# 1982–83 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1982–83 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 74th season. The season involved being eliminated in the Adams Division semi-finals vs the Buffalo Sabres 3 games to 0. The Habs finished the regular season with a 42-24–14 record, but for the first time since 1974, they did not win their division.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 50 | 20 | 10 | 327 | 228 | 110 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 42 | 24 | 14 | 350 | 286 | 98 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 38 | 29 | 13 | 318 | 285 | 89 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 343 | 336 | 80 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 19 | 54 | 7 | 261 | 403 | 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

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Boston
—5–36–23–3–25–2–119–10–3
Buffalo
3–5—5–2–13–3–23–3–214–13–5
Hartford
2–62–5–1—3–52–69–22–1
Montreal
3–3–23–3–25–3—5–2–116–11–5
Quebec
2–5–13–3–26–22–5–1—13–15–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
1−0−22−0−13−02−0−12−10−310−4−4
Buffalo
2−0−12−12−0−12−11−1−13−012−3−3
Hartford
2–11–21–21–20–30−2−15−12−1
Montreal
2−10−1−22–12−12−11−0−29−5−4
Quebec
2−11−1–12–10−33−01−1−19−7−2
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Boston
3–03–03–03–02–114–1–0
Buffalo
1−1−11−1−10−2−12−10−2−14−7−4
Hartford
0–30–30−2−11–21–22–12–1
Montreal
0–31−0–23–02–0–10−1–26–4–5
Quebec
1–21–1–12–11–1–11–1–16–6–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1982–83 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Boston
2−0−12−0−11−22−10−2−17−5−3
Buffalo
2−11–22−11−1−12−18−6−1
Hartford
0−1–20–2–11–21–21–1–13–8–4
Montreal
2−11−22−13–03−011−4−0
Quebec
2−0−11−1−11−1−10−32−16−6−3 :

## Schedule and results

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

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 68 | 27 | 49 | 76 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 80 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 40 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 74 | 26 | 45 | 71 | 10 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 73 | 40 | 27 | 67 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 80 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 87 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 76 | 29 | 37 | 66 | 31 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 71 | 14 | 49 | 63 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 78 | 35 | 22 | 57 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Wickenheiser | C | 78 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 49 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Keith Acton | C | 78 | 24 | 26 | 50 | 63 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 77 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 68 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Robert Picard | D | 64 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 60 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilbert Delorme | D | 78 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 89 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 80 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Rick Green | D | 66 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 58 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 80 | 0 | 25 | 25 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Hunter | RW | 31 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 73 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 66 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 213 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Root | D | 46 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ric Nattress | D | 40 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Daoust | C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Sevigny | G | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Wamsley | G | 46 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Holden | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvan Joly | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Kitchen | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Schofield | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Rick Wamsley | 2583 | 46 | 27 | 12 | 5 | 151 | 3.51 | 0 |
| Richard Sevigny | 2130 | 38 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 122 | 3.44 | 1 |
| Mark Holden | 87 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4.14 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 42 | 24 | 14 | 279 | 3.49 | 1 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mats Naslund | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Acton | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Carbonneau | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilbert Delorme | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Green | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Ludwig | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ric Nattress | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Newberry | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Picard | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Sevigny | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Walter | C/LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Wamsley | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Richard Sevigny | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Rick Wamsley | 152 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2.76 | 0 |
| Team: | 180 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2.33 | 0 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 19 | Alain Heroux | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 31 | Jocelyn Gauvreau | Canada | Granby Bisons (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 32 | Kent Carlson | United States | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 2 | 33 | David Maley | United States | Edina High School (USHS-MN) |
| 2 | 40 | Scott Sandelin | United States | Hibbing High School (USHS-MN) |
| 3 | 61 | Scott Harlow | United States | East Bridgewater High School (USHS-MA) |
| 4 | 69 | John DeVoe | United States | Edina High School (USHS-MN) |
| 5 | 103 | Kevin Houle | United States | Acton-Boxborough High School (USHS-MA) |
| 6 | 117 | Ernie Vargas | United States | Coon Rapids High School (USHS-MN) |
| 6 | 124 | Mike Dark | Canada | Sarnia Legionnaires (WOJHL) |
| 7 | 145 | Hannu Jarvenpaa | Finland | Oulu (Finland) |
| 8 | 150 | Steve Smith | United States | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 8 | 166 | Tom Kolioupoulos | United States | Fraser High School (USHS-MI) |
| 9 | 187 | Brian Williams | United States | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) |
| 10 | 208 | Bob Emery | United States | Matignon High School (USHS-MA) |
| 11 | 229 | Darren Acheson | Canada | Fort Saskatchewan Traders (AJHL) |
| 12 | 250 | Bill Brauer | United States | Edina High School (USHS-MN) |