1992-93 NHL season

The 1992-93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the 1992-93 regular season and playoffs to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the Stanley Cup. Twenty-four teams played 84 games each. The Montreal Canadiens won their league-leading 24th Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one. As of the end of the 2018-19 season, this is the last time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup.
==League Business==
This season saw the startup of two new clubs, the Ottawa Senators, a revival of NHL hockey in Ottawa, Ontario Canada and the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa, Florida.
On February 1, 1993, Gary Bettman, became the first NHL Commissioner. Prior to this the NHL's chief executive was designated as 'President.'
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
====Prince of Wales Conference====
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Team 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
x - Boston Bruins 	84	51	26	7 	109	332	268
x - Quebec Nordiques 	84	47	27	10	104	351	300
x - Montreal Canadiens	84	48	30	6 	102	326	280
x - Buffalo Sabres 	84	38	36	10	86 	335	297
Hartford Whalers 	84	26	52	6 	58 	284	369
Ottawa Senators 	84	10	70	4 	24 	202	395
====Clarence Campbell Conference====
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Team 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
x - Chicago Blackhawks 	84	47	25	12	106	279	230
x - Detroit Red Wings 	84	47	28	9 	103	369	280
x - Toronto Maple Leafs	84	44	29	11	99 	288	241
x - St. Louis Blues 	84	37	36	11	85 	282	278
Minnesota North Stars 	84	36	38	10	82 	272	293
Tampa Bay Lightning 	84	23	54	7 	53 	245	332
Note: x = clinched playoff berth, z = won Presidents' Trophy
===Scoring leaders===
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	PTS
Mario Lemieux 	Pittsburgh 	60	69	91	160
Pat LaFontaine 	Buffalo 	84	53	95	148
Adam Oates 	Boston 	84	45	97	142
Steve Yzerman 	Detroit 	84	58	79	137
Teemu Selanne 	Winnipeg 	84	76	56	132
Pierre Turgeon 	NY Islanders	83	58	74	132
Alexander Mogilny	Buffalo 	77	76	51	127
Doug Gilmour 	Toronto 	83	32	95	127
Luc Robitaille 	Los Angeles 	84	63	62	125
Mark Recchi 	Philadelphia	84	53	70	123
Mats Sundin 	Quebec 	80	47	67	114
===Leading Goaltenders===
Player 	Team 	GP	MIN 	GA 	SO	GAA
Felix Potvin 	Toronto 	48	2781	116	2 	2.50
Ed Belfour 	Chicago 	71	4106	177	7 	2.59
Tom Barrasso 	Pittsburgh 	63	3702	186	4 	3.01
Curtis Joseph	St. Louis 	68	3890	196	1 	3.02
Kay Whitmore 	Vancouver 	31	1817	94 	1 	3.10
Dominik Hasek	Buffalo 	28	1429	75 	0 	3.15
Andy Moog 	Boston 	55	3194	168	3 	3.16
Jeff Reese 	Calgary 	26	1311	70 	1 	3.20
Patrick Roy 	Montreal 	62	3595	192	2 	3.20
Daren Puppa 	Buffalo/Toronto	32	1785	96 	2 	3.23
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
The 1993 Stanley Cup Playoffs started on April 18, and ended on June 9. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Pittsburgh Penguins, who had won the cup the two previous years, were the favourite to "three-peat".
===Bracket===
===Division Semifinals===
====Boston vs. Buffalo====
Buffalo's four-game sweep of the Bruins ended with a memorable overtime goal by Brad May at Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium, leading to Sabres' play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret's famous "May Day! May Day! May Day!" call.
