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The 1984–85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series.
| 1984–85 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 11, 1984 – May 30, 1985 |
| Number of games | 80 |
| Number of teams | 21 |
| TV partner(s) | CBC, CTV, SRC (Canada) USA (United States) |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Mario Lemieux |
| Picked by | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Edmonton Oilers |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Flyers |
Entry draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 9, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. Mario Lemieux was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ice officials begin wearing helmets
Referee Andy Van Hellemond becomes the first on ice official in league history to wear a helmet. Soon, several officials would follow his lead and wear helmets before it became mandatory for all officials for the 2006–07 season.
The Philadelphia Flyers had the best record in the NHL, four points ahead of second place Edmonton Oilers. Flyers goaltender Pelle Lindbergh went on to become the first European to win the Vezina Trophy. Oilers' star Wayne Gretzky once again won the Art Ross Trophy by reaching the 200 plateau for the third time in four years. He also set a new record for assists in a season with 135 and won his sixth straight Hart Memorial Trophy. Mario Lemieux made his NHL debut by scoring 100 points and winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. On October 26, 1984, Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers would be the last defenceman in the 20th century to score four goals in one game. It occurred in a game versus the Detroit Red Wings.[1]
The last two players active in the 1960s, Butch Goring and Brad Park, retired after the playoffs. Goring was the last active, playing his last playoff game three days after Park's last game.
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes. Teams qualifying for the playoffs shown in bold.
Prince of Wales Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 27 | 12 | 309 | 262 | 94 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 41 | 30 | 9 | 323 | 275 | 91 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 38 | 28 | 14 | 290 | 237 | 90 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 36 | 34 | 10 | 303 | 287 | 82 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 30 | 41 | 9 | 268 | 318 | 69 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 20 | 7 | 348 | 241 | 113 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 322 | 240 | 101 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 345 | 312 | 86 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 295 | 345 | 62 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 22 | 48 | 10 | 264 | 346 | 54 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 24 | 51 | 5 | 276 | 385 | 53 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 37 | 31 | 12 | 299 | 288 | 86 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 38 | 35 | 7 | 309 | 299 | 83 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 27 | 41 | 12 | 313 | 357 | 66 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 25 | 43 | 12 | 268 | 321 | 62 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 20 | 52 | 8 | 253 | 358 | 48 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 49 | 20 | 11 | 401 | 298 | 109 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 358 | 332 | 96 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 41 | 27 | 12 | 363 | 302 | 94 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 32 | 14 | 339 | 326 | 82 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 25 | 46 | 9 | 284 | 401 | 59 |
Bracket
The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the division semifinals, teams competed in a best-of-five series. In the other three rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).
| Division semifinals | Division finals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Montreal | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Montreal | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Quebec | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Quebec | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Buffalo | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Quebec | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Prince of Wales Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| P4 | NY Rangers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| P3 | NY Islanders | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Washington | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| P3 | NY Islanders | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | St. Louis | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Minnesota | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Minnesota | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Chicago | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Clarence Campbell Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Los Angeles | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Winnipeg | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Winnipeg | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Calgary | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1985 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference playoff champion) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference playoff champion) | Edmonton Oilers |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Anders Hedberg, New York Rangers |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Best first-year player) | Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: (Best defensive forward) | Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Jack Adams Award: (Best coach) | Mike Keenan, Philadelphia Flyers |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: (Player with best plus/minus record) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) | Tom Barrasso/Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres |
| Vezina Trophy: (Best goaltender) | Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers |
Hart Memorial Trophy voting
| Player | Team | Total votes | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 303 | 60 | 1 | 0 |
| Dale Hawerchuk | Winnipeg Jets | 91 | 1 | 23 | 17 |
| Pelle Lindbergh | Philadelphia Flyers | 56 | 0 | 15 | 11 |
| Rod Langway | Washington Capitals | 28 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Raymond Bourque | Boston Bruins | 21 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Brian Sutter | St. Louis Blues | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Doug Wilson | Chicago Blackhawks | 10 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Tom Barrasso | Buffalo Sabres | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tim Kerr | Philadelphia Flyers | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Michel Goulet | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bobby Carpenter | Washington Capitals | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brent Sutter | New York Islanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Tonelli | New York Islanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Poulin | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
James Norris Memorial Trophy voting
| Player | Team | Total votes | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 223 | 32 | 19 | 6 |
| Raymond Bourque | Boston Bruins | 136 | 12 | 20 | 16 |
| Rod Langway | Washington Capitals | 89 | 8 | 10 | 19 |
| Doug Wilson | Chicago Blackhawks | 84 | 9 | 11 | 6 |
