1984–85 NHL season explained

1984–85 NHL season
League:National Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Duration:October 11, 1984 – May 30, 1985
Draft:Draft
Draft Link:1984 NHL Draft
Top Pick Link:List of first overall NHL draft picks
Picked By:Pittsburgh Penguins
Season:Regular season
Season Champs:Philadelphia Flyers
Mvp:Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Mvp Link:Hart Memorial Trophy
Top Scorer:Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Top Scorer Link:Art Ross Trophy
Playoffs:Playoffs
Playoffs Link:1985 Stanley Cup playoffs
Finals:Stanley Cup
Finals Link:1985 Stanley Cup Finals
Finals Champ:Edmonton Oilers
Finals Runner-Up:Philadelphia Flyers
Playoffs Mvp:Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Playoffs Mvp Link:Conn Smythe Trophy
No Of Games:80
No Of Teams:21
Tv:CBC, CTV, SRC (Canada)
USA (United States)

The 1984–85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series.

League business

Referee Andy Van Hellemond becomes the first on ice official in league history to wear a helmet. Soon, several officials would follow his lead and wear helmets before it became mandatory for all officials for the 2006–07 season.

Teams

1984-85 National Hockey League
Division Team City Arena Capacity
AdamsBoston BruinsBoston, MassachusettsBoston Garden14,451
Buffalo SabresBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo Memorial Auditorium16,433
Hartford WhalersHartford, ConnecticutHartford Civic Center14,817
Montreal CanadiensMontreal, QuebecMontreal Forum18,076
Quebec NordiquesQuebec City, QuebecColisée de Québec15,434
Patrick
New Jersey DevilsEast Rutherford, New JerseyBrendan Byrne Arena19,040
New York IslandersUniondale, New YorkNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum16,002
New York RangersNew York, New YorkMadison Square Garden17,500
Philadelphia FlyersPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaSpectrum17,191
Pittsburgh PenguinsPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaCivic Arena16,033
Washington CapitalsLandover, MarylandCapital Centre18,130
NorrisChicago Black HawksChicago, IllinoisChicago Stadium17,317
Detroit Red WingsDetroit, MichiganJoe Louis Arena19,275
Minnesota North StarsBloomington, MinnesotaMet Center15,000
St. Louis BluesSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis Arena17,968
Toronto Maple LeafsToronto, OntarioMaple Leaf Gardens16,182
Smythe
Calgary FlamesCalgary, AlbertaOlympic Saddledome16,605
Edmonton OilersEdmonton, AlbertaNorthlands Coliseum17,498
Los Angeles KingsInglewood, CaliforniaThe Forum16,005
Vancouver CanucksVancouver, British ColumbiaPacific Coliseum16,553
Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg, ManitobaWinnipeg Arena15,565

Regular season

The Philadelphia Flyers had the best record in the NHL, four points ahead of second place Edmonton Oilers. Flyers goaltender Pelle Lindbergh went on to become the first European to win the Vezina Trophy. Oilers' star Wayne Gretzky once again won the Art Ross Trophy by reaching the 200 plateau for the third time in four years. He also set a new record for assists in a season with 135 and won his sixth straight Hart Memorial Trophy. Mario Lemieux made his NHL debut by scoring 100 points and winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. On October 26, 1984, Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers would be the last defenceman in the 20th century to score four goals in one game. It occurred in a game versus the Detroit Red Wings.[1]

The last two players active in the 1960s, Butch Goring and Brad Park, retired after the playoffs. Goring was the last active, playing his last playoff game three days after Park's last game.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes. Teams qualifying for the playoffs shown in bold.

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

See main article: 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs. The defending champion Edmonton Oilers returned to the Final, meeting the overall regular season champion Philadelphia Flyers. In the Final, Edmonton would lose the first game to the Flyers but would then take the next four to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

For the second consecutive and last season, the finals used the 2–3–2 home ice format.

Stanley Cup Finals

See main article: 1985 Stanley Cup Finals.

Awards

1985 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy


(Wales Conference playoff champion)

Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl


(Campbell Conference playoff champion)

Edmonton Oilers
Art Ross Trophy


(Top scorer, regular season)

Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy


(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication)

Anders Hedberg, New York Rangers
Calder Memorial Trophy


(Best first-year player)

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Conn Smythe Trophy


(Most valuable player, playoffs)

Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Frank J. Selke Trophy


(Best defensive forward)

Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres
Hart Memorial Trophy


(Most valuable player, regular season)

Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award


(Best coach)

Mike Keenan, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy


(Best defenceman)

Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy


(Excellence and sportsmanship)

Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Lester B. Pearson Award


(Outstanding player, regular season)

Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
NHL Plus/Minus Award


(Player with best plus/minus record)

Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
William M. Jennings Trophy


(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record)

