| 1981–82Hartford Whalers | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5thAdams |
| Conference | 10thWales |
| 1981–82 record | 21–41–18 |
| Home record | 13–17–10 |
| Road record | 8–24–8 |
| Goals for | 264 |
| Goals against | 351 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Larry Pleau |
| Coach | Larry Pleau |
| Captain | Dave Keon |
| Arena | Hartford Civic Center |
| Average attendance | 11,703 (80.7%)[1] |
| Minor league affiliates | Binghamton Whalers (AHL) Saginaw Gears (IHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Blaine Stoughton (52) |
| Assists | Mark Howe (45) |
| Points | Blaine Stoughton (91) |
| Penalty minutes | Garry Howatt (242) |
| Plus/minus | Mark Howe (+8) |
| Wins | Greg Millen (11) |
| Goals against average | John Garrett (4.21) |
The1981–82Hartford Whalers season was the Whalers'thirdseason in theNational Hockey League (NHL). The Whalers failed to qualify for the post-season for the second consecutive season. Hartford finished the regular season with a 21–41–18 record, earning 60 points, which was 22 points behind theQuebec Nordiques for the fourth and final playoff spot in theAdams Division.
The NHL realigned into what were for all intents and purposes entirely new divisions that, while retaining all of the names that had been used since 1974, were closely based on North American geography. This ended the Whalers' two-year stay in theNorris Division, as along with theMontreal Canadiens they moved from the Norris to theAdams Division where they were joined by their closest geographical rivalBoston Bruins in addition to theBuffalo Sabres andQuebec Nordiques.
At the1981 NHL entry draft held at theMontreal Forum inMontreal on June 10, the Whalers selected centerRon Francis of theSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of theOntario Hockey League with their first round, fourth overall selection. In 64 games with the Greyhounds in 1980–81, Francis scored 26 goals and 69 points.
On June 15, the Whalers signed restricted free agent goaltenderGreg Millen from thePittsburgh Penguins. Hartford sent forwardsPat Boutette andKevin McClelland to the Penguins as compensation. In 63 games with the Penguins in 1980–81, Millen earned a record of 25–27–10 with a 4.17 GAA and a save percentage of .864.
A couple of weeks later, on July 3, the Whalers were involved in a blockbuster trade with thePhiladelphia Flyers. Hartford sent defensemanFred Arthur, right wingerRay Allison, a first round and a third round draft pick from the1982 NHL entry draft to Philadelphia for centerRick MacLeish, defensemanBlake Wesley, right wingerDon Gillen, and the Flyers first round, second round and third round draft picks in the1982 NHL entry draft. MacLeish was coming off a season in which he scored 38 goals and 74 points in 78 games with the Flyers in 1980–81. He won two Stanley Cup championships with Philadelphia in 1974 and 1975, in which in both seasons he led the NHL in playoff scoring. Wesley split the 1980–81 season between the Flyers and theirAmerican Hockey League affiliate, theMaine Mariners. In 50 games with Philadelphia, Wesley scored three goals and 10 points, while in 24 games with Maine, Wesley scored six goals and 16 points, followed by a goal and nine points in nine post-season games with the Mariners. Gillen spent the entire 1980–81 season with Maine, scoring 30 goals, 59 points and 255 penalty minutes in 79 games, before adding four goals and eight points in 20 playoff games.
On October 2, the Whalers were involved in two trades. In the first trade, Hartford acquired right wingerDoug Sulliman, defensemanChris Kotsopoulos and defensemanGerry McDonald from theNew York Rangers in exchange for centerMike Rogers and a tenth round selection in the1982 NHL entry draft. In 32 games with New York, Sulliman scored four goals and five points before scoring a goal in three playoff games with the Rangers. He also played in 45 games with theNew Haven Nighthawks of theAHL, where he scored 10 goals and 26 points. As a rookie in 1980–81, Kotsopoulos appeared in 52 games with the Rangers, scoring four goals, 16 points and accumulating 153 penalty minutes. In 14 post-season games, Kotsopoulos earned three assists while racking up 63 penalty minutes. McDonald appeared in 70 games with the Nighthawks in 1980–81, scoring six goals and 29 points. In four playoff games, McDonald was held off the scoresheet.
