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NHL 1992

The NHL 75th anniversary logo

The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-two teams each played 80 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, winning a best of seven series 4–0 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

League business[]

As mentioned above, 1991-92 was the 75th anniversary season for the NHL. Accordingly, all players wore a patch on their uniforms depicting the NHL 75th anniversary logo (seen at above right) for this season.

This was the first season for the San Jose Sharks, the first expansion team in the NHL since 1979. The birth of the Sharks returned NHL hockey to the San Francisco Bay Area after the California Golden Seals had relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1976.

This was also the last season for John Ziegler as NHL President. He would be succeeded by Gil Stein, who held the position for one year before being replaced by Gary Bettman.

New York Rangers defenceman Brian Leetch became the fifth, and last as of 2008, defenceman to score 100 points in a season. He finished the season with 102 points and captured the Norris Trophy.

For the first time, the NHL finished play in the month of June. A primary reason for this is the 10-day NHL strike that started on April 1. The games that were supposed to be played during the strike, which was the first work-stoppage in NHL history, weren't canceled. They were rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12.

Regular season[]

Final standings[]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Wales Conference[]

Adams Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
Montreal Canadiens 80 41 28 11 93 267 207
Boston Bruins 80 36 32 12 84 270 275
Buffalo Sabres 80 31 37 12 74 289 299
Hartford Whalers 80 26 41 13 65 247 283
Quebec Nordiques 80 20 48 12 52 255 318
Patrick Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
New York Rangers 80 50 25 5 105 321 246
Washington Capitals 80 45 27 8 98 330 275
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 39 32 9 87 343 308
New Jersey Devils 80 38 31 11 87 289 259
New York Islanders 80 34 35 11 79 291 299
Philadelphia Flyers 80 32 37 11 75 252 273

Campbell Conference[]

Norris Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
Detroit Red Wings 80 43 25 12 98 320 256
Chicago Blackhawks 80 36 29 15 87 257 236
St. Louis Blues 80 36 33 11 83 279 266
Minnesota North Stars 80 32 42 6 70 246 278
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 30 43 7 67 234 294
Smythe Division GP W L T Pts GF GA
Vancouver Canucks 80 42 26 12 96 285 250
Los Angeles Kings 80 35 31 14 84 287 296
Edmonton Oilers 80 36 34 10 82 295 297
Winnipeg Jets 80 33 32 15 81 251 244
Calgary Flames 80 31 37 12 74 296 305
San Jose Sharks 80 17 58 5 39 219 359

Scoring leaders[]

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 64 44 87 131
Kevin Stevens Pittsburgh 80 54 69 123
Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles 74 31 90 121
Brett Hull St. Louis 73 70 39 109
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles 80 44 63 107
Mark Messier NY Rangers 79 35 72 107
Jeremy Roenick Chicago 80 53 50 103
Steve Yzerman Detroit 79 45 58 103
Brian Leetch NY Rangers 80 22 80 102
Adam Oates St. Louis/Boston 80 20 79 99

Leading goaltenders[]

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Regular Season
Player Team GP TOI W L T GA SO Sv% GAA
Patrick Roy Montreal 67 3935 36 22 8 155 5 .914 2.36
Ed Belfour Chicago 52 2928 21 18 10 132 5 .894 2.70
Kirk McLean Vancouver 65 3852 38 17 9 176 5 .901 2.74
John Vanbiesbrouck NY Rangers 45 2526 27 13 3 120 2 .910 2.85
Bob Essensa Winnipeg 47 2627 21 17 6 126 5 .910 2.88

Playoffs[]

Hhof stanley cup

The Stanley Cup

Note: All dates in 1992

  • The 1992 playoffs saw history being made. For the first time ever, all four division winners (Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers, Vancouver) were eliminated in the same round. In the division finals, Detroit was swept by Chicago in four straight. Montreal was also swept in four straight by Boston. The New York Rangers lost in six games to eventual champion Pittsburgh. And, Vancouver also lost in six games to Edmonton.
  • Of the eight division semifinal series, three of them would take place again the following year. Vancouver defeated Winnipeg four games to two. Buffalo swept Boston in four straight. And, St. Louis swept Chicago in four straight.

Playoff bracket[]

  Division semifinals Division finals Conference finals Stanley Cup finals
                                     
1  Montreal 4  
4  Hartford 3  
  1  Montreal 0  
  2  Boston 4  
2  Boston 4
3  Buffalo 3  
  P3  Pittsburgh 4  
Prince of Wales Conference
  A2  Boston 0  
1  NY Rangers 4  
4  New Jersey 3  
  1  NY Rangers 2
  3  Pittsburgh 4  
2  Washington 3
3  Pittsburgh 4  
  P3  Pittsburgh 4
  N2  Chicago 0
1  Detroit 4  
4  Minnesota 3  
  1  Detroit 0
  2  Chicago 4  
2  Chicago 4
3  St. Louis 2  
  N2  Chicago 4
Clarence Campbell Conference
  S3  Edmonton 0  
1  Vancouver 4  
4  Winnipeg 3  
  1  Vancouver 2
  3  Edmonton 4  
2  Los Angeles 2
3  Edmonton 4  

Finals[]

The series was held between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins won in four games, three out of four won by a one-goal margin. Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP.

Pittsburgh vs. Chicago
Date Away Home
May 26 Chicago 4 5 Pittsburgh
May 28 Chicago 1 3 Pittsburgh
May 30 Pittsburgh 1 0 Chicago
June 1 Pittsburgh 6 5 Chicago

NHL awards[]

Presidents' Trophy: New York Rangers
Prince of Wales Trophy: Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Chicago Blackhawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Mark Fitzpatrick, New York Islanders
Calder Memorial Trophy: Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
Conn Smythe Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: Mark Messier, New York Rangers
Jack Adams Award: Pat Quinn, Vancouver Canucks
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Lester B. Pearson Award: Mark Messier, New York Rangers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Paul Ysebaert, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy: Al Arbour, Art Berglund, Lou Lamoriello

All-Star teams[]

First team   Position   Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens G Kirk McLean, Vancouver Canucks
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers D Phil Housley, Winnipeg Jets
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins D Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
Mark Messier, New York Rangers C Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues RW Mark Recchi, PIT/PHI
Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins LW Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings

Throwback uniforms[]

As part of the NHL's 75th anniversary celebration, and taking cues from Major League Baseball's "Turn Back The Clock" uniform program, throwback uniforms were worn by Original Six teams for select games, and throwbacks were also worn for the All-Star Game.

The uniform styles that were worn include:

The throwback uniforms would have an impact on future seasons in the NHL, as several teams adopted throwbacks as alternate jerseys. The National Football League and National Basketball Association would follow the NHL's lead, with teams wearing throwbacks to celebrate their leagues' 75th and 50th anniversaries, respectively.

Debuts[]

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991–92 (listed with their first team):

Last games[]

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1991–92 (listed with their last team):

See also[]

References[]

NHL Seasons

1987-88 | 1988-89 | 1989-90 | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96

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