# 1981–82 Hartford Whalers season

The 1981–82 Hartford Whalers season was the Whalers' third season in the National Hockey League. The Whalers failed to qualify for the post-season for the second consecutive season. Hartford finished the regular season with a 21–41–18 record, earning 60 points, which was 22 points behind the Quebec Nordiques for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Adams Division.

## Offseason

The NHL realigned into what were for all intents and purposes entirely new divisions that, while retaining all of the names that had been used since 1974, were closely based on North American geography. This ended the Whalers' two-year stay in the Norris Division, as along with the Montreal Canadiens they moved from the Norris to the Adams Division where they were joined by their closest geographical rival Boston Bruins in addition to the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques.
At the 1981 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal on June 10, the Whalers selected center Ron Francis of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League with their first round, fourth overall selection. In 64 games with the Greyhounds in 1980–81, Francis scored 26 goals and 69 points.
On June 15, the Whalers signed restricted free agent goaltender Greg Millen from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hartford sent forwards Pat Boutette and Kevin McClelland to the Penguins as compensation. In 63 games with the Penguins in 1980–81, Millen earned a record of 25–27–10 with a 4.17 GAA and a save percentage of .864.
A couple of weeks later, on July 3, the Whalers were involved in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Hartford sent defenseman Fred Arthur, right winger Ray Allison, a first round and a third round draft pick from the 1982 NHL Entry Draft to Philadelphia for center Rick MacLeish, defenseman Blake Wesley, right winger Don Gillen, and the Flyers first round, second round and third round draft picks in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. MacLeish was coming off a season in which he scored 38 goals and 74 points in 78 games with the Flyers in 1980–81. He won two Stanley Cup championships with Philadelphia in 1974 and 1975, in which in both seasons he led the NHL in playoff scoring. Wesley split the 1980–81 season between the Flyers and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Maine Mariners. In 50 games with Philadelphia, Wesley scored three goals and 10 points, while in 24 games with Maine, Wesley scored six goals and 16 points, followed by a goal and nine points in nine post-season games with the Mariners. Gillen spent the entire 1980–81 season with Maine, scoring 30 goals, 59 points and 255 penalty minutes in 79 games, before adding four goals and eight points in 20 playoff games.
On October 2, the Whalers were involved in two trades. In the first trade, Hartford acquired right winger Doug Sulliman, defenseman Chris Kotsopoulos and defenseman Gerry McDonald from the New York Rangers in exchange for center Mike Rogers and a tenth round selection in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. In 32 games with New York, Sulliman scored four goals and five points before scoring a goal in three playoff games with the Rangers. He also played in 45 games with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, where he scored 10 goals and 26 points. As a rookie in 1980–81, Kotsopoulos appeared in 52 games with the Rangers, scoring four goals, 16 points and accumulating 153 penalty minutes. In 14 post-season games, Kotsopoulos earned three assists while racking up 63 penalty minutes. McDonald appeared in 70 games with the Nighthawks in 1980–81, scoring six goals and 29 points. In four playoff games, McDonald was held off the scoresheet.
The second trade the Whalers were involved in on October 2 was with the New York Islanders. Hartford traded a fifth round draft pick from the 1983 NHL Entry Draft to the Islanders for left winger Garry Howatt. Howatt scored four goals and 19 points in 70 games with New York in 1980–81. He earned two assists in eight playoff games. Howatt was a two time Stanley Cup champion with the Islanders, winning in both 1980 and 1981.
During the waiver draft on October 5, the Whalers acquired right winger Mike McDougal from the New York Rangers and center Rob McClanahan from the Buffalo Sabres. McDougal scored 21 goals and 44 points in 66 games with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL during the 1980–81 season, however, he was held to no points in four playoff games. McDougal also played in two games with the Rangers, earning no points. McClanahan scored three goals and 15 points in 57 games with the Sabres during the 1980–81 season before earning an assist in five playoff games. McClanahan also played in 18 games with the Rochester Americans of the AHL, scoring nine goals and 22 points. In the same draft, the Whalers lost defenseman Al Sims to the Los Angeles Kings and left winger Jeff Brubaker to the Montreal Canadiens.

## Regular season
### October

The Whalers opened the 1981–82 season on the road against the Quebec Nordiques in front of a sold-out crowd at Le Colisée on October 6, losing a close one to the Nordiques, by a 6–5 score. Two nights later, Hartford earned their first point of the season, as the Whalers and Montreal Canadiens skated to a 5–5 tie.
Hartford had their home opener on October 10 against their new divisional rivals, the Boston Bruins, in front of 13,107 fans at the Civic Center. The Whalers and Bruins fought to a 1–1 tie, as Hartford goaltender Greg Millen led the way with 23 saves, while Blaine Stoughton scored the only goal for the team.
After going winless in their first four games of the season (0–2–2), the Whalers finally earned their first victory, as Rick Meagher recorded a hat trick, as Hartford crushed the Detroit Red Wings by an 8–1 score.
The victory over Detroit would be the Whalers only win of the month, as Hartford finished October with a five-game winless streak (0–2–3), finishing October with a 1–4–5 record, earning seven points, and sat in last place in the Adams Division, six points behind the Buffalo Sabres for fourth place.

### November

Hartford opened November with a pair of 4–1 losses to the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks to fall to 1–6–5 on the season, before earning their second win of the year, a 4–2 decision against the Minnesota North Stars on November 9.
The Whalers would follow the victory with a four-game winless skid (0–2–2), to fall to 2–8–7 on the season through their first 17 games of the year. Hartford would snap the winless streak with an 8–5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. A highlight in the game was when Ron Francis scored his first career goal.
Wins would be scarce for the Whalers in November, as they would record only one more victory in November, and ended the month with a record of 3–7–3 in 13 games, and fall to 4–11–8 on the season, earning 16 points, in last place in the Adams Division, 14 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot.

### December

The Whalers opened December with their first road win of the season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on December 2. Overall, Hartford would win three of their first four games of the month, as they recorded wins against the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues.
After their 3–1–0 start to the month, Hartford fell into a five-game winless streak (0–4–1), getting their only point in a 5–5 tie against the Los Angeles Kings, before earning a 3–2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to snap their skid in their final game before Christmas.
The team then went 2–2–0 in their final four games of December, to finish the month with a 6–7–1 record in 14 games, and post a 10–18–9 record on the season. The Whalers remained in last place in the Adams Division, 14 points behind the fourth place Quebec Nordiques.

### January

Hartford got off to a terrible start in January, as the club dropped their first five games of the month, before finally earning a tie against the Boston Bruins on January 16, as Blaine Stoughton scored two goals in a 3–3 tie. Hartford then lost their next game by a 7–1 score against the Buffalo Sabres the next night to extend their winless skid to seven games.
The team ended their winless skid with a solid 4–2 victory over the Quebec Nordiques on January 20. This marked the start of a six-game unbeaten streak (4–0–2) for the Whalers to end the month.
Hartford managed to post a 4–6–3 record in 13 games in January, and an overall record of 14–24–12 on the season, earning 40 points. The Whalers were stuck in the Adams Division cellar, 18 points behind the fourth place Quebec Nordiques.

### February

The Whalers continued to stay hot at the start of February, as Hartford went 2–0–2 on a four-game road trip, and extended their overall unbeaten streak to a team record 10 games (6–0–4). The unbeaten streak came to an end on February 13, as the New York Rangers defeated Hartford by a 3–2 score.
The loss to the Rangers began a string of losses for the Whalers, as the team went on a six-game losing streak, before snapping the skid with a 4–3 win over the Boston Bruins on February 24. Hartford then lost their last two games of the month, and eight of nine overall.
The club went 3–8–2 in their 13 February games, slipping to a 17–32–14 record on the season, registering 48 points, and 23 points behind the Quebec Nordiques.

### March/April

The team opened March with two ties against the Buffalo Sabres, followed by a two-game winning streak, defeating the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets. The Whalers four-game unbeaten streak came to an end on March 13, as the Montreal Canadiens shutout Hartford 5–0. The club lost their second straight game the next night, 4–3 to the Colorado Rockies.
The Whalers managed to snap their two-game losing streak, and won consecutive games, beating the Quebec Nordiques and Buffalo Sabres. Those wins were the Whalers last of the season, as the team finished the season with a nine-game winless streak (0–7–2).
Hartford finished the year with a 21–41–18 record for the second straight season, earning 60 points, and were the last place team in the Adams Division, 22 points behind the Quebec Nordiques for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | PTS |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 46 | 17 | 17 | 360 | 223 | 1463 | 109 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 323 | 285 | 1266 | 96 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 26 | 15 | 307 | 273 | 1425 | 93 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 33 | 31 | 16 | 356 | 345 | 1757 | 82 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 264 | 351 | 1493 | 60 |
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
1981–82 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Boston
—5–2–14–2–20–7–14–413–15–4
Buffalo
2–5–1—4–1–33–2–34–3–113–11–8
Hartford
2–4–21–4–3—0–7–12–3–35–18–9
Montreal
7–0–12–3–37–0–1—3–3–219–6–7
Quebec
4–43–4–13–2–33–3–2—13–13–6
Vs. Patrick Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
2–12–11–21–1–13–09–5–1
Buffalo
2–10–2–11–22–13–08–6–1
Hartford
0–2–11–1–10−30–2–11–22–10–3
Montreal
1–22–12–12–11–28–7–0
Quebec
1–1–11–1–11–1–10–32–0–15–6–4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
WIN
Total
Boston
1−22−0−11−21−1–13−03−011−5−2
Buffalo
2−13−01−1−12−12−0−11−0−211−3−4
Hartford
1–1–12–0–11–22–13–02−111−5−2
Montreal
2−0−12−11–0−22−0−12–0−11−0−210−1−7
Quebec
2−13−00−2–12−11−1–12−0−110−5−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
CGY
COL
EDM
LAK
VAN
Total
Boston
1−1−13−01−0–23−02−110−2−3
Buffalo
0−2−13–01−22−11−1−17−6−2
Hartford
1–20–2–10–2–12–0–10–2–13–8–4
Montreal
2−12−0−11−0−22–12−19−3−3
Quebec
0−32−12−10–1–21–1−15−7−3 :

## Schedule and results

1981–82 regular season :
October
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
1LOctober 6, 19815–6@ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)0–1–015,007
2TOctober 8, 19815–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)0–1–115,474
3TOctober 10, 19811–1Boston Bruins (1981–82)0–1–213,107
4LOctober 15, 19812–7Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)0–2–210,020
5WOctober 17, 19818–1Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)1–2–210,656
6LOctober 21, 19812–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)1–3–217,490
7TOctober 23, 19812–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)1–3–311,283
8LOctober 24, 19813–7@ Calgary Flames (1981–82)1–4–37,226
9TOctober 29, 19816–6New York Islanders (1981–82)1–4–411,395
10TOctober 31, 19812–2Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)1–4–58,990 :
November
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
11LNovember 1, 19811–4@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)1–5–58,873
12LNovember 4, 19811–4Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)1–6–59,411
13WNovember 7, 19814–2Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)2–6–511,779
14TNovember 8, 19812–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)2–6–615,116
15TNovember 11, 19814–4Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)2–6–711,101
16LNovember 12, 19813–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)2–7–717,077
17LNovember 14, 19810–4Washington Capitals (1981–82)2–8–711,278
18WNovember 18, 19818–5Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)3–8–710,015
19LNovember 19, 19811–6@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)3–9–78,197
20LNovember 21, 19813–7@ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)3–10–715,016
21TNovember 25, 19813–3Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)3–10–812,141
22WNovember 28, 19816–2Washington Capitals (1981–82)4–10–812,431
23LNovember 29, 19813–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)4–11–815,188 :
December
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
24WDecember 2, 19815–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)5–11–816,192
25LDecember 4, 19812–4Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)5–12–810,866
26WDecember 6, 19815–3@ New York Rangers (1981–82)6–12–817,427
27WDecember 9, 19815–1St. Louis Blues (1981–82)7–12–810,230
28LDecember 12, 19812–4Colorado Rockies (1981–82)7–13–813,376
29LDecember 13, 19813–8@ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)7–14–811,810
30LDecember 16, 19811–6Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)7–15–811,556
31TDecember 19, 19815–5Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)7–15–910,623
32LDecember 20, 19812–8@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)7–16–915,056
33WDecember 22, 19813–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)8–16–911,102
34LDecember 26, 19816–9Boston Bruins (1981–82)8–17–914,510
35WDecember 27, 19817–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82)9–17–911,820
36LDecember 29, 19811–6@ St. Louis Blues (1981–82)9–18–917,625
37WDecember 30, 19816–1@ Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)10–18–910,470 :
January
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
38LJanuary 2, 19824–9@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)10–19–911,699
39LJanuary 3, 19824–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)10–20–910,963
40LJanuary 6, 19823–5Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)10–21–912,097
41LJanuary 9, 19822–3Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)10–22–911,403
42LJanuary 11, 19822–6@ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)10–23–915,216
43TJanuary 16, 19823–3@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)10–23–1013,617
44LJanuary 17, 19821–7@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)10–24–109,474
45WJanuary 20, 19824–2Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)11–24–1011,197
46TJanuary 23, 19822–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82)11–24–1111,218
47WJanuary 25, 19826–5@ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82)12–24–117,827
48WJanuary 27, 19823–1Calgary Flames (1981–82)13–24–1111,851
49WJanuary 30, 19823–2Boston Bruins (1981–82)14–24–1114,031
50TJanuary 31, 19824–4Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)14–24–1211,769 :
February
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
51WFebruary 2, 19825–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)15–24–127,713
52TFebruary 5, 19824–4@ Colorado Rockies (1981–82)15–24–136,109
53WFebruary 6, 19824–2@ St. Louis Blues (1981–82)16–24–1313,187
54TFebruary 10, 19823–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82)16–24–148,691
55LFebruary 13, 19822–3New York Rangers (1981–82)16–25–1414,510
56LFebruary 14, 19821–9New York Islanders (1981–82)16–26–1413,605
57LFebruary 16, 19822–7@ Calgary Flames (1981–82)16–27–147,234
58LFebruary 19, 19824–7@ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82)16–28–1417,490
59LFebruary 20, 19822–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82)16–29–1413,747
60LFebruary 22, 19827–8@ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)16–30–1413,854
61WFebruary 24, 19824–3Boston Bruins (1981–82)17–30–1413,165
62LFebruary 27, 19821–7@ Washington Capitals (1981–82)17–31–1416,652
63LFebruary 28, 19820–5Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)17–32–1411,426 :
March
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
64TMarch 3, 19823–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)17–32–1516,012
65TMarch 6, 19822–2Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)17–32–1611,104
66WMarch 7, 19827–6Los Angeles Kings (1981–82)18–32–1611,616
67WMarch 10, 19826–2Winnipeg Jets (1981–82)19–32–1611,858
68LMarch 13, 19820–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)19–33–1616,650
69LMarch 14, 19823–4Colorado Rockies (1981–82)19–34–1610,445
70WMarch 16, 19827–5@ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)20–34–1615,285
71WMarch 18, 19824–1Buffalo Sabres (1981–82)21–34–1611,011
72LMarch 20, 19822–5Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)21–35–1612,210
73LMarch 21, 19823–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82)21–36–1617,042
74TMarch 24, 19823–3Quebec Nordiques (1981–82)21–36–1710,509
75LMarch 27, 19824–5@ New York Islanders (1981–82)21–37–1715,271
76LMarch 28, 19822–5Minnesota North Stars (1981–82)21–38–1711,141
77LMarch 30, 19824–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)21–39–1716,071
78LMarch 31, 19821–5Montreal Canadiens (1981–82)21–40–1712,378 :
April
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendance
79TApril 3, 19823–3New York Rangers (1981–82)21–40–1814,510
80LApril 4, 19822–7@ Boston Bruins (1981–82)21–41–1810,374 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Transactions

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1981–82 season.

### Trades

| July 3, 1981 | To Philadelphia FlyersFred Arthur Ray Allison 1st round pick in 1982 – Ron Sutter 3rd round pick in 1982 – Miroslav Dvorak 3rd round pick in 1984 – John Stevens | To Hartford WhalersRick MacLeish Blake Wesley Don Gillen 1st round pick in 1982 – Paul Lawless 2nd round pick in 1982 – Mark Paterson 3rd round pick in 1982 – Kevin Dineen |
| October 2, 1981 | To New York RangersMike Rogers 10th round pick in 1982 – Simo Saarinen | To Hartford WhalersDoug Sulliman Chris Kotsopoulos Gerry McDonald |
| October 2, 1981 | To New York Islanders5th round pick in 1983 – Bob Caulfield | To Hartford WhalersGarry Howatt |
| December 21, 1981 | To Montreal Canadiens1st round pick in 1984 – Petr Svoboda 2nd round pick in 1984 – Brian Benning 3rd round pick in 1984 – Rocky Dundas | To Hartford WhalersPierre Larouche 1st round pick in 1984 – Sylvain Cote 3rd round pick in 1985 – Bruce Racine |
| December 29, 1981 | To Pittsburgh PenguinsRick MacLeish | To Hartford WhalersRuss Anderson 8th round pick in 1983 – Chris Duperron |
| January 12, 1982 | To Quebec NordiquesJohn Garrett | To Hartford WhalersMichel Plasse 4th round pick in 1983 – Ron Chyzowski |
| January 29, 1982 | To New York RangersRob McClanahan | To Hartford Whalers10th round pick in 1983 – Reine Karlsson |

### Waivers

| October 5, 1981 | To Los Angeles KingsAl Sims |
| October 5, 1981 | To Montreal CanadiensJeff Brubaker |
| October 5, 1981 | From New York RangersMike McDougal |
| October 5, 1981 | From Buffalo SabresRob McClanahan |
| November 13, 1981 | From Detroit Red WingsGeorge Lyle |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Jeff Brownschidle | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA) |
| Greg Millen | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Paul Shmyr | Minnesota North Stars |

## Draft picks

Hartford's draft picks from the 1981 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal on June 10, 1981.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 4 | Ron Francis | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 3 | 61 | Paul MacDermid | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 4 | 67 | Mike Hoffman | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) |
| 5 | 93 | Bill Maguire | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL) |
| 5 | 103 | Dan Bourbonnais | Canada | Calgary Wranglers (WHL) |
| 7 | 130 | John Mokosak | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 8 | 151 | Denis Dore | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 172 | Jeff Poeschl | United States | Northern Michigan University (WCHA) |
| 10 | 193 | Larry Power | Canada | Kitchener Ranger B's (MWJHL) |