| 1986–87 NHL season | |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | October 9, 1986 – May 31, 1987 |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 1986 NHL Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Picked By: | Detroit Red Wings |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Presidents' Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Edmonton Oilers |
| No Of Teams: | 21 |
| No Of Games: | 80 |
| Tv: | CBC, Canwest/Global, SRC (Canada) ESPN (United States) |
| Mvp: | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1987 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Ron Hextall (Flyers) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1986–87 NHL season was the 70th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to three in the Cup finals.
The Chicago-based club officially changed their name from the two-worded "Black Hawks" to the one-worded "Blackhawks" based on the spelling found in their original franchise documents.[1]
The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 21, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. Joe Murphy was selected first overall by the Detroit Red Wings.
The Oilers won their second straight Presidents' Trophy as the top team and Wayne Gretzky won his eighth straight Hart Memorial Trophy and his seventh straight Art Ross Trophy.
On November 26, 1986, Toronto's Borje Salming was accidentally cut in the face by a skate, requiring more than 200 stitches. It was the third injury to his face and Salming returned to play wearing a visor.
A bombshell was exploded when it was announced that Pat Quinn had been expelled from the NHL pending an investigation of conflict ofinterest. It was reported that while serving as coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Quinn signed a contract to become president and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. In due course, NHL president JohnZiegler barred Quinn from coaching in the NHL until 1990–91
On January 22, 1987, a massive blizzard resulted in only 334 spectators attending the game between the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames at the Brendan Byrne Arena, leading to the Devils dubbing the spectators the "334 Club".[2] [3]
There was trouble brewing for Bryan Trottier when he authored anarticle in the publication The Hockey News criticizing officialsfor failing to call penalties. This was brought to the attention of NHL president John Ziegler who fined Trottier $1,000.
On April 4, 1987, the Islanders' captain Denis Potvin became the first NHL defenceman to reach 1000 points. A shot by the Islanders' Mikko Mäkelä deflected in off Potvin's arm in a 6–6 shootout between the Islanders and Sabres.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
See main article: 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. This was the first year that all rounds were competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series) after the division semifinals were expanded from a best-of-five format to reduce the number of upsets. 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.
| 1987 NHL awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Presidents' Trophy
| Edmonton Oilers | |
| Prince of Wales Trophy
| Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
| Edmonton Oilers | |
| Art Ross Trophy
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
| Doug Jarvis, Hartford Whalers | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy
| Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings | |
| Conn Smythe Trophy
| Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy
| Dave Poulin, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| Hart Memorial Trophy
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| Jack Adams Award
| Jacques Demers, Detroit Red Wings | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
| Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames | |
| Lester B. Pearson Award
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | |
| William M. Jennings Trophy
| Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens | |
| Vezina Trophy
| Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers | |
| First Team | Position | Second Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers | align=center | G | Mike Liut, Hartford Whalers |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Larry Murphy, Washington Capitals |
| Mark Howe, Philadelphia Flyers | align=center | D | Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames |
| Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | C | Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | RW | Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques | align=center | LW | Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 62 | 121 | 183 | 28 | +70 | 13 | 7 | 4 | |||
| 79 | 54 | 54 | 108 | 41 | +35 | 12 | 5 | 10 | |||
| 63 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 57 | +13 | 19 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 77 | 37 | 70 | 107 | 73 | +21 | 7 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 80 | 42 | 63 | 105 | 58 | -2 | 17 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 80 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 88 | +10 | 22 | 0 | 5 | |||
| 80 | 47 | 53 | 100 | 52 | +3 | 10 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 75 | 49 | 47 | 96 | 61 | -12 | 17 | 0 | 6 | |||
| 75 | 58 | 37 | 95 | 57 | +38 | 26 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 78 | 23 | 72 | 95 | 36 | +44 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
Minimum 2000 min. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage[4]
| Goalie | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | SO | GAA | Sv% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 2178 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2.81 | .894 | |||
| 46 | 2686 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2.94 | .892 | |||
| 66 | 3799 | 37 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 3.00 | .902 | |||
| 37 | 2002 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3.21 | .885 | |||
| 59 | 3476 | 31 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 3.23 | .885 | |||
| 48 | 2762 | 21 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 3.24 | .881 | |||
| 45 | 2536 | 20 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 3.24 | .890 | |||
| 46 | 2634 | 25 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 3.30 | .881 | |||
| 41 | 2231 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 3.33 | .891 | |||
| 54 | 3092 | 18 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 3.40 | .884 |
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1986–87 (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 1986–87 (listed with their last team):
In Canada, the Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC continued to air Saturday night regular season games, but sponsor Carling-O'Keefe's rights fell into limbo after CTV pulled out of its sub-license prior to the season.[5] Things became problematic when the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs opened with Carling O'Keefe still without a network. The problems peaked when the Montreal–Quebec second-round playoff series opened without Molson being allowed to broadcast from Quebec City, leaving Games 3 and 4 off of English-language television altogether. This led to a hastily arranged syndicated package on a chain of channels[6] that would one day form the basis of the Global Television Network. The deal between Carling O'Keefe and the Canwest/Global consortium (with a few CBC and CTV affiliates sprinkled in for good measure) came just in time for Game 6 of the Montreal-Quebec series on April 30. These Carling O'Keefe/Canwest/Global broadcasts were aired under the name Stanley Cup '87.
This was the second 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]