# 1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the club's 17th season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins placed sixth in their division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Offseason

Eddie Johnston, who had been the interim general manager, was awarded the GM title in June. He named Lou Angotti to take over the coaching duties.
A controversy surrounding the end of the 1983–84 season was the apparent throwing of games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to secure Mario Lemieux as a draft pick. Angotti admitted the team deliberately tanked the season, though Johnston denied the claims.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 50 | 26 | 4 | 357 | 269 | 104 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 48 | 27 | 5 | 308 | 226 | 101 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 44 | 26 | 10 | 350 | 290 | 98 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 42 | 29 | 9 | 314 | 304 | 93 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 17 | 56 | 7 | 231 | 350 | 41 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 16 | 58 | 6 | 254 | 390 | 38 |
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
1983–84 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—0−71−5−10−73−40−5−24−28−3
N.Y. Islanders
7−0—3−44−36−14−324−11−0
N.Y. Rangers
5−1−14−3—4−35−23−3−121−12−2
Philadelphia
7−03−43−4—7−03−423−12−0
Pittsburgh
4−31−62−50–7—1−68−27−0
Washington
5−0−23−43−3−14–36–1—21−11−3
Vs. Adams Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
1−20−2−11−1−11−21−24−9−2
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−13−01−23−01−28−6−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−2−11−1−11−21−22−0−15−7−3
Philadelphia
1−1−10−31−22−0−12−0−16−6−3
Pittsburgh
0−30−32−10−2−10−32−12−1
Washington
1−20−2−12−13−01−27−7−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
2−12−11−20−30−35−10−0
N.Y. Islanders
3−01−22−0−11−1−12−19−4−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−13−01−1−12−11−29−5−1
Philadelphia
1−0−21−0−20−1−21−23−06−3−6
Pittsburgh
1−1−10−31−20−2−11−1−13−9−3
Washington
1−1−11−23−02−13−010−4−1
Vs. Smythe Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−10−2−12−11−21−24−9−2
N.Y. Islanders
0−33−02−0−13−01−29−5−1
N.Y. Rangers
2−11−21−0−21−1−12−17−5−3
Philadelphia
2−12−0−12−11−22−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
0−1−20−31−21−21−23−10−2
Washington
2−11−23−02−12−110−5−0 :

