# 1982–83 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1982–83 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques fourth season in the National Hockey League. In the 1981–82 season, Quebec recorded their first winning season in the NHL, as they had a record of 34–34–12, earning 80 points, in which they finished fourth in the Adams Division, qualifying for the post-season for the second consecutive season. The Nordiques lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Bruins.

## Off-season

During the off-season, the Nordiques announced that they would not have a team captain for the 1982–83 season, as Andre Dupont only had the position for the second half of the 1981–82 season after team captain Robbie Ftorek was dealt to the New York Rangers. Expectations were high for the club after their improbable playoff run, in which the team was only one round away from a berth in the Stanley Cup finals.

## Regular season

The Nordiques would have a mediocre regular season, as they hovered around the .500 mark for the entire year. Quebec would set a team record for victories, winning 34 games, however, the team finished with two fewer points than the previous season, as they finished the year with a 34-34-12 record, earning 80 points, and their third consecutive playoff appearance, as they finished in fourth place in the Adams Division.
Offensively, the Nordiques were led by Peter Stastny, who led the club with 124 points, and was second in the league scoring race, finishing behind Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers. Michel Goulet had a breakout season, scoring a team record 57 goals, which was the fourth highest total in the league. Goulet added 48 assists, earning 105 points, which was good for eighth in the NHL. Anton Stastny scored 32 goals and 92 points, while Marian Stastny scored 36 goals and 79 points despite missing 20 games due to injuries. On the blueline, Dave Pichette led the scoring, recording 24 points in 53 games, while Normand Rochefort earned 23 points in 62 games. Dale Hunter once again provided the team toughness, recording 206 penalty minutes.
In goal, Dan Bouchard was the number one goalie, winning a team best 20 games, while posting a team low GAA of 4.01, as well as recording the only shutout Quebec had during the season.

### Season 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

1982–83 regular season :
October
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
1October 6Quebec Nordiques6–4Buffalo Sabres1–0–0211,196
2October 7Quebec Nordiques5–9Philadelphia Flyers1–1–0216,250
3October 9Buffalo Sabres4–6Quebec Nordiques2–1–0415,118
4October 11Montreal Canadiens4–3Quebec Nordiques2–2–0415,259
5October 14Los Angeles Kings4–4Quebec Nordiques2–2–1514,011
6October 16Philadelphia Flyers4–3Quebec Nordiques2–3–1515,226
7October 20Quebec Nordiques5–3Detroit Red Wings3-3–178,242
8October 21Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Quebec Nordiques4–3–1914,140
9October 23Quebec Nordiques5–9Montreal Canadiens4–4–1918,144
10October 26Toronto Maple Leafs4–9Quebec Nordiques5–4–11114,483
11October 30New York Rangers4–5Quebec Nordiques6–4–11315,186 :
November
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
12November 2Vancouver Canucks5–2Quebec Nordiques6–5–11315,021
13November 6Minnesota North Stars1–4Quebec Nordiques7–5–11515,229
14November 8Edmonton Oilers5–5Quebec Nordiques7–5–21615,221
15November 10Quebec Nordiques5–7Hartford Whalers7–6–2169,909
16November 11Quebec Nordiques3–2Boston Bruins8–6–21814,685
17November 13New Jersey Devils2–7Quebec Nordiques9–6–22015,004
18November 16Boston Bruins7–4Quebec Nordiques9–7–22015,258
19November 18Quebec Nordiques4–7Montreal Canadiens9–8–22018,895
20November 21Quebec Nordiques9–7Edmonton Oilers10–8–22217,498
21November 23Quebec Nordiques2–5Vancouver Canucks10–9–22215,781
22November 25Quebec Nordiques3–2Calgary Flames11–9–2247,226
23November 27Chicago Black Hawks3–1Quebec Nordiques11–10–22415,254
24November 30Winnipeg Jets6–8Quebec Nordiques12–10–22614,828 :
December
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
25December 2Quebec Nordiques3–3Boston Bruins12–10-32712,252
26December 4Buffalo Sabres2–3Quebec Nordiques13–10–32915,237
27December 7Boston Bruins5–10Quebec Nordiques14–10–33115,235
28December 9Quebec Nordiques1–4Philadelphia Flyers14–11–33116,203
29December 11Quebec Nordiques7–4Pittsburgh Penguins15–11–33311,142
30December 12Quebec Nordiques3–7Chicago Black Hawks15–12–33318,132
31December 14Toronto Maple Leafs4–4Quebec Nordiques15–12–43414,845
32December 18Buffalo Sabres5–4Quebec Nordiques15–13–43415,023
33December 19Quebec Nordiques1–3Buffalo Sabres15–14–43411,308
34December 21New York Islanders3–3Quebec Nordiques15–14–53515,237
35December 23Montreal Canadiens3–6Quebec Nordiques16–14–53715,314
36December 26Quebec Nordiques4–4Montreal Canadiens16–14–63818,117
37December 28Hartford Whalers1–4Quebec Nordiques17–14–64015,236 :
January
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
38January 2Washington Capitals7–4Quebec Nordiques17–15–64015,258
39January 4Montreal Canadiens1–3Quebec Nordiques18–15–64215,276
40January 7Quebec Nordiques1–5New York Rangers18–16–64217,421
41January 8Quebec Nordiques1–6New York Islanders18–17–64215,230
42January 10Quebec Nordiques2–6New Jersey Devils18–18–6429,814
43January 12Quebec Nordiques1–2Buffalo Sabres18–19–64211,507
44January 13Quebec Nordiques0–2Boston Bruins18–20–64214,685
45January 15Calgary Flames2–7Quebec Nordiques19–20–64415,039
46January 18St. Louis Blues1–3Quebec Nordiques20-20–64615,232
47January 21Quebec Nordiques5–4Washington Capitals21–20–64813,365
48January 22Quebec Nordiques7–3Pittsburgh Penguins22–20–65010,336
49January 25Winnipeg Jets3–6Quebec Nordiques23–20–65215,193
50January 27Quebec Nordiques2–5Hartford Whalers23–21–65211,061
51January 29New Jersey Devils4–6Quebec Nordiques24–21–65415,056 :
February
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
52February 1Hartford Whalers3–12Quebec Nordiques25–21–65615,190
53February 3Quebec Nordiques3–5Boston Bruins25–22–65613,744
54February 5Buffalo Sabres0–0Quebec Nordiques25–22–75715,247
55February 6Washington Capitals4-4Quebec Nordiques25–22–85815,232
56February 10Quebec Nordiques3–3Calgary Flames25–22–9597,242
57February 11Quebec Nordiques3–7Edmonton Oilers25–23–95917,498
58February 13Quebec Nordiques5–4Chicago Black Hawks26–23–96117,875
59February 15New York Islanders1–4Quebec Nordiques27–23–96315,240
60February 17Quebec Nordiques3–6Minnesota North Stars27–24–96313,922
61February 19Quebec Nordiques4–4St. Louis Blues27–24–106412,052
62February 22Quebec Nordiques1–6Montreal Canadiens27–25–106417,721
63February 24Montreal Canadiens6–3Quebec Nordiques27–26–106415,330
64February 26New York Rangers3-6Quebec Nordiques28–26–106615,250 :
March
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
65March 1Detroit Red Wings5–5Quebec Nordiques28–26–116715,273
66March 3Quebec Nordiques3–5Detroit Red Wings28–27-116713,326
67March 5Hartford Whalers3–10Quebec Nordiques29–27–116915,240
68March 6Quebec Nordiques7–3Hartford Whalers30–27–11719,321
69March 8Boston Bruins11–5Quebec Nordiques30–28–117115,292
70March 13Minnesota North Stars3–6Quebec Nordiques31–28–117315,250
71March 15Quebec Nordiques3-5St. Louis Blues31–29-117311,180
72March 17Quebec Nordiques3–4Los Angeles Kings31–30–117311,770
73March 18Quebec Nordiques3–7Vancouver Canucks31–31–117316,413
74March 20Quebec Nordiques2–3Winnipeg Jets31–32–117315,075
75March 24Los Angeles Kings3–7Quebec Nordiques32–32–117515,142
76March 26Quebec Nordiques1–2Toronto Maple Leafs32–33–117516,382
77March 27Quebec Nordiques6–6Buffalo Sabres32–33–127614,063
78March 29Boston Bruins4–3Quebec Nordiques32–34–127615,227 :
April
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPointsAttendance
79April 2Quebec Nordiques5–4Hartford Whalers33–34–127811,142
80April 3Hartford Whalers5–6Quebec Nordiques34–34–128015,132 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Nordiques opened the 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs with a best of five Adams Division semi-final series against the Boston Bruins. The Nordiques eliminated Boston in seven games in the Division finals the previous season. The Bruins had the best record in the Adams Division, posting a record of 50–20–10, earning 110 points, which was 30 more than the Nordiques. The series opened with two games at the Boston Garden, and Quebec stunned the Bruins in the first period, as Peter Stastny had a natural hat trick, as Quebec took a 3–0 lead. The Bruins came back, led by two goals by Mike O'Connell and one by Barry Pederson to even the game up, setting up overtime. In the extra period, Barry Pederson scored, as Boston completed the comeback and won the game 4–3. In the second game, the two teams exchanged goals in the first period, before Dale Hunter gave the Nordiques a 2–1 lead midway through the third period. The Bruins managed another comeback though, as Boston scored three unanswered goals to win the game 4–2, and take a 2–0 series lead. The series then moved to Le Colisée for the next two games, and the Nordiques, led by 31 saves by Dan Bouchard, staved off elimination with a 2–1 victory and cut the Bruins series lead in half. In the fourth game, Bruins goaltender Pete Peeters stole the show, making 38 saves, as Boston held on for a 2–1 win, and eliminated the Nordiques.
1983 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Adams Division Semifinals vs. (A1) Boston Bruins – Bruins win 3–1
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeSeriesAttendance
1April 5Quebec Nordiques3–4Boston Bruins0-113,549
2April 7Quebec Nordiques2–4Boston Bruins0-214,685
3April 9Boston Bruins1–2Quebec Nordiques1-215,290
4April 10Boston Bruins2–1Quebec Nordiques1-315,269 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Peter Stastny | C | 75 | 47 | 77 | 124 | 78 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Michel Goulet | LW | 80 | 57 | 48 | 105 | 51 | 31 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Anton Stastny | LW | 79 | 32 | 60 | 92 | 25 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Marian Stastny | RW | 60 | 36 | 43 | 79 | 32 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Real Cloutier | RW | 68 | 28 | 39 | 67 | 30 | -4 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Wilf Paiement | RW | 80 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 170 | -10 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Dale Hunter | C | 80 | 17 | 46 | 63 | 206 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 76 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Alain Cote | LW | 79 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 45 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Sleigher | RW | 51 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 49 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Pichette | D | 53 | 3 | 21 | 24 | 49 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Richard | LW | 35 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Normand Rochefort | D | 62 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Aubry | LW | 77 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 48 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wally Weir | D | 58 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 135 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Dupont | D | 46 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 69 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Marois | D | 36 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 108 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Moller | D | 75 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 145 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Blake Wesley | D | 52 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 84 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Lapointe | D | 43 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 59 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 51 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Tookey | C | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard David | LW | 16 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Lacroix | D | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Bouchard | G | 50 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders Eldebrink | D | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Price | D | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Basil McRae | LW | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 59 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Gillis | C | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Sobchuk | C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Garrett | G | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Bolduc | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Eagles | C/LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Marc Gaulin | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Johnson | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clint Malarchuk | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Shaw | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaston Therrien | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Dan Bouchard | 2947 | 50 | 20 | 21 | 8 | 197 | 4.01 | 1 |
| Clint Malarchuk | 900 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 71 | 4.73 | 0 |
| John Garrett | 953 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 64 | 4.03 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 332 | 4.15 | 1 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Peter Stastny | C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Anton Stastny | LW | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Hunter | C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alain Cote | LW | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Moller | D | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dan Bouchard | G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilf Paiement | RW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Pichette | D | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wally Weir | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Aubry | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Real Cloutier | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Dupont | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders Eldebrink | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Goulet | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Price | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Richard | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Normand Rochefort | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Sleigher | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marian Stastny | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Tardif | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Wesley | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Dan Bouchard | 242 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 2.73 | 0 |
| Team: | 242 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 2.73 | 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;

## Awards & records

* Second NHL All-Star team: Michel Goulet

## Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1982–83 season.

### Trades

| August 4, 1982 | To St. Louis BluesPat Hickey | To Quebec NordiquesRick Lapointe |
| December 3, 1982 | To Hartford WhalersPierre Lacroix | To Quebec NordiquesBlake Wesley |
| February 4, 1983 | To Vancouver CanucksJohn Garrett | To Quebec NordiquesAnders Eldebrink |
| June 8, 1983 | To Buffalo SabresReal Cloutier 1st round pick in 1983 – Adam Creighton | To Quebec NordiquesTony McKegney Andre Savard J.F. Sauve 3rd round pick in 1983 – Iiro Jarvi |
| June 8, 1983 | To Chicago Black Hawks11th round pick in 1984 – David Mackey | To Quebec Nordiques12th round pick in 1983 – Jindrich Kokrment |

### Waivers

| December 31, 1982 | From Pittsburgh PenguinsPat Price |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Brian Ford | Billings Bighorns (WHL) |
| Player | New Team |
| Jere Gillis | Buffalo Sabres |

## Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1982 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 13 | David Shaw | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 2 | 34 | Paul Gillis | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL) |
| 3 | 55 | Mario Gosselin | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 76 | Jiri Lala | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Jihlava (Czech.) |
| 5 | 97 | Phil Stanger | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 7 | 131 | Daniel Poudrier | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 181 | Mike Hough | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 10 | 202 | Vincent Lukac | Czechoslovakia | HC Košice (Czech.) |
| 11 | 223 | Andre Martin | Canada | Montreal Juniors (QMJHL) |
| 12 | 244 | Jozef Lukac | Czechoslovakia | HC Košice (Czech.) |
| 12 | 248 | Jan Jasko | Czechoslovakia | Slovan Bratislava (Slovak) |