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
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 50 | 20 | 10 | 110 | 327 | 228 | 1202 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 42 | 24 | 14 | 98 | 350 | 286 | 1116 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 38 | 29 | 13 | 89 | 318 | 285 | 1031 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 80 | 343 | 336 | 1648 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 19 | 54 | 7 | 45 | 261 | 403 | 1392 |
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 106 | 326 | 240 | 1337 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 96 | 302 | 226 | 1266 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 39 | 25 | 16 | 94 | 306 | 283 | 1329 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 35 | 35 | 10 | 80 | 306 | 287 | 1100 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 48 | 230 | 338 | 1270 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 18 | 53 | 9 | 45 | 257 | 394 | 1859 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 47 | 23 | 10 | 104 | 338 | 268 | 1185 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 96 | 321 | 290 | 1520 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 68 | 293 | 330 | 1481 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 25 | 40 | 15 | 65 | 285 | 316 | 1281 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 21 | 44 | 15 | 57 | 263 | 344 | 1064 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 47 | 21 | 12 | 106 | 424 | 315 | 1771 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 78 | 321 | 317 | 1146 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 30 | 35 | 15 | 75 | 303 | 309 | 1639 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 33 | 39 | 8 | 74 | 311 | 333 | 1089 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 27 | 41 | 12 | 66 | 308 | 365 | 1367 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 71 | 125 | 196 | 59 |
| Peter Stastny | Quebec Nordiques | 75 | 47 | 77 | 124 | 78 |
| Denis Savard | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 35 | 86 | 121 | 99 |
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 79 | 60 | 58 | 118 | 20 |
| Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 56 | 51 | 107 | 22 |
| Barry Pederson | Boston Bruins | 77 | 46 | 61 | 107 | 47 |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 77 | 48 | 58 | 106 | 72 |
| Michel Goulet | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 57 | 48 | 105 | 51 |
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 45 | 59 | 104 | 22 |
| Glenn Anderson | Edmonton Oilers | 72 | 48 | 56 | 104 | 70 |
| Kent Nilsson | Calgary Flames | 80 | 46 | 58 | 104 | 10 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Boston Bruins | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Buffalo Sabres | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Buffalo Sabres | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Boston Bruins | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Islanders | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| P3 | Washington Capitals | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| P2 | New York Islanders | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | St. Louis Blues | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Minnesota North Stars | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Winnipeg Jets | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Vancouver Canucks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Finals
New York Islanders vs. Edmonton Oilers
New York wins the series 4–0.
NHL awards
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | New York Islanders |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Billy Smith, New York Islanders |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| Jack Adams Award: | Orval Tessier, Chicago Black Hawks |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Rod Langway, Washington Capitals |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers, |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: | Roland Melanson/Billy Smith, New York Islanders |
| Vezina Trophy: | Pete Peeters, Boston Bruins |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Bill Torrey |
All-Star teams
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Peeters, Boston Bruins | G | Roland Melanson, New York Islanders |
| Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers | D | Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| Rod Langway, Washington Capitals | D | Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers |
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | C | Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | RW | Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames |
| Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers | LW | Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques |
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
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