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===
====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
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
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
Note: All dates in 1992
===Playoff Bracket===
===Division Semi-finals===
====Wales Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Montreal vs. Hartford 	Montreal vs. Hartford 	Montreal vs. Hartford 	Montreal vs. Hartford
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 19 	Hartford 0 	2 Montreal 	 	
April 21 	Hartford 2 	5 Montreal 	 	
April 23 	Montreal 2 	5 Hartford 	 	
April 25 	Montreal 1 	3 Hartford 	 	
April 27 	Hartford 4 	7 Montreal 	 	
April 29 	Montreal 1 	2 Hartford 	OT 	
May 1 	Hartford 2 	3 Montreal 	2OT 	
Montreal wins series 4–3	Montreal wins series 4–3	Montreal wins series 4–3	Montreal wins series 4–3	
====Campbell Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Detroit vs. Minnesota 	Detroit vs. Minnesota 	Detroit vs. Minnesota 	Detroit vs. Minnesota
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 18 	Minnesota 4 	3 Detroit 	 	
April 20 	Minnesota 4 	2 Detroit 	 	
April 22 	Detroit 5 	4 Minnesota 	OT 	
April 24 	Detroit 4 	5 Minnesota 	 	
April 26 	Minnesota 0 	3 Detroit 	 	
April 28 	Detroit 1 	0 Minnesota 	OT 	
April 30 	Minnesota 2 	5 Detroit 	 	
Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	Detroit wins series 4–3	
===Division Finals===
Wales Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Montreal vs. Boston 	Montreal vs. Boston 	Montreal vs. Boston 	Montreal vs. Boston
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 3 	Boston 6 	4 Montreal 	 	
May 5 	Boston 3 	2 Montreal 	OT 	
May 7 	Montreal 2 	3 Boston 	 	
May 9 	Montreal 0 	2 Boston 	 	
Boston win series 4–0	Boston win series 4–0	Boston win series 4–0	Boston win series 4–0	
Campbell Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Detroit vs. Chicago 	Detroit vs. Chicago 	Detroit vs. Chicago 	Detroit vs. Chicago
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
May 2 	Chicago 2 	1 Detroit 	 	
May 4 	Chicago 3 	1 Detroit 	 	
May 6 	Detroit 4 	5 Chicago 	 	
May 8 	Detroit 0 	1 Chicago 	 	
Chicago wins series 4–0	Chicago wins series 4–0	Chicago wins series 4–0	Chicago wins series 4–0	
===Conference Finals===
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	 	 	
Pittsburgh vs. Boston 	Pittsburgh vs. Boston 	Pittsburgh vs. Boston 	Pittsburgh vs. Boston
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 17 	Boston 3 	4 Pittsburgh 	OT
May 19 	Boston 2 	5 Pittsburgh 	
May 21 	Pittsburgh 5 	1 Boston 	
May 21 	Pittsburgh 5 	1 Boston 	
Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Prince of Wales Trophy
===Finals===
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 	
Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–0and Stanley Cup
Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy
==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
Although not an award per se, the Buffalo Sabres set an NHL record for team penalty minutes, with 2713.
==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, 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):
*Glen Murray, Boston Bruins
*Joe Juneau, Boston Bruins
*Jozef Stumpel, Boston Bruins
*Brad May, Buffalo Sabres
*Keith Carney, Buffalo Sabres
*Dean McAmmond, Chicago Blackhawks
*Martin Lapointe, Detroit Red Wings
*Vyacheslav Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings
*Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
*Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
*Martin Rucinsky, Edmonton Oilers
*Darryl Sydor, Los Angeles Kings
*Derian Hatcher, Minnesota North Stars
*Bill Guerin, New Jersey Devils
*Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
*Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
*Adam Foote, Quebec Nordiques
*Valeri Kamensky, Quebec Nordiques
*Arturs Irbe, San Jose Sharks
*Pat Falloon, San Jose Sharks
*Ray Whitney, San Jose Sharks
*Bret Hedican, St. Louis Blues
*Guy Hebert, St. Louis Blues
*Felix Potvin, Toronto Maple Leafs
*Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
*Steve Konowalchuk, Washington Capitals
*Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets
*Stu Barnes, 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
==Hat Tricks==
==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
==References==
*Hockey Database
*http://nhl.com/