# 1982–83 New Jersey Devils season

The 1982–83 New Jersey Devils season was the franchise's ninth season in the NHL and the first in New Jersey after moving from Colorado, where they were known as the Colorado Rockies. The Devils first ever game was a 3–3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where first captain Don Lever scored the Devils' first ever goal. The team's first win would come against their new rivals, the New York Rangers. However, the new location didn't help the team overall, as they continued to struggle in the standings, finishing second-last in their division and third-to-last in their conference.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 326 | 240 | 106 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 302 | 226 | 96 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 39 | 25 | 16 | 306 | 283 | 94 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 306 | 287 | 80 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 230 | 338 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | 250 | 394 | 45 |
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
1982–83 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—0−73−3−12−53−1−30−6−18−22−5
N.Y. Islanders
7−0—4−31−4−25−24−2−121−11−3
N.Y. Rangers
3−3−13−4—3−45−1−13−3−117−15−3
Philadelphia
5−24−1−24−3—5−1−13−421−11−3
Pittsburgh
1−3−32−51−5−11–5–1—1−5−16−23−6
Washington
6−0−12−4−13−3−14–35–1–1—20−11−4
Vs. Adams Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−1−20−2−11−21−21−23−9−3
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−11−22−11−0−21−1−15−6−4
N.Y. Rangers
0−30−2−12−11−21−24−10−1
Philadelphia
0−2−11−22−11−23−07−7−1
Pittsburgh
1−21−1−13−01−20−36−8−1
Washington
3−00−32−0−10−1−21−1−16−5−4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
0−31−1−10−30−2−11−0−22−9−4
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−10−2−10−2−12−12−15−7−3
N.Y. Rangers
0−32−0−12−12−0−13−09−4−2
Philadelphia
1−1−13−01−1−13−02−0−110−2−3
Pittsburgh
0−30−2−10−2−10−31−21−12−2
Washington
2−0−12−11−1−11−1−12−18−4−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
1−20−31−21−0−21−24−9−2
N.Y. Islanders
2−0−13−03−02−11−1−111−2−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−0−10−31−1−11−1−11−1−15−6−4
Philadelphia
3−02−12−11−1−13−011−3−1
Pittsburgh
0−31−22−11−21−25−10−0
Washington
2−10−2−11−1−11−1−11−0−25−5−5 :

## Schedule and results

| Index: | Devils win | Devils loss | Tie game |

### October

Record: 3–6–3, Home: 2–3–2, Away: 1–3–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 1 | October 5 | Pittsburgh | 3 – 3 | New Jersey | 0–0–1 | 1 | 13,663 |
| 2 | October 8 | NY Rangers | 2 – 3 | New Jersey | 1–0–1 | 3 | 19,203 |
| 3 | October 9 | New Jersey | 5 – 5 | Toronto | 1–0–2 | 4 | 16,382 |
| 4 | October 12 | Boston | 2 – 2 | New Jersey | 1–0–3 | 5 | 10,251 |
| 5 | October 14 | Montreal | 5 – 3 | New Jersey | 1–1–3 | 5 | 11,703 |
| 6 | October 16 | New Jersey | 6 – 5 | Pittsburgh | 2–1–3 | 7 | 8,852 |
| 7 | October 18 | Philadelphia | 1 – 3 | New Jersey | 3–1–3 | 9 | 12,521 |
| 8 | October 20 | New Jersey | 4 – 7 | Los Angeles | 3–2–3 | 9 | 8,519 |
| 9 | October 22 | New Jersey | 1 – 3 | Winnipeg | 3–3–3 | 9 | 12,534 |
| 10 | October 26 | Minnesota | 5 – 3 | New Jersey | 3–4–3 | 9 | 11,208 |
| 11 | October 28 | NY Islanders | 4 – 2 | New Jersey | 3–5–3 | 9 | 19,023 |
| 12 | October 30 | New Jersey | 5 – 8 | NY Islanders | 3–6–3 | 9 | 15,230 |

