# 1982–83 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1982–83 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 51st season, 57th overall for the franchise. They finished fifth in the Norris Division and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

## Offseason

After fifty years of Norris family ownership, Bruce A. Norris, who had himself owned the Red Wings since his father's passing in 1952, sold the Red Wings to Little Caesars Pizza founder Mike Ilitch. Ilitch then proceeded to hire general manager Jim Devellano away from the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. Nick Polano was then hired as head coach, coming from the Buffalo Sabres where he had served as an assistant under Scotty Bowman.
Under this new management, the Red Wings opted to modernize their uniforms. The crew collars were replaced with V-necks, and the logo was realigned to be centered on the jersey, instead of having the wheel centered underneath the collar. The most striking change, though, was to the players' names and numbers. The Red Wings adopted vertically arched lettering for the names on the back, as well as a fanciful number font with flourishes reminiscent of their wordmark. The unique number font would only last one year, though it would return for the Red Wings' 2014 Winter Classic uniforms, while the vertically arched names remain a part of the Red Wings uniforms to this day.

## 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 | L | October 6, 1982 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | T | October 8, 1982 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 9, 1982 | 0–8 | Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | L | October 14, 1982 | 4–6 | @ Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 0–3–1 |
| 5 | L | October 16, 1982 | 0–6 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 0–4–1 |
| 6 | L | October 17, 1982 | 4–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 0–5–1 |
| 7 | L | October 20, 1982 | 3–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 0–6–1 |
| 8 | W | October 23, 1982 | 6–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 1–6–1 |
| 9 | L | October 24, 1982 | 4–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 1–7–1 |
| 10 | W | October 27, 1982 | 5–4 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 2–7–1 |
| 11 | L | October 28, 1982 | 3–7 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 2–8–1 |
| 12 | W | October 30, 1982 | 4–2 | @ Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 3–8–1 |
| 13 | L | November 2, 1982 | 2–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 3–9–1 |
| 14 | T | November 3, 1982 | 3–3 | New York Islanders (1982–83) | 3–9–2 |
| 15 | T | November 6, 1982 | 1–1 | New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 3–9–3 |
| 16 | L | November 7, 1982 | 0–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 3–10–3 |
| 17 | L | November 10, 1982 | 2–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 3–11–3 |
| 18 | L | November 13, 1982 | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 3–12–3 |
| 19 | T | November 16, 1982 | 4–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 3–12–4 |
| 20 | L | November 18, 1982 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 3–13–4 |
| 21 | T | November 20, 1982 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 3–13–5 |
| 22 | L | November 21, 1982 | 0–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 3–14–5 |
| 23 | L | November 24, 1982 | 2–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 3–15–5 |
| 24 | T | November 27, 1982 | 5–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 3–15–6 |
| 25 | L | November 28, 1982 | 5–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 3–16–6 |
| 26 | L | December 1, 1982 | 1–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 3–17–6 |
| 27 | W | December 4, 1982 | 6–2 | New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 4–17–6 |
| 28 | W | December 8, 1982 | 2–0 | New York Islanders (1982–83) | 5–17–6 |
| 29 | W | December 11, 1982 | 6–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 6–17–6 |
| 30 | W | December 12, 1982 | 7–3 | Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 7–17–6 |
| 31 | T | December 15, 1982 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 7–17–7 |
| 32 | L | December 16, 1982 | 2–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 7–18–7 |
| 33 | T | December 18, 1982 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1982–83) | 7–18–8 |
| 34 | T | December 21, 1982 | 5–5 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 7–18–9 |
| 35 | W | December 23, 1982 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 8–18–9 |
| 36 | T | December 26, 1982 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 8–18–10 |
| 37 | L | December 27, 1982 | 4–8 | Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) | 8–19–10 |
| 38 | T | December 29, 1982 | 5–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 8–19–11 |
| 39 | W | December 31, 1982 | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 9–19–11 |
| 40 | L | January 2, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 9–20–11 |
| 41 | L | January 3, 1983 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1982–83) | 9–21–11 |
| 42 | L | January 5, 1983 | 2–5 | Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 9–22–11 |
| 43 | L | January 8, 1983 | 2–5 | @ Calgary Flames (1982–83) | 9–23–11 |
| 44 | W | January 9, 1983 | 4–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 10–23–11 |
| 45 | T | January 13, 1983 | 4–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 10–23–12 |
| 46 | W | January 15, 1983 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 11–23–12 |
| 47 | L | January 16, 1983 | 2–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 11–24–12 |
| 48 | L | January 19, 1983 | 2–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 11–25–12 |
| 49 | L | January 22, 1983 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 11–26–12 |
| 50 | W | January 25, 1983 | 6–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 12–26–12 |
| 51 | L | January 29, 1983 | 3–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1982–83) | 12–27–12 |
| 52 | L | February 1, 1983 | 2–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 12–28–12 |
| 53 | L | February 2, 1983 | 3–4 | St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 12–29–12 |
| 54 | L | February 5, 1983 | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 12–30–12 |
| 55 | W | February 6, 1983 | 3–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 13–30–12 |
| 56 | W | February 9, 1983 | 6–5 | @ Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 14–30–12 |
| 57 | L | February 12, 1983 | 2–4 | Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 14–31–12 |
