1991 - 92 NHL season The 1991 - 92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League . Twenty - two teams each played 80 games . The Stanley Cup winners were the Pittsburgh Penguins , who won the best of seven series 4 – 0 against the Chicago Blackhawks . The championship was the second in a row for the Penguins . League Business . As mentioned above , 1991 – 92 was the 75th anniversary season for the NHL . Accordingly , all players wore a patch on their uniforms depicting the NHL 75th anniversary logo ( seen at above right ) for this season . This was the first season for the San Jose Sharks , the first expansion team in the NHL since 1979 . The birth of the Sharks returned NHL hockey to the San Francisco Bay Area after the California Golden Seals had relocated to Cleveland , Ohio in 1976 . This was also the last season for John Ziegler as NHL President . He would be succeeded by Gil Stein , who held the position for one year before being replaced by Gary Bettman . New York Rangers defenceman Brian Leetch became the fifth , and last as of 2009 , defenceman to score 100 points in a season . He finished the season with 102 points and captured the Norris Trophy . The Rangers also ended the season with the NHL ' s best record since the 1941 - 42 season , the same year as the Toronto Maple Leafs ' stanley cup comeback . For the first time , the NHL finished play in the month of June . A primary reason for this is the 10 - day NHL strike that started on April 1 . The games that were supposed to be played during the strike , which was the first work - stoppage in NHL history , weren ' t canceled . They were rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12 . Regular season . Final standings . Campbell Conference . " Note : W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals For , GA = Goals Against " Scoring leaders . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points " Leading goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; T = Ties ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Stanley Cup playoffs . " Note : All dates in 1992 " NHL Awards . Although not an award " per se " , the Buffalo Sabres set an NHL record for team penalty minutes , with 2713 . Throwback Uniforms . As part of the NHL ' s 75th anniversary celebration , throwback uniforms were worn by Original Six teams for select games , and throwbacks were also worn for the All - Star Game . The uniform styles that were worn include : Boston Bruins - circa 1933 Chicago Blackhawks - circa 1940 Detroit Red Wings - circa 1928 Montreal Canadiens - circa 1926 New York Rangers - circa 1940 Toronto Maple Leafs - circa 1940 Wales All - Stars - white All - Star jersey circa 1952 Campbell All - Stars - red All - Star jersey circa 1952 The throwback uniforms would have an impact on future seasons in the NHL , as several teams adopted throwbacks as alternate jerseys . The National Football League and National Basketball Association would follow the NHL ' s lead , with teams wearing throwbacks to celebrate their leagues ' 75th and 50th anniversaries , respectively . Debuts . The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991 - 92 ( listed with their first team , asterisk ( * ) marks debut in playoffs ) : Last games . The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1991 - 92 ( listed with their last team ) :