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1992–93 NHL season

The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the addition of the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Montreal Canadiens won their league-leading 24th Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one. This remains the last time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup.

It proved, at the time, to be the highest-scoring regular season in NHL history, as a total of 7,311 goals were scored over 1,008 games for an average of 7.25 per game.[1] Twenty of the twenty-four teams scored three goals or more per game, and only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks, allowed fewer than three goals per game. Only 68 shutouts were recorded during the regular season.[2] A record twenty-one players reached the 100-point plateau, while a record fourteen players reached the 50-goal plateau—both records still stand through the 2022–23 season.

Through the halfway point in this season Mario Lemieux was in the process of putting together one of the most historic seasons in NHL history; being on pace to challenge both the 92 goal and 215 point records of Wayne Gretzky when he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.[3] Lemieux still went on to win the Art Ross and Hart Trophies, despite every other player in the top five in league scoring playing a complete 84 game season to his 60 games. He also finished with the third highest point per game average in a season in league history.[4]

League business

This was the final season of the Wales and Campbell Conferences, and the Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe divisions. Both the conferences and the divisions would be renamed to reflect geography rather than the league's history for the following season. This was also the last year (until the 2013 realignment) in which the playoff structure bracketed and seeded teams by division; they would be bracketed and seeded by conference (as in the NBA) for 1993–94.

This season saw two new clubs join the league: the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators were the second Ottawa-based NHL franchise (see Ottawa Senators (original)) and brought professional hockey back to Canada's capital, while the Tampa Bay franchise (headed by Hockey Hall of Fame brothers Phil and Tony Esposito) strengthened the NHL's presence in the American Sun Belt, which had first started with the birth of the Los Angeles Kings in 1967.

This was also the final season of play for the Minnesota North Stars, before relocating to Dallas, Texas, the following season.

All teams wore a commemorative patch this year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.

Gil Stein was appointed NHL President in the summer of 1992, on an interim basis with the resignation of John Ziegler, who served in that capacity for 15 years.

On February 1, 1993, Gary Bettman became the first NHL Commissioner, with the office originally created as senior to Stein's position as NHL President. After Stein's tenure expired on July 1, 1993, the President's office was merged into the Commissioner's.

Rule changes

Arena changes

Teams

Map of teams

Regular season

Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets shattered the rookie scoring record by scoring 76 goals and 56 assists for 132 points this season. He was named the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year, and his goals and points marks remain the NHL rookie records as of 2023.

The New York Rangers missed the playoffs. This marked the first time since the President's Trophy had been introduced that the previous season's top team missed the next year's playoffs.

For the first time in his NHL career, Wayne Gretzky did not finish in the top three in scoring. A back injury limited Gretzky to 45 games in which he scored 65 points.

The Pittsburgh Penguins set a new NHL record, winning 17 consecutive games. The streak ending with the regular season.

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points

Prince of Wales Conference

[5]

[6]

Clarence Campbell Conference

[7]

[8]

Playoffs

Bracket

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). 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.

NHL awards

Player statistics

During the 1992-93 season, a record twenty-one players reached the 100-point plateau, while a record fourteen players reached the 50-goal plateau. As of the 2023-24 season, both records still continue stand after three decades. This was also the last season that a NHL player scored 70 or more goals in a single regular season.

Scoring leaders

[9]

Leading goaltenders

All-Star teams

Neutral-site games

As a part of the 1992 strike settlement, the NHL and Bruce McNall's Multivision Marketing and Public Relations Co. organized 24 regular season games in 15 cities that did not have a franchise, providing as a litmus test for future expansion. Four of the cities chosen – Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami – were eventually the sites of expansion or relocations, and although neither Cleveland nor Cincinnati received NHL franchises, there would be one placed in Columbus, located halfway between the two cities.

Two arenas that hosted neutral-site games had hosted NHL teams before: Atlanta's The Omni (Atlanta Flames) and Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum (Cleveland Barons).

The Hartford-St. Louis game was originally scheduled to be played on December 29, 1992, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Events and milestones

Major transactions

Records broken/tied

Regular season

Team
Individual

Playoffs

Team
Individual

* Equalled existing record

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1992–93 (listed with their first team):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note who played their last game in the NHL in 1992–93 (listed with their last team):

Four of the five remaining helmetless players in the league played their final games: Carlyle, Marsh, Langway, and Wilson. The only remaining helmetless player was Craig McTavish who retired following the 1996–97 season.

Coaches

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Broadcasting

Canada

This was the fifth 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.

United States

ESPN signed an agreement for U.S. national broadcast rights, replacing SportsChannel America.[11][12] However, SportsChannel America contended that its contract with the NHL gave them the right to match third-party offers for television rights for the 1992–93 season. Thus the network accused the NHL of violating a nonbinding clause, arguing that it had been deprived of its contractual right of first refusal for the 1992–93 season. Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court justice Shirley Fingerwood would deny SportsChannel America's request for an injunction against the NHL. Upholding that opinion, the appellate court found the agreement on which SportsChannel based its argument to be "too imprecise and ambiguous" and ruled that SportsChannel failed to show irreparable harm.[13][14]

ESPN's weekly regular season games were generally broadcast on Wednesdays and Fridays. ESPN also had Sunday games between the NFL and baseball seasons.[15]

ESPN's deal did not include the All-Star Game; NBC instead televised it for the fourth consecutive season.

