1986–87 Hartford Whalers season

The 1986–87 Hartford Whalers season saw the Whalers finish in first place in the Adams Division with a record of 43 wins, 30 losses, and 7 ties for 93 points. They lost the Adams Division semi-finals in six games to the Quebec Nordiques. This was the only time in franchise history that the Whalers finished above fourth place in their division before their relocation to North Carolina.

1986–87 Hartford Whalers
Adams Division champions
Division	1st Adams
Conference	2nd Wales
1986–87 record	43–30–7
Home record	26–9–5
Road record	17–21–2
Goals for	287
Goals against	270
Team information
General manager	Emile Francis
Coach	Jack Evans
Captain	Ron Francis
Alternate captains	Dave Tippett Joel Quenneville
Arena	Hartford Civic Center
Average attendance	14,230 (94.1%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Binghamton Whalers (AHL) Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Kevin Dineen (40)
Assists	Ron Francis (63)
Points	Ron Francis (93)
Penalty minutes	Paul MacDermid (202)
Plus/minus	Ulf Samuelsson (+29)
Wins	Mike Liut (31)
Goals against average	Mike Liut (3.23)
← 1985–86 1987–88 →

Offseason

At the 1986 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum on June 21, the Whalers selected Scott Young from Boston University of Hockey East. In 38 games with Boston University, Young scored 16 goals and 29 points during the 1985–86 season.

On July 10, Hartford signed free agent Dallas Gaume, who had played with the University of Denver of the WCHA for the past four seasons. Gaume scored 37 goals and 99 points in 47 games during the 1985–86 season, as he was named to the All-WCHA First Team.

On October 3, the Whalers signed free agent Greg Britz, who was previously in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. During the 1985–86 season, Britz scored 17 goals and 36 points in 72 games with the St. Catharines Saints of the AHL. Britz had appeared in seven NHL games with Toronto between 1983 and 1985, earning no points.

At the NHL Waiver Draft on October 6, the Whalers selected Gord Sherven from the Edmonton Oilers. Sherven split the 1985–86 season between the Oilers and the Minnesota North Stars, as he scored a goal and four points in 18 games. In 49 AHL games split between the Springfield Indians and Nova Scotia Oilers, Sherven scored 17 goals and 41 points.

The Whalers and Calgary Flames were involved in a trade on October 7, as the Whalers acquired Yves Courteau from the Flames in exchange for Mark Paterson. In four games with Calgary during the 1985–86 season, Courteau scored a goal and two points. He spent most of the season with the Flames AHL affiliate, the Moncton Golden Flames, as he scored 19 goals and 40 points in 59 games.

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (League)
1	11	Scott Young	Right wing	United States	Boston University (Hockey East)
2	32	Marc Laforge	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
4	74	Brian Chapman	Defense	Canada	Belleville Bulls (OHL)
5	95	Bill Horn	Goaltender	Canada	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
6	116	Joe Quinn	Right wing	Canada	Calgary Canucks (AJHL)
7	137	Steve Torrel	Center	United States	Hibbing High School (USHS-MN)
8	158	Ron Hoover	Left wing	Canada	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
9	179	Rob Glasgow	Right wing	Canada	Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)
10	200	Sean Evoy	Goaltender	Canada	Cornwall Royals (OHL)
11	221	Cal Brown	Defense	Canada	Penticton Knights (BCJHL)
12	242	Brian Verbeek	Center	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
S2	14	Joe Tracy	Right wing	United States	Ohio State University (CCHA)

^[2]

Regular season

Final standings

Adams Division^[3]

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Hartford Whalers	80	43	30	7	287	270	93
Montreal Canadiens	80	41	29	10	277	241	92
Boston Bruins	80	39	34	7	301	276	85
Quebec Nordiques	80	31	39	10	267	276	72
Buffalo Sabres	80	28	44	8	280	308	64

