1992–93 NHL season

1992–93 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 6, 1992 – June 9, 1993
Number of games	84
Number of teams	24
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy	Pittsburgh Penguins
Season MVP	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)
Top scorer	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Montreal Canadiens
Eastern runners-up	New York Islanders
Western champions	Los Angeles Kings
Western runners-up	Toronto Maple Leafs
Playoffs Playoffs MVP	Patrick Roy, (Montreal)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runners-up	Los Angeles Kings

The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the 1992–93 regular season and playoffs to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the Stanley Cup. It proved, at the time, to be the highest-scoring regular season in NHL history, as a total of 7,311 goals were scored over 1,008 games for an average of 7.25 per game.^[1] Twenty of the twenty-four teams scored three goals or more per game, and only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks, allowed fewer than three goals per game. Only 68 shutouts were recorded during the regular season.^[2] Twenty-one players reached the 100-point plateau and fourteen reached the 50-goal plateau.^[3] The Montreal Canadiens won their league-leading 24th Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one. As of 2016, this is the last time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup.

League business

Commemorative patch celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup

This was the final season of the Wales and Campbell Conferences, and the Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe divisions. Both the conferences and the divisions would be renamed to reflect geography rather than the league's history for the following season. This was also the last year (until the 2013 realignment) in which the playoff structure bracketed and seeded teams by division; they would be bracketed and seeded by conference (as in the NBA) for 1993–94.

This season saw two new clubs join the league: the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators were the second Ottawa-based NHL franchise (see Ottawa Senators (original)) and brought professional hockey back to Canada's capital, while the Tampa Bay franchise (headed by Hockey Hall of Fame brothers Phil and Tony Esposito) strengthened the NHL's presence in the U.S. Sun Belt, which had first started with the birth of the Los Angeles Kings in 1967.

This was also the final season of play for the Minnesota North Stars, before relocating to Dallas, Texas, the following season.

All teams wore a commemorative patch this year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.

On February 1, 1993, Gary Bettman became the first NHL Commissioner. Prior to this the title of the NHL's chief executive was "President".

Rule changes

• Schedule length changed to 84 games. Two games in each team's schedule to be played in non-NHL cities.
• Instigating a fight results in a game misconduct penalty.
• Substitutions disallowed for coincidental minor penalties when teams are at full strength.
• Minor penalty for diving introduced.

Regular season

Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets shattered the rookie scoring record by scoring 76 goals and 56 assists for 132 points this season. He was named the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year, and his goals and points marks remain the NHL rookie records as of 2015.

The New York Rangers missed the playoffs. This marked the first time since the President's Trophy had been introduced that the previous season's top team missed the next year's playoffs.

For the first time in his NHL career, Wayne Gretzky did not finish in the top three in scoring. A back injury limited Gretzky to 45 games in which he scored 65 points.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Boston Bruins	84	51	26	7	332	268	109
Quebec Nordiques	84	47	27	10	351	300	104
Montreal Canadiens	84	48	30	6	326	280	102
Buffalo Sabres	84	38	36	10	335	297	86
Hartford Whalers	84	26	52	6	284	369	58
Ottawa Senators	84	10	70	4	202	395	24

^[4]

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Pittsburgh Penguins	84	56	21	7	367	268	119
Washington Capitals	84	43	34	7	325	286	93
New York Islanders	84	40	37	7	335	297	87
New Jersey Devils	84	40	37	7	308	299	87
Philadelphia Flyers	84	36	37	11	319	319	83
New York Rangers	84	34	39	11	304	308	79

^[4]

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Chicago Blackhawks	84	47	25	12	106	279	230
Detroit Red Wings	84	47	28	9	103	369	280
Toronto Maple Leafs	84	44	29	11	99	288	241
St. Louis Blues	84	37	36	11	85	282	278
Minnesota North Stars	84	36	38	10	82	272	293
Tampa Bay Lightning	84	23	54	7	53	245	332

^[4]

