# 1982–83 Minnesota North Stars season

The 1982–83 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 16th season.
Coached by Glen Sonmor (22–12–9) and Murray Oliver (18–12–7), the team compiled a record of 40–24–16 for 96 points, to finish the regular season 2nd in the Norris Division. In the playoffs they won the division semi-finals 3–1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but lost the division finals 4–1 to the Chicago Black Hawks.

## Offseason
### NHL draft

In the summer of 1982, General Manager Lou Nanne orchestrated one of the franchise's biggest moves ever, and landed a star in the making, by drafting highly coveted Brian Bellows. It paid immediate dividends, as he would score 35 goals in his rookie campaign, and helped the team to finish with 40 wins and 96 regular season points – both the most ever recorded in the 26 years the franchise was based in Minnesota. Once again, though, the North Stars fell in the playoffs to the pesky Denis Savard and Al Secord-led Chicago Black Hawks in the second round of the playoffs.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 2 | Brian Bellows | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 3 | 59 | Wally Chapman | United States | Edina High School (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 80 | Bob Rouse | Canada | Billings Bighorns (WHL) |
| 4 | 81 | Dusan Pasek | Czechoslovakia | Bratislava (Czechoslovakia) |
| 5 | 101 | Marty Wiitala | United States | Superior High School (USHS-WI) |
| 6 | 122 | Todd Carlile | United States | North St. Paul High School (USHS-MN) |
| 7 | 143 | Viktor Zhluktov | Soviet Union | Moscow CSKA (USSR) |
| 8 | 164 | Paul Miller | United States | Crookston High School (USHS-MN) |
| 9 | 185 | Pat Micheletti | United States | Hibbing High School (USHS-MN) |
| 10 | 206 | Arnold Kadlec | Czechoslovakia | Litvinov (Czechoslovakia) |
| 11 | 227 | Scott Knutson | United States | Warroad High School (USHS-MN) |