Through a brokered deal, sister broadcast network ABC televised five weekly playoff telecasts on Sunday afternoons starting on April 18 and ending on May 16. The first three weeks were regional coverage of various first and second round games, while the fourth and fifth games were nationally televised second round and Conference final contests, respectively.[16][17][18][19][20][21] This marked the first time that playoff National Hockey League games were broadcast on American network television[22] since 1975.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] ESPN then televised selected first and second round games, the rest of the Conference finals, and the Stanley Cup Finals.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ NBC only televised the All-Star Game.

References

Notes
  1. ^ "1992-93 NHL Summary - Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  2. ^ "1992-93 NHL Goalie Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mario Lemieux's Greatest (on ice) Performance". Sean Griffin of The Hockey Writers. January 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014.
  4. ^ "Skater Records Highest Points Per Game, Season (Minimum: 50 Points)". Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  6. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  7. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  8. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  9. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  10. ^ MacKinnon, John (February 24, 1993). "Jets take off on Senators". Ottawa Citizen. p. D1.
  11. ^ Clark, Cammy (September 3, 1992). "NHL okays ESPN deal". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "NHL strikes TV deal with ESPN". UPI. September 2, 1992. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  13. ^ Sarni, Jim (September 4, 1992). "SPORTSCHANNEL SUES OVER NHL DEAL". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Tilsner, Julie (October 11, 1992). "The Puck Stops Here For Espn". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  15. ^ Sandomir, Richard (February 22, 2005). "Picture Is Fuzzy for N.H.L. on Networks". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  16. ^ Hull, Christopher (April 10, 1993). "Stanley Cup playoffs debut on ABC, ESPN". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  17. ^ "NHL governors "ecstatic' over reported TV package". Kitchener-Waterloo Record. August 27, 1992. p. E2.
  18. ^ Swift, E. M. (June 20, 1994). "Hot Not". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "ABC to televise five Sunday NHL playoff games". Tampa Bay Times. March 4, 1993. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  20. ^ "NHL returns to U.S. network TV for playoffs - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  21. ^ "HOCKEY; N.H.L. Playoffs In Deal With ABC". New York Times. March 4, 1993. p. B17. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  22. ^ Gatehouse, Jonathon (October 2012). The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the NHL and Changed the Game Forever. Triumph Books. p. 159. ISBN 9781623686567.
  23. ^ Heistand, Michael (March 4, 1993). "Weighty ESPY awards get lighthearted touch". USA Today. p. 3C.
  24. ^ Milan, Jorge (May 22, 1993). "NBC Wins With Lottery, East Finals". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  25. ^ Covitz, Randy (March 6, 1993). "ABC to help showcase NHL with 5 playoff games". Kansas City Star. p. D6.
  26. ^ Kiley, Mike (March 28, 1993). "He's Muni-ficent: Oilers coach lavishes praise on new Hawk". Chicago Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  27. ^ LaPointe, Joe (April 11, 1993). "N.H.L. Is About to Showcase Lemieux and the Prime-Time Penguins". New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  28. ^ Kiley, Mike (April 12, 1993). "HAWKS MUST WIN NORRIS TO MAKE ABC TELECAST". Chicago Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  29. ^ Tribune, Chicago (April 12, 1993). "HAWKS GET A POINT-SUTTER MAKES ONE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  30. ^ Tribune, Chicago (April 14, 1993). "HAWKS NAIL DOWN 1ST IN NORRIS". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  31. ^ "DEVILS GET FIRST CRACK AT PENGUINS". Deseret News. January 25, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  32. ^ Sandomir, Richard (April 13, 1993). "TV SPORTS; With Words to Spare, Schenkel Strikes a Chord". New York Times. p. B15. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  33. ^ Nidetz, Steve (April 15, 1993). "NETWORK TELECASTS GO BEYOND HAWK OPENER". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  34. ^ Tribune, Chicago (April 17, 1993). "HAWKS SOMBER, BUT READY". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  35. ^ Tribune, Chicago (April 19, 1993). "– Hockey ABCs: Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz…". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  36. ^ Nidetz, Steve (April 19, 1993). "ABC DROPS PUCK IN HAWKS PLAYOFF BROADCAST". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  37. ^ Kiley, Mike (April 17, 1993). "ABC PLANS TO SHOW 4TH HAWKS-BLUES GAME, TOO". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  38. ^ Dillman, Lisa (April 25, 1993). "Kings Search for Scoring : Game 4: None of L.A.'s top four scorers has a goal in three games against the Flames. Stauber might start in goal today". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  39. ^ Wee, K. P. (January 26, 2020). The 1993 Canadiens: Seven Magical Weeks, Unlikely Heroes And Canada's Last Stanley Cup Champions. Riverdale Avenue Books LLC. ISBN 978-1-62601-545-6.
  40. ^ Frey, Jennifer (May 15, 1993). "HOCKEY; Canadiens Having Surprise Visitors". New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2024.

External links