The second trade the Whalers were involved in on October 2 was with theNew York Islanders. Hartford traded a fifth round draft pick from the1983 NHL entry draft to the Islanders for left wingerGarry Howatt. Howatt scored four goals and 19 points in 70 games with New York in 1980–81. He earned two assists in eight playoff games. Howatt was a two timeStanley Cup champion with the Islanders, winning in both 1980 and 1981.
During the waiver draft on October 5, the Whalers acquired right wingerMike McDougal from theNew York Rangers and centerRob McClanahan from theBuffalo Sabres. McDougal scored 21 goals and 44 points in 66 games with theNew Haven Nighthawks of theAHL during the 1980–81 season, however, he was held to no points in four playoff games. McDougal also played in two games with the Rangers, earning no points. McClanahan scored three goals and 15 points in 57 games with the Sabres during the 1980–81 season before earning an assist in five playoff games. McClanahan also played in 18 games with theRochester Americans of the AHL, scoring nine goals and 22 points. In the same draft, the Whalers lost defensemanAl Sims to theLos Angeles Kings and left wingerJeff Brubaker to theMontreal Canadiens.
The Whalers opened the1981–82 season on the road against theQuebec Nordiques in front of a sold-out crowd atLe Colisée on October 6, losing a close one to the Nordiques, by a 6–5 score. Two nights later, Hartford earned their first point of the season, as the Whalers andMontreal Canadiens skated to a 5–5 tie.
Hartford had their home opener on October 10 against their new divisional rivals, theBoston Bruins, in front of 13,107 fans at the Civic Center. The Whalers and Bruins fought to a 1–1 tie, as Hartford goaltenderGreg Millen led the way with 23 saves, whileBlaine Stoughton scored the only goal for the team.
After going winless in their first four games of the season (0–2–2), the Whalers finally earned their first victory, asRick Meagher recorded a hat trick, as Hartford crushed theDetroit Red Wings by an 8–1 score.
The victory over Detroit would be the Whalers only win of the month, as Hartford finished October with a five-game winless streak (0–2–3), finishing October with a 1–4–5 record, earning seven points, and sat in last place in theAdams Division, six points behind theBuffalo Sabres for fourth place.
Hartford opened November with a pair of 4–1 losses to theBoston Bruins andVancouver Canucks to fall to 1–6–5 on the season, before earning their second win of the year, a 4–2 decision against theMinnesota North Stars on November 9.
The Whalers would follow the victory with a four-game winless skid (0–2–2), to fall to 2–8–7 on the season through their first 17 games of the year. Hartford would snap the winless streak with an 8–5 win over theToronto Maple Leafs. A highlight in the game was whenRon Francis scored his first career goal.
Wins would be scarce for the Whalers in November, as they would record only one more victory in November, and ended the month with a record of 3–7–3 in 13 games, and fall to 4–11–8 on the season, earning 16 points, in last place in theAdams Division, 14 points behind theMontreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot.
The Whalers opened December with their first road win of the season, defeating theToronto Maple Leafs 5–3 atMaple Leaf Gardens inToronto on December 2. Overall, Hartford would win three of their first four games of the month, as they recorded wins against theNew York Rangers and theSt. Louis Blues.
After their 3–1–0 start to the month, Hartford fell into a five-game winless streak (0–4–1), getting their only point in a 5–5 tie against theLos Angeles Kings, before earning a 3–2 victory over theDetroit Red Wings to snap their skid in their final game before Christmas.
The team then went 2–2–0 in their final four games of December, to finish the month with a 6–7–1 record in 14 games, and post a 10–18–9 record on the season. The Whalers remained in last place in theAdams Division, 14 points behind the fourth placeQuebec Nordiques.
Hartford got off to a terrible start in January, as the club dropped their first five games of the month, before finally earning a tie against theBoston Bruins on January 16, asBlaine Stoughton scored two goals in a 3–3 tie. Hartford then lost their next game by a 7–1 score against theBuffalo Sabres the next night to extend their winless skid to seven games.
The team ended their winless skid with a solid 4–2 victory over theQuebec Nordiques on January 20. This marked the start of a six-game unbeaten streak (4–0–2) for the Whalers to end the month.
Hartford managed to post a 4–6–3 record in 13 games in January, and an overall record of 14–24–12 on the season, earning 40 points. The Whalers were stuck in theAdams Division cellar, 18 points behind the fourth placeQuebec Nordiques.
The Whalers continued to stay hot at the start of February, as Hartford went 2–0–2 on a four-game road trip, and extended their overall unbeaten streak to a team record 10 games (6–0–4). The unbeaten streak came to an end on February 13, as theNew York Rangers defeated Hartford by a 3–2 score.
The loss to the Rangers began a string of losses for the Whalers, as the team went on a six-game losing streak, before snapping the skid with a 4–3 win over theBoston Bruins on February 24. Hartford then lost their last two games of the month, and eight of nine overall.
The club went 3–8–2 in their 13 February games, slipping to a 17–32–14 record on the season, registering 48 points, and 23 points behind theQuebec Nordiques.
The team opened March with two ties against theBuffalo Sabres, followed by a two-game winning streak, defeating theLos Angeles Kings andWinnipeg Jets. The Whalers four-game unbeaten streak came to an end on March 13, as theMontreal Canadiens shutout Hartford 5–0. The club lost their second straight game the next night, 4–3 to theColorado Rockies.
The Whalers managed to snap their two-game losing streak, and won consecutive games, beating theQuebec Nordiques andBuffalo Sabres. Those wins were the Whalers last of the season, as the team finished the season with a nine-game winless streak (0–7–2).
Hartford finished the year with a 21–41–18 record for the second straight season, earning 60 points, and were the last place team in theAdams Division, 22 points behind theQuebec Nordiques for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 46 | 17 | 17 | 360 | 223 | 1463 | 109 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 27 | 10 | 323 | 285 | 1266 | 96 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 26 | 15 | 307 | 273 | 1425 | 93 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 33 | 31 | 16 | 356 | 345 | 1757 | 82 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 264 | 351 | 1493 | 60 |
[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
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Vs. Wales Conference[edit]
Vs. Campbell Conference[edit]
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| 1981–82 regular season[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
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The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the1981–82 season.
| October 5, 1981 | ToLos Angeles Kings Al Sims |
| October 5, 1981 | ToMontreal Canadiens Jeff Brubaker |
| October 5, 1981 | FromNew York Rangers Mike McDougal |
| October 5, 1981 | FromBuffalo Sabres Rob McClanahan |
| November 13, 1981 | FromDetroit Red Wings George Lyle |
| Player | Former team |
| Jeff Brownschidle | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA) |
| Greg Millen | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Paul Shmyr | Minnesota North Stars |
Hartford's draft picks from the1981 NHL entry draft which was held at theMontreal Forum inMontreal on June 10, 1981.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ron Francis | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) | |
| 3 | 61 | Paul MacDermid | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) | |
| 4 | 67 | Mike Hoffman | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) | |
| 5 | 93 | Bill Maguire | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL) | |
| 5 | 103 | Dan Bourbonnais | Calgary Wranglers (WHL) | |
| 7 | 130 | John Mokosak | Victoria Cougars (WHL) | |
| 8 | 151 | Denis Dore | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | |
| 9 | 172 | Jeff Poeschl | Northern Michigan University (WCHA) | |
| 10 | 193 | Larry Power | Kitchener Ranger B's (MWJHL) |