## Schedule and results

1983–84 Schedule :
October: 3–9–0 (home: 0–7–0; road: 3–2–0), 6 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
1Oct 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–5St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome0–1–00
2Oct 8New York Rangers6–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena0–2–00
3Oct 9Pittsburgh Penguins1–7Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum0–3–00
4Oct 12Winnipeg Jets4–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena0–4–00
5Oct 14Pittsburgh Penguins4–0Washington CapitalsCapital Centre1–4–02
6Oct 15Hartford Whalers6–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–5–02
7Oct 18Buffalo Sabres3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–6–02
8Oct 22Boston Bruins6–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–7–02
9Oct 25Washington Capitals1–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–8–02
10Oct 27Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium2–8–04
11Oct 29Philadelphia Flyers3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–9–04
12Oct 30Pittsburgh Penguins5–3New Jersey DevilsIzod Center3–9–06 :
November: 3–7–3 (home: 1–3–2; road: 2–4–1), 9 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
13Nov 2Pittsburgh Penguins6–3Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg Arena4–9–08
14Nov 3Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OTCalgary FlamesScotiabank Saddledome4–9–19
15Nov 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Edmonton OilersNorthlands Coliseum4–10–19
16Nov 8Calgary Flames4–4 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena4–10–210
17Nov 11New York Islanders6–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena4–11–210
18Nov 12Pittsburgh Penguins4–2New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum5–11–212
19Nov 16Toronto Maple Leafs3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–12–212
20Nov 19St. Louis Blues4–4 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–12–313
21Nov 20Pittsburgh Penguins4–5 OTPhiladelphia FlyersThe Spectrum5–13–313
22Nov 23New Jersey Devils1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–13–315
23Nov 25Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena6–14–315
24Nov 26Detroit Red Wings7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–15–315
25Nov 29Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Minnesota North StarsMet Center6–16–315 :
December: 3–8–2 (home: 2–4–1; road: 1–4–1), 8 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
26Dec 1Minnesota North Stars6–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–17–315
27Dec 3Philadelphia Flyers6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–18–315
28Dec 6Boston Bruins5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–19–315
29Dec 11Montreal Canadiens3–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–19–416
30Dec 13Hartford Whalers2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena7–19–418
31Dec 15Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum7–20–418
32Dec 17Los Angeles Kings6–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena7–21–418
33Dec 18Pittsburgh Penguins3–3 OTToronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens7–21–519
34Dec 20Pittsburgh Penguins3–11New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum7–22–519
35Dec 21Pittsburgh Penguins1–6New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)7–23–519
36Dec 23Pittsburgh Penguins6–5 OTNew Jersey DevilsIzod Center8–23–521
37Dec 26New York Rangers4–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–23–523
38Dec 31Pittsburgh Penguins0–2St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome9–24–523 :
January: 1–11–0 (home: 0–5–0; road: 1–6–0), 2 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
39Jan 3Philadelphia Flyers7–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–25–523
40Jan 6Pittsburgh Penguins1–3New Jersey DevilsIzod Center9–26–523
41Jan 7New Jersey Devils7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–27–523
42Jan 10Pittsburgh Penguins1–7Quebec NordiquesQuebec Coliseum9–28–523
43Jan 14Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Boston BruinsBoston Garden9–29–523
44Jan 15Pittsburgh Penguins0–2Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium9–30–523
45Jan 18Winnipeg Jets5–4 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–31–523
46Jan 20Pittsburgh Penguins6–3New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)10–31–525
47Jan 21Washington Capitals3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–32–525
48Jan 25New York Rangers6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–33–525
49Jan 28Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum10–34–525
50Jan 29Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium10–35–525 :
February: 3–10–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 1–6–0), 7 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
51Feb 1Minnesota North Stars0–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–35–527
52Feb 4Pittsburgh Penguins5–6New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum11–36–527
53Feb 5New York Islanders5–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–37–527
54Feb 8Buffalo Sabres6–5 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–38–527
55Feb 9Pittsburgh Penguins3–9Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena11–39–527
56Feb 11New Jersey Devils2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena12–39–529
57Feb 13Pittsburgh Penguins1–6Quebec NordiquesQuebec Coliseum12–40–529
58Feb 16Pittsburgh Penguins3–10Calgary FlamesScotiabank Saddledome12–41–529
59Feb 17Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum13–41–531
60Feb 19Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Edmonton OilersNorthlands Coliseum13–42–531
61Feb 22Edmonton Oilers9–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–43–531
62Feb 25Chicago Black Hawks3–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–43–632
63Feb 26Pittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTNew York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)13–44–632
64Feb 29Vancouver Canucks9–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–45–632 :
March: 3–12–0 (home: 2–5–0; road: 1–7–0), 6 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
65Mar 1Pittsburgh Penguins1–9Washington CapitalsCapital Centre13–46–632
66Mar 3Los Angeles Kings3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–46–634
67Mar 5Washington Capitals5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–47–634
68Mar 6Pittsburgh Penguins5–6New Jersey DevilsIzod Center14–48–634
69Mar 8Quebec Nordiques8–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–49–634
70Mar 11New York Islanders6–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–50–634
71Mar 13Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum14–51–634
72Mar 14Pittsburgh Penguins6–7Los Angeles KingsThe Forum14–52–634
73Mar 17Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Hartford WhalersXL Center15–52–636
74Mar 21Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–52–638
75Mar 22Pittsburgh Penguins4–13Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum16–53–638
76Mar 24Pittsburgh Penguins0–6Washington CapitalsCapital Centre16–54–638
77Mar 25Washington Capitals4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–55–638
78Mar 28Philadelphia Flyers5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–56–638
79Mar 29Pittsburgh Penguins4–6New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)16–57–638 :
April: 0–1–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–0), 0 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
80Apr 1New York Islanders2–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–58–638 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mike Bullard | 76 | 51 | 41 | 92 | –33 | 57 |
| Doug Shedden | 67 | 22 | 35 | 57 | –38 | 20 |
| Mark Taylor$^†$ | 59 | 24 | 31 | 55 | –20 | 24 |
| Rick Kehoe | 57 | 18 | 27 | 45 | –20 | 8 |
| Ron Flockhart$^†$ | 68 | 27 | 18 | 45 | –19 | 40 |
| Pat Boutette | 73 | 14 | 26 | 40 | –56 | 142 |
| Andy Brickley | 50 | 18 | 20 | 38 | –7 | 9 |
| Greg Hotham | 76 | 5 | 25 | 30 | –25 | 59 |
| Tom Roulston$^†$ | 53 | 11 | 17 | 28 | –31 | 8 |
| Randy Carlyle$^‡$ | 50 | 3 | 23 | 26 | –25 | 82 |
| Bob Errey | 65 | 9 | 13 | 22 | –20 | 29 |
| Kevin McCarthy$^†$ | 31 | 4 | 16 | 20 | –32 | 52 |
| Norm Schmidt | 34 | 6 | 12 | 18 | –1 | 12 |
| Gary Rissling | 47 | 4 | 13 | 17 | –9 | 297 |
| Bryan Maxwell$^†$ | 45 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 84 |
| Tom O'Regan | 51 | 4 | 10 | 14 | –22 | 8 |
| Marty McSorley | 72 | 2 | 7 | 9 | –39 | 224 |
| Tom Thornbury | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | –19 | 16 |
| Tim Hrynewich | 25 | 4 | 5 | 9 | –10 | 34 |
| Warren Young | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | –2 | 19 |
| Greg Fox$^†$ | 49 | 2 | 5 | 7 | –42 | 66 |
| Bob Gladney | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –1 | 2 |
| Rod Buskas | 47 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –18 | 60 |
| Steve Gatzos | 23 | 3 | 3 | 6 | –9 | 15 |
| Kevin McClelland$^‡$ | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | –7 | 62 |
| Ted Bulley | 26 | 3 | 2 | 5 | –14 | 12 |
| Paul Gardner | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | –4 | 6 |
| Dave Hannan | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 33 |
| Rocky Saganiuk | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –12 | 37 |
| Jim Hamilton | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Rod Schutt | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Darren Lowe | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –5 | 0 |
| André St. Laurent$^‡$ | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| Mitch Lamoureux | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –6 | 6 |
| Tim Tookey | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –2 | 2 |
| Greg Tebbutt | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –26 | 31 |
| Dean DeFazio | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –11 | 28 |
| Phil Bourque | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 | 12 |
| Randy Boyd$^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 | 6 |
| Marc Chorney$^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 | 8 |
| Rich Sutter$^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 0 |
| Todd Charlesworth | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –7 | 8 |
| Troy Loney | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –7 | 9 |
| Grant Sasser | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 254 | 417 | 671 | — | 1,656 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO |
| Denis Herron | 38 | 2028:00 | 8 | 24 | 2 | 138 | 4.08 | 1200 | 0.885 | 1 |
| Roberto Romano | 18 | 1020:00 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 78 | 4.59 | 629 | 0.876 | 1 |
| Michel Dion | 30 | 1553:00 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 138 | 5.33 | 937 | 0.853 | 0 |
| Vincent Tremblay | 4 | 240:00 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 6.00 | 142 | 0.831 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 4841:00 | 16 | 58 | 6 | 378 | 4.68 | 2908 | 0.870 | 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

