise.https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19830608&id=26gyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7ucFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3516,2099435&hl=en Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search Ralston called the counter-suit "ridiculous" and gave the NHL an ultimatum: if the NHL would not accept Hunter's offer by June 14, Ralston would dissolve the team and sell its players and assets to other teams.https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19830609&id=GXogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=o2cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3018,2193833&hl=en The Lewiston Daily Sun - Google News Archive Search The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. On July 27, Harry Ornest purchased the Blues for US$3 million.McFarlane 1989 232 Entry draft The 1983 NHL entry draft was held on June 8, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The St. Louis Blues did not participate in this draft due to the aforementioned dispute between the league and team owner Ralston Purina. Brian Lawton became the first American to be chosen first overall, by the Minnesota North Stars. Three Americans were chosen in the top five: Lawton, Pat Lafontaine (third) and Tom Barrasso (fifth). Sylvain Turgeon was chosen second and Steve Yzerman was chosen fourth overall. Rule changes Not since World War II travel restrictions caused the NHL to drop regular season overtime games in 1942–43 had the NHL used overtime to decide regular season games. Starting this season, the NHL introduced a five-minute extra period of overtime following the third period in the event of a tied game. A team losing in overtime would get no points. This rule remained in effect until the 1999–2000 season, where a team losing in overtime was awarded 1 point. If the game remained tied after the five-minute extra period, it remained a tie with each team getting 1 point, until the NHL shootout arrived in the 2005–06 season. Overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs remained unchanged.UPI June 24, 1983 5-MINUTE OVERTIME IS VOTED BY N.H.L. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/24/sports/5-minute-overtime-is-voted-by-nhl.html February 9, 2016 New York Times Arena changes The Calgary Flames moved from the Stampede Corral to Olympic Saddledome. The St. Louis Blues's home arena, the Checkerdome, reverted to its original St. Louis Arena name, reflecting Harry Ornest taking over ownership of the team and the arena from Ralston Purina. Regular season The Edmonton Oilers ran away with the best record in the league, and for the third straight year set a new record for most goals in a season, 446. The Oilers' new captain, Wayne Gretzky, was once again breaking records and rewriting his name into the record book. This season saw Gretzky score at least one point in the first 51 games of the season. During those 51 games, Gretzky had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points, which is equivalent to exactly three points per game. He also won his fifth straight Hart Trophy and his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy by scoring 87 goals and 118 assists for a total of 205 points. The season's second leading scorer was Gretzky's teammate Paul Coffey, who, with 126 points, became the third defenceman to score 100 points in a season. The Calgary Flames played their inaugural season at the Olympic Saddledome. Prior to the season, the St. Louis Blues were purchased by Harry Ornest, keeping the team from folding after a proposed move to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was rejected by the NHL Board of Governors. The Blues remain in Missouri as of . In addition, the team's home venue, the Checkerdome, reverted to its original name, the Arena, after six seasons. Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes start Prince of Wales Conference break Clarence Campbell Conference end Playoffs 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs Bracket The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. In the division semifinals, teams competed in a best-of-five series. In the other three rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series). Playoff bracket Awards + 1983–84 NHL awards Award Recipient(s) Runners-up/finalists Prince of Wales Trophy(Wales Conference playoff champion) New York Islanders Montreal Canadiens Clarence S. Campbell Bowl(Campbell Conference playoff champion) Edmonton Oilers Minnesota North Stars Art Ross Trophy(Player with most points) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Paul Coffey (Edmonton Oilers) Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Brad Park (Detroit Red Wings) N/A Calder Memorial Trophy(Best first-year player) Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres) Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) Conn Smythe Trophy(Most valuable player, playoffs) Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) N/A Emery Edge Award(Best plus-minus statistic) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) Frank J. Selke Trophy(Defensive forward) Doug Jarvis (Washington Capitals) Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) Hart Memorial Trophy(Most valuable player, regular season) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) Rod Langway (Washington Capitals) Jack Adams Award(Best coach) Bryan Murray (Washington Capitals) Scotty Bowman (Buffalo Sabres) James Norris Memorial Trophy(Best defenceman) Rod Langway (Washington Capitals) Paul Coffey (Edmonton Oilers) Lady Byng Memorial Trophy(Sportsmanship and excellence) Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) Rick Middleton (Boston Bruins) Lester B. Pearson Award(Outstanding player) Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) N/A Vezina Trophy(Best goaltender) Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres) Rejean Lemelin (Calgary Flames) William M. Jennings Trophy(Goaltenders of team with fewest goals against) Al Jensen and Pat Riggin (Washington