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1986–87 NHL records[4] Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total Boston — 3–4–1 2–6 2–5–1 6–2 13–17–2 Buffalo 4–3–1 — 4–4 1–5–2 3–4–1 12–16–4 Hartford 6–2 4–4 — 4–3–1 3–3–2 17–12–3 Montreal 5–2–1 5–1–2 3–4−1 — 5–3 18–10–4 Quebec 2–6 4–3–1 3–3–2 3–5 — 12–17–3 Vs. Patrick Division 1986–87 NHL records Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total Boston 1–1–1 2–0–1 1–2 1–2 2–1 1–1–1 8–7–3 Buffalo 2–1 1–1–1 1–2 1–2 0–2–1 2–1 7–9–2 Hartford 1–1–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 13–4–1 Montreal 2–1 1–1–1 2–0–1 0–2–1 1–1–1 0–3 6–8–4 Quebec 1–0–2 1–2 1–2 0–2–1 0–3 2–0–1 5–9–4 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1986–87 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total Boston 1–1–1 0–2–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 8–5–2 Buffalo 2–1 2–0–1 0–3 1–2 0–2–1 5–8–2 Hartford 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 7–7–1 Montreal 2–0–1 1–1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 9–4–2 Quebec 2–1 1–2 2–0–1 0–3 3–0 8–6–1 Vs. Smythe Division 1986–87 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total Boston 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 10–5–0 Buffalo 0–3 1–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 4–11–0 Hartford 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 6–7–2 Montreal 2–1 0–3 3–0 1–2 2–1 8–7–0 Quebec 1–2 0–3 3–0 2–1 0–1–2 6–7–2

Schedule and results

THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST

1986-87 Game Log
October Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
November Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
December Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
January Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
February Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
March Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
April Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
1986-87 Schedule

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates regulation loss.
• White background indicates overtime/shootout loss.

Playoffs

Nordiques 4, Whalers 2

The Whalers opened the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Quebec Nordiques in a best-of-seven series. Quebec finished the regular season with a 31-39-10 record, earning 72 points, which was 21 fewer points than the Whalers, and the fourth and final playoff position in the Adams Division. The Whalers and Nordiques faced off against each other in the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, as the fourth place Whalers swept the first place Nordiques in the first round.

The series opened on April 8 at the Hartford Civic Center. Quebec scored the lone goal of the first period, as Peter Stastny beat Whalers goaltender Mike Liut as Quebec took a 1–0 lead. The Nordiques extended their lead to 2–0 after a goal by Robert Picard at 6:32, however, just under three minutes later, the Whalers John Anderson scored on the power play, cutting the Nordiques lead to 2–1 after two periods. In the third period, the Whalers Dean Evason scored 8:48 into the period, tying the game 2-2. The game would go into overtime, as neither team could score again. In the extra period, Hartford's Paul MacDermid scored 2:20 into the period, as the Whalers completed the comeback and defeated the Nordiques 3–2 to take a 1–0 series lead.

The series resumed the next evening in Hartford, however, it would be the Nordiques once again opening the scoring, as Randy Moller scored 3:35 into the game to give Quebec a 1–0 lead. The Whalers responded with a goal by Sylvain Turgeon, tying the game 1-1, however, the Nordiques Jeff Brown scored a power play goal late in the period, giving Quebec a 2–1 lead into the first intermission. The Whalers tied the game midway through the second period on a goal by Stew Gavin at 10:26 into the period, then a goal 89 seconds later by Scot Kleinendorst gave the Whalers their first lead of the game at 3–2. Late in the period, the Whalers Paul MacDermid beat Nordiques goaltender Clint Malarchuk, extending the Whalers lead to 4–2 after the second period. In the third period, Hartford's Dana Murzyn scored 6:58 into the period on the power play, as the Whalers took a 5–2 lead. The Nordiques fought back with goals by John Ogrodnick and Lane Lambert, however, Hartford hung on for the 5–4 victory and took a 2–0 series lead.