* Rick Kehoe established a new franchise record for points with 634. He topped the previous record of 603 held by Jean Pronovost.
* Pat Boutette established a new franchise record for lowest plus-minus with –56. He topped the previous record of –51 held by Paul Baxter.
* fewest wins in team history (16)
* fewest points in team history (38)

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1983–84 season:

### Trades

| August 15, 1983 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Pat Graham Nick Ricci | To Pittsburgh Penguins Rocky Saganiuk Vincent Tremblay |
| September 9, 1983 | To Los Angeles Kings Anders Hakansson | To Pittsburgh Penguins rights to Kevin Stevens |
| September 30, 1983 | To Hartford Whalers Greg Malone | To Pittsburgh Penguins 1985 3rd round pick |
| October 15, 1983 | To Los Angeles Kings Marc Chorney | To Pittsburgh Penguins 1985 6th round pick |
| October 23, 1983 | To Philadelphia Flyers Rich Sutter 1984 2nd round pick 1984 3rd round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Andy Brickley Ron Flockhart Mark Taylor 1984 1st round pick 1984 3rd round pick |
| October 24, 1983 | To Detroit Red Wings Andre St. Laurent | To Pittsburgh Penguins future considerations |
| December 5, 1983 | To Edmonton Oilers Kevin McClelland 1984 6th round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Roulston |
| December 6, 1983 | To Chicago Blackhawks Randy Boyd | To Pittsburgh Penguins Greg Fox |
| January 26, 1984 | To Vancouver Canucks 1984 3rd round pick | To Pittsburgh Penguins Kevin McCarthy |
| March 5, 1984 | To Winnipeg Jets Randy Carlyle | To Pittsburgh Penguins 1984 1st round pick future considerations (Moe Mantha) |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Greg Tebbutt | Quebec Nordiques | free agency (1983-07-22) |
| Warren Young | Minnesota North Stars | free agency (1983-08-12) |
| Tom O'Regan | Boston University Terriers (ECAC) | free agency (1983-09-04) |
| Bob Gladney | Los Angeles Kings | free agency (1983-09-12) |
| Tim Tookey | Quebec Nordiques | free agency (1983-09-12) |
| Ted Bulley | Washington Capitals | free agency (1983-09-30) |
| Bryan Maxwell | Winnipeg Jets | waivers (1983-10-13) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Peter Lee | Düsseldorfer EG | free agency |
| Paul Baxter | Calgary Flames | free agency (1983-09-29) |
| Rick MacLeish | Philadelphia Flyers | free agency (1983-10-06) |

## Draft picks

The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 8, 1983, in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 15 | Bob Errey | Left wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 2 | 22 | Todd Charlesworth | Defense | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Mike Rowe | Defense | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 4 | 63 | Frank Pietrangelo | Goaltender | Canada | U. of Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 6 | 103 | Patrick Emond | Center | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 123 | Paul Ames | Defense | United States | Billerica H.S. (Massachusetts) |
| 9 | 163 | Marty Ketola | Right wing | United States | Cloquet H.S. (Minn.) |
| 10 | 183 | Alec Haidy | Right wing | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 11 | 203 | Garth Hildebrand | Left wing | Canada | Calgary Wranglers (WHL) |
| 12 | 223 | Dave Goertz | Defense | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |