# 1981–82 NHL transactions

The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League during the 1981–82 NHL season. It lists what team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable.

## Trades between teams
### June

| June 9, 1981 | To Minnesota North StarsNelson Burton | To Quebec NordiquesDan Chicoine |
| June 10, 1981 | To Colorado Rockies1st-rd pick - 1981 Entry Draft (# 5 - Joe Cirella) 2nd-rd pick - 1981 Entry Draft (# 26 - Rich Chernomaz) | To Washington Capitals1st-rd pick - 1981 Entry Draft (# 3 - Bobby Carpenter) 3rd-rd pick - 1981 Entry Draft (# 45 - Eric Calder) |

### July

| July 3, 1981 | To Hartford WhalersDon Gillen Rick MacLeish Blake Wesley 1st-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 14 - Paul Lawless) 2nd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 35 - Mark Paterson) 3rd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 56 - Kevin Dineen) | To Philadelphia FlyersRay Allison Fred Arthur 1st-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 4 - Ron Sutter) 3rd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 46 - Miroslav Dvorak) |
| July 3, 1981 | To St. Louis BluesScott Campbell John Markell | To Winnipeg JetsPaul MacLean Bryan Maxwell Ed Staniowski |
| July 15, 1981 | To Vancouver Canucksrights to Ivan Hlinka | To Winnipeg JetsBrent Ashton 4th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 74 - Tom Martin) |
| July 15, 1981 | To Colorado RockiesBrent Ashton 3rd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 54 - Dave Kasper) | To Winnipeg JetsLucien DeBlois |
| July 21, 1981$^1$ | To Boston BruinsBruins option to swap 1st-rd picks - 1982 Entry Draft (# 1 - Gord Kluzak)$^2$ 2nd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 22 - Brian Curran) | To Colorado Rockies10th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 207 - Tony Gilliard) |
| July 23, 1981 | To Detroit Red WingsMark Lofthouse | To Washington CapitalsAl Jensen |
| July 31, 1981 | To Minnesota North StarsLindsay Middlebrook | To Winnipeg Jetscash |
* A compensation trade for Boston as Colorado signed restricted free agent Dwight Foster.
* Boston exercised the option and swap the 18th pick for the 1st overall pick in 1982.

### August

| August 10, 1981 | To Los Angeles Kings5th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 100 - Garry Galley) | To Edmonton OilersJay McFarlane |
| August 10, 1981 | To Toronto Maple LeafsDon Luce | To Los Angeles KingsBob Gladney 6th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 108 - Kevin Stevens) |
| August 21, 1981 | To Minnesota North Starsrights to Don Murdoch | To Edmonton OilersDon Jackson 3rd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (MIN - # 59 - Wally Chapman)$^1$ |
| August 21, 1981 | To Minnesota North Stars1st-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 17 - Murray Craven) | To Detroit Red WingsGreg Smith rights to Don Murdoch 1st-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 2 - Brian Bellows) |
* Minnesota's third-round pick was re-acquired on draft day to complete a trade on February 2, 1981 that sent Gary Edwards to Edmonton in exchange for future considerations.

### September

| September 8, 1981 | To Winnipeg JetsDoug Soetaert | To New York Rangers3rd-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 49 - Vesa Salo) |
| September 11, 1981 | To Toronto Maple Leafs4th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 73 - Vladimir Ruzicka) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsPaul Harrison |
| September 28, 1981 | To Pittsburgh Penguinsfuture considerations | To New York IslandersRobert Holland |

### October

| October 1, 1981 | To Colorado RockiesDave Cameron Bob Lorimer | To New York Islanders1st-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 3 - Pat LaFontaine) |
| October 2, 1981 | To Hartford WhalersChris Kotsopoulos Gerry McDonald Doug Sulliman | To New York RangersMike Rogers 10th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 193 - Simo Saarinen) |
| October 2, 1981 | To Hartford WhalersGarry Howatt | To New York Islanders5th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 84 - Bob Caulfield) |
| October 16, 1981 | To Toronto Maple Leafs5th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 99 - Sylvain Charland) | To New York RangersPat Hickey |
| October 30, 1981 | To Minnesota North Starscash | To New York RangersTom Younghans |

### November

| November 10, 1981 | To Calgary FlamesGary McAdam 4th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 66 - John Bekkers) | To Detroit Red WingsEric Vail |
| November 11, 1981 | To Toronto Maple LeafsJohn Gibson Billy Harris | To Los Angeles KingsIan Turnbull |
| November 11, 1981 | To Calgary FlamesMel Bridgman | To Philadelphia FlyersBrad Marsh |
| November 25, 1981 | To Colorado RockiesDon Lever Bob MacMillan | To Calgary FlamesLanny McDonald 4th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 77 - Bill Claviter) |
| November 25, 1981 | To Calgary FlamesPat Ribble 2nd-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (MTL - # 35 - Todd Francis)$^1$ | To Washington CapitalsBobby Gould Randy Holt |
* Calgary's second-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade on September 10, 1982 that sent the Doug Risebrough and Montreal's second-round pick in 1983 NHL Entry Draft to Calgary in exchange for Calgary's third-round pick in 1984 NHL Entry Draft and this pick.

### December

| December 2, 1981 | To Buffalo SabresMike Foligno Dale McCourt Brent Peterson | To Detroit Red WingsDanny Gare Jim Schoenfeld Derek Smith |
| December 2, 1981 | To Buffalo Sabresfuture considerations | To Detroit Red WingsBob Sauve |
| December 4, 1981 | To Colorado RockiesDick Lamby Joe Micheletti | To St. Louis BluesBill Baker |
| December 11, 1981 | To Edmonton OilersLance Nethery | To New York RangersEddie Mio |
| December 19, 1981 | To Montreal Canadiens6th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft$^1$ (# 117 - Ernie Vargas) | To Winnipeg JetsSerge Savard |
| December 21, 1981 | To Hartford WhalersPierre Larouche 1st-rd pick - 1984 Entry Draft (# 11 - Sylvain Cote) 3rd-rd pick - 1985 Entry Draft (PIT - # 58 - Bruce Racine)$^2$ | To Montreal Canadiens1st-rd pick - 1984 Entry Draft (# 5 - Petr Svoboda) 2nd-rd pick - 1984 Entry Draft (# 26 - Brian Benning)$^3$ 3rd-rd pick - 1985 Entry Draft (# 47 - Rocky Dundas) |
| December 29, 1981 | To Hartford WhalersRuss Anderson 8th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 143 - Christian Duperron) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsRick MacLeish |
| December 30, 1981 | To Quebec NordiquesJere Gillis Dean Talafous$^4$ | To New York RangersRobbie Ftorek 8th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 160 - Brian Glynn) |
| December 31, 1981 | To Minnesota North Starscash | To Colorado RockiesKevin Maxwell rights to Jim Dobson |
* This is a compensation trade. Savard retired from the NHL on August 12, 1981. The Jets selected him in the NHL waiver draft on October 5, 1981. The trade was completed upon Savard's return to the NHL with the Jets.
* Hartford's third-round pick went to Pittsburgh as the result of a trade on September 30, 1983 that sent Greg Malone to Hartford in exchange for this pick.
* Montreal's second-round pick went to St. Louis as the result of a trade on June 9, 1984 that sent St. Louis' first-round and second-round picks in 1984 NHL Entry Draft to Montreal in exchange for Rick Wamsley, Montreal's second-round pick (32nd overall) and third-round pick in 1984 NHL Entry Draft along with this pick.
* Dean Talafous did not report to Quebec and retired from hockey. Pat Hickey was substituted to complete the trade after an arbitrator's decision on March 8, 1982.

### January

| January 12, 1982 | To Hartford WhalersMichel Plasse 4th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 72 - Ron Chyzowski) | To Quebec NordiquesJohn Garrett |
| January 20, 1982 | To Toronto Maple LeafsRich Costello 2nd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 25 - Peter Ihnacak) future considerations$^1$ (Ken Strong) | To Philadelphia FlyersDarryl Sittler |
* Trade completed in May, 1982.

### February

| February 1, 1982 | To Quebec NordiquesTim Tookey 7th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 131 - Daniel Poudrier) | To Washington CapitalsLee Norwood 6th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (CGY - # 118 - Mats Kihlstrom)$^1$ |
| February 2, 1982 | To Hartford Whalers10th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 193 - Reine Landgren) | To New York RangersRob McClanahan |
| February 3, 1982 | To Toronto Maple Leafs5th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 83 - Dan Hodgson) future considerations$^2$ (6th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft - # 115 - Craig Kales) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsGreg Hotham |
| February 14, 1982 | To St. Louis Blues8th-rd pick - 1984 Entry Draft (# 148 - Don Porter) | To Pittsburgh Penguinsright to claim Gary Edwards off waivers from Blues without having to pay a cash waiver price |
* Washington's sixth-round pick went to Calgary as the result of a trade on June 9, 1982 that sent Ken Houston and Pat Riggin to Washington in exchange for Howard Walker, George White, Washington's third-round pick in 1983 NHL Entry Draft, second-round pick in 1984 NHL Entry Draft and this pick.
* Trade completed on June 9, 1982 at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.

### March

* Trading Deadline: March 9, 1982
| March 2, 1982 | To Minnesota North StarsMark Johnson | To Pittsburgh Penguins2nd-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 38 - Tim Hrynewich) |
| March 8, 1982 | To Toronto Maple LeafsJim Korn | To Detroit Red Wings4th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 66 - Craig Coxe) 5th-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 88 - Joe Kocur) |
| March 8, 1982 | To Toronto Maple LeafsPhil Drouillard Walt Poddubny | To Edmonton OilersLaurie Boschman |
| March 8, 1982 | To Calgary Flamesfuture considerations | To St. Louis BluesKari Eloranta |
| March 9, 1982 | To Colorado RockiesStan Weir | To Edmonton OilersEd Cooper |
| March 9, 1982 | To Edmonton OilersTodd Bidner | To Washington CapitalsDoug Hicks |
| March 9, 1982 | To Toronto Maple LeafsMiroslav Frycer 7th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 139 - Jeff Triano) | To Quebec NordiquesWilf Paiement |
| March 9, 1982 | To Vancouver CanucksTony Currie Rick Heinz Jim Nill 4th-rd pick - 1982 Entry Draft (# 71 - Shawn Kilroy) | To St. Louis BluesGlen Hanlon |
| March 9, 1982 | To Montreal Canadiens2nd-rd pick - 1983 Entry Draft (# 27 - Sergio Momesso) | To St. Louis BluesGuy Lapointe |