# 1986–87 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1986–87 Winnipeg Jets season was the 15th season of the Winnipeg Jets, their eighth in the National Hockey League. The Jets placed third in the Smythe Division to qualify for the playoffs. The Jets defeated the Calgary Flames in the first round but lost the Division Final to the Edmonton Oilers. This was the last playoff series win for the original Jets before they moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

## Offseason

After a poor 1985–86 season, in which the Jets fired head coach Barry Long and replaced him on an interim basis with general manager John Ferguson, the team hired Dan Maloney to become the new head coach on June 20, 1986. Maloney had previously been the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1984 to 1986, posting a 45–100–15 record with the Leafs during that span.
On June 21, 1986, the Jets selected forward Pat Elynuik with their first round, eighth overall draft pick at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Elynuik spent the 1985–86 season with the Prince Albert Raiders, scoring 53 goals and 106 points in 68 games. In the second round, Winnipeg selected defenseman Teppo Numminen from Tappara Tampere of the SM-liiga.
On August 15, 1986, the Jets made a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, acquiring goaltender Steve Penney and Jan Ingman for goaltender Brian Hayward. Penney had a 6–8–2 record with a 4.36 GAA with Montreal during the 1985–86 season as the back-up to Patrick Roy.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 372 | 284 | 106 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 46 | 31 | 3 | 318 | 289 | 95 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 279 | 271 | 88 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 41 | 8 | 318 | 341 | 70 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 29 | 43 | 8 | 282 | 314 | 66 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Calgary
—6–1–15–34–42–617–14–1
Edmonton
1–6–1—4–2–27–0–15–317–11–4
Los Angeles
3–52–4–2—2–5–13–510–19–3
Vancouver
4–40–7–15–2–1—3–512–18–2
Winnipeg
6–23–55–35–3—19–13–0
Vs. Norris Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Calgary
3–01–21–1–11–22–18–6–1
Edmonton
1–23–02–0–13–02–111–3–1
Los Angeles
1–1–13–00–2–11–1–11–1–16–5–4
Vancouver
1–1–11–20–32–0–12–16–7–2
Winnipeg
0–31–1–12–11–0–21–25–7–3
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Calgary
1–23–02–11–22–19–6–0
Edmonton
1–22–12–13–03–011–4–0
Los Angeles
1–21–22–10–30–34–11–0
Vancouver
1–23–00–2–12–11–27–7–1
Winnipeg
1–22–11–1–11–21–0–26–6–3
Vs. Patrick Division
1986–87 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Calgary
2–12–0–12–12–12–12–112–5–1
Edmonton
2–12–0–13–01–22–11–211–6–1
Los Angeles
2–12–10–2–12–12–13–011–6–1
Vancouver
0–2–12–11–21–20–1–20–34–11–3
Winnipeg
3–01–1–12–11–22–11–1–110–6–2 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 9, 1986 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1986 | 5–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | L | October 14, 1986 | 1–2 | Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | T | October 16, 1986 | 4–4 OT | @ Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 18, 1986 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | L | October 19, 1986 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | W | October 24, 1986 | 5–2 | Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | L | October 26, 1986 | 4–8 | Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 3–4–1 |
| 9 | W | October 29, 1986 | 6–2 | Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 4–4–1 |
| 10 | L | November 1, 1986 | 4–7 | @ New York Islanders (1986–87) | 4–5–1 |
| 11 | W | November 2, 1986 | 5–4 OT | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 5–5–1 |
| 12 | W | November 4, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 6–5–1 |
| 13 | W | November 7, 1986 | 2–0 | St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 7–5–1 |
| 14 | W | November 9, 1986 | 8–1 | New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 8–5–1 |
| 15 | L | November 11, 1986 | 3–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 8–6–1 |
| 16 | W | November 13, 1986 | 6–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 9–6–1 |
| 17 | W | November 14, 1986 | 3–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 10–6–1 |
| 18 | W | November 16, 1986 | 3–1 | New York Islanders (1986–87) | 11–6–1 |
| 19 | W | November 18, 1986 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 12–6–1 |
| 20 | L | November 21, 1986 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 12–7–1 |
| 21 | W | November 23, 1986 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 13–7–1 |
| 22 | L | November 26, 1986 | 3–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 13–8–1 |
| 23 | W | November 27, 1986 | 4–3 | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 14–8–1 |
| 24 | W | November 29, 1986 | 6–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 15–8–1 |
| 25 | T | December 3, 1986 | 3–3 OT | Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 15–8–2 |
| 26 | L | December 5, 1986 | 3–6 | New York Rangers (1986–87) | 15–9–2 |
| 27 | L | December 7, 1986 | 1–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 15–10–2 |