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Vancouver Canucks	84	46	29	9	101	346	278
Calgary Flames	84	43	30	11	97	322	282
Los Angeles Kings	84	39	35	10	88	338	340
Winnipeg Jets	84	40	37	7	87	322	320
Edmonton Oilers	84	26	50	8	60	242	337
San Jose Sharks	84	11	71	2	24	218	414

^[4]

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

Conference Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

A1

Boston

0

A4

Buffalo

4

A4

Buffalo

0

A3

Montreal

4

A2

Quebec

2

A3

Montreal

4

A3

Montreal

4

Prince of Wales Conference

P3

NY Islanders

1

P1

Pittsburgh

4

P4

New Jersey

1

P1

Pittsburgh

3

P3

NY Islanders

4

P2

Washington

2

P3

NY Islanders

4

A3

Montreal

4

S3

Los Angeles

1

N1

Chicago

0

N4

St. Louis

4

N4

St. Louis

3

N3

Toronto

4

N2

Detroit

3

N3

Toronto

4

N3

Toronto

3

Clarence Campbell Conference

S3

Los Angeles

4

S1

Vancouver

4

S4

Winnipeg

2

S1

Vancouver

2

S3

Los Angeles

4

S2

Calgary

2

S3

Los Angeles

4

Stanley Cup Finals

June 1

Los Angeles Kings

4–1

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

June 3

Los Angeles Kings

2–3

OT

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

June 5

Montreal Canadiens

4–3

OT

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

June 7

Montreal Canadiens

3–2

OT

Los Angeles Kings

Great Western Forum

June 9

Los Angeles Kings

1–4

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Forum

Montreal won series 4–1

Awards

Presidents' Trophy:	Pittsburgh Penguins
Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Los Angeles Kings
Art Ross Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Frank J. Selke Trophy:	Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jack Adams Award:	Pat Burns, Toronto Maple Leafs
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
King Clancy Memorial Trophy:	Dave Poulin, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Pierre Turgeon, New York Islanders
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vezina Trophy:	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
William M. Jennings Trophy:	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Frank Boucher, Mervyn "Red" Dutton, Bruce McNall, Gil Stein

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks	G	Tom Barrasso, Pittsburgh Penguins
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks	D	Larry Murphy, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins	D	Al Iafrate, Washington Capitals
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins	C	Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo Sabres
Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets	RW	Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo Sabres
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings	LW	Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS
Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh	60	69	91	160
Pat LaFontaine	Buffalo	84	53	95	148
Adam Oates	Boston	84	45	97	142
Steve Yzerman	Detroit	84	58	79	137
Teemu Selanne	Winnipeg	84	76	56	132
Pierre Turgeon	NY Islanders	83	58	74	132
Alexander Mogilny	Buffalo	77	76	51	127
Doug Gilmour	Toronto	83	32	95	127
Luc Robitaille	Los Angeles	84	63	62	125
Mark Recchi	Philadelphia	84	53	70	123

^[4]

Leading goaltenders

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
Felix Potvin	Toronto	48	2781	116	2	2.50
Ed Belfour	Chicago	71	4106	177	7	2.59
Tom Barrasso	Pittsburgh	63	3702	186	4	3.01
Curtis Joseph	St. Louis	68	3890	196	1	3.02
Kay Whitmore	Vancouver	31	1817	94	1	3.10
Dominik Hasek	Buffalo	28	1429	75	0	3.15
Andy Moog	Boston	55	3194	168	3	3.16
Jeff Reese	Calgary	26	1311	70	1	3.20
Patrick Roy	Montreal	62	3595	192	2	3.20
Daren Puppa	Buffalo/Toronto	32	1785	96	2	3.23

Complete list of neutral-site games

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	OT	City	State/Province	Arena	Attendance
October 13, 1992	Calgary	4	Minnesota	3		Saskatoon	SK	SaskPlace	8,783
October 20, 1992	Toronto	5	Ottawa	3		Hamilton	ON	Copps Coliseum	7,186
November 3, 1992	Washington	4	Chicago	1		Indianapolis	IN	Market Square Arena	8,792
November 17, 1992	Quebec	3	Toronto	1		Hamilton	ON	Copps Coliseum	17,026*
November 18, 1992	New Jersey	3	Buffalo	2		Hamilton	ON	Copps Coliseum	6,972
December 1, 1992	Los Angeles	6	Chicago	3		Milwaukee	WI	Bradley Center	16,292
December 8, 1992	Montreal	5	Los Angeles	5		Phoenix	AZ	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum	12,276
December 9, 1992	NY Rangers	6	Tampa Bay	5		Miami	FL	Miami Arena	12,842
December 13, 1992	NY Islanders	4	Edmonton	1		Oklahoma City	OK	Myriad Convention Center	11,110
December 15, 1992	St. Louis	3	NY Islanders	4		Dallas	TX	Reunion Arena	11,251
January 4, 1993	Montréal	4	San Jose	1		Sacramento	CA	ARCO Arena	11,814
January 18, 1993	Winnipeg	8	Hartford	7		Saskatoon	SK	SaskPlace	7,756
February 8, 1993	Pittsburgh	4	Boston	0		Atlanta	GA	The Omni	12,572
February 8, 1993	St. Louis	3	Hartford	1		Peoria	IL	Carver Arena	9,013
February 16, 1993	Calgary	4	Philadelphia	4	(OT)	Cincinnati	OH	Riverfront Coliseum	7,973
February 20, 1993	Quebec	5	Tampa Bay	2		Halifax	NS	Halifax Metro Centre	9,584
February 22, 1993	Detroit	5	Philadelphia	5	(OT)	Cleveland	OH	Richfield Coliseum	13,382
February 22, 1993	NY Rangers	4	San Jose	0		Sacramento	CA	ARCO Arena	13,633
February 23, 1993	Winnipeg	8	Ottawa	2		Saskatoon	SK	SaskPlace	7,245[5]
March 1, 1993	Vancouver	5	Buffalo	2		Hamilton	ON	Copps Coliseum	17,098*
March 11, 1993	Minnesota	4	Vancouver	3		Saskatoon	SK	SaskPlace	12,006*
March 16, 1993	Washington	4	Detroit	2		Milwaukee	WI	Bradley Center	9,836
March 16, 1993	Boston	3	New Jersey	1		Providence	RI	Providence Civic Center	10,864
March 21, 1993	Pittsburgh	6	Edmonton	4		Cleveland	OH	Richfield Coliseum	18,782*

The Hartford-St. Louis game was originally scheduled to be played on December 29, 1992 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Events and milestones

• Manon Rheaume became the first woman to play for a major sports league in North America as she tended goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game on September 23, 1992, versus the St. Louis Blues.
• The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning were two new teams to be added to the league, bringing the league to 24 teams. Both teams would win their opening games and briefly sit atop their respective Divisions, which led to Harry Neale jokingly proclaiming before the end of Ottawa's first win that both the Senators and Lightning would reach the Stanley Cup finals in May.
• October 1992: Gil Stein named NHL President.
• February 1993: Gary Bettman named NHL Commissioner.
• Record set for most 100-point scorers and most 50-goal scorers in one season.
• February 10, 1993: In a 13-1 drubbing of the San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames goaltender Jeff Reese set NHL records for most points and most assists by a goaltender in one game, with 3.
• The 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs marked the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.
• As a part of the strike settlement, the NHL and Bruce McNall's Multivision Marketing and Public Relations Co. organized 24 regular season games in cities without a franchise. These games were seen as a litmus test for future expansion, and several of the cities chosen—Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami—were eventually indeed the sites of expansion or relocations. February 8, 1993 was the first NHL game to be played at The Omni since 1980 when the Calgary Flames played in that building in Atlanta. That city would get another NHL team in 1999, and lose it to Winnipeg after just 12 seasons. The 22 of that same month marked the first game played in Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum, the former home of the Barons, since 1978 before they folded. Ohio got a team in 2000 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Pittsburgh Penguins set the NHL record for longest win streak at 17 games. Conversely, the San Jose Sharks tied the NHL record for longest losing streak at 17 games.

