1991–92 NHL season
The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 22 teams with the addition of the expansion San Jose Sharks. For the first time, the Stanley Cup Finals extended into June, with the Pittsburgh Penguins repeating as Stanley Cup champions, winning the best of seven series four games to none against the Chicago Blackhawks.
League business
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 newly named commissioner Gary Bettman, during and after the 1992–93 season. After Stein's departure, the league presidency was merged into the new office of commissioner.
A new rule was added in which the final minute of every period is measured in tenths of a second, unlike whole seconds as in past seasons. This timekeeping procedure matches that of the IIHF, which began doing so in 1990. (Although the scoreboard at St. Louis Arena was not capable of measuring the final minute in tenths of a second until the following season.)
75th season celebration
To celebrate the 75th anniversary season for the NHL, all players wore a special anniversary patch on their uniforms during this season.
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 influence 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.
Also, each team had an honorary celebrity captain to help celebrate the 75th anniversary.
The celebrity captains were:
Teams
1991-92 National Hockey League
|
Prince of Wales Conference
|
Division |
Team |
City |
Arena |
Capacity
|
Adams
|
Boston Bruins
|
Boston, Massachusetts
|
Boston Garden
|
14,448
|
Buffalo Sabres
|
Buffalo, New York
|
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
|
16,325
|
Hartford Whalers
|
Hartford, Connecticut
|
Hartford Civic Center
|
15,635
|
Montreal Canadiens
|
Montreal, Quebec
|
Montreal Forum
|
17,959
|
Quebec Nordiques
|
Quebec City, Quebec
|
Colisée de Québec
|
15,399
|
Patrick
|
New Jersey Devils
|
East Rutherford, New Jersey
|
Brendan Byrne Arena
|
19,040
|
New York Islanders
|
Uniondale, New York
|
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
|
16,297
|
New York Rangers
|
New York, New York
|
Madison Square Garden
|
18,200
|
Philadelphia Flyers
|
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
Spectrum
|
17,380
|
Pittsburgh Penguins
|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|
Civic Arena
|
16,164
|
Washington Capitals
|
Landover, Maryland
|
Capital Centre
|
18,130
|
Campbell Conference
|
Norris
|
Chicago Blackhawks
|
Chicago, Illinois
|
Chicago Stadium
|
17,317
|
Detroit Red Wings
|
Detroit, Michigan
|
Joe Louis Arena
|
19,875
|
Minnesota North Stars
|
Bloomington, Minnesota
|
Met Center
|
15,000
|
St. Louis Blues
|
St. Louis, Missouri
|
St. Louis Arena
|
17,188
|
Toronto Maple Leafs
|
Toronto, Ontario
|
Maple Leaf Gardens
|
15,642
|
Smythe
|
Calgary Flames
|
Calgary, Alberta
|
Olympic Saddledome
|
20,240
|
Edmonton Oilers
|
Edmonton, Alberta
|
Northlands Coliseum
|
17,503
|
Los Angeles Kings
|
Inglewood, California
|
Great Western Forum
|
16,005
|
San Jose Sharks
|
Daly City, California
|
Cow Palace
|
11,089
|
Vancouver Canucks
|
Vancouver, British Columbia
|
Pacific Coliseum
|
16,123
|
Winnipeg Jets
|
Winnipeg, Manitoba
|
Winnipeg Arena
|
15,565
|
Regular season
New York Rangers player Brian Leetch became the fifth defenceman, and last until 2023, to score 100 points in a season. He finished the season with 102 points and captured the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenceman. The Rangers ended the season with 105 points, winning the Presidents' Trophy as the top regular-season team in the NHL; it was the first time the Rangers had topped the league since the 1941–42 season.
For the first time, the NHL finished play in the month of June. A primary reason for this was the 10-day NHL strike, the first work stoppage in league history, that started on April 1. The games that were supposed to be played during the strike were not canceled, but rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12.
For the first time in his NHL career, Wayne Gretzky failed to finish in the top two in scoring. The Pittsburgh Penguins' Kevin Stevens became only the third person in NHL history to outscore Gretzky in the regular season (Marcel Dionne tied Gretzky in Wayne's rookie year but scored more goals, and Mario Lemieux won the Art Ross Trophy over Gretzky in 1987–88 and 1989–90).