| 28 | L | December 10, 1986 | 4–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 15–11–2 |
| 29 | L | December 12, 1986 | 1–6 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 15–12–2 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1986 | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 15–13–2 |
| 31 | L | December 17, 1986 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 15–14–2 |
| 32 | T | December 18, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 15–14–3 |
| 33 | T | December 21, 1986 | 4–4 OT | Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 15–14–4 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1986 | 2–1 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 16–14–4 |
| 35 | L | December 26, 1986 | 2–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 16–15–4 |
| 36 | W | December 28, 1986 | 5–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 17–15–4 |
| 37 | L | December 31, 1986 | 1–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 17–16–4 |
| 38 | W | January 2, 1987 | 6–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 18–16–4 |
| 39 | W | January 4, 1987 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 19–16–4 |
| 40 | L | January 7, 1987 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1986–87) | 19–17–4 |
| 41 | W | January 9, 1987 | 3–0 | Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 20–17–4 |
| 42 | W | January 10, 1987 | 5–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 21–17–4 |
| 43 | W | January 13, 1987 | 3–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 22–17–4 |
| 44 | W | January 14, 1987 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 23–17–4 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1987 | 5–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 24–17–4 |
| 46 | W | January 18, 1987 | 5–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1986–87) | 25–17–4 |
| 47 | W | January 19, 1987 | 5–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 26–17–4 |
| 48 | L | January 21, 1987 | 3–5 | Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 26–18–4 |
| 49 | W | January 23, 1987 | 7–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 27–18–4 |
| 50 | T | January 27, 1987 | 2–2 OT | @ New York Islanders (1986–87) | 27–18–5 |
| 51 | W | January 28, 1987 | 2–1 | @ New York Rangers (1986–87) | 28–18–5 |
| 52 | L | January 31, 1987 | 3–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 28–19–5 |
| 53 | L | February 1, 1987 | 4–6 | @ Washington Capitals (1986–87) | 28–20–5 |
| 54 | W | February 4, 1987 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87) | 29–20–5 |
| 55 | W | February 6, 1987 | 6–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 30–20–5 |
| 56 | W | February 8, 1987 | 3–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 31–20–5 |
| 57 | L | February 14, 1987 | 2–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 31–21–5 |
| 58 | T | February 17, 1987 | 3–3 OT | @ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87) | 31–21–6 |
| 59 | L | February 18, 1987 | 2–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 31–22–6 |
| 60 | W | February 20, 1987 | 6–2 | Boston Bruins (1986–87) | 32–22–6 |
| 61 | W | February 22, 1987 | 5–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 33–22–6 |
| 62 | L | February 24, 1987 | 3–8 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 33–23–6 |
| 63 | W | February 26, 1987 | 4–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87) | 34–23–6 |
| 64 | L | February 28, 1987 | 3–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 34–24–6 |
| 65 | W | March 1, 1987 | 6–3 | Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 35–24–6 |
| 66 | L | March 4, 1987 | 2–3 | @ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87) | 35–25–6 |
| 67 | T | March 5, 1987 | 1–1 OT | @ St. Louis Blues (1986–87) | 35–25–7 |
| 68 | L | March 8, 1987 | 3–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87) | 35–26–7 |
| 69 | W | March 11, 1987 | 2–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1986–87) | 36–26–7 |
| 70 | L | March 13, 1987 | 0–3 | Hartford Whalers (1986–87) | 36–27–7 |
| 71 | T | March 15, 1987 | 1–1 OT | Detroit Red Wings (1986–87) | 36–27–8 |
| 72 | W | March 18, 1987 | 4–3 OT | New Jersey Devils (1986–87) | 37–27–8 |
| 73 | L | March 20, 1987 | 5–6 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 37–28–8 |
| 74 | W | March 22, 1987 | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 38–28–8 |
| 75 | W | March 25, 1987 | 10–1 | Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 39–28–8 |
| 76 | L | March 26, 1987 | 1–3 | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 39–29–8 |
| 77 | L | March 29, 1987 | 2–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87) | 39–30–8 |
| 78 | L | March 31, 1987 | 4–5 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87) | 39–31–8 |
| 79 | L | April 3, 1987 | 4–6 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87) | 39–32–8 |
| 80 | W | April 5, 1987 | 3–1 | @ Calgary Flames (1986–87) | 40–32–8 |

## Playoffs

The Jets won the Division semi-finals (4–2) versus Calgary Flames to advance to the Division Finals, which they lost 4–0 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers.

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dale Hawerchuk | C | 80 | 47 | 53 | 100 | 52 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 72 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 75 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| Brian Mullen | RW | 69 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 20 | -2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Thomas Steen | C | 75 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 59 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Gilles Hamel | LW | 79 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Dave Ellett | D | 78 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 53 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Mario Marois | D | 79 | 4 | 40 | 44 | 106 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Smail | LW | 78 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 36 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Randy Carlyle | D | 71 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 93 | -6 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Laurie Boschman | C | 80 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 152 | -17 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ray Neufeld | RW | 80 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 105 | -13 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Fredrik Olausson | D | 72 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 24 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Andrew McBain | RW | 71 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 106 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tim Watters | D | 63 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 119 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | C | 80 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Kyte | D | 72 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 162 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brad Berry | D | 52 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 60 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Derlago | C | 30 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hannu Jarvenpaa | RW | 20 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nill | RW | 36 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 52 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Perry Turnbull | C | 26 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 44 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Rooney | LW | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 57 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Iain Duncan | LW | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Jones | LW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Martin | LW | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Baillargeon | LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Endean | LW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Berthiaume | G | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Douris | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Gilhen | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Penney | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pokey Reddick | G | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Taglianetti | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Pokey Reddick | 2762 | 48 | 21 | 21 | 4 | 149 | 3.24 | 0 | 1256 | 1107 | .881 |
| Daniel Berthiaume | 1758 | 31 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 93 | 3.17 | 1 | 810 | 717 | .885 |
| Steve Penney | 327 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 4.59 | 0 | 134 | 109 | .813 |
| Team: | 4847 | 80 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 267 | 3.31 | 1 | 2200 | 1933 | .879 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dale Hawerchuk | C | 10 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Ellett | D | 10 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Steen | C | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brian Mullen | RW | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Carlyle | D | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laurie Boschman | C | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fredrik Olausson | D | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Smail | LW | 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mario Marois | D | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Kyte | D | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | C | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Hamel | LW | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ray Neufeld | RW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iain Duncan | LW | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew McBain | RW | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Berry | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Berthiaume | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nill | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pokey Reddick | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Rooney | LW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perry Turnbull | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Watters | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Daniel Berthiaume | 439 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 2.87 | 0 | 210 | 189 | .900 |
| Pokey Reddick | 166 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 3.61 | 0 | 74 | 64 | .865 |
| Team: | 605 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 3.07 | 0 | 284 | 253 | .891 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Transactions
### Trades

| June 21, 1986 | To Buffalo SabresScott Arniel | To Winnipeg JetsGilles Hamel |
| July 3, 1986 | To Edmonton OilersMurray Eaves | To Winnipeg JetsFuture Considerations |
| August 15, 1986 | To Montreal CanadiensBrian Hayward | To Winnipeg JetsSteve Penney Jan Ingman |
| January 5, 1987 | To Quebec NordiquesBill Derlago | To Winnipeg Jets4th round pick in 1989 – Mark Brownschidle |
| January 8, 1987 | To Montreal Canadiens3rd round pick in 1987 – François Gravel | To Winnipeg JetsSteve Rooney |
| June 5, 1987 | To St. Louis BluesPerry Turnbull | To Winnipeg Jets5th round pick in 1987 – Ken Gernander |
| June 8, 1987 | To New York RangersBrian Mullen 10th round pick in 1987 – Brett Barnett | To Winnipeg Jets5th round pick in 1988 – Ben Lebeau 3rd round pick in 1989 – Denny Felsner |

## Draft picks

The Jets selected the following players at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto on June 15, 1985.

### NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 8 | Pat Elynuik (RW) | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 2 | 29 | Teppo Numminen (D) | Finland | Tappara Tampere (SM-liiga) |
| 3 | 50 | Esa Palosaari (G) | Finland | Oulun Kärpät (FinD1) |
| 4 | 71 | Hannu Jarvenpaa (RW) | Finland | Oulun Kärpät (FinD1) |
| 5 | 92 | Craig Endean (LW) | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 6 | 113 | Rob Bateman (D) | Canada | St. Laurent High School (Que.) |
| 8 | 155 | Frank Furlan (G) | Canada | Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL) |
| 9 | 176 | Mark Green (LW) | United States | New Hampton Prep (NH) |
| 10 | 97 | John Blue (G) | United States | University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 11 | 218 | Matt Cote (D) | United States | Lake Superior State University (NCAA) |
| 12 | 239 | Arto Blomsten (D) | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (SEL) |
| S2 | 11 | Chris Levasseur | United States | University of Alaska Anchorage (WCHA) |