Major transactions

• June 30, 1992: Eric Lindros traded from Quebec to Philadelphia for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, "future considerations" (eventually became enforcer Chris Simon), two first-round draft picks and US$15 million. One of the draft picks was used by the Nordiques to select goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, the other was traded twice and ultimately used by the Washington Capitals to select Nolan Baumgartner.

Records broken/tied

Regular season

Team

• Most losses, one season: San Jose Sharks (71)
• Fewest ties, one season: San Jose Sharks (2)
• Most home losses, one season: San Jose Sharks (32)
• Most road losses, one season: Ottawa Senators (40)
• Fewest road wins, one season: Ottawa Senators (1)*
• Longest winning streak: Pittsburgh Penguins (17) (All time NHL record)
• Longest losing streak: San Jose Sharks (17)*
• Longest road losing streak: Ottawa Senators (38)
• Longest road winless streak: Ottawa Senators (38)
• Most 100-or-more point scorers, one season: Pittsburgh Penguins (4)*
• Fastest three goals from the start of period, one team: Calgary Flames (0:53, February 10, 1993)

Individual

• Most goals, including playoffs: Wayne Gretzky (875)
• Most 30-goal seasons: Mike Gartner (14)*
• Most consecutive 30-goal seasons: Mike Gartner (14)
• Most goals, one season, by a left winger: Luc Robitaille (63)
• Most goals, one season, by a rookie: Teemu Selanne (76)
• Most assists, one season, by a left winger: Joe Juneau (70)
• Most assists, one season, by a rookie: Joe Juneau (70)* (Note: Wayne Gretzky scored 86 assists in his first year, but he was not considered a rookie)
• Most points, one season, by a left winger: Luc Robitaille (125)
• Most points, one season, by a rookie: Teemu Selanne (132) (Note: Wayne Gretzky scored 137 points in his first year, but he was not considered a rookie)
• Most assists, one game, by a goaltender: Jeff Reese (3, February 10, 1993)
• Most games missed while winning Art Ross Trophy: Mario Lemieux (24)

Playoffs

Team

• Most overtime games, one playoff year: 28
• Most overtime wins, one playoff year: Montreal Canadiens (10)
• Most consecutive overtime wins, one playoff year: Montreal Canadiens (10)
• Most consecutive wins, one playoff year: Montreal Canadiens (11)*

Individual

• Most consecutive wins, one playoff year: Patrick Roy (11)*
• Most goals by a defenceman, one game: Eric Desjardins (3, June 3, 1993)*
• Most power-play goals, one game: Dino Ciccarelli (3, April 29, 1993)*
• Most shorthanded goals, one game: Tom Fitzgerald (2, May 8, 1993)*
• Most assists, one period: Adam Oates (3, April 24, 1993)*

* Equalled existing record

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1992–93 (listed with their first team):

• Matthew Barnaby, Buffalo Sabres
• Byron Dafoe, Washington Capitals
• Roman Hamrlik, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Darius Kasparaitis, New York Islanders
• Steve Konowalchuk, Washington Capitals
• Alexei Kovalev, New York Rangers
• Robert Lang, Los Angeles Kings
• Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers
• Vladimir Malakhov, New York Islanders
• Michael Nylander, Hartford Whalers
• Sandis Ozolinsh, San Jose Sharks
• Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg Jets
• Richard Smehlik, Buffalo Sabres
• Bryan Smolinski, Boston Bruins
• Martin Straka, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Alexei Zhamnov, Winnipeg Jets
• Alexei Zhitnik, Los Angeles Kings
• Sergei Zubov, New York Rangers

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1992–93 (listed with their last team):

