| 1983–84 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | October 4, 1983 – May 19, 1984 |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 1983 NHL Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Picked By: | Minnesota North Stars |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Mvp: | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1984 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Finals Runner-Up: | New York Islanders |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Mark Messier (Oilers) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| No Of Games: | 80 |
| No Of Teams: | 21 |
| Tv: | CBC, SRC (Canada) USA (United States) |
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
Not since World War II travel restrictions caused the NHL to drop regular season overtime games in 1942–43 had the NHL used overtime to decide regular season games. Starting this season, the NHL introduced a five-minute extra period of overtime following the third period in the event of a tied game. A team losing in overtime would get no points. This rule remained in effect until the 1999–2000 season, where a team losing in overtime was awarded 1 point. If the game remained tied after the five-minute extra period, it remained a tie with each team getting 1 point, until the NHL shootout arrived in the 2005–06 season. Overtime in the Stanley Cup playoffs remained unchanged.[1]
In the entry draft, Brian Lawton became the first American to be chosen first overall, by the Minnesota North Stars. Three Americans were chosen in the top five: Lawton, Pat Lafontaine (third) and Tom Barrasso (fifth). Sylvain Turgeon was chosen second and Steve Yzerman was chosen fourth overall. The St. Louis Blues did not participate in the draft, having been "orphaned" by Ralston Purina. The NHL took control of the franchise after the draft. On July 27, 1983, Harry Ornest purchased the Blues for US$3 million.
Arthur M. Wirtz, long-time chairman and part-owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, died at the age of 82 on July 21, 1983. His son, Bill, took over ownership of the team.
The Edmonton Oilers ran away with the best record in the league, and for the third straight year set a new record for most goals in a season, 446. The Oilers' new captain, Wayne Gretzky, was once again breaking records and rewriting his name into the record book. This season saw Gretzky score at least one point in the first 51 games of the season. During those 51 games, Gretzky had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points, which is equivalent to exactly three points per game. He also won his fifth straight Hart Trophy and his fourth straight Art Ross Trophy. The season's second leading scorer was Gretzky's teammate Paul Coffey, who, with 126 points, became the third defenceman to score 100 points in a season.
The Calgary Flames played their inaugural season at the Olympic Saddledome.
Prior to the season, the St. Louis Blues were purchased by Harry Ornest, keeping the team from folding after a proposed move to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was rejected by the NHL Board of Governors. The Blues remain in Missouri as of . In addition, the team's home venue, the Checkerdome, reverted to its original name, the Arena, after six seasons.
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
See main article: 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs.
See main article: 1984 Stanley Cup Finals. It was a rematch of the 1983 final as the Islanders attempted to match the 1950s Montreal Canadiens and win five consecutive Stanley Cup championships, against the Edmonton Oilers attempting to win the franchise's first championship. The Islanders lost the first game at home 1–0, but came back to defeat the Oilers 6–1 in the second game. Edmonton took over the series from that point, winning the next three games, all played in Edmonton.
This season's finals adopted the 2–3–2 home ice format, rather than the usual 2–2–1–1–1 format.
| Award | Recipient(s) | Runners-up/finalists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | |||
| Prince of Wales Trophy (Wales Conference playoff champion) | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Campbell Conference playoff champion) | Minnesota North Stars | ||
| Art Ross Trophy (Player with most points) | Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) | Paul Coffey (Edmonton Oilers) | |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Brad Park (Detroit Red Wings) | N/A | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy (Best first-year player) | Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres) | Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) | |
| Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) | N/A | |
| Emery Edge Award (Best plus-minus statistic) | Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) | Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) | |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy (Defensive forward) | Doug Jarvis (Washington Capitals) | Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) | |
| Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) | Rod Langway (Washington Capitals) | |
| Jack Adams Award (Best coach) | Bryan Murray (Washington Capitals) | Scotty Bowman (Buffalo Sabres) | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenceman) | Rod Langway (Washington Capitals) | Paul Coffey (Edmonton Oilers) | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and excellence) | Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) | Rick Middleton (Boston Bruins) | |
| Lester B. Pearson Award (Outstanding player) | Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) | N/A | |
| Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender) | Tom Barrasso (Buffalo Sabres) | Rejean Lemelin (Calgary Flames) | |
| William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltenders of team with fewest goals against) | Al Jensen and Pat Riggin (Washington Capitals) | Tom Barrasso and Bob Sauve (Buffalo Sabres) |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres | align=center | G | Pat Riggin, Washington Capitals |
| Rod Langway, Washington Capitals | align=center | D | Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders |
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | C | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders |
| Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | align=center | RW | Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers |
| Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques | align=center | LW | Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 74 | 87 | 118 | 205 | 39 | ||
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 40 | 86 | 126 | 104 | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 75 | 56 | 65 | 121 | 76 | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 46 | 73 | 119 | 73 | ||
| New York Islanders | 67 | 51 | 67 | 118 | 8 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 39 | 77 | 116 | 64 | ||
| Edmonton Oilers | 64 | 52 | 61 | 113 | 14 | ||
| New York Islanders | 68 | 40 | 71 | 111 | 59 | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 79 | 41 | 66 | 107 | 43 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 47 | 58 | 105 | 14 |
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Capitals | 41 | 2299 | 102 | 2.66 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 4 | .890 | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | 42 | 2475 | 117 | 2.84 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 2 | .893 | ||
| Washington Capitals | 43 | 2414 | 117 | 2.91 | 25 | 13 | 3 | 4 | .882 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 33 | 1779 | 92 | 3.10 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 2 | .883 | ||
| Philadelphia Flyers | 48 | 2863 | 150 | 3.14 | 28 | 13 | 7 | 2 | .887 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 50 | 2868 | 151 | 3.16 | 29 | 16 | 2 | 0 | .876 | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 57 | 3373 | 180 | 3.20 | 29 | 18 | 8 | 1 | .882 | ||
| N.Y. Islanders | 37 | 2019 | 110 | 3.27 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 0 | .903 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 40 | 2203 | 124 | 3.38 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 1 | .869 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 56 | 3335 | 188 | 3.38 | 23 | 29 | 4 | 2 | .887 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1983–84 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1983–84 (listed with their last team):
Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. This was the last season that the Molson-sponsored HNIC had sole Canadian national broadcast rights. During the next season, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing games on CTV.
This was the second season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with USA, covering a slate of regular season games and selected playoff games.