1982–83 NHL season facts for kids

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

Clarence Campbell Conference

Scoring leaders

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

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

Finals

New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers

New York wins the series 4–0.

NHL awards

All-Star teams

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