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. Before the start of the season, the Colorado Rockies moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey where they were renamed New Jersey Devils. They were also moved to the Patrick Division, making the unwilling Winnipeg Jets to leave the Norris Division and take Colorado's place in the Smythe Division.  This would be the last time an NHL team moved until 1993.

The last remaining players from the Original Six era, (Carol Vadnais, Serge Savard, and Wayne Cashman) all retired after this season. Cashman was the last to play, losing in the Wales Conference Finals as a player for the Bruins.

The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to none. No team in any major professional North American sport has won four championships in a row since the Islanders.

Regular season
The Boston Bruins led the league in total points with 110. The defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders went from first overall and finished tied for 6th overall. The high-scoring 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. They were led by Wayne Gretzky, who had 196 points. The Oilers also tied the Boston Bruins' 1971 record for most 100-point players in one season as Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Mark Messier all had more than 100 points.

Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
 Adams Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Boston Bruins  80 50 20 10  110 327 228 1202 Montreal Canadiens  80 42 24 14  98 350 286 1116 Buffalo Sabres  80 38 29 13  89 318 285 1031 Quebec Nordiques  80 34 34 12  80 343 336 1648 Hartford Whalers  80 19 54 7  45 261 403 1392

 Patrick Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Philadelphia Flyers  80 49 23 8  106 326 240 1337 New York Islanders  80 42 26 12  96 302 226 1266 Washington Capitals  80 39 25 16  94 306 283 1329 New York Rangers  80 35 35 10  80 306 287 1100 New Jersey Devils  80  17 49 14  48 230 338 1270 Pittsburgh Penguins  80 18 53 9  45 257 394 1859

Clarence Campbell Conference
 Norris Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Chicago Black Hawks  80 47 23 10  104 338 268 1185 Minnesota North Stars  80 40 24 16  96 321 290 1520 Toronto Maple Leafs  80  28 40 12  68 293 330 1481 St. Louis Blues  80 25 40 15  65 285 316 1281 Detroit Red Wings  80 21 44 15  57 263 344 1064

 Smythe Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Edmonton Oilers  80 47 21 12  106 424 315 1771 Calgary Flames  80 32 34 14  78 321 317 1146 Vancouver Canucks  80 30 35 15  75 303 309 1639 Winnipeg Jets  80 33 39 8  74 311 333 1089 Los Angeles Kings  80 27 41 12  66 308 365 1367

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

Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket

Finals

New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers

 Date Visitors Score Home Score NotesMay 10  New York2 Edmonton 0 May 12  New York6 Edmonton 3 May 14  Edmonton 1New 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 TeamPete Peeters, Boston Bruins GRoland Melanson, New York IslandersMark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers DRay Bourque, Boston BruinsRod Langway, Washington Capitals DPaul Coffey, Edmonton OilersWayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers CDenis Savard, Chicago Black HawksMike Bossy, New York Islanders RWLanny McDonald, Calgary FlamesMark Messier, Edmonton Oilers LWMichel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques

First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1982–83 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start 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

Other websites
 Hockey Database
 NHL.com

Category:1982 in the United States
Category:1983 in the United States
Category:National Hockey League seasons