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 Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions , winning a best of seven series 4 – 0 against the Chicago Blackhawks . 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 2008 , defenceman to score 100 points in a season . He finished the season with 102 points and captured the Norris Trophy . 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 . " 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 " Playoffs . " Note : All dates in 1992 " Finals . The series was held between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks . The Penguins won in four games , three out of four won by a one - goal margin . Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs ' MVP . Throwback uniforms . As part of the NHL ' s 75th anniversary celebration , and taking cues from Major League Baseball ' s " Turn Back The Clock " uniform program , throwback uniform s 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 : 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 ) : 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 ) :