### November

Record: 1–10–4, Home: 0–3–2, Away: 1–7–2
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 13 | November 1 | Calgary | 6 – 3 | New Jersey | 3–7–3 | 9 | 10,152 |
| 14 | November 2 | New Jersey | 4 – 5 | Montreal | 3–8–3 | 9 | 15,177 |
| 15 | November 4 | Pittsburgh | 4 – 4 | New Jersey | 3–8–4 | 10 | 10,410 |
| 16 | November 6 | New Jersey | 1 – 1 | Detroit | 3–8–5 | 11 | 11,395 |
| 17 | November 8 | Washington | 2 – 2 | New Jersey | 3–8–6 | 12 | 10,273 |
| 18 | November 10 | New Jersey | 0 – 3 | Washington | 3–9–6 | 12 | 12,445 |
| 19 | November 11 | Edmonton | 5 – 1 | New Jersey | 3–10–6 | 12 | 19,023 |
| 20 | November 13 | New Jersey | 2 – 7 | Quebec | 3–11–6 | 12 | 15,004 |
| 21 | November 16 | New Jersey | 2 – 7 | St. Louis | 3–12–6 | 12 | 10,807 |
| 22 | November 17 | New Jersey | 3 – 5 | Chicago | 3–13–6 | 12 | 14,628 |
| 23 | November 20 | New Jersey | 1 – 5 | Minnesota | 3–14–6 | 12 | 14,940 |
| 24 | November 24 | New Jersey | 0 – 3 | Los Angeles | 3–15–6 | 12 | 9,735 |
| 25 | November 26 | New Jersey | 4 – 4 | Vancouver | 3–15–7 | 13 | 12,875 |
| 26 | November 27 | New Jersey | 4 – 3 | Calgary | 4–15–7 | 15 | 7,242 |
| 27 | November 29 | Chicago | 3 – 1 | New Jersey | 4–16–7 | 15 | 10,834 |

### December

Record: 3–9–0, Home: 2–4–0, Away: 1–5–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 28 | December 1 | Toronto | 3 – 7 | New Jersey | 5–16–7 | 17 | 9,007 |
| 29 | December 3 | Hartford | 4 – 5 | New Jersey | 6–16–7 | 19 | 12,428 |
| 30 | December 4 | New Jersey | 2 – 6 | Detroit | 6–17–7 | 19 | 8,462 |
| 31 | December 6 | Winnipeg | 5 – 3 | New Jersey | 6–18–7 | 19 | 8,862 |
| 32 | December 9 | Washington | 6 – 4 | New Jersey | 6–19–7 | 19 | 9,123 |
| 33 | December 11 | New Jersey | 1 – 7 | NY Islanders | 6–20–7 | 19 | 15,167 |
| 34 | December 12 | New Jersey | 0 – 4 | NY Rangers | 6–21–7 | 19 | 17,423 |
| 35 | December 17 | New Jersey | 4 – 10 | Edmonton | 6–22–7 | 19 | 17,498 |
| 36 | December 19 | New Jersey | 3 – 2 | Winnipeg | 7–22–7 | 21 | 10,815 |
| 37 | December 22 | Philadelphia | 3 – 1 | New Jersey | 7–23–7 | 21 | 13,144 |
| 38 | December 26 | New Jersey | 2 – 5 | Boston | 7–24–7 | 21 | 14,685 |
| 39 | December 30 | NY Rangers | 5 – 2 | New Jersey | 7–25–7 | 21 | 19,023 |

### January

Record: 4–6–4, Home: 4–1–3, Away: 0–5–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 40 | January 2 | Vancouver | 1 – 3 | New Jersey | 8–25–7 | 23 | 10,017 |
| 41 | January 5 | Toronto | 4 – 4 | New Jersey | 8–25–8 | 24 | 9,330 |
| 42 | January 7 | Boston | 2 – 2 | New Jersey | 8–25–9 | 25 | 19,023 |
| 43 | January 9 | New Jersey | 3 – 4 | NY Rangers | 8–26–9 | 25 | 17,422 |
| 44 | January 10 | Quebec | 2 – 6 | New Jersey | 9–26–9 | 27 | 9,814 |
| 45 | January 13 | NY Islanders | 5 – 2 | New Jersey | 9–27–9 | 27 | 17,342 |
| 46 | January 15 | New Jersey | 1 – 2 | Hartford | 9–28–9 | 27 | 9,200 |
| 47 | January 16 | Los Angeles | 3 – 5 | New Jersey | 10–28–9 | 29 | 10,367 |
| 48 | January 19 | New Jersey | 1 – 1 | Pittsburgh | 10–28–10 | 30 | 5,213 |
| 49 | January 20 | St. Louis | 3 – 3 | New Jersey | 10–28–11 | 31 | 9,763 |
| 50 | January 23 | New Jersey | 1 – 3 | Washington | 10–29–11 | 31 | 8,839 |
| 51 | January 25 | New Jersey | 1 – 5 | Philadelphia | 10–30–11 | 31 | 16,312 |
| 52 | January 29 | New Jersey | 4 – 6 | Quebec | 10–31–11 | 31 | 15,056 |
| 53 | January 31 | Pittsburgh | 2 – 3 | New Jersey | 11–31–11 | 33 | 9,732 |

