1981–82 Winnipeg Jets season

1981–82 Winnipeg Jets
Division2nd Norris
Conference3rd Campbell
1981–82 record33–33–14
Home record18–13–9
Road record15–20–5
Goals for319
Goals against332
Team information
General managerJohn Ferguson
CoachTom Watt
CaptainDave Christian
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaWinnipeg Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)Tulsa Oilers (CHL)
Team leaders
GoalsDale Hawerchuk (45)
AssistsDale Hawerchuk (58)
PointsDale Hawerchuk (103)
Penalty minutesBryan Maxwell (110)
WinsEd Staniowski (20)
Goals against averageEd Staniowski (3.96)

The 1981–82 Winnipeg Jets season was the team's third season in the National Hockey League and tenth season overall. The club's on-ice performance vastly improved compared to the previous season when the Jets won only nine games. The Jets finished with a .500 record and, for the first time in its history, qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs

Offseason

After a very disappointing 1980–81, in which the Jets won only nine games and finished in last place in the National Hockey League, the club announced on May 14, 1981, that Tom Watt would become the new head coach of the team. Watt spent the 1980–81 season as an assistant coach under Harry Neale on the Vancouver Canucks. This would be Watt's first NHL head coaching job. The Jets also announced that Dave Christian would become the new captain of the team. Christian, who was a part of the 1980 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal, became the third captain of the team since the Jets joined the NHL.

The NHL announced a new divisional realignment based on geography, as the Jets were shifted from the Smythe Division to the Norris Division, where they would join the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs. On June 10, 1981, the Jets went into the 1981 NHL entry draft with the first overall selection, and the club used it to select Dale Hawerchuk from the Cornwall Royals of the QMJHL. Hawerchuk scored 81 goals and 183 points in 72 games with Cornwall, followed by 15 goals and 35 points in 19 playoff games with the team, leading them to the President's Cup. At the 1981 Memorial Cup, Hawerchuk had eight goals and 12 