The third game of the series was played on April 11 at Le Colisée in Quebec City. Peter Stastny of the Nordiques opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal only 1:20 into the period, giving the Nordiques a 1–0 lead. Just over six minutes later, Šťastný scored his second goal of the game, extending Quebec's lead to 2–0. The Nordiques scored again, as Michel Goulet scored on the power play, as Quebec took a 3–0 lead into the first intermission. The Nordiques continued their dominance in the second period, as Goulet scored his second of the game 3:34 into the period, giving Quebec a 4–0 lead, as Whalers goaltender Mike Liut was pulled from the game, being replaced by Steve Weeks. Just under three minutes later, the Nordiques scored again, as Peter Stastny scored his third goal of the game, as Quebec took a commanding 5–0 lead. The Whalers managed to shut Quebec down for the remainder of the game, however, they would only get an early third period goal by Ron Francis, as Quebec won game three by a score of 5–1, cutting the Whalers series lead to 2–1.

Game four of the series was played the next evening in Quebec. The Nordiques once again opened the scoring, as Jeff Brown put the puck past Mike Liut, giving Quebec a 1–0 lead at the 4:53 mark. The Whalers Dana Murzyn tied the game at 10:25 of the first period, however, the Nordiques responded with a late power play goal by Michel Goulet, as Quebec took a 2–1 lead after the first period. In the second period, the Nordiques Michel Goulet scored the lone goal, his second of the game, extending Quebec's lead to 3–1 after two periods. Goulet would record the hat trick with a power play goal at 9:44 in the third period, as Quebec defeated the Whalers 4–1 to even the series at two games each.

The fifth game of the series was back in Hartford on April 14. For the fifth time of the series, Quebec opened the scoring, as Robert Picard scored on the power play 7:17 into the first period. The Whalers tied it just under two and a half minutes later on a goal by Ron Francis, then Hartford took a 2–1 lead on a power play goal by Mike McEwen at 13:38 into the period. The Nordiques tied the game on a power play goal by Jeff Brown at the 15:10 mark of the period, however, the Whalers re-took the lead with a late period goal by Ray Ferraro, as Hartford had a 3–2 lead after the first period. In the second period, the Nordiques John Ogrodnick scored the lone goal, as he connected on the power play, tying the game 3-3. In the third period, the Whalers Ray Ferraro and Kevin Dineen each took a two-minute penalty 2:27 into the third, giving Quebec a five-on-three advantage. The Nordiques took advantage, as John Ogrodnick and Michel Goulet each scored on the power play, giving the Nordiques a 5–3 lead. The Whalers fought back, as Dean Evason scored at 7:32, cutting the Nordiques lead to 5–4. Stew Gavin then tied the game with a goal at 11:19, making it 5-5. Hartford's comeback attempt was then stopped, as the Nordiques John Ogrodnick scored with 1:07 left in the game, giving Quebec a 6–5 lead. The Nordiques Mike Eagles then scored an empty net goal, as Quebec won the game 7–5, and took a 3–2 series lead.

Game six was back in Quebec, played on April 16, as the Whalers faced elimination. Hartford opened the scoring for the first time in the series, as Dean Evason scored a goal 1:06 into the game for the 1–0 lead. Quebec tied the game with a goal just over two minutes later by Lane Lambert. At 6:43, the Whalers took the lead once again, as Dave Babych scored on the power play, giving the Whalers a 2–1 lead. Kevin Dineen then added a goal at 13:32, as Hartford took a 3–1 lead after the first period. In the second period, Dineen scored his second goal of the game, 6:24 into the period on the power play, extending the Whalers lead to 4–1. Quebec's Peter Stastny replied with a power play goal of his own at 13:47, cutting the Whalers lead to 4–2. Just thirty seconds later, the Nordiques John Ogrodnick scored, as Hartford clung on to a 4–3 lead after two periods. In the third period, after a holding penalty to the Whalers Dave Babych, the Nordiques tied the game on a power play goal by Jason Lafreniere, making the score 4-4. Neither team could break the tie, as the game went into overtime. In the extra period, the Nordiques completed the comeback and the upset, as Peter Stastny scored his second goal of the game at 6:08 into the period, giving Quebec the 5–4 victory and winning the series 4–2, eliminating the Whalers from the post-season.