Tom Barrasso/Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres
Vezina Trophy


(Best goaltender)

Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers

Hart Memorial Trophy voting

PlayerTeamTotal votes1st2nd3rd
Wayne Gretzky 303 60 1 0
91 1 23 17
56 0 15 11
28 1 6 5
21 0 5 6
13 1 2 2
10 0 3 1
9 0 2 3
7 0 1 4
Philadelphia Flyers 7 0 1 4
6 0 1 3
4 0 1 1
Washington Capitals 4 0 1 1
Edmonton Oilers 3 0 1 0
Edmonton Oilers 1 0 0 1
St. Louis Blues 1 0 0 1
New York Islanders 1 0 0 1
New York Islanders 1 0 0 1
Philadelphia Flyers 1 0 0 1

James Norris Memorial Trophy voting

PlayerTeamTotal votes1st2nd3rd
Paul Coffey 223 32 19 6
136 12 20 16
89 8 10 19
84 9 11 6
Washington Capitals 13 1 0 8
12 1 1 4
Philadelphia Flyers 3 0 1 0
Edmonton Oilers 3 0 1 0
3 0 0 3
1 0 0 1

Jack Adams Award voting

CoachTeamTotal votes1st2nd3rd
Mike Keenan 114 19 4 7
66 3 15 6
61 8 6 3
19 0 5 4
12 1 1 4
3 0 0 3
0 0 0 2
2 0 0 2

Vezina Trophy voting

PlayerTeamTotal votes1st2nd3rd
Pelle Lindbergh 88 14 6 0
58 7 6 5
12 0 3 3
10 0 1 7
7 0 2 1
5 0 1 2
4 0 1 1
Edmonton Oilers 4 0 1 1
1 0 0 1

All-Star teams

First team   Position   Second team
Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyersalign=center GoaltenderTom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres
Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilersalign=center DefenceRod Langway, Washington Capitals
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruinsalign=center DefenceDoug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilersalign=center CentreDale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets
Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilersalign=center Right wingMike Bossy, New York Islanders
John Ogrodnick, Detroit Red Wingsalign=center Left wingJohn Tonelli, New York Islanders

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIM
Edmonton Oilers 80 73 135 208 52
Edmonton Oilers 73 71 64 135 30
Winnipeg Jets 80 53 77 130 74
Los Angeles Kings 80 46 80 126 46
Edmonton Oilers 80 37 84 121 97
New York Islanders 76 58 59 117 38
Detroit Red Wings 79 55 50 105 30
Chicago Black Hawks 79 38 67 105 56
St. Louis Blues 76 30 73 103 27
Washington Capitals 80 50 52 102 71
Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; W = Won; L = Lost; T = Tied; GA = Goals allowed; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage

PlayerTeamGPWLTGAGAASOSV%
Buffalo Sabres 54 25 18 10 144 2.66 5 .887
Washington Capitals 57 28 20 7 168 2.98 2 .886
Philadelphia Flyers65 40 17 7 194 3.02 2 .899
Montreal Canadiens54 26 18 8 167 3.08 1 .876
St. Louis Blues 40 23 12 5 126 3.26 0 .885
Quebec Nordiques 36 19 11 3 111 3.30 1 .877
Calgary Flames 56 30 12 10 183 3.46 1 .888
Boston Bruins 51 19 26 4 172 3.47 1 .868
Quebec Nordiques 29 12 13 4 101 3.49 0 .877
New York Islanders 41 19 17 3 141 3.62 2 .886
[2]

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 1984–85 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1984–85 (listed with their last team):

Note: Goring and Park were the last two players to have played in the NHL in the 1960s.

Broadcasting

This was the first season in more than a decade that CBC was not the lone Canadian national broadcaster. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday night games on CTV. The two networks also split the playoffs and finals.[3] CTV had previously aired HNIC-produced telecasts in the 1960s.

This was the third and final season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with USA, covering a slate of regular season games and selected playoff games. ESPN then signed a three-year agreement with the league after bidding about twice as much as USA had been paying.[4] [5] USA would not televise the NHL again until after the network was acquired by NBCUniversal in the early 2000s, airing selected playoff games as part of NBC Sports' overall NHL coverage between 2015 and 2021.

See also

References

Notes
  1. Hockey's Book of Firsts, p. 27, James Duplacey, JG Press, .
  2. http://www.databasehockey.com DataBase Hockey
  3. News: Great hockey/beer war takes to the ice in Chicago. September 25, 1984. Kelly. Warren. Chicago Tribune. B1.
  4. News: Strachan. Al. ESPN acquires NHL games Backroom bickering in TV deal. The Globe and Mail. July 30, 1985.
  5. News: Mulligan. Kevin. NHL Finds a Home at ESPN. Philadelphia Daily News. July 26, 1985.

External links