| 1985–86 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | October 10, 1985 – May 24, 1986 |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 1985 NHL Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Picked By: | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Presidents' Trophy |
| 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: | 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1986 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Montreal Canadiens |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Calgary Flames |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Patrick Roy (Canadiens) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| No Of Games: | 80 |
| No Of Teams: | 21 |
| Tv: | CBC, CTV, TSN, SRC (Canada) ESPN (United States) |
The 1985–86 NHL season was the 69th season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the league's Board of Governors introduce the Presidents' Trophy, which would go to the team with the best overall record in the NHL regular season. The Edmonton Oilers would be the first winners of this award.
The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames four games to one in the final series to win the Stanley Cup.
The 1985 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 15, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario. This was the first draft held outside of Montreal, Quebec. Wendel Clark was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On June 13, 1985, the NHL board of governors voted 17–4 in favour of amending a penalty rule. Previously, coincidental minor penalties would result in 4-on-4 play. The amendment allowed teams to substitute another player to keep the play 5-on-5. It was seen by many as a shot at trying to slow down the high-flying Edmonton Oilers. Wayne Gretzky was quoted as saying, "I think the NHL is making a big mistake. I think the NHL should be more concerned with butt-ending, spearing, and three-hour hockey games than getting rid of 4-on-4 situations." It wasn't until 1992, with the Oiler dynasty (five cups in seven years) having ended, that the NHL reverted to the original 4-on-4 rules.
The Edmonton Oilers once again regained control of top spot in the NHL and were awarded with the Presidents' Trophy—the first time the trophy had been awarded for the best record—while last year's best team, the Philadelphia Flyers slipped to second. The Flyers continued their dominance of the Wales Conference despite the death of their Vezina-winning goaltender, Pelle Lindbergh, in a car accident on November 11. Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky won his seventh straight Hart Memorial Trophy and his sixth straight Art Ross Trophy. This season saw Gretzky score 52 goals, and set records of 163 assists and 215 points. This was the fourth time in five years that Gretzky reached the 200 point plateau; no other player has reached 200 point mark, although Mario Lemieux would garner 199 points in 76 games in 1988–89. Edmonton's defenceman Paul Coffey broke Bobby Orr's record of 46 goals for most goals in a season by a defenceman by scoring 48 times.
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalty Minutes
See main article: 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the division semifinals, teams competed in a best-of-five series. In the other three rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).
| 1986 NHL awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Presidents' Trophy
| Edmonton Oilers | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| Montreal Canadiens | |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
| Calgary Flames | |
| Art Ross Trophy
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
| Charlie Simmer, Boston Bruins | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy
| Gary Suter, Calgary Flames | |
| Conn Smythe Trophy
| Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy
| Troy Murray, Chicago Black Hawks | |
| Hart Memorial Trophy
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| Jack Adams Award
| Glen Sather, Edmonton Oilers | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy
| Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
| Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | |
| Lester B. Pearson Award
| Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins | |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award
| Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| William M. Jennings Trophy
| Bob Froese/Darren Jensen, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Vezina Trophy
| John Vanbiesbrouck, New York Rangers | |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Vanbiesbrouck, New York Rangers | align=center | G | Bob Froese, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | D | Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
| Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers | align=center | D | Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | C | Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | align=center | RW | Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers |
| Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques | align=center | LW | Mats Naslund, Montreal Canadiens |
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 52 | 163 | 215 | ||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 79 | 48 | 93 | 141 | ||
| Edmonton Oilers | 79 | 48 | 90 | 138 | ||
| Edmonton Oilers | 78 | 68 | 63 | 131 | ||
| New York Islanders | 80 | 61 | 62 | 123 | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 76 | 41 | 81 | 122 | ||
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 47 | 69 | 116 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 43 | 67 | 110 | ||
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 46 | 59 | 105 | ||
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 29 | 76 | 105 |
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 51 | 2728 | 116 | 5 | 2.55 | .909 | ||
| Washington Capitals | 44 | 2437 | 129 | 2 | 3.18 | .890 | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 46 | 2657 | 142 | 4 | 3.21 | .895 | ||
| New York Islanders | 45 | 2563 | 137 | 1 | 3.21 | .906 | ||
| New York Rangers | 61 | 3326 | 184 | 3 | 3.32 | .887 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 47 | 2651 | 148 | 1 | 3.35 | .875 | ||
| Washington Capitals / Boston Bruins | 46 | 2641 | 150 | 1 | 3.41 | .827 | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 42 | 2517 | 144 | 1 | 3.43 | .894 | ||
| Boston Bruins / Washington Capitals | 42 | 2506 | 144 | 1 | 3.45 | .875 | ||
| Minnesota North Stars | 52 | 3073 | 182 | 1 | 3.55 | .892 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1985–86 (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 1985–86 (listed with their last team):
This was the second and final season that the Canadian national broadcast rights were split between the Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, and the Carling O'Keefe-sponsored telecasts on CTV. HNIC aired on Saturday nights, while CTV primarily televised Friday night games. CTV was also supposed to televise the All-Star Game, but due to a prior programming commitment, the game aired instead on the cable network TSN for the first time.[1] [2] CBC and CTV also split the Stanley Cup playoffs.[3] After the season, CTV decided to pull the plug on the venture,[4] [5] citing its limited access to Canadian-based teams, which translated into poor ratings.[6] Carling O'Keefe retained the rights for the next two seasons, and syndicated its playoff telecasts to a chain of local stations that would one day become the Global Television Network.
This was the first season of the league's three-year U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN. The contract called for the network to air up to 33 regular season games each season as well as the All-Star Game and the playoffs.[7] [8]