Adams Division Semi-finals

(1) Hartford Whalers vs. (4) Quebec Nordiques

April 8	Quebec Nordiques		2 – 3	OT	Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
P. Šťastný (1) – (Hough, A. Šťastný) – 1:59		First period			No scoring
Picard (1) – (P. Šťastný, Siltanen) – 6:32		Second period			9:16 – pp – Anderson (1) – (Francis, Babych)
No scoring		Third period			8:48 – Evason (1) – (Tippett)
No scoring		First overtime period			2:20 – MacDermid (1) – (Ladouceur, Murzyn)
Gosselin (0-1) (38 saves / 41 shots)		Goalie stats			Liut (1-0) (23 saves / 25 shots)

April 9	Quebec Nordiques		4 – 5		Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
Moller (1) – (Finn) – 3:35 Brown (1) – pp – (Hunter, Goulet) – 15:31		First period			9:41 – Turgeon (1) – (Kleinendorst)
No scoring		Second period			10:26 – Gavin (1) – (MacDermid, Kleinendorst) 11:55 – Kleinendorst (1) – (Gavin, Evason) 17:04 – MacDermid (2) – (Turgeon, Kleinendorst)
Ogrodnick (1) – (Lambert, Lafreniere) – 8:22 Lambert (1) – (Ogrodnick, Lafreniere) – 16:22		Third period			6:58 – pp – Murzyn (1) – (Turgeon, Evason)
Malarchuk (0-1) (24 saves / 29 shots)		Goalie stats			Liut (2-0) (20 saves / 24 shots)

April 11	Hartford Whalers		1 – 5		Quebec Nordiques	Colisée de Québec	Recap
No scoring		First period			1:20 – sh – P. Šťastný (2) – (Unassisted) 7:56 – P. Šťastný (3) – (Goulet, Picard) 15:02 – pp – Goulet (1) – (Siltanen, Picard)
No scoring		Second period			3:34 – Goulet (2) – (Rochefort, Hunter) 6:33 – pp – P. Šťastný (4) – (Hunter, Picard)
Francis (1) – pp – (Anderson, Ferraro) – 3:03		Third period			No scoring
Liut (2-1) (11 saves / 15 shots) Weeks (21 saves / 22 shots)		Goalie stats			Gosselin (1-1) (29 saves / 30 shots)

April 12	Hartford Whalers		1 – 4		Quebec Nordiques	Colisée de Québec	Recap
Murzyn (2) – (Tippett, Gavin) – 10:25		First period			4:53 – Brown (2) – (Hunter, Goulet) 16:19 – pp – Goulet (3) – (P. Šťastný, Brown)
No scoring		Second period			4:19 – Goulet (4) – (P. Šťastný, A. Šťastný)
No scoring		Third period			9:44 – pp – Goulet (5) – (Brown, P. Šťastný)
Liut (2-2) (33 saves / 37 shots)		Goalie stats			Gosselin (2-1) (28 saves / 29 shots)

April 14	Quebec Nordiques		7 – 5		Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
Picard (2) – pp – (A. Šťastný, Siltanen) – 7:17 Brown (3) – pp – (Siltanen, P. Šťastný) – 15:10		First period			9:46 – Francis (2) – (Lawless, Côté) 13:38 – pp – McEwen (1) – (Unassisted) 18:48 – Ferraro (1) – (Unassisted)
Ogrodnick (2) – pp – (Picard, Hunter) – 7:59		Second period			No scoring
Ogrodnick (3) – pp – (Siltanen, Picard) – 3:35 Goulet (6) – pp – (Siltanen) – 4:08 Ogrodnick (4) – (Gillis, Lambert) – 18:53 Eagles (1) – en – (Siltanen) – 19:13		Third period			7:32 – Evason (2) – (Gavin, Ladouceur) 11:19 – Gavin (2) – (Côté, McEwen)
Gosselin (3-1) (38 saves / 43 shots)		Goalie stats			Liut (2-3) (17 saves / 23 shots)