• Reggie Lemelin, Boston Bruins
• Carey Wilson, Calgary Flames
• Brent Ashton, Calgary Flames
• John Ogrodnick, Detroit Red Wings
• Tim Kerr, Hartford Whalers
• Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
• Brian Mullen, New York Islanders
• Brad Marsh, Ottawa Senators
• Laurie Boschman, Ottawa Senators
• Brian Hayward, San Jose Sharks
• Brian Lawton, San Jose Sharks
• Petri Skriko, San Jose Sharks
• Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
• Rick Wamsley, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Steve Kasper, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Ryan Walter, Vancouver Canucks
• Rod Langway, Washington Capitals
• Randy Carlyle, Winnipeg Jets

Trading deadline

Trading deadline: March 22, 1993.^[6]

• March 22, 1993: Mark Hardy and Ottawa's fifth round choice in 1993 Entry Draft (previously acquired from Ottawa) traded from NY Rangers to Los Angeles for John McIntyre.
• March 22, 1993: Jim Hrivnak and future considerations traded from Washington to Winnipeg for Rick Tabaracci.
• March 22, 1993: Peter Taglianetti traded from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh for Pittsburgh's third round choice in 1993 Entry Draft.
• March 22, 1993: Steve Konroyd traded from Hartford to Detroit for Detroit's sixth round choice in 1993 Entry Draft.
• March 22, 1993: Vancouver's ninth round choice in 1993 Entry Draft traded from Vancouver to Winnipeg for Dan Ratushny.
• March 22, 1993: Mike Hartman traded from Tampa Bay to New York Rangers for Randy Gilhen.
• March 22, 1993: Murray Craven and Vancouver's fifth round choice in 1993 Entry Draft (previously acquired from Vancouver) traded from Hartford to Vancouver for Robert Kron, Vancouver's third round choice in 1993 Entry Draft and future considerations.
• March 22, 1993: Mike Ramsey traded from Buffalo to Pittsburgh for Bob Errey.
• March 22, 1993: Craig Muni traded from Edmonton to Chicago for Mike Hudson.

Head coaches

Head coaches of the Prince of Wales Conference

Team	Coach	Comments
Boston Bruins	Brian Sutter
Buffalo Sabres	John Muckler
Hartford Whalers	Paul Holmgren
Montreal Canadiens	Jacques Demers
New Jersey Devils	Herb Brooks
New York Islanders	Al Arbour
New York Rangers	Roger Neilson	Replaced midseason by Ron Smith
Ottawa Senators	Rick Bowness
Philadelphia Flyers	Bill Dineen
Pittsburgh Penguins	Scotty Bowman
Quebec Nordiques	Pierre Page
Washington Capitals	Terry Murray

Head coaches of the Clarence Campbell Conference

Team	Coach	Comments
Calgary Flames	Dave King
Chicago Blackhawks	Darryl Sutter
Detroit Red Wings	Bryan Murray
Edmonton Oilers	Ted Green
Los Angeles Kings	Barry Melrose
Minnesota North Stars	Bob Gainey
St. Louis Blues	Bob Plager	Replaced early in the season by Bob Berry
San Jose Sharks	George Kingston
Tampa Bay Lightning	Terry Crisp
Toronto Maple Leafs	Pat Burns
Vancouver Canucks	Pat Quinn
Winnipeg Jets	John Paddock

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1992 NHL Entry Draft
• 1992 NHL Expansion Draft
• 1992 NHL Supplemental Draft
• 44th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1992 in sports
• 1993 in sports

References

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
• Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
• Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.

Notes

1. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1993.html
2. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1993_goalies.html
3. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1993_leaders.html
4. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
5. MacKinnon, John (February 24, 1993). "Jets take off on Senators". Ottawa Citizen. p. D1.
6. NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out

External links

• Hockey Database
• NHL Official Guide & Record Book 1993–94. Toronto, ON: NHL Publishing. 1993. ISBN 978-1-880141-43-4.