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals against
Wales Conference
Campbell Conference
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
Stanley Cup 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.
May 26
|
Chicago Blackhawks
|
|
4–5
|
|
Pittsburgh Penguins
|
Civic Arena
|
|
May 28
|
Chicago Blackhawks
|
|
1–3
|
|
Pittsburgh Penguins
|
Civic Arena
|
|
Pittsburgh won series 4–0
|
|
|
|
Awards
Presidents' Trophy: |
New York Rangers
|
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference playoff champion) |
Pittsburgh Penguins
|
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference playoff champion) |
Chicago Blackhawks
|
Art Ross 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
|
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
|
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
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
|
Coaches
Patrick Division
Adams Division
Norris Division
Smythe Division
Milestones
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991–92 (listed with their first team):
- Stu Barnes, Winnipeg Jets
- Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
- Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
- Keith Carney, Buffalo Sabres
- Evgeny Davydov, Winnipeg Jets
- Ted Donato, Boston Bruins
- Pat Falloon, San Jose Sharks
- Adam Foote, Quebec Nordiques
- Bill Guerin, New Jersey Devils
- Derian Hatcher, Minnesota North Stars
- Bret Hedican, St. Louis Blues
- Arturs Irbe, San Jose Sharks
- Trevor Kidd, Calgary Flames
- Igor Kravchuk, Chicago Blackhawks
- Ray Whitney, San Jose Sharks
- Joe Juneau, Boston Bruins
- Valeri Kamensky, Quebec Nordiques
- Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings
- Vyacheslav Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings
- Martin Lapointe, Detroit Red Wings
- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
- Shawn McEachern, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Marty McInnis, New York Islanders
- Glen Murray, Boston Bruins
- Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils
- Felix Potvin, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Jozef Stumpel, Boston Bruins
- Darryl Sydor, Los Angeles Kings
- Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets
- Rob Zamuner, New York Rangers
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):
- Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins
- Rick Vaive, Buffalo Sabres
- Tony Tanti, Buffalo Sabres
- Clint Malarchuk, Buffalo Sabres
- Greg Millen, Detroit Red Wings
- Ilkka Sinisalo, Los Angeles Kings
- Larry Robinson, Los Angeles Kings
- Chris Nilan, Montreal Canadiens
- Patrik Sundstrom, New Jersey Devils
- Rick Green, New York Islanders
- Jiri Hrdina, Pittsburgh Penguins
- John Tonelli, Quebec Nordiques
- Mark Pavelich, San Jose Sharks
- Ken Linseman, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Mike Bullard, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Randy Gregg, Vancouver Canucks
- Mike Liut, Washington Capitals
- Mario Marois, Winnipeg Jets
- Lucien DeBlois, Winnipeg Jets
- Aaron Broten, Winnipeg Jets
Broadcasting
This was the fourth season of the league's Canadian national broadcast rights deals with TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. Saturday night regular season games continued to air on CBC, while TSN televised selected weeknight games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series.
SportsChannel America signed a one-year extension to its U.S. national broadcast rights deal after its original three-year deal expired. Meanwhile, NBC televised the All-Star Game for the third consecutive season. After the season, the league signed a new deal with ESPN, replacing SportsChannel America.
Notes
- ^ NBC only televised the All-Star Game.
See also
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
- ^ NHL Classic Series, 1992 Norris Division Semifinals, St. Louis Blues vs Chicago Blackhawks, NHL Network, Timestamp, 25:37, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeeSFXTPDuw
- ^ a b c d "1991-1992 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ LaPointe, Joe (October 4, 1991). "HOCKEY; N.H.L. Again Signs Contract With SportsChannel America". New York Times.
External links
NHL seasons |
---|
1910s | |
---|
1920s | |
---|
1930s | |
---|
1940s | |
---|
1950s | |
---|
1960s | |
---|
1970s | |
---|
1980s | |
---|
1990s | |
---|
2000s | |
---|
2010s | |
---|
2020s | |
---|
The 2004–05 season was not played due to a lockout. |