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 47 | 23 | 10 | 338 | 268 | 104 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 321 | 290 | 96 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 293 | 330 | 68 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 25 | 40 | 15 | 285 | 316 | 65 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 21 | 44 | 15 | 263 | 344 | 57 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Chicago
—6−23−4−16−26−1−121−9−2
Detroit
2−6—0−6−21−5−24−47−21−4
Minnesota
4−3−16−0−2—3−0−53−516−8−8
St. Louis
2−65−1−20−3−5—3−3−210−13−9
Toronto
1−6−14−45−33−3−2—13−16−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Chicago
1−21−1−12−0−10−1−22−16−5−4
Detroit
1−21−20−1−21−1−10−33−9−3
Minnesota
1−1−11−22−12−0−13−09−4−2
St. Louis
1−20−2−12−10−31−24−10−1
Toronto
1−1−10−2−11−22−10−34−9−2
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Chicago
0−31−1−13−03−02−19−5−1
Detroit
0−31−1−13−00−1−21−1−15−6−4
Minnesota
0−32−0−12−0−10−31−25−8−2
St. Louis
0−31−22−10−2−11−1−14−9−2
Toronto
1−22−0−12−11−0−21−1−17−4−4
Vs. Patrick Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Chicago
3−01−1−13−01−1−13−00−2−111−4−3
Detroit
1−1−12−0−10−2−10−32−0−11−26−8−4
Minnesota
3−02−0−11−21−1−12−0−11−1−110−4−4
St. Louis
2−0−11−20−2−10−33−01−1−17−8−3
Toronto
0−1−21−20−30−2−12−11−24−11−3 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 6, 1982 | 5–4 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 8, 1982 | 3–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 9, 1982 | 6–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | W | October 14, 1982 | 6–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | W | October 16, 1982 | 8–4 | Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 4–0–1 |
| 6 | W | October 18, 1982 | 4–3 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 5–0–1 |
| 7 | L | October 20, 1982 | 2–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | W | October 23, 1982 | 3–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1982 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1982–83) | 6–2–1 |
| 10 | W | October 26, 1982 | 5–3 | @ New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 7–2–1 |
| 11 | W | October 28, 1982 | 7–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 8–2–1 |
| 12 | W | October 30, 1982 | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 9–2–1 |
| 13 | W | November 2, 1982 | 7–6 | @ Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 10–2–1 |
| 14 | L | November 4, 1982 | 3–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 10–3–1 |
| 15 | L | November 6, 1982 | 1–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 10–4–1 |
| 16 | L | November 9, 1982 | 2–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 10–5–1 |
| 17 | W | November 11, 1982 | 2–0 | New York Islanders (1982–83) | 11–5–1 |
| 18 | L | November 13, 1982 | 3–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 11–6–1 |
| 19 | L | November 14, 1982 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 11–7–1 |
| 20 | W | November 16, 1982 | 8–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 12–7–1 |
| 21 | W | November 18, 1982 | 2–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 13–7–1 |
| 22 | W | November 20, 1982 | 5–1 | New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 14–7–1 |
| 23 | T | November 23, 1982 | 8–8 | @ New York Islanders (1982–83) | 14–7–2 |
| 24 | L | November 24, 1982 | 5–8 | @ New York Rangers (1982–83) | 14–8–2 |
| 25 | T | November 26, 1982 | 6–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 14–8–3 |
| 26 | T | November 29, 1982 | 3–3 | Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 14–8–4 |
| 27 | W | December 1, 1982 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 15–8–4 |
| 28 | W | December 2, 1982 | 6–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 16–8–4 |
| 29 | W | December 4, 1982 | 4–1 | Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 17–8–4 |
| 30 | W | December 9, 1982 | 9–6 | Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 18–8–4 |
| 31 | W | December 11, 1982 | 5–4 | Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 19–8–4 |
| 32 | T | December 14, 1982 | 3–3 | Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 19–8–5 |
| 33 | T | December 16, 1982 | 4–4 | Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 19–8–6 |
| 34 | T | December 18, 1982 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 19–8–7 |
| 35 | L | December 21, 1982 | 4–6 | @ Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 19–9–7 |
| 36 | L | December 22, 1982 | 2–8 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 19–10–7 |
| 37 | W | December 26, 1982 | 3–2 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 20–10–7 |
| 38 | T | December 29, 1982 | 5–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 20–10–8 |
| 39 | L | December 31, 1982 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 20–11–8 |
| 40 | T | January 5, 1983 | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 20–11–9 |
| 41 | W | January 8, 1983 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 21–11–9 |
| 42 | L | January 9, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 21–12–9 |
| 43 | W | January 12, 1983 | 7–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 22–12–9 |
| 44 | W | January 13, 1983 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 23–12–9 |
| 45 | L | January 15, 1983 | 4–10 | Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 23–13–9 |
| 46 | L | January 17, 1983 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 23–14–9 |
| 47 | W | January 19, 1983 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 24–14–9 |
| 48 | W | January 22, 1983 | 7–2 | Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 25–14–9 |
| 49 | T | January 25, 1983 | 4–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 25–14–10 |
| 50 | T | January 27, 1983 | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 25–14–11 |
| 51 | T | January 29, 1983 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 25–14–12 |
| 52 | W | January 31, 1983 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 26–14–12 |
| 53 | T | February 2, 1983 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 26–14–13 |
| 54 | L | February 3, 1983 | 1–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 26–15–13 |
| 55 | W | February 5, 1983 | 4–2 | @ New York Islanders (1982–83) | 27–15–13 |
| 56 | W | February 10, 1983 | 7–5 | New York Rangers (1982–83) | 28–15–13 |
| 57 | W | February 12, 1983 | 5–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 29–15–13 |
| 58 | W | February 15, 1983 | 3–2 | @ New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 30–15–13 |
| 59 | W | February 17, 1983 | 6–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 31–15–13 |
| 60 | L | February 19, 1983 | 2–6 | Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 31–16–13 |
| 61 | W | February 22, 1983 | 3–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 32–16–13 |
| 62 | L | February 23, 1983 | 2–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 32–17–13 |
| 63 | T | February 26, 1983 | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 32–17–14 |
| 64 | W | February 27, 1983 | 2–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 33–17–14 |
| 65 | T | March 2, 1983 | 4–4 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 33–17–15 |
| 66 | W | March 5, 1983 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 34–17–15 |
| 67 | W | March 6, 1983 | 8–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 35–17–15 |
| 68 | W | March 8, 1983 | 5–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 36–17–15 |
| 69 | L | March 10, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 36–18–15 |
| 70 | L | March 12, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 36–19–15 |
| 71 | W | March 14, 1983 | 6–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 37–19–15 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1983 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 38–19–15 |
| 73 | T | March 19, 1983 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 38–19–16 |
| 74 | W | March 21, 1983 | 4–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 39–19–16 |
| 75 | L | March 23, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 39–20–16 |
| 76 | L | March 24, 1983 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 39–21–16 |
| 77 | W | March 26, 1983 | 7–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) | 40–21–16 |
| 78 | L | March 29, 1983 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 40–22–16 |
| 79 | L | March 30, 1983 | 0–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 40–23–16 |
| 80 | L | April 2, 1983 | 5–8 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 40–24–16 |