1982–83 New Jersey Devils season

1982–83 New Jersey Devils
Division 5th Patrick
Conference 9th Wales
1982–83 record 17–49–14
Home record 11-20-9
Road record 6-29-5
Goals for 230
Goals against 338
Team information
General Manager Bill MacMillan
Coach Bill MacMillan
Captain Don Lever
Alternate captains none
Arena Brendan Byrne Arena
Average attendance  ?
Team leaders
Goals Steve Tambellini (25)
Assists Tapio Levo (40)
Points Aaron Broten (55)
Penalties in minutes Yvon Vautour (136)
Wins Chico Resch (15)
Goals against average Chico Resch (3.98)
<1981–82 1983–84>

The New Jersey Devils' 1982–83 NHL season was the franchise's ninth season in the NHL and the first in New Jersey after moving from Denver, Colorado, where they were known as the Colorado Rockies. The Devils first ever game was a 3-3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where first captain Don Lever scored the Devils' first ever goal. The team's first win would come against their new rivals in the New York Rangers. However, the new location didn't help the team overall, as they continued to struggle in the standings, finishing last in their division and third-to-last in their conference.

Contents

Regular season

Season standings

Patrick Division
  GP W L T GF GA PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 80 49 23 8 326 240 106
New York Islanders 80 42 26 12 302 226 96
Washington Capitals 80 39 25 16 306 283 94
New York Rangers 80 35 35 10 306 287 80
New Jersey Devils 80 17 49 14 230 338 48
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 18 53 9 250 394 45

[1]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.

Game log

Index: Devils win Devils loss Tie game

October

Record: 3-6-3, Home: 2-3-2, Away: 1-3-1

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 October 5 Pittsburgh 3 - 3 New Jersey 0-0-1 1
2 October 8 NY Rangers 2 - 3 New Jersey 1-0-1 3
3 October 9 New Jersey 5 - 5 Toronto 1-0-2 4
4 October 12 Boston 2 - 2 New Jersey 1-0-3 5
5 October 14 Montreal 5 - 3 New Jersey 1-1-3 5
6 October 16 New Jersey 6 - 5 Pittsburgh 2-1-3 7
7 October 18 Philadelphia 1 - 3 New Jersey 3-1-3 9
8 October 20 New Jersey 4 - 7 Los Angeles 3-2-3 9
9 October 22 New Jersey 1 - 3 Winnipeg 3-3-3 9
10 October 26 Minnesota 5 - 3 New Jersey 3-4-3 9
11 October 28 NY Islanders 4 - 2 New Jersey 3-5-3 9
12 October 30 New Jersey 5 - 8 NY Islanders 3-6-3 9

November

Record: 1-10-4, Home: 0-3-2, Away: 1-7-2

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
13 November 1 Calgary 6 - 3 New Jersey 3-7-3 9
14 November 2 New Jersey 4 - 5 Montreal 3-8-3 9
15 November 4 Pittsburgh 4 - 4 New Jersey 3-8-4 10
16 November 6 New Jersey 1 - 1 Detroit 3-8-5 11
17 November 8 Washington 2 - 2 New Jersey 3-8-6 12
18 November 10 New Jersey 0 - 3 Washington 3-9-6 12
19 November 11 Edmonton 5 - 1 New Jersey 3-10-6 12
20 November 13 New Jersey 2 - 7 Quebec 3-11-6 12
21 November 16 New Jersey 2 - 7 St. Louis 3-12-6 12
22 November 17 New Jersey 3 - 5 Chicago 3-13-6 12
23 November 20 New Jersey 1 - 5 Minnesota 3-14-6 12
24 November 24 New Jersey 0 - 3 Los Angeles 3-15-6 12
25 November 26 New Jersey 4 - 4 Vancouver 3-15-7 13
26 November 27 New Jersey 4 - 3 Calgary 4-15-7 15
27 November 29 Chicago 3 - 1 New Jersey 4-16-7 15

December

Record: 3-9-0, Home: 2-4-0, Away: 1-5-0

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
28 December 1 Toronto 3 - 7 New Jersey 5-16-7 17
29 December 3 Hartford 4 - 5 New Jersey 6-16-7 19
30 December 4 New Jersey 2 - 6 Detroit 6-17-7 19
31 December 6 Winnipeg 5 - 3 New Jersey 6-18-7 19
32 December 9 Washington 6 - 4 New Jersey 6-19-7 19
33 December 11 New Jersey 1 - 7 NY Islanders 6-20-7 19
34 December 12 New Jersey 0 - 4 NY Rangers 6-21-7 19
35 December 17 New Jersey 4 - 10 Edmonton 6-22-7 19
36 December 19 New Jersey 3 - 2 Winnipeg 7-22-7 21
37 December 22 Philadelphia 3 - 1 New Jersey 7-23-7 21
38 December 26 New Jersey 2 - 5 Boston 7-24-7 21
39 December 30 NY Rangers 5 - 2 New Jersey 7-25-7 21