Capitals) Tom Barrasso and Bob Sauve (Buffalo Sabres) All-Star teams First Team   Position   Second TeamTom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres GPat Riggin, Washington CapitalsRod Langway, Washington Capitals DPaul Coffey, Edmonton OilersRay Bourque, Boston Bruins DDenis Potvin, New York IslandersWayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers CBryan Trottier, New York IslandersMike Bossy, New York Islanders RWJari Kurri, Edmonton OilersMichel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques LWMark Messier, Edmonton Oilers Source: NHL.Dinger 2011 229 Player statistics Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers 74 87 118 205 39 Paul Coffey Edmonton Oilers 80 40 86 126 104 Michel Goulet Quebec Nordiques 75 56 65 121 76 Peter Stastny Quebec Nordiques 80 46 73 119 73 Mike Bossy New York Islanders 67 51 67 118 8 Barry Pederson Boston Bruins 80 39 77 116 64 Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers 64 52 61 113 14 Bryan Trottier New York Islanders 68 40 71 111 59 Bernie Federko St. Louis Blues 79 41 66 107 43 Rick Middleton Boston Bruins 80 47 58 105 14 Source: NHL.Dinger 2011 152 Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage Player Team GP MIN GA GAA W L T SO SV%Pat Riggin Washington Capitals 41 2299 102 2.66 21 14 2 4 .890Tom Barrasso Buffalo Sabres 42 2475 117 2.84 26 12 3 2 .893Al Jensen Washington Capitals 43 2414 117 2.91 25 13 3 4 .882Doug Keans Boston Bruins 33 1779 92 3.10 19 8 3 2 .883Bob Froese Philadelphia Flyers 48 2863 150 3.14 28 13 7 2 .887Pete Peeters Boston Bruins 50 2868 151 3.16 29 16 2 0 .876Dan Bouchard Quebec Nordiques 57 3373 180 3.20 29 18 8 1 .882Roland Melanson N.Y. Islanders 37 2019 110 3.27 20 11 2 0 .903Richard Sevigny Montreal Canadiens 40 2203 124 3.38 16 18 2 1 .869Murray Bannerman Chicago Black Hawks 56 3335 188 3.38 23 29 4 2 .887 https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1984_leaders.html 1983-84 NHL Leaders Coaches Patrick Division New Jersey Devils: Bill MacMillan and Tom McVie New York Islanders: Al Arbour New York Rangers: Herb Brooks Philadelphia Flyers: Bob McCammon and Mike Keenan Pittsburgh Penguins: Lou Angotti Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray Adams Division Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman Hartford Whalers: Larry Pleau Montreal Canadiens: Bob Berry and Jacques Lemaire Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron Norris Division Chicago Black Hawks: Orval Tessier Detroit Red Wings: Nick Polano Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor St. Louis Blues: Jacques Demers Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Nykoluk Smythe Division Calgary Flames: Bob Johnson Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather Los Angeles Kings: Don Perry, Rogatien Vachon and Roger Neilson Vancouver Canucks: Roger Neilson and Harry Neale Winnipeg Jets: Tom Watt and Barry Long Milestones Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1983–84 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): Tom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens Geoff Courtnall, Boston Bruins Russ Courtnall, Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Curran, Boston Bruins Ken Daneyko, New Jersey Devils Bruce Driver, New Jersey Devils Patrick Flatley, New York Islanders Doug Gilmour, St. Louis Blues Dirk Graham, Minnesota North Stars Kelly Hrudey, New York Islanders Pat LaFontaine, New York Islanders Brian Lawton, Minnesota North Stars Claude Lemieux, Montreal Canadiens Doug Lidster, Vancouver Canucks Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames John MacLean, New Jersey Devils Marty McSorley, Pittsburgh Penguins Cam Neely, Vancouver Canucks James Patrick, New York Rangers Bob Rouse, Minnesota North Stars Peter Sundstrom, New York Rangers Sylvain Turgeon, Hartford Whalers Carey Wilson, Calgary Flames Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1983–84 (listed with their last team): Guy Lapointe, Boston Bruins Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks Rick MacLeish, Detroit Red Wings Billy Harris, Los Angeles Kings Blaine Stoughton, New York Rangers Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers Guy Chouinard, St. Louis Blues Michel Larocque, St. Louis Blues Dale McCourt, Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Palmateer, Toronto Maple Leafs Darcy Rota, Vancouver Canucks Broadcasting Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. This was the last season that the Molson-sponsored HNIC had sole Canadian national broadcast rights. During the next season, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing games on CTV. This was the second season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with USA, covering a slate of regular season games and selected playoff games. See also List of Stanley Cup champions 1983 NHL entry draft 1983–84 NHL transactions 36th National Hockey League All-Star Game NHL All-Star Game NHL All-Rookie Team Lester Patrick Trophy Ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics 1983 in sports 1984 in sports References Total Stanley Cup 2008 Diamond Dan NHL 2008 Dinger Ralph 2011 The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 Dan Diamond & Associates 978-1-894801-22-5 Toronto, ON registration https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 Dryden Steve Century of hockey McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, ON 2000 0-7710-4179-9 Fischler Stan Fischler Shirley Hughes Morgan Romain Joseph Duplacey James 2003 The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League Publications International Inc. 0-7853-9624-1 Lincolnwood, Illinois Fischler 2003 One hundred years of hockey McFarlane Brian Deneau Publishers Toronto 1989 0-88879-216-6 registration https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearso0000mcfa Notes External links 1983-1984 National Hockey League season Hockey Database NHL.com hockey-reference 1983 Category:1983–84 in Canadian ice hockey by league Category:1983–84 in American ice hockey by league