| Scott Stevens | Washington Capitals | 13 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Mark Howe | Philadelphia Flyers | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Brad Marsh | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kevin Lowe | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Randy Carlyle | Winnipeg Jets | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Reed Larson | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Jack Adams Award voting
| Coach | Team | Total votes | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Keenan | Philadelphia Flyers | 114 | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| Barry Long | Winnipeg Jets | 66 | 3 | 15 | 6 |
| Jacques Demers | St. Louis Blues | 61 | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| Jacques Lemaire | Montreal Canadiens | 19 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Pat Quinn | Los Angeles Kings | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Glen Sather | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| "Badger" Bob Johnson | Calgary Flames | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryan Murray | Washington Capitals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Vezina Trophy voting
| Player | Team | Total votes | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelle Lindbergh | Philadelphia Flyers | 88 | 14 | 6 | 0 |
| Tom Barrasso | Buffalo Sabres | 58 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Reggie Lemelin | Calgary Flames | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Pat Riggin | Washington Capitals | 10 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Brian Hayward | Winnipeg Jets | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Grant Fuhr | Edmonton Oilers | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Steve Penney | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Andy Moog | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Janecyk | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
All-Star teams
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 73 | 135 | 208 | 52 |
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 73 | 71 | 64 | 135 | 30 |
| Dale Hawerchuk | Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 53 | 77 | 130 | 74 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 46 | 80 | 126 | 46 |
| Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 37 | 84 | 121 | 97 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 76 | 58 | 59 | 117 | 38 |
| John Ogrodnick | Detroit Red Wings | 79 | 55 | 50 | 105 | 30 |
| Denis Savard | Chicago Black Hawks | 79 | 38 | 67 | 105 | 56 |
| Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 76 | 30 | 73 | 103 | 27 |
| Mike Gartner | Washington Capitals | 80 | 50 | 52 | 102 | 71 |
Source: NHL.[3]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; W = Won; L = Lost; T = Tied; GA = Goals allowed; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Barrasso | Buffalo Sabres | 54 | 25 | 18 | 10 | 144 | 2.66 | 5 | .887 |
| Pat Riggin | Washington Capitals | 57 | 28 | 20 | 7 | 168 | 2.98 | 2 | .886 |
| Pelle Lindbergh | Philadelphia Flyers | 65 | 40 | 17 | 7 | 194 | 3.02 | 2 | .899 |
| Steve Penney | Montreal Canadiens | 54 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 167 | 3.08 | 1 | .876 |
| Rick Wamsley | St. Louis Blues | 40 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 126 | 3.26 | 0 | .885 |
| Mario Gosselin | Quebec Nordiques | 36 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 111 | 3.30 | 1 | .877 |
| Rejean Lemelin | Calgary Flames | 56 | 30 | 12 | 10 | 183 | 3.46 | 1 | .888 |
| Pete Peeters | Boston Bruins | 51 | 19 | 26 | 4 | 172 | 3.47 | 1 | .868 |
| Dan Bouchard | Quebec Nordiques | 29 | 12 | 13 | 4 | 101 | 3.49 | 0 | .877 |
| Kelly Hrudey | New York Islanders | 41 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 141 | 3.62 | 2 | .886 |
Patrick Division
- New Jersey Devils: Doug Carpenter
- New York Islanders: Al Arbour
- New York Rangers: Herb Brooks and Craig Patrick
- Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Bob Berry
- Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray
Adams Division
- Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers and Harry Sinden
- Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman
- Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans
- Montreal Canadiens: Jacques Lemaire
- Quebec Nordiques: Michel Bergeron
Norris Division
- Chicago Black Hawks: Orval Tessier and Bob Pulford
- Detroit Red Wings: Nick Polano
- Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
- St. Louis Blues: Jacques Demers
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Dan Maloney
Smythe Division
- Calgary Flames: Bob Johnson
- Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
- Los Angeles Kings: Pat Quinn
- Vancouver Canucks: Bill LaForge and Harry Neale
- Winnipeg Jets: Barry Long
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1984–85 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Gino Cavallini, Calgary Flames
- Joel Otto, Calgary Flames
- Ed Olczyk, Chicago Black Hawks
- Marc Bergevin, Chicago Black Hawks
- Gerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings
- Esa Tikkanen*, Edmonton Oilers
- Steve Smith, Edmonton Oilers
- Kevin Dineen, Hartford Whalers
- Ray Ferraro, Hartford Whalers
- Sylvain Cote, Hartford Whalers
- Ulf Samuelsson, Hartford Whalers
- Garry Galley, Los Angeles Kings
- Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
- Petr Svoboda, Montreal Canadiens
- Stephane Richer, Montreal Canadiens
- Greg Adams, New Jersey Devils
- Kirk Muller, New Jersey Devils
- Dave Gagner, New York Rangers
- Grant Ledyard, New York Rangers
- Kelly Miller, New York Rangers
- Tomas Sandstrom, New York Rangers
- Rick Tocchet, Philadelphia Flyers
- Doug Bodger, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Steve Thomas, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Todd Gill, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Al Iafrate, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Petri Skriko, Vancouver Canucks
- Kevin Hatcher, Washington Capitals
- Dave Ellett, Winnipeg Jets
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1984–85 (listed with their last team):
- Terry O'Reilly, Boston Bruins
- Butch Goring, Boston Bruins
- Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres
- Jerry Korab, Buffalo Sabres
- Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres
- Real Cloutier, Buffalo Sabres
- Bob MacMillan, Chicago Black Hawks
- Brad Park, Detroit Red Wings
- Colin Campbell, Detroit Red Wings
- Darryl Sittler, Detroit Red Wings
- Ivan Boldirev, Detroit Red Wings
- Steve Shutt, Los Angeles Kings
- Paul Holmgren, Minnesota North Stars
- Pierre Mondou, Montreal Canadiens
- Anders Hedberg, New York Rangers
- Robbie Ftorek, New York Rangers
- Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh Penguins
- John Garrett, Vancouver Canucks
Note: Goring and Park were the last two players to have played in the NHL in the 1960s.
This was the first season in more than a decade that CBC was not the lone Canadian national broadcaster. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday night games on CTV. The two networks also split the playoffs and finals.[5] CTV had previously aired HNIC-produced telecasts in the 1960s.
This was the third and final season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with USA, covering a slate of regular season games and selected playoff games. ESPN then signed a three-year agreement with the league after bidding about twice as much as USA had been paying.[6][7] USA would not televise the NHL again until after the network was acquired by NBCUniversal in the early 2000s, airing selected playoff games as part of NBC Sports' overall NHL coverage between 2015 and 2021.
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