*April 18 - Buffalo 5 Boston 4 (OT)
*April 20 - Buffalo 4 Boston 0
*April 22 - Boston 3 Buffalo 4 (OT)
*April 24 - Boston 5 Buffalo 6 (OT)
Buffalo wins best-of-seven series 4-0
====Quebec vs. Montreal====
Montreal coach Jacques Demers held himself to a promise he made to goaltender Patrick Roy earlier in the season and kept him as the starting goalie despite a couple of weak goals allowed in the first two games of the series against the Nordiques. With the Canadiens staring a potential 3-0 series deficit to the rival Nords in the face, overtime in Game 3 was marked by two disputed goals that were reviewed by the video goal judge. The first review ruled that Stephan Lebeau had knocked the puck in with a high stick, but the second upheld the Habs' winning goal, as it was directed in by the skate of Quebec defenceman Alexei Gusarov, and not that of a Montreal player.
*April 18 - Montreal 2 Quebec 3 (OT)
*April 20 - Montreal 1 Quebec 4
*April 22 - Quebec 1 Montreal 2 (OT)
*April 24 - Quebec 2 Montreal 3
*April 26 - Montreal 5 Quebec 4 (OT)
*April 28 - Quebec 2 Montreal 6
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-2
====Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey====
The Devils had been a struggling team prior to the 1992-93 season, and in the first round of the playoffs, they met the Presidents' Trophy winners from Pittsburgh. The Penguins entered the series on an 11-game playoff winning streak, which they extended to a record 14 games in this series.
*April 18 - New Jersey 3 Pittsburgh 6
*April 20 - New Jersey 0 Pittsburgh 7
*April 22 - Pittsburgh 4 New Jersey 3
*April 25 - Pittsburgh 1 New Jersey 4
*April 26 - New Jersey 2 Pittsburgh 5
Pittsburgh wins best-of-seven series 4-1
====Washington vs. New York Islanders====
Game 6 of this series was marred by a vicious check on the Islanders' leading scorer, Pierre Turgeon, by the Capitals' Dale Hunter, moments after Turgeon scored a third-period goal to put the game and the series out of reach for Washington. Hunter received a 21-game suspension for the hit, which carried over into the 1993-94 season.
*April 18 - New York Islanders 1 Washington 3
*April 20 - New York Islanders 5 Washington 4 (2OT)
*April 22 - Washington 3 New York Islanders 4 (OT)
*April 24 - Washington 3 New York Islanders 4 (2OT)
*April 26 - New York Islanders 4 Washington 6
*April 28 - Washington 3 New York Islanders 5
NYI win best-of-seven series 4-2
====Chicago vs. St. Louis====
The Blackhawks, on an overtime goal in Game 4, became the second division champion to be swept in the first round of the playoffs. Chicago goaltender Ed Belfour claimed he had been interfered with by St. Louis star Brett Hull on the play, but to no avail as the tally stood as the game- and series-winner. Belfour famously went on a rampage after the game, breaking a hot tub, coffee maker, and television in the visitors' locker room at the St. Louis Arena. In 1999, Hawk fans would be left to contemplate the irony of the situation when Belfour and Hull were teammates on that year's championship team, the Dallas Stars, who in 1993 were known as the Minnesota North Stars. The previous season, Chicago had won 11 straight playoff games, setting an NHL record, to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Pittsburgh, who had won seven in a row, swept the Hawks to equal the record. After being swept by the Blues, the Hawks had turned an 11-game playoff winning streak into an eight-game playoff losing streak.
*April 18 - St. Louis 4 Chicago 3
*April 21 - St. Louis 2 Chicago 0
*April 23 - Chicago 0 St. Louis 3
*April 25 - Chicago 3 St. Louis 4 (OT)
St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4-0
====Detroit vs. Toronto====
In a revival of the heated Original Six rivalry, Nikolai Borschevsky's Game 7 overtime goal gave Toronto the series and made them the sixth club to eliminate a team with a better regular season record in the first round of the playoffs. This was also Toronto's first win over Detroit since the Leafs beat the Wings in the full seven games back in the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals.
*April 19 - Toronto 3 Detroit 6
*April 21 - Toronto 2 Detroit 6
*April 23 - Detroit 2 Toronto 4
*April 25 - Detroit 2 Toronto 3
*April 27 - Toronto 5 Detroit 4 (OT)
*April 29 - Detroit 7 Toronto 3
*May 1 - Toronto 4 Detroit 3 (OT)
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4-3
====Vancouver vs. Winnipeg====
The Smythe Division champions from Vancouver managed to shut down the Jets in six games.