| 58 | W | February 15, 1983 | 7–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1982–83) | 15–31–12 |
| 59 | T | February 17, 1983 | 5–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) | 15–31–13 |
| 60 | W | February 20, 1983 | 7–2 | Hartford Whalers (1982–83) | 16–31–13 |
| 61 | L | February 22, 1983 | 2–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 16–32–13 |
| 62 | L | February 24, 1983 | 1–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1982–83) | 16–33–13 |
| 63 | W | February 26, 1983 | 5–3 | @ New York Islanders (1982–83) | 17–33–13 |
| 64 | T | February 27, 1983 | 4–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1982–83) | 17–33–14 |
| 65 | T | March 1, 1983 | 5–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 17–33–15 |
| 66 | W | March 3, 1983 | 5–3 | Quebec Nordiques (1982–83) | 18–33–15 |
| 67 | L | March 5, 1983 | 1–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 18–34–15 |
| 68 | L | March 6, 1983 | 4–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1982–83) | 18–35–15 |
| 69 | W | March 10, 1983 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 19–35–15 |
| 70 | L | March 12, 1983 | 1–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) | 19–36–15 |
| 71 | L | March 13, 1983 | 2–5 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 19–37–15 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1983 | 4–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 20–37–15 |
| 73 | L | March 19, 1983 | 7–9 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) | 20–38–15 |
| 74 | L | March 20, 1983 | 3–6 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1982–83) | 20–39–15 |
| 75 | L | March 23, 1983 | 1–7 | New York Rangers (1982–83) | 20–40–15 |
| 76 | L | March 26, 1983 | 5–7 | Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) | 20–41–15 |
| 77 | L | March 27, 1983 | 0–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) | 20–42–15 |
| 78 | L | March 30, 1983 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1982–83) | 20–43–15 |
| 79 | W | April 1, 1983 | 8–7 | Washington Capitals (1982–83) | 21–43–15 |
| 80 | L | April 3, 1983 | 3–8 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1982–83) | 21–44–15 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| John Ogrodnick | LW | 80 | 41 | 44 | 85 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Reed Larson | D | 80 | 22 | 52 | 74 | 104 | -7 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Danny Gare | RW | 79 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 107 | -16 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark Osborne | LW | 80 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 83 | -41 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Willie Huber | D | 74 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 106 | -34 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 64 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Mike Blaisdell | RW | 80 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 22 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dwight Foster | RW | 58 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 58 | -8 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Paul Woods | LW | 63 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 30 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Reggie Leach | RW | 78 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 13 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivan Boldirev | C | 33 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 14 | -6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Greg Smith | D | 73 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 79 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Weir | C | 57 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tom Rowe | RW | 51 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 44 | -17 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Barrett | D | 79 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 74 | -18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Lofthouse | RW/C | 28 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Smith | C/LW | 42 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 12 | -7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Craven | LW | 31 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Schoenfeld | D | 57 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 18 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Colin Campbell | D | 53 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 74 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kelly Kisio | C | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Ladouceur | D | 27 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Paterson | LW | 33 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Francis | C | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Loiselle | C | 18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Kirton | C | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Trader | D | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corrado Micalef | G | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Crawford | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Joly | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Smith | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Solheim | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Stefan | G | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Corrado Micalef | 1756 | 34 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 106 | 3.62 | 2 |
| Greg Stefan | 1847 | 35 | 6 | 16 | 9 | 139 | 4.52 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | 1137 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 85 | 4.49 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 21 | 44 | 15 | 337 | 4.21 | 2 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 17 | Murray Craven | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 2 | 23 | Yves Courteau | Canada | Laval Voisins (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 44 | Carmine Vani | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHL) |
| 4 | 66 | Craig Coxe | United States | St. Albert Saints (AJHL) |
| 5 | 86 | Brad Shaw | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 6 | 107 | Claude Vilgrain | Canada | Laval Voisons (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 128 | Greg Hudas | United States | Redford Royals (NAJHL) |
| 8 | 149 | Pat Lahey | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 9 | 170 | Gary Cullen | Canada | Cornell University (ECAC) |
| 10 | 191 | Brent Meckling | Canada | Calgary Canucks (AJHL) |
| 11 | 212 | Mike Stern | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 12 | 233 | Shaun Reagan | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) |