### February

Record: 1–8–2, Home: 1–2–2, Away: 0–6–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 54 | February 3 | NY Islanders | 7 – 2 | New Jersey | 11–32–11 | 33 | 15,033 |
| 55 | February 5 | New Jersey | 4 – 5 | Washington | 11–33–11 | 33 | 13,150 |
| 56 | February 6 | Vancouver | 4 – 4 | New Jersey | 11–33–12 | 34 | 7,036 |
| 57 | February 9 | New Jersey | 4 – 5 | Chicago | 11–34–12 | 34 | 16,235 |
| 58 | February 12 | New Jersey | 1 – 5 | St. Louis | 11–35–12 | 34 | 11,948 |
| 59 | February 15 | Minnesota | 3 – 2 | New Jersey | 11–36–12 | 34 | 10,765 |
| 60 | February 20 | New Jersey | 0 – 3 | Philadelphia | 11–37–12 | 34 | 17,011 |
| 61 | February 21 | Buffalo | 4 – 4 | New Jersey | 11–37–13 | 35 | 10,060 |
| 62 | February 24 | Detroit | 1 – 4 | New Jersey | 12–37–13 | 37 | 11,242 |
| 63 | February 26 | New Jersey | 4 – 5 | Pittsburgh | 12–38–13 | 37 | 10,343 |
| 64 | February 27 | New Jersey | 2 – 6 | Buffalo | 12–39–13 | 37 | 11,916 |

### March

Record: 4–10–0, Home: 2–7–0, Away: 2–3–0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 65 | March 1 | Edmonton | 4 – 3 | New Jersey | 12–40–13 | 37 | 13,478 |
| 66 | March 3 | Philadelphia | 4 – 1 | New Jersey | 12–41–13 | 37 | 12,701 |
| 67 | March 5 | New Jersey | 1 – 5 | NY Islanders | 12–42–13 | 37 | 15,230 |
| 68 | March 6 | New Jersey | 6 – 4 | NY Rangers | 13–42–13 | 39 | 17,410 |
| 69 | March 8 | Washington | 5 – 4 | New Jersey | 13–43–13 | 39 | 9,350 |
| 70 | March 10 | Hartford | 3 – 0 | New Jersey | 13–44–13 | 39 | 10,206 |
| 71 | March 12 | New Jersey | 7 – 3 | Montreal | 14–44–13 | 41 | 16,556 |
| 72 | March 14 | Calgary | 7 – 0 | New Jersey | 14–45–13 | 41 | 10,563 |
| 73 | March 17 | NY Islanders | 9 – 5 | New Jersey | 14–46–13 | 41 | 13,954 |
| 74 | March 21 | NY Rangers | 2 – 4 | New Jersey | 15–46–13 | 43 | 19,023 |
| 75 | March 24 | New Jersey | 3 – 5 | Washington | 15–47–13 | 43 | 9,713 |
| 76 | March 25 | Philadelphia | 5 – 6 | New Jersey | 16–47–13 | 45 | 17,041 |
| 77 | March 27 | New Jersey | 1 – 4 | Philadelphia | 16–48–13 | 45 | 16,922 |
| 78 | March 31 | Buffalo | 8 – 5 | New Jersey | 16–49–13 | 45 | 13,286 |

### April

Record: 1–0–1, Home: 0–0–0, Away: 1–0–1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts | Attendance |
| 79 | April 1 | New Jersey | 3 – 3 | NY Rangers | 16–49–14 | 46 | 17,412 |
| 80 | April 3 | New Jersey | 5 – 3 | Pittsburgh | 17–49–14 | 48 | 5,864 |

