1981–82 NHL season facts for kids
The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th year for the National Hockey League (NHL). Twenty-one teams played 80 games each. A new award, the William M. Jennings Trophy, was introduced this season. It was given to the goaltenders whose team allowed the fewest goals. The New York Islanders had an amazing year, winning their third Stanley Cup in a row! They beat the Vancouver Canucks in four games to win the championship.
Before the season started, the league changed how its divisions were set up. This was done to group teams closer together by their location. The Patrick Division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference. The Norris Division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference. These new divisions stayed the same until the 1993-94 season. After that, the divisions and conferences were renamed to match geography even better.
Contents
Regular Season Overview
The regular season is where all the teams play many games to earn points. Teams try to win as many games as possible to get a good spot in the standings. The best teams then move on to the playoffs.
Final Team Standings
Here's how the teams finished in their divisions. The teams in bold made it to the playoffs.
- GP means Games Played
- W means Wins
- L means Losses
- T means Ties
- Pts means Points (2 for a win, 1 for a tie)
- GF means Goals For (how many goals they scored)
- GA means Goals Against (how many goals were scored on them)
- PIM means Penalties in Minutes (how much time players spent in the penalty box)
Prince of Wales Conference Teams
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 46 | 17 | 17 | 109 | 360 | 223 | 1463 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 96 | 323 | 285 | 1266 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 26 | 15 | 93 | 307 | 273 | 1425 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 33 | 31 | 16 | 82 | 356 | 345 | 1757 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 60 | 264 | 351 | 1493 |
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 80 | 54 | 16 | 10 | 118 | 385 | 250 | 1328 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 92 | 316 | 306 | 1402 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 38 | 31 | 11 | 87 | 325 | 313 | 2493 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 75 | 310 | 337 | 2212 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 65 | 319 | 338 | 1932 |
Clarence Campbell Conference Teams
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 37 | 23 | 20 | 94 | 346 | 288 | 1358 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 80 | 319 | 332 | 1314 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 72 | 315 | 349 | 1579 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 72 | 332 | 363 | 1775 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 20 | 44 | 16 | 56 | 298 | 380 | 1888 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 21 | 47 | 12 | 54 | 270 | 351 | 1250 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 111 | 417 | 295 | 1473 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 30 | 33 | 17 | 77 | 290 | 286 | 1840 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 29 | 34 | 17 | 75 | 334 | 345 | 1331 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 63 | 314 | 396 | 1730 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 18 | 49 | 13 | 49 | 241 | 362 | 1138 |
Top Scoring Players
These players scored the most points during the regular season.
- GP means Games Played
- G means Goals
- A means Assists
- Pts means Points (Goals + Assists)
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 92 | 120 | 212 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 80 | 64 | 83 | 147 |
| Peter Stastny | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 46 | 93 | 139 |
| Dennis Maruk | Washington Capitals | 80 | 60 | 76 | 136 |
| Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 80 | 50 | 79 | 129 |
| Denis Savard | Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 32 | 87 | 119 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 50 | 67 | 117 |
| Bobby Smith | Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 43 | 71 | 114 |
| Dino Ciccarelli | Minnesota North Stars | 76 | 55 | 51 | 106 |
| Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 39 | 67 | 106 |
Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a special tournament held after the regular season. The best teams from each conference play against each other in a series of games. The team that wins four games in a series moves on, and the losing team is out. This continues until only two teams are left to play in the Finals for the Stanley Cup!
Playoff Bracket
This chart shows how the teams played against each other in the playoffs.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| A1 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Boston Bruins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Boston Bruins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Buffalo Sabres | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | New York Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Rangers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Vancouver Canucks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Minnesota North Stars | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | St. Louis Blues | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Winnipeg Jets | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | St. Louis Blues | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Vancouver Canucks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Los Angeles Kings | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Vancouver Canucks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Vancouver Canucks | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Calgary Flames | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Stanley Cup Finals
The New York Islanders played against the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Islanders won the series 4 games to 0, showing how strong they were!
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8 | Vancouver | 5 | New York | 6 | OT (Overtime) |
| May 11 | Vancouver | 4 | New York | 6 | |
| May 13 | New York | 3 | Vancouver | 0 | |
| May 16 | New York | 3 | Vancouver | 1 |
The New York Islanders won the series 4–0.
NHL Awards and Honors
At the end of each season, the NHL gives out special awards to players and teams for their great achievements. Here are some of the awards given for the 1981–82 season:
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | New York Islanders (Best team in the Prince of Wales Conference) |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Vancouver Canucks (Best team in the Clarence Campbell Conference) |
| Art Ross Trophy: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (Most points in the regular season) |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Glenn Resch, Colorado Rockies (For sportsmanship and dedication) |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets (Best rookie player) |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders (Most valuable player in the playoffs) |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins (Best defensive forward) |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (Most valuable player to his team) |
| Jack Adams Award: | Tom Watt, Winnipeg Jets (Best coach) |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks (Best defenseman) |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins (For sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct) |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (Most outstanding player, voted by players) |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (Best plus/minus rating) |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: | Rick Wamsley, Denis Herron, Montreal Canadiens (Goaltenders for team with fewest goals against) |
| Vezina Trophy: | Billy Smith, New York Islanders (Best goaltender) |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Emile Francis (For outstanding service to hockey in the USA) |
All-Star Teams
The NHL also picks the best players at each position to form "All-Star" teams. These are like dream teams made up of the top players from the season.
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Billy Smith, New York Islanders | G | Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers |
| Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks | D | Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | D | Brian Engblom, Montreal Canadiens |
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | C | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | RW | Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins |
| Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers | LW | John Tonelli, New York Islanders |
