1983–84 NHL season

**The 1983–84 NHL season** was the 67th season of the NHL which lasted from October 4, 1983 to May 19, 1984.

The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.

## League Business

Not since World War II travel restrictions caused the NHL to drop regular season overtime games in 1942–43 had the NHL used overtime to decide regular season games.

Starting this season, the NHL introduced a five-minute extra period of overtime following the third period in the event of a tied game. A team losing in overtime would get no points.

This rule remained in effect until the 1999–2000 season, where a team losing in overtime was awarded 1 point. If the game remained tied after the five-minute extra period, it remained a tie, until the NHL shootout arrived in the 2005–06 season. Overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs remained unchanged.

In the entry draft, Brian Lawton became the first American to be chosen first overall, by the Minnesota North Stars.

Three Americans were chosen in the top five: Lawton, Pat Lafontaine (third) and Tom Barrasso (fifth). Sylvain Turgeon was chosen second and Steve Yzerman was chosen fourth overall.

The St. Louis Blues did not participate in the draft, having been "orphaned" by Ralston Purina. The NHL took control of the franchise after the draft. On July 27, 1983, Harry Ornest purchased the Blues for US$3 million.

Arthur M. Wirtz, long-time chairman and part-owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, died at the age of 82 on July 21, 1983. His son, Bill, took over ownership of the team.

## Regular Season

The Edmonton Oilers ran away with the best record in the league, and for the third straight year set a new record for most goals in a season, 446.

The Oilers' new captain, Wayne Gretzky, was once again breaking records and rewriting his name into the record book.

This season saw Gretzky score at least one point in the first 51 games of the season. During those 51 games, he had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points (which is equivalent to exactly three points per game). He also won his fifth straight Hart Trophy and his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy.

The season's second leading scorer was Gretzky's teammate Paul Coffey, who (with 126 points) became the third defenceman to score 100 points in a season.

The Calgary Flames played their inaugural season at the Olympic Saddledome.

Prior to the season, the St. Louis Blues were purchased by Harry Ornest, keeping the team from moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and remaining in the Missouri city, where it remains. In addition, the team's home venue, the Checkerdome, reverted to its original name, the Arena, after six seasons.

## Player Statistics

### Scoring leaders

*Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points*

### Leading goaltenders

*Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts*

## Coaches

**Patrick Division**

* New Jersey Devils: Bill MacMillan and Tom McVie
* New York Islanders: Al Arbour
* New York Rangers: Herb Brooks
* Philadelphia Flyers: Bob McCammon and Mike Keenan
* Pittsburgh Penguins: Lou Angotti
* Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

**Adams Division**

* Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers
* Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman
* Hartford Whalers: Larry Pleau
* Montreal Canadiens: Bob Berry
* Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron

**Norris Division**

* Chicago Black Hawks: Orval Tessier
* Detroit Red Wings: Nick Polano
* Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
* St. Louis Blues: Jacques Demers
* Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Nykoluk

**Smythe Division**

* Calgary Flames: Bob Johnson
* Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
* Los Angeles Kings: Don Perry
* Vancouver Canucks: Roger Neilson and Harry Neale
* Winnipeg Jets: Barry Long

## Milestones

### Debuts

* Tom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres
* Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens
* Geoff Courtnall, Boston Bruins
* Russ Courtnall, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Brian Curran, Boston Bruins
* Ken Daneyko, New Jersey Devils
* Bruce Driver, New Jersey Devils
* Patrick Flatley, New York Islanders
* Doug Gilmour, St. Louis Blues
* Dirk Graham, Minnesota North Stars
* Kelly Hrudey, New York Islanders
* Pat LaFontaine, New York Islanders
* Brian Lawton, Minnesota North Stars
* Claude Lemieux, Montreal Canadiens
* Doug Lidster, Vancouver Canucks
* Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames
* John MacLean, New Jersey Devils
* Marty McSorley, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Cam Neely, Vancouver Canucks
* James Patrick, New York Rangers
* Bob Rouse, Minnesota North Stars
* Peter Sundstrom, New York Rangers
* Sylvain Turgeon, Hartford Whalers
* Carey Wilson, Calgary Flames
* Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings

### Last games

* Guy Lapointe, Boston Bruins
* Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks
* Rick MacLeish, Detroit Red Wings
* Billy Harris, Los Angeles Kings
* Blaine Stoughton, New York Rangers
* Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers
* Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
* Guy Chouinard, St. Louis Blues
* Michel Larocque, St. Louis Blues
* Dale McCourt, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Mike Palmateer, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Darcy Rota, Vancouver Canucks