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Aaron Broten | 73 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 28 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Don Lever | 79 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 68 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob MacMillan | 71 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 8 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Tapio Levo | 73 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 22 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jeff Larmer | 65 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 21 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Hector Marini | 77 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 105 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Steve Tambellini | 73 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 14 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Brent Ashton | 76 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 47 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Rick Meagher$^†$ | 57 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 11 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Paul Gagne | 53 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 13 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Murray Brumwell | 59 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 34 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jan Ludvig | 51 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 30 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Joel Quenneville | 74 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 46 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Mike Antonovich | 30 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 11 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Glenn Merkosky | 34 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 20 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Bob Lorimer | 66 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 42 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Mike Kitchen | 77 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 52 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Yvon Vautour | 52 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 136 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Rob Palmer | 60 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 21 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Dave Cameron | 35 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 50 | – | – | – | – | - |
| John Wensink | 42 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 135 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Carol Vadnais | 51 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 64 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Merlin Malinowski$^‡$ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Pat Verbeek | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Dave Hutchison | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 102 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Garry Howatt | 38 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 114 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Jukka Porvari | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Chico Resch | 65 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Larry Floyd | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Joe Cirella | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Mike Moher | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Ron Low$^†$ | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Randy Pierce | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Dwight Foster$^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Shawn MacKenzie | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | - |
| Lindsay Middlebrook$^‡$ | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | – | – | – | – | - |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining New Jersey. Stats reflect time with the Devils only. $^‡$Traded mid-season
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Chico Resch | 65 | 3650 | 15 | 35 | 12 | 242 | 0 | 3.98 | – | – | – | – | – | – | - |
| Ron Low$^†$ | 11 | 608 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 0 | 4.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | - |
| Lindsay Middlebrook$^‡$ | 9 | 412 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 5.39 | – | – | – | – | – | – | - |
| Shawn MacKenzie | 6 | 130 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6.92 | – | – | – | – | – | – | - |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining New Jersey. Stats reflect time with the Devils only. $^‡$Traded mid-season Bold/italics denotes franchise record

## Transactions

The Devils were involved in the following transactions during the 1982–83 season.

### Trades

| October 1, 1982 | To New Jersey Devils Hector Marini 4th round pick in 1983 | To New York Islanders 4th round pick in 1983 |
| October 15, 1982 | To New Jersey DevilsRick Meagher Garry Howatt | To Hartford WhalersMerlin Malinowski Scott Fusco |
| October 29, 1982 | To New Jersey DevilsCash | To Detroit Red WingsDwight Foster |
| February 19, 1983 | To New Jersey DevilsRon Low | To Edmonton OilersLindsay Middlebrook Paul Miller |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| C Mike Antonovich | Minnesota North Stars |
| C Mitch Wilson | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| F Jan Ludvig | Edmonton Oilers |
| Player | New team |

## Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Canada.
| Rd # | Pick # | Player | Nat | Pos | Team (League) |
| 1 | 8 | Rocky Trottier | Canada | C | Billings Bighorns (WHL) |
| 1 | 18 | Ken Daneyko | Canada | D | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 2 | 22 | No second-round draft pick | No second-round draft pick | No second-round draft pick | No second-round draft pick |
| 3 | 44 | Pat Verbeek | Canada | C | Sudbury Wolves (OHL) |
| 3 | 54 | Dave Kasper | Canada | C | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 64 | No fourth-round draft pick | No fourth-round draft pick | No fourth-round draft pick | No fourth-round draft pick |
| 5 | 85 | Scott Brydges | United States | D | White Bear Lake Mariner H.S. (Minnesota) |
| 6 | 106 | Mike Moher | Canada | RW | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 7 | 127 | Paul Fulcher | Canada | LW | London Knights (OHL) |
| 8 | 148 | John Hutchings | Canada | D | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 9 | 169 | Alan Hepple | United Kingdom | D | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 10 | 190 | Brent Shaw | Canada | RW | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 10 | 207 | Tony Gilliard | Canada | LW | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL) |
| 11 | 211 | Scott Fusco | United States | C | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 12 | 232 | Dan Dorion | United States | RW | Austin Mavericks (USHL) |