April 16	Hartford Whalers		4 – 5	OT	Quebec Nordiques	Colisée de Québec	Recap
Evason (3) – (Gavin) – 1:06 Babych (1) – pp – (Dineen, Samuelsson) – 6:43 Dineen (1) – (Lawless, Francis) – 13:32		First period			3:22 – Lambert (2) – (Lafreniere, Ogrodnick)
Dineen (2) – pp – (Anderson) – 6:24		Second period			13:47 – pp – P. Šťastný (5) – (Siltanen) 14:17 – Ogrodnick (5) – (Lambert, Lafreniere)
No scoring		Third period			7:05 – Lafreniere (1) – (Ogrodnick, Picard)
No scoring		First overtime period			6:08 – P. Šťastný (6) – (Hunter, Moller)
Liut (2-4) (29 saves / 34 shots)		Goalie stats			Gosselin (4-1) (31 saves / 35 shots)

Quebec wins series 4 – 2

Player statistics

Forwards

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Ron Francis	75	30	63	93	10	45
Kevin Dineen	78	40	39	79	7	110
John Anderson	76	31	44	75	11	19
Ray Ferraro	80	27	32	59	-9	42
Dean Evason	80	22	37	59	5	67
Paul Lawless	60	22	32	54	24	14
Stewart Gavin	79	20	21	41	10	28
Sylvain Turgeon	41	23	13	36	-3	45
Dave Tippett	80	9	22	31	0	42
Doug Jarvis	80	9	13	22	0	20
Paul MacDermid	72	7	11	18	3	202
Dave Semenko	51	4	8	12	-7	87
Mike Millar	10	2	2	4	3	0
Torrie Robertson	20	1	0	1	-6	98
Bill Gardner	8	0	1	1	-2	0
Shane Churla	20	0	1	1	-1	78
Greg Britz	1	0	0	0	0	0
Pat Hughes	2	0	0	0	-1	2
Yves Courteau	4	0	0	0	-6	0
Wayne Babych	4	0	0	0	-5	4
Gord Sherven	25	0	0	0	0	0

^[5]

Defencemen

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

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Dave Babych	66	8	33	41	-18	44
Ulf Samuelsson	78	2	21	23	28	162
Dana Murzyn	74	9	19	28	17	95
Mike McEwen	48	8	8	16	-9	32
Scot Kleinendorst	66	3	9	12	4	130
Joel Quenneville	37	3	7	10	7	24
Tim Bothwell	4	1	0	1	-5	0
Brad Shaw	2	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player	GP	MIN	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Mike Liut	59	3476	31	22	5	4	3.23
Steve Weeks	25	1367	12	8	2	1	3.42

Awards and honors

• Doug Jarvis, Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Transactions

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1986–87 season.

Trades

October 7, 1986	To Calgary Flames Mark Paterson	To Hartford Whalers Yves Courteau
October 21, 1986	To St. Louis Blues Tim Bothwell	To Hartford Whalers Dave Barr
December 12, 1986	To Edmonton Oilers 3rd round pick in 1988 – Trevor Sim	To Hartford Whalers Dave Semenko
January 12, 1987	To Detroit Red Wings Dave Barr	To Hartford Whalers Randy Ladouceur
March 10, 1987	To St. Louis Blues 10th round pick in 1987 – Andy Cesarski	To Hartford Whalers Pat Hughes

Waivers

October 6, 1986

From Edmonton Oilers Gord Sherven

Free agents

Player Former Team Dallas Gaume University of Denver (NCAA) Greg Britz Toronto Maple Leafs

Player New Team John Newberry Oulun Kärpät (Finland) Peter Dineen Los Angeles Kings Paul Fenton New York Rangers

References

1. "Hartford Whalers Yearly Attendance Graph". hockeydb.com.
2. "1986 NHL Entry Draft". hockeydb.com.
3. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
4. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
5. "Hartford Whalers 1986-87 roster and statistics". hockeydb.com.

External links

• 1986-87 Hartford Whalers at Hockey Reference