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
====Wales Conference====
Adams Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
Montreal Canadiens	80	41	28	11	93 	267	207
Boston Bruins 	80	36	32	12	84 	270	275
Buffalo Sabres 	80	31	37	12	74 	289	299
Hartford Whalers 	80	26	41	13	65 	247	283
Quebec Nordiques 	80	20	48	12	52 	255	318
Patrick Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
New York Rangers 	80	50	25	5 	105	321	246
Washington Capitals	80	45	27	8 	98 	330	275
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	39	32	9 	87 	343	308
New Jersey Devils 	80	38	31	11	87 	289	259
New York Islanders 	80	34	35	11	79 	291	299
Philadelphia Flyers	80	32	37	11	75 	252	273
====Campbell Conference====
Norris Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
Detroit Red Wings 	80	43	25	12	98 	320	256
Chicago Blackhawks 	80	36	29	15	87 	257	236
St. Louis Blues 	80	36	33	11	83 	279	266
Minnesota North Stars	80	32	42	6 	70 	246	278
Toronto Maple Leafs 	80	30	43	7 	67 	234	294
Smythe Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
Vancouver Canucks	80	42	26	12	96 	285	250
Los Angeles Kings	80	35	31	14	84 	287	296
Edmonton Oilers 	80	36	34	10	82 	295	297
Winnipeg Jets 	80	33	32	15	81 	251	244
Calgary Flames 	80	31	37	12	74 	296	305
San Jose Sharks 	80	17	58	5 	39 	219	359
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh 	64	44	87	131	
Kevin Stevens 	Pittsburgh 	80	54	69	123	
Wayne Gretzky 	Los Angeles 	74	31	90	121	
Brett Hull 	St. Louis 	73	70	39	109	
Luc Robitaille	Los Angeles 	80	44	63	107	
Mark Messier 	NY Rangers 	79	35	72	107	
Jeremy Roenick	Chicago 	80	53	50	103	
Steve Yzerman 	Detroit 	79	45	58	103	
Brian Leetch 	NY Rangers 	80	22	80	102	
Adam Oates 	St. Louis/Boston	80	20	79	99 	
===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
 Regular Season
Player 	Team 	GP	TOI 	W 	L 	T 	GA 	SO	Sv% 	GAA
Patrick Roy 	Montreal 	67	3935	36	22	8 	155	5 	.914	2.36
Ed Belfour 	Chicago 	52	2928	21	18	10	132	5 	.894	2.70
Kirk McLean 	Vancouver 	65	3852	38	17	9 	176	5 	.901	2.74
John Vanbiesbrouck	NY Rangers	45	2526	27	13	3 	120	2 	.910	2.85
Bob Essensa 	Winnipeg 	47	2627	21	17	6 	126	5 	.910	2.88
==Playoffs==
Note: All dates in 1992
* The 1992 playoffs saw history being made. For the first time ever, all four division winners (Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers, Vancouver) were eliminated in the same round. In the division finals, Detroit was swept by Chicago in four straight. Montreal was also swept in four straight by Boston. The New York Rangers lost in six games to eventual champion Pittsburgh. And, Vancouver also lost in six games to Edmonton.
*Of the eight division semifinal series, three of them would take place again the following year. Vancouver defeated Winnipeg four games to two. Buffalo swept Boston in four straight. And, St. Louis swept Chicago in four straight.
===Playoff bracket===
===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.
Pittsburgh vs. Chicago	Pittsburgh vs. Chicago	Pittsburgh vs. Chicago	Pittsburgh vs. Chicago
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 26 	Chicago 4 	5 Pittsburgh 	
May 28 	Chicago 1 	3 Pittsburgh 	
May 30 	Pittsburgh 1 	0 Chicago 	
June 1 	Pittsburgh 6 	5 Chicago 	
==NHL awards==
Presidents' Trophy: 	New York Rangers
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Chicago Blackhawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Mark Fitzpatrick, New York Islanders
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Mark Messier, New York Rangers
Jack Adams Award: 	Pat Quinn, Vancouver Canucks
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Mark Messier, New York Rangers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Paul Ysebaert, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy: 	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Al Arbour, Art Berglund, Lou Lamoriello
===All-Star teams===
First team 	  Position  	Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens 	G 	Kirk McLean, Vancouver Canucks
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers 	D 	Phil Housley, Winnipeg Jets
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins 	D 	Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
Mark Messier, New York Rangers 	C 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues 	RW 	Mark Recchi, PIT/PHI
Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins	LW 	Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
==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 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):
*Stu Barnes, Winnipeg Jets
*Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
*Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
*Keith Carney, Buffalo Sabres
*Adam Foote, Quebec Nordiques
*Bill Guerin, New Jersey Devils
*Derian Hatcher, Minnesota North Stars
*Bret Hedican, St. Louis Blues
*Arturs Irbe, San Jose Sharks
*Joe Juneau, Boston Bruins
*Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
*Vyacheslav Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings
*Martin Lapointe, Detroit Red Wings
*Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
*Glen Murray, Boston Bruins
*Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
*Felix Potvin, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Darryl Sydor, Los Angeles Kings
*Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets
==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):
*Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins
*Rick Vaive, Buffalo Sabres
*Tony Tanti, Buffalo Sabres
*Clint Malarchuk, Buffalo Sabres
*Greg Millen, Detroit Red Wings
*Ilkka Sinisalo, Los Angeles Kings
*Larry Robinson, Los Angeles Kings
*Chris Nilan, Montreal Canadiens
*Patrik Sundstrom, New Jersey Devils
*Rick Green, New York Islanders
*John Tonelli, Quebec Nordiques
*Mark Pavelich, San Jose Sharks
*Ken Linseman, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Mike Bullard, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Randy Gregg, Vancouver Canucks
*Mike Liut, Washington Capitals
*Mario Marois, Winnipeg Jets
*Lucien DeBlois, Winnipeg Jets
*Aaron Broten, Winnipeg Jets
==See also==
*List of Stanley Cup champions
*1991 NHL Entry Draft
*1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts
*43rd National Hockey League All-Star Game
*National Hockey League All-Star Game
*NHL All-Rookie Team
*Ice hockey at the 1992 Winter Olympics
*1991 Canada Cup
==References==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com