*April 19 - Winnipeg 2 Vancouver 4
*April 21 - Winnipeg 2 Vancouver 3
*April 23 - Vancouver 4 Winnipeg 5
*April 25 - Vancouver 3 Winnipeg 1
*April 27 - Winnipeg 4 Vancouver 3 (OT)
*April 29 - Vancouver 4 Winnipeg 3 (OT)
Vancouver wins best-of-seven series 4-2
====Calgary vs. Los Angeles====
The Kings upset the Flames in a high-scoring six-game series.
*April 18 - Los Angeles 6 Calgary 3
*April 21 - Los Angeles 4 Calgary 9
*April 23 - Calgary 5 Los Angeles 2
*April 25 - Calgary 1 Los Angeles 3
*April 27 - Los Angeles 9 Calgary 4
*April 29 - Calgary 6 Los Angeles 9
Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4-2
===Division Finals===
====Montreal vs. Buffalo====
The long-awaited series between Patrick Roy and Grant Fuhr had finally arrived. However the Canadiens swept the series, winning every game by a score of 4-3.
*May 2 - Buffalo 3 Montreal 4
*May 4 - Buffalo 3 Montreal 4 (OT)
*May 6 - Montreal 4 Buffalo 3 (OT)
*May 8 - Montreal 4 Buffalo 3 (OT)
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-0
====Pittsburgh vs. New York Islanders====
The Isles' improbable upset of the Penguins was capped off by David Volek's series-winning goal at 5:16 of overtime in Game 7.
*May 2 - New York Islanders 3 Pittsburgh 2
*May 4 - New York Islanders 0 Pittsburgh 3
*May 6 - Pittsburgh 3 New York Islanders 1
*May 8 - Pittsburgh 5 New York Islanders 6
*May 10 - New York Islanders 3 Pittsburgh 6
*May 12 - Pittsburgh 5 New York Islanders 7
*May 14 - New York Islanders 4 Pittsburgh 3 (OT)
New York Islanders win best-of-seven series 4-3
====Toronto vs. St. Louis====
The Maple Leafs defeated the Blues in seven games, despite Blues' goaltender Curtis Joseph's efforts. The Blues were heavily outshot throughout the series.
*May 3 - St. Louis 1 Toronto 2 (2OT)
*May 5 - St. Louis 2 Toronto 1 (2OT)
*May 7 - Toronto 3 St. Louis 4
*May 9 - Toronto 4 St. Louis 1
*May 11 - St. Louis 1 Toronto 5
*May 13 - Toronto 1 St. Louis 2
*May 15 - St. Louis 0 Toronto 6
Toronto wins best-of-seven series 4-3
====Vancouver vs. Los Angeles====
Despite Vancouver's huge win in Game 4, Game 5 in Vancouver saw a stoppage of play as King center Gary Shuchuk got hurt and was sent into the dressing room. Many thought he was out of the playoffs, but he later came back in the game and ended up winning Game 5 in double overtime for the Kings. The Canucks couldn't recover and thus the Kings advanced to the Conference Finals.
*May 2 - Los Angeles 2 Vancouver 5
*May 5 - Los Angeles 6 Vancouver 3
*May 7 - Vancouver 4 Los Angeles 7
*May 9 - Vancouver 7 Los Angeles 2
*May 11 - Los Angeles 4 Vancouver 3 (2OT)
*May 13 - Vancouver 3 Los Angeles 5
Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4-2
===Conference Finals===
====Montreal vs. New York Islanders====
All teams in the Conference Finals were seeded third in their division.
Montreal's win in game three was their eleventh straight, tying the single-playoff record set a year earlier by Pittsburgh and Chicago.
*May 16 - New York Islanders 1 Montreal 4
*May 18 - New York Islanders 3 Montreal 4 (2OT)
*May 20 - Montreal 2 New York Islanders 1 (OT)
*May 22 - Montreal 1 New York Islanders 4
*May 24 - New York Islanders 2 Montreal 5
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-1
====Toronto vs. Los Angeles====
This exciting and very heated seven-game series has long been remembered by hockey fans. The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking forward to win the conference championship to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals the first time since 1967. The Los Angeles Kings, led by captain Wayne Gretzky, also had high ambitions.
*May 17 - Los Angeles 1 Toronto 4
*May 19 - Los Angeles 3 Toronto 2
*May 21 - Toronto 2 Los Angeles 4
*May 23 - Toronto 4 Los Angeles 2
*May 25 - Los Angeles 2 Toronto 3 (OT)
*May 27 - Toronto 4 Los Angeles 5 (OT)
*May 29 - Los Angeles 5 Toronto 4
Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4-2
===Finals===
====Montreal vs. Los Angeles====
Date 		Away 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
June 1		Los Angeles	4 	Montreal 	1 	
June 3		Los Angeles	2 	Montreal 	3 	(OT)
June 5		Montreal 	4 	Los Angeles	3 	(OT)
June 7		Montreal 	3 	Los Angeles	2 	(OT)
June 9		Los Angeles	1 	Montreal 	4 	
 		 	 	 	 	
 		 	 	 	 	
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-1. Patrick Roy (Montreal) wins Conn Smythe Trophy
==Notable Events==
*Manon Rheaume became the first female athlete in history to play for a major sports league in North America as she tended goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game on September 23, 1992 versus the St. Louis Blues,
*Ottawa Senators reinstated and Tampa Bay Lightning added, bringing the league to 24 teams. Interesting to note is that both teams would win their opening games and sit atop their respective Divisions. Which lead to Harry Neale jokingly proclaiming before the end of Ottawa's first win that both the Senators and Lightning would reach the Finals in May.
*October 1992: Gil Stein named NHL President,
*February 1993: Gary Bettman named NHL Commissioner (Which he is until after 2021-22 season).
*record set for most 100-point scorers and most 50-goal scorers in one season,
*This is the first time for the Los Angeles Kings to be in the conference final.
*the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs marked the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.
*The Montreal Canadiens are the last Canadian team to have won the Stanley Cup.
===Records broken/equalled===
====Regular season====
=====Team=====
*Most Losses, One Season: San Jose Sharks (71)
*Fewest Ties, One Season: San Jose Sharks (2)
*Most Home Losses, One Season: San Jose Sharks (32)
*Most Road Losses, One Season: Ottawa Senators (40)
*Fewest Road Wins, One Season: Ottawa Senators (1)*
*Longest Winning Streak: Pittsburgh Penguins (17)
*Longest Losing Streak: San Jose Sharks (17)*
*Longest Road Losing Streak: Ottawa Senators (38)
*Longest Road Winless Streak: Ottawa Senators (38)
*Most 100-or-more Point Scorers, One Season: Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
*Fastest Three Goals from the Start of Period, One Team: Calgary Flames (0:53, February 10, 1993)
=====Individual=====
*Most Goals, Including Playoffs: Wayne Gretzky (875)
*Most 30-Goal Seasons: Mike Gartner (14)*
*Most Consecutive 30-Goal Seasons: Mike Gartner (14)
*Most Goals, One Season, by a Left Winger: Luc Robitaille (63)
*Most Goals, One Season, by a Rookie: Teemu Selanne (76)
*Most Assists, One Season, by a Left Winger: Joe Juneau (70)
*Most Assists, One Season, by a Rookie: Joe Juneau (70)* (Note: Wayne Gretzky scored 86 assists in his first year, but he was not considered a rookie)
*Most Points, One Season, by a Left Winger: Luc Robitaille (125)
*Most Points, One Season, by a Rookie: Teemu Selanne (132) (Note: Wayne Gretzky scored 137 points in his first year, but he was not considered a rookie)
*Most Assists, One Game, by a Goaltender: Jeff Reese (3, February 10, 1993)
*Most Games Missed While Winning Art Ross Trophy: Mario Lemieux (24)
====Playoffs====
=====Team=====
*Most Overtime Games, One Playoff Year: 28
*Most Overtime Wins, One Playoff Year: Montreal Canadiens (10)
*Most Consecutive Overtime Wins, One Playoff Year: Montreal Canadiens (10)
*Most Consecutive Wins, One Playoff Year: Montreal Canadiens (11)*
=====Individual=====
*Most Consecutive Wins, One Playoff Year: Patrick Roy (11)*
*Most Goals by a Defenceman, One Game: Eric Desjardins (3, June 3, 1993)*
*Most Power-Play Goals, One Game: Dino Ciccarelli (3, April 29, 1993)*
*Most Shorthanded Goals, One Game: Tom Fitzgerald (2, May 8, 1993)*
*Most Assists, One Period: Adam Oates (3, April 24, 1993)*
* Equalled existing record
==Rule Changes==
*Schedule length changed to 84 games. Two games in each team's schedule to be played in non-NHL cities.
*Instigating a fight results in a game misconduct penalty.
*Substitutions disallowed for coincidental minor penalties when teams are at full strength.
*Minor penalty for diving introduced.
*Wearing of a helmet made optional.
==Major Transactions==
*June 30, 1992: Eric Lindros traded from Quebec to Philadelphia for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, "future considerations" (eventually became enforcer Chris Simon), two first-round draft picks and US$15 million. One of the draft picks was used by the Nordiques to select goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, the other was traded twice and ultimately used by the Washington Capitals to select Nolan Baumgartner.
==NHL Awards==
Presidents' Trophy: 	Pittsburgh Penguins
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Los Angeles Kings
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jack Adams Award: 	Pat Burns, Toronto Maple Leafs
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Dave Poulin, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Pierre Turgeon, New York Islanders
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vezina Trophy: 	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Frank Boucher, Mervyn "Red" Dutton, Bruce McNall, Gil Stein
===All-Star teams===
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks 	G 	Tom Barrasso, Pittsburgh Penguins
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks 	D 	Larry Murphy, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins 	D 	Al Iafrate, Washington Capitals
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins	C 	Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo Sabres
Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets 	RW 	Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo Sabres
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings 	LW 	Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1992-93 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Bryan Smolinski, Boston Bruins
*Matthew Barnaby, Buffalo Sabres
*Philippe Boucher, Buffalo Sabres
*Michael Nylander, Hartford Whalers
*Alexei Zhitnik, Los Angeles Kings
*Robert Lang, Los Angeles Kings
*Darius Kasparaitis, New York Islanders
*Vladimir Malakhov, New York Islanders
*Alexei Kovalev, New York Rangers
*Sergei Zubov, New York Rangers
*Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers
*Martin Straka, Pittsburgh Penguins
*Sandis Ozolinsh, San Jose Sharks
*Roman Hamrlik, Tampa Bay Lightning
*Byron Dafoe, Washington Capitals
*Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
*Alexei Zhamnov, Winnipeg Jets
==Last games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1992-93 (listed with their last team):
*Reggie Lemelin, Boston Bruins
*Carey Wilson, Calgary Flames
*Brent Ashton, Calgary Flames
*John Ogrodnick, Detroit Red Wings
*Tim Kerr, Hartford Whalers
*Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
*Brian Mullen, New York Islanders
*Brad Marsh, Ottawa Senators
*Laurie Boschman, Ottawa Senators
*Brian Hayward, San Jose Sharks
*Brian Lawton, San Jose Sharks
*Petri Skriko, San Jose Sharks
*Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
*Steve Kasper, Tampa Bay Lightning
*Ryan Walter, Vancouver Canucks
*Rod Langway, Washington Capitals
*Randy Carlyle, Winnipeg Jets
==Hat tricks==
==Neutral Site Game Ads==
92-93NHLMilwaukeeGameAd.jpg|Milwaukee
==See also==
*List of Stanley Cup champions
*1992 NHL Entry Draft
*1992 NHL Expansion Draft
*1992 NHL Supplemental Draft
*44th National Hockey League All-Star Game
*National Hockey League All-Star Game
*NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
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