January

Record: 4-6-4, Home: 4-1-3, Away: 0-5-1

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
40 January 2 Vancouver 1 - 3 New Jersey 8-25-7 23
41 January 5 Toronto 4 - 4 New Jersey 8-25-8 24
42 January 7 Boston 2 - 2 New Jersey 8-25-9 25
43 January 9 New Jersey 3 - 4 NY Rangers 8-26-9 25
44 January 10 Quebec 2 - 6 New Jersey 9-26-9 27
45 January 13 NY Islanders 5 - 2 New Jersey 9-27-9 27
46 January 15 New Jersey 1 - 2 Hartford 9-28-9 27
47 January 16 Los Angeles 3 - 5 New Jersey 10-28-9 29
48 January 19 New Jersey 1 - 1 Pittsburgh 10-28-10 30
49 January 20 St. Louis 3 - 3 New Jersey 10-28-11 31
50 January 23 New Jersey 1 - 3 Washington 10-29-11 31
51 January 25 New Jersey 1 - 5 Philadelphia 10-30-11 31
52 January 29 New Jersey 4 - 6 Quebec 10-31-11 31
53 January 31 Pittsburgh 2 - 3 New Jersey 11-31-11 33

February

Record: 1-8-2, Home: 1-2-2, Away: 0-6-0

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
54 February 3 NY Islanders 7 - 2 New Jersey 11-32-11 33
55 February 5 New Jersey 4 - 5 Washington 11-33-11 33
56 February 6 Vancouver 4 - 4 New Jersey 11-33-12 34
57 February 9 New Jersey 4 - 5 Chicago 11-34-12 34
58 February 12 New Jersey 1 - 5 St. Louis 11-35-12 34
59 February 15 Minnesota 3 - 2 New Jersey 11-36-12 34
60 February 20 New Jersey 0 - 3 Philadelphia 11-37-12 34
61 February 21 Buffalo 4 - 4 New Jersey 11-37-13 35
62 February 24 Detroit 1 - 4 New Jersey 12-37-13 37
63 February 26 New Jersey 4 - 5 Pittsburgh 12-38-13 37
64 February 27 New Jersey 2 - 6 Buffalo 12-39-13 37

March

Record: 4-10-0, Home: 2-7-0, Away: 2-3-0

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
65 March 1 Edmonton 4 - 3 New Jersey 12-40-13 37
66 March 3 Philadelphia 4 - 1 New Jersey 12-41-13 37
67 March 5 New Jersey 1 - 5 NY Islanders 12-42-13 37
68 March 6 New Jersey 6 - 4 NY Rangers 13-42-13 39
69 March 8 Washington 5 - 4 New Jersey 13-43-13 39
70 March 10 Hartford 3 - 0 New Jersey 13-44-13 39
71 March 12 New Jersey 7 - 3 Montreal 14-44-13 41
72 March 14 Calgary 7 - 0 New Jersey 14-45-13 41
73 March 17 NY Islanders 9 - 5 New Jersey 14-46-13 41
74 March 21 NY Rangers 2 - 4 New Jersey 15-46-13 43
75 March 24 New Jersey 3 - 5 Washington 15-47-13 43
76 March 25 Philadelphia 5 - 6 New Jersey 16-47-13 45
77 March 27 New Jersey 1 - 4 Philadelphia 16-48-13 45
78 March 31 Buffalo 8 - 5 New Jersey 16-49-13 45

April

Record: 1-0-1, Home: 0-0-0, Away: 1-0-1

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
79 April 1 New Jersey 3 - 3 NY Rangers 16-49-14 46
80 April 3 New Jersey 5 - 3 Pittsburgh 17-49-14 46

Player stats

Skaters

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

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Aaron Broten 73 16 39 55 28 - - - - -
Don Lever 79 23 30 53 68 - - - - -
Bob MacMillan 71 19 29 48 8 - - - - -
Tapio Levo 73 7 40 47 22 - - - - -
Jeff Larmer 65 21 24 45 21 - - - - -
Hector Marini 77 17 28 45 105 - - - - -
Steve Tambellini 73 25 18 43 14 - - - - -
Brent Ashton 76 14 19 33 47 - - - - -
Rick Meagher† 57 15 14 29 11 - - - - -
Paul Gagne 53 14 15 29 13 - - - - -
Murray Brumwell 59 5 14 19 34 - - - - -
Jan Ludvig 51 7 10 17 30 - - - - -
Joel Quenneville 74 5 12 17 46 - - - - -
Mike Antonovich 30 7 7 14 11 - - - - -
Glenn Merkosky 34 4 10 14 20 - - - - -
Bob Lorimer 66 3 10 13 42 - - - - -
Mike Kitchen 77 4 8 12 52 - - - - -
Yvon Vautour 52 4 7 11 136 - - - - -
Rob Palmer 60 1 10 11 21 - - - - -
Dave Cameron 35 5 4 9 50 - - - - -
John Wensink 42 2 7 9 135 - - - - -
Carol Vadnais 51 2 7 9 64 - - - - -
Merlin Malinowski‡ 5 3 2 5 0 - - - - -
Pat Verbeek 6 3 2 5 8 - - - - -
Dave Hutchison 32 1 4 5 102 - - - - -
Garry Howatt 38 1 4 5 114 - - - - -
Jukka Porvari 8 1 3 4 4 - - - - -
Chico Resch 65 0 3 3 6 - - - - -
Larry Floyd 5 1 0 1 2 - - - - -
Joe Cirella 2 0 1 1 4 - - - - -
Mike Moher 9 0 1 1 28 - - - - -
Ron Low† 11 0 1 1 0 - - - - -
Randy Pierce 3 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
Dwight Foster‡ 4 0 0 0 2 - - - - -
Shawn MacKenzie 6 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
Lindsay Middlebrook‡ 9 0 0 0 2 - - - - -

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining New Jersey. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
‡Traded mid-season

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against Average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Chico Resch 65 3650 15 35 12 242 0 3.98 - - - - - - -
Ron Low† 11 608 2 7 1 41 0 4.05 - - - - - - -
Lindsay Middlebrook‡ 9 412 0 6 1 37 0 5.39 - - - - - - -
Shawn MacKenzie 6 130 0 1 0 15 0 6.92 - - - - - - -

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining New Jersey. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Transactions

The Devils were involved in the following transactions during the 1982–83 season.

Trades

October 1, 1982 To New Jersey Devils
Hector Marini
4th round pick in 1983		 To New York Islanders
4th round pick in 1983
October 15, 1982 To New Jersey Devils
Rick Meagher
Garry Howatt		 To Hartford Whalers
Merlin Malinowski
Scott Fusco
October 29, 1982 To New Jersey Devils
Cash		 To Detroit Red Wings
Dwight Foster
February 19, 1983 To New Jersey Devils
Ron Low		 To Edmonton Oilers
Lindsay Middlebrook
Paul Miller

Free agents

Player Former team
C Mike Antonovich Minnesota North Stars
C Mitch Wilson
F Jan Ludvig Edmonton Oilers
Player New team

Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Rd # Pick # Player Nat Pos Team (League) Notes
1 8 Rocky Trottier  Canada C Billings Bighorns (WHL) [2]
1 18 Ken Daneyko  Canada D Seattle Breakers (WHL) [3]
2 22 No second-round draft pick[3]
3 44 Pat Verbeek  Canada C Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
3 54 Dave Kasper  Canada C Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) [4]
4 64 No fourth-round draft pick[5]
5 85 Scott Brydges  United States D White Bear Lake Mariner H.S. (Minnesota)
6 106 Mike Moher  Canada RW Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7 127 Paul Fulcher  Canada LW London Knights (OHL)
8 148 John Hutchings  Canada D Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9 169 Alan Hepple  Great Britain D Ottawa 67's(OHL)
10 190 Brent Shaw  Canada RW Seattle Breakers (WHL)
10 207 Tony Gilliard  Canada LW Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL) [3]
11 211 Scott Fusco  United States C Harvard University (ECAC)
12 232 Dan Dorion  United States RW Austin Mavericks (USHL)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225. 
  2. ^ The Colorado Rockies traded Rob Ramage to St. Louis in exchange for St. Louis' first-round picks in 1982 (Trottier) and 1983 (McLean) on June 9, 1982.
  3. ^ a b c Colorado traded away the 1982 first overall pick (used on Gord Kluzak) and second-round pick (used on Brian Curran) to Boston for Dwight Foster and the Bruins' 1982 first-round pick (Daneyko) and tenth-round pick (Gilliard) on July 2, 1981.1982 Traded Draft Picks
  4. ^ Colorado had acquired Winnipeg's 1982 third-round pick along with Brent Ashton for Lucien DeBlois on July 15, 1981.1982 Traded Draft Picks
  5. ^ Colorado traded their 1982 fourth-round pick to Los Angeles (used to draft Dave Gans) for Nick Beverley on November 18, 1978. 1982 Traded Draft Picks
Patrick
Adams
Norris
Smythe
See also
1980s
1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90
1990s
2000s
2010s
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship