# 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's eighteenth in the National Hockey League. It marked the debut of Mario Lemieux for the Penguins.

## Background

Lemieux debuted with the Penguins on October 11, 1984, in a game against the Boston Bruins; he scored a goal with his very first NHL shot during his first shift. Later that season, Lemieux played in the NHL All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player.
Despite missing seven games during the season, Lemieux scored one hundred points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year.

## Offseason

Before the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Lemieux announced he wanted to play for whoever drafted him. He and his agent were deadlocked with the Penguins and could not negotiate a contract. Because of this, when the Penguins called his name as the first overall draft pick, he did not shake general manager Eddie Johnston's hand or don the Penguins jersey, as is NHL tradition. He claimed he was upset about the contract negotiation, and said that "Pittsburgh doesn't want [him] bad enough."
Even though the draft was held in Montreal, more than three thousand fans viewed the broadcast in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena. In contrast, a typical Penguins game drew fewer than seven thousand fans. Lemieux's actions upset many fans and led to accusations of arrogance and aloofness.
After the draft, Johnston signed Lemieux to a two-year contract for $600,000, plus a $150,000 bonus for signing. Although Lemieux wore the jersey #27 during his time with the Laval Voisins, he wanted to adopt Wayne Gretzky's #99 when he entered the NHL; however, his agent advised him to create his own identity. In response, Lemieux turned #99 upside down and landed on #66, which stayed with him throughout his career.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 20 | 7 | 348 | 241 | 113 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 322 | 240 | 101 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 345 | 312 | 86 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 295 | 345 | 62 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 22 | 48 | 10 | 264 | 346 | 54 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 24 | 51 | 5 | 276 | 385 | 53 |
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

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—3−2−22−52−55−22−4−114−18−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−3−2—4−33−3−15−23−417−15−3
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−4—0−74−32−514−21−0
Philadelphia
5−23−3−17−0—5−25−1−125−8−2
Pittsburgh
2−52−53−42–5—0−6−19−25−1
Washington
4−2−14−35−21–5−16−0–1—20−13−2
Vs. Adams Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−30−30−31−1−11−1−12−11−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−22−11−1−11−20−35−9−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−1−21−1−10−1−20−2−11−22−7−6
Philadelphia
2−11−1−12−0−11−21−1−17−5−3
Pittsburgh
1−20−2−11−21−20−33−11−1
Washington
2−11−21−21−1−12−17−7−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
0−31−1−11−1−10−2−13−05−7−3
N.Y. Islanders
3−02−11−1−13−02−111−3−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−31−21−22−0−12−0−16−7−2
Philadelphia
2−12−0−13−03−02−112−2−1
Pittsburgh
1−21−1−11−21−22−16−8−1
Washington
3−02−12−0−12−0−12−0−111−1−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1984–85 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−11−20−30−30−2−11−12−2
N.Y. Islanders
1−20−2−12−12−12−17−7−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−2−11−1−11−22−10−34−9−2
Philadelphia
2−13−01−1−13−00−39−5−1
Pittsburgh
2−0−11−1−10−32−11−26−7−2
Washington
2−10−1−22−13−01−28−5−2 :

## Schedule and results

1984–85 Schedule :
October: 5–4–0 (Home: 4–1–0; Road: 1–3–0), 10 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
1Oct 11Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Boston BruinsBoston Garden0–1–00
2Oct 13Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum0–2–00
3Oct 17Vancouver Canucks3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–2–02
4Oct 20Philadelphia Flyers1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–2–04
5Oct 21Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum2–3–04
6Oct 24New Jersey Devils5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–4–04
7Oct 27Montreal Canadiens5–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–4–06
8Oct 30Detroit Red Wings3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena4–4–08
9Oct 31Pittsburgh Penguins7–6New Jersey DevilsBrendan Byrne Arena5–4–010 :
November: 1–8–3 (Home: 0–4–3; Road: 1–4–0), 5 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
10Nov 3New York Rangers7–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–5–010
11Nov 6Edmonton Oilers3–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–5–111
12Nov 8St. Louis Blues6–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–6–111
13Nov 10Pittsburgh Penguins4–5New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum5–7–111
14Nov 14Pittsburgh Penguins4–3 OTWinnipeg JetsWinnipeg Arena6–7–113
15Nov 16Pittsburgh Penguins6–7Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum6–8–113
16Nov 17Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Los Angeles KingsThe Forum6–9–113
17Nov 21Washington Capitals3–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–9–214
18Nov 22Pittsburgh Penguins3–9Hartford WhalersHartford Civic Center6–10–214
19Nov 24New Jersey Devils5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–11–214
20Nov 27Buffalo Sabres2–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–11–315
21Nov 29Chicago Black Hawks6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–12–315 :
December: 8–5–1 (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 2–4–1), 17 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
22Dec 1Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum6–13–315
23Dec 2Pittsburgh Penguins1–9Washington CapitalsCapital Centre6–14–315
24Dec 5St. Louis Blues4–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena7–14–317
25Dec 7Pittsburgh Penguins4–3 OTNew York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)8–14–319
26Dec 8Calgary Flames4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–14–321
27Dec 12New York Islanders3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–14–323
28Dec 15Pittsburgh Penguins5–2Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens11–14–325
29Dec 19New Jersey Devils3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–15–325
30Dec 21Philadelphia Flyers2–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena12–15–327
31Dec 22Pittsburgh Penguins2–5New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum12–16–327
32Dec 26New York Islanders5–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–16–329
33Dec 28Hartford Whalers0–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–16–331
34Dec 29Pittsburgh Penguins2–10Quebec NordiquesColisée de Québec14–17–331
35Dec 31Pittsburgh Penguins4–4 OTDetroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena14–17–432 :
January: 4–8–1 (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 1–5–1), 9 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
36Jan 2Pittsburgh Penguins2–1Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens15–17–434
37Jan 4Pittsburgh Penguins2–7Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium15–18–434
38Jan 5Quebec Nordiques8–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–19–434
39Jan 9Vancouver Canucks4–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–19–436
40Jan 12Edmonton Oilers3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena17–19–438
41Jan 16Washington Capitals5–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena17–20–438
42Jan 17Pittsburgh Penguins2–6Washington CapitalsCapital Centre17–21–438
43Jan 19Chicago Black Hawks4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–21–440
44Jan 21Pittsburgh Penguins6–7Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Arena18–22–440
45Jan 23Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Minnesota North StarsMet Center18–23–440
46Jan 25Pittsburgh Penguins6–6 OTCalgary FlamesOlympic Saddledome18–23–541
47Jan 26Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Edmonton OilersNorthlands Coliseum18–24–541
48Jan 30Toronto Maple Leafs6–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–25–541 :
February: 2–10–0 (Home: 1–6–0; Road: 1–4–0), 4 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
49Feb 2New York Islanders4–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–26–541
50Feb 7Pittsburgh Penguins3–6New Jersey DevilsBrendan Byrne Arena18–27–541
51Feb 9Pittsburgh Penguins1–4New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum18–28–541
52Feb 10Los Angeles Kings4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–29–541
53Feb 14Pittsburgh Penguins4–5Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium18–30–541
54Feb 16Quebec Nordiques8–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena18–31–541
55Feb 18Pittsburgh Penguins2–8Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum18–32–541
56Feb 20Calgary Flames3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–32–543
57Feb 22New York Rangers8–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–33–543
58Feb 23Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Minnesota North StarsMet Center20–33–545
59Feb 25Minnesota North Stars5–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–34–545
60Feb 27Winnipeg Jets6–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–35–545 :
March: 4–12–0 (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 1–9–0), 8 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
61Mar 2New York Rangers4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena21–35–547
62Mar 3Pittsburgh Penguins3–7New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)21–36–547
63Mar 5Pittsburgh Penguins0–6Los Angeles KingsThe Forum21–37–547
64Mar 7Pittsburgh Penguins1–5St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Arena21–38–547
65Mar 9Pittsburgh Penguins6–5 OTBoston BruinsBoston Garden22–38–549
66Mar 10Pittsburgh Penguins4–11Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum22–39–549
67Mar 13Boston Bruins7–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena22–40–549
68Mar 16New York Rangers0–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena23–40–551
69Mar 17Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Hartford WhalersHartford Civic Center23–41–551
70Mar 19Philadelphia Flyers5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena23–42–551
71Mar 22Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium23–43–551
72Mar 24Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Washington CapitalsCapital Centre23–44–551
73Mar 26Pittsburgh Penguins4–5New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)23–45–551
74Mar 27New Jersey Devils3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–45–553
75Mar 30Pittsburgh Penguins4–6New Jersey DevilsBrendan Byrne Arena24–46–553
76Mar 31Montreal Canadiens4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–47–553 :
April: 0–4–0 (Home: 0–2–0; Road: 0–2–0), 0 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
77Apr 2Pittsburgh Penguins3–4New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum24–48–553
78Apr 3Detroit Red Wings3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–49–553
79Apr 6Washington Capitals7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–50–553
80Apr 7Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Washington CapitalsCapital Centre24–51–553 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Penguins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive year, and finished last in the Prince of Wales Conference with 53 points, the second-worst in the NHL.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mario Lemieux | 73 | 43 | 57 | 100 | –35 | 54 |
| Warren Young | 80 | 40 | 32 | 72 | –20 | 174 |
| Doug Shedden | 80 | 35 | 32 | 67 | –51 | 30 |
| Mike Bullard | 68 | 32 | 31 | 63 | –43 | 75 |
| Wayne Babych | 65 | 20 | 34 | 54 | –7 | 35 |
| John Chabot$^†$ | 67 | 8 | 45 | 53 | –37 | 12 |
| Moe Mantha Jr. | 71 | 11 | 40 | 51 | –35 | 54 |
| Doug Bodger | 65 | 5 | 26 | 31 | –24 | 67 |
| Andy Brickley | 45 | 7 | 15 | 22 | –14 | 10 |
| Randy Hillier | 45 | 2 | 19 | 21 | –12 | 56 |
| Kevin McCarthy | 64 | 9 | 10 | 19 | –20 | 30 |
| Gary Rissling | 56 | 10 | 9 | 19 | –6 | 209 |
| Troy Loney | 46 | 10 | 8 | 18 | –11 | 59 |
| Mitch Lamoureux | 62 | 10 | 8 | 18 | –9 | 53 |
| Mark Taylor$^‡$ | 47 | 7 | 10 | 17 | –7 | 19 |
| Dave Hannan | 30 | 6 | 7 | 13 | –8 | 43 |
| Bruce Crowder | 26 | 4 | 7 | 11 | –9 | 23 |
| Joe McDonnell | 40 | 2 | 9 | 11 | –19 | 20 |
| Todd Charlesworth | 67 | 1 | 8 | 9 | –23 | 31 |
| Rod Buskas | 69 | 2 | 7 | 9 | –21 | 191 |
| Roger Belanger | 44 | 3 | 5 | 8 | –13 | 32 |
| Bryan Maxwell | 44 | 0 | 8 | 8 | –23 | 57 |
| Greg Fox | 26 | 2 | 5 | 7 | –6 | 26 |
| Ron Flockhart$^‡$ | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Arto Javanainen | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Jim McGeough$^†$ | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | –4 | 4 |
| Pat Boutette$^‡$ | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –5 | 24 |
| Jim Hamilton | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –6 | 0 |
| Wally Weir$^†$ | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 34 |
| Bob Errey | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –8 | 7 |
| Rick Kehoe | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Gatzos | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –6 | 2 |
| Greg Hotham | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –3 | 4 |
| Petteri Lehto | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 4 |
| Bob Geale | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 2 |
| Marty McSorley | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –3 | 15 |
| Mike Rowe | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –7 | 7 |
| Tom O'Regan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 276 | 457 | 733 | — | 1,469 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| Denis Herron | 42 | 2193:00 | 10 | 22 | 3 | 170 | 4.65 | 1362 | 0.875 | 1 |
| Roberto Romano | 31 | 1629:00 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 120 | 4.42 | 974 | 0.877 | 1 |
| Michel Dion | 10 | 553:00 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 4.67 | 316 | 0.864 | 0 |
| Brian Ford | 8 | 457:00 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 6.30 | 292 | 0.836 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 4832:00 | 24 | 51 | 5 | 381 | 4.73 | 2944 | 0.871 | 2 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records

* Mario Lemieux established a new franchise rookie record for goals (43), assists (57) and points (100). He topped the previous highs held by Pierre Larouche (37 assists, 68 points) and Mike Bullard (36 goals).
* Rick Kehoe established a career franchise record for points (636). He had led the category since 1984.
* Mario Lemieux, Calder Memorial Trophy
* Mario Lemieux, NHL All-Rookie Team
* Warren Young, NHL All-Rookie Team

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1984–85 season:

### Trades

| October 15, 1984 | To Boston Bruins 1985 4th round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Randy Hillier |
| November 9, 1984 | To Montreal Canadiens Ron Flockhart | To Pittsburgh Penguins John Chabot |
| November 16, 1984 | To Hartford Whalers Pat Boutette | To Pittsburgh Penguins rights to Ville Siren |
| December 6, 1984 | To Quebec Nordiques Tom Thornbury | To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Ford |
| March 12, 1985 | To Washington Capitals Mark Taylor | To Pittsburgh Penguins Jim McGeough |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Petteri Lehto | TPS Turku (SM-liiga) | free agency (1984-07) |
| Wayne Babych | St. Louis Blues | Waiver Draft (1984-10-09) |
| Bruce Crowder | Boston Bruins | Waiver Draft (1984-10-09) |
| Joe McDonnell | Edmonton Oilers | free agency (1984-12-30) |
| Wally Weir | Hartford Whalers | waivers (1985-03-01) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Paul Gardner | Washington Capitals | free agency (1984-07-17) |
| Darren Lowe | WEV Wien (Austria) | free agency |
| Vincent Tremblay | Buffalo Sabres | free agency (1985-03-07) |

## Draft picks

The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 9, 1984, in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Mario Lemieux | Center | Canada | Laval Voisins (QMJHL) |
| 1 | 9 | Doug Bodger | Defense | Canada | Kamloops Junior Oilers (WHL) |
| 1 | 16 | Roger Belanger Jr. | Center | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHL) |
| 4 | 64 | Mark Teevens | Right Wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 5 | 85 | Arto Javanainen | Right Wing | Finland | Assat Pori (FNL) |
| 7 | 127 | Tom Ryan | Defense | United States | Newton North H.S. (Massachusetts) |
| 9 | 169 | John Del Col | Left Wing | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 10 | 189 | Steve Hurt | Right Wing | United States | Hill-Murray H.S. (Minn.) |
| 11 | 210 | Jim Steen | Center | United States | Moorhead H.S. (Minn.) |
| 12 | 230 | Mark Ziliotto | Left Wing | Canada | Streetsville Jr. B (OHA) |