1986–87 NHL season

**The 1986–87 NHL season** was the 70th season of the NHL which lasted from October 9, 1986 to May 31, 1987.

The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to three in the Stanley Cup finals.

## League Business

The Chicago Blackhawks officially changed their name from the two-worded "Black Hawks" to the one-worded "Blackhawks" based on the spelling that was found in their original franchise documents.

## Regular Season

The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Presidents' Trophy as the top team and Wayne Gretzky won his eighth straight Hart Memorial Trophy & his seventh straight Art Ross Trophy.

On November 26, 1986, Toronto's Borje Salming was accidentally cut in the face by a skate, requiring more than 200 stitches. It was the third injury to his face and Salming returned to play wearing a visor.

On April 4, 1987, the Islanders' Denis Potvin became the first NHL defenceman to reach 1000 points. A shot by the Islanders' Mikko Makela deflected in off Potvin's arm in a 6–6 shootout between the Islanders and Sabres.

## Player Statistics

### Scoring leaders

*Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals*

### Leading goaltenders

*Minimum 2000 min. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage*

## Coaches

**Patrick Division**

* New Jersey Devils: Tom McVie
* New York Islanders: Terry Simpson
* New York Rangers: Tom Webster
* Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan
* Pittsburgh Penguins: Bob Berry
* Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

**Adams Division**

* Boston Bruins: Terry O'Reilly
* Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman and Craig Ramsay
* Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans
* Montreal Canadiens: Jean Perron
* Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron

**Norris Division**

* Chicago Blackhawks: Bob Pulford
* Detroit Red Wings: Jacques Demers
* Minnesota North Stars: Lorne Henning & Glen Sonmor
* St. Louis Blues: Jacques Martin
* Toronto Maple Leafs: John Brophy

**Smythe Division**

* Calgary Flames: Bob Johnson
* Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
* Los Angeles Kings: Pat Quinn
* Vancouver Canucks: Tom Watt
* Winnipeg Jets: Dan Maloney

## Milestones

### Debuts

* Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames
* Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary Flames
* Dave Manson, Chicago Blackhawks
* Joe Murphy, Detroit Red Wings
* Steve Chiasson, Detroit Red Wings
* Kelly Buchberger, Edmonton Oilers
* Jimmy Carson, Los Angeles Kings
* Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
* Steve Duchesne, Los Angeles Kings
* Craig Berube, Philadelphia Flyers
* Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
* Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Fredrik Olausson, Winnipeg Jets

### Last Games

* Thomas Gradin, Boston Bruins
* Mike Milbury, Boston Bruins
* Lee Fogolin, Buffalo Sabres
* Don Lever, Buffalo Sabres
* Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
* Phil Russell, Buffalo Sabres
* Murray Bannerman, Chicago Blackhawks
* Darryl Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
* Danny Gare, Edmonton Oilers
* Wayne Babych, Hartford Whalers
* Peter McNab, New Jersey Devils
* Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
* Chico Resch, Philadelphia Flyers (last NHL player born in the 1940s)