1982-83 NHL season

The 1982-83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their second consecutive finals sweep by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in any major professional North American sport has won four consecutive championships since the Islanders.
==Regular Season==
The Boston Bruins led the league in overall points with 110. The defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders fell from first overall and finished tied for 6th overall and the high-powered, high offence, Edmonton Oilers tied for second overall. The Oilers set a new record, which they had just set the previous year, for most goals in a season with 424 and were led by Wayne Gretzky's 196 points. The Oilers also set a record for most 100-point players in one season on one team as Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Mark Messier all scored more than 100 points.
For the start of the season, the Colorado Rockies (originally known as the Kansas City Scouts) moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey and became the New Jersey Devils. They also moved to the Patrick Division, forcing a reluctant Winnipeg Jets organization to leave the Norris Division and take Colorado's place in the Smythe. This would be the last relocation of an NHL team until the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas and became the Stars in 1993, while Denver would not see another NHL team of their own until the Quebec Nordiques moved there to become the Colorado Avalanche in June of 1995.
Some fans consider this season as the true end for the Original Six era, as the remaining 3 players from that era (Carol Vadnais, Serge Savard, and Wayne Cashman) retired after the season. Cashman was the last to play, losing in the Wales Conference Finals as a member of the Bruins.
===Final Standings===
====Prince of Wales Conference====
====Clarence Campbell Conference====
===Scoring Leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky 	Edmonton Oilers 	80	71	125	196	59
Peter Stastny 	Quebec Nordiques 	75	47	77 	124	78
Denis Savard 	Chicago Black Hawks	78	35	86 	121	99
Mike Bossy 	New York Islanders 	79	60	58 	118	20
Marcel Dionne 	Los Angeles Kings 	80	56	51 	107	22
Barry Pederson	Boston Bruins 	77	46	61 	107	47
Mark Messier 	Edmonton Oilers 	77	48	58 	106	72
Michel Goulet 	Quebec Nordiques 	80	57	48 	105	51
Jari Kurri 	Edmonton Oilers 	80	45	59 	104	22
Glenn Anderson	Edmonton Oilers 	72	48	56 	104	70
Kent Nilsson 	Calgary Flames 	80	46	58 	104	10
===Leading Goaltenders===
Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Player 	Team 	GP	MIN 	GA 	GAA 	W 	L 	T	SO
Pete Peeters 	Boston Bruins 	62	3611	142	2.36	40	11	9	8
Bob Froese 	Philadelphia Flyers	25	1407	59 	2.52	17	4 	2	4
Rollie Melanson 	N.Y. Islanders 	44	2460	109	2.66	24	12	5	1
Billy Smith 	N.Y. Islanders 	41	2340	112	2.87	18	14	7	1
Pelle Lindbergh 	Philadelphia Flyers	40	2333	116	2.98	23	13	3	3
Murray Bannerman	Chicago Black Hawks	41	2460	127	3.10	24	12	5	4
Richard Sevigny 	Montreal Canadiens 	38	2130	122	3.44	15	11	8	1
Bob Sauve 	Buffalo Sabres 	52	3110	179	3.45	25	20	7	1
Eddie Mio 	N.Y. Rangers 	41	2365	136	3.45	16	18	6	2
Tony Esposito 	Chicago Black Hawks	39	2340	135	3.46	23	11	5	1
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
===Playoff Bracket===
===Finals===
New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers
Date 	Visitors	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 10	New York	2 	Edmonton	0 	
May 12	New York	6 	Edmonton	3 	
May 14	Edmonton	1 	New York	5 	
May 16	Edmonton	2 	New York	4 	
New York wins the series 4–0.
==NHL Awards==
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	New York Islanders
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Edmonton Oilers
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Billy Smith, New York Islanders
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award: 	Orval Tessier, Chicago Black Hawks
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Rod Langway, Washington Capitals
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Roland Melanson/Billy Smith, New York Islanders
Vezina Trophy: 	Pete Peeters, Boston Bruins
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Bill Torrey
==All-Star Teams==
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Pete Peeters, Boston Bruins 	G 	Roland Melanson, New York Islanders
Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers 	D 	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Rod Langway, Washington Capitals	D 	Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers 	C 	Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders 	RW 	Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers 	LW 	Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1982-83 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins
*Dave Andreychuk, Buffalo Sabres
*Phil Housley, Buffalo Sabres
*Jamie Macoun, Calgary Flames
*Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames
*Murray Craven, Detroit Red Wings
*Brian Bellows, Minnesota North Stars
*Craig Ludwig, Montreal Canadiens
*Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens
*Pat Verbeek, New Jersey Devils
*Bob Froese, Philadelphia Flyers
*Dave Poulin, Philadelphia Flyers
*Ron Sutter, Philadelphia Flyers
*Rich Sutter, Pittsburgh Penguins
*Gary Leeman*, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Michel Petit, Vancouver Canucks
*Patrik Sundstrom, Vancouver Canucks
*Milan Novy, Washington Capitals
*Scott Stevens, Washington Capitals
*Brian Hayward, Winnipeg Jets
==Last Games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1982-83 (listed with their last team):
*Wayne Cashman, Boston Bruins
*Gilles Gilbert, Detroit Red Wings
*Reggie Leach, Detroit Red Wings
*Garry Unger, Edmonton Oilers
*Mike Murphy, Los Angeles Kings
*Rejean Houle, Montreal Canadiens
*Carol Vadnais, New Jersey Devils
*John Davidson, New York Rangers
*Ulf Nilsson, New York Rangers
*Ian Turnbull, Pittsburgh Penguins
*Jacques Richard, Quebec Nordiques
*Marc Tardif, Quebec Nordiques
*Vaclav Nedomansky, St. Louis Blues
*Ivan Hlinka, Vancouver Canucks
*Milan Novy, Washington Capitals
*Serge Savard, Winnipeg Jets
==See Also==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1982 NHL Entry Draft
* 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game
* National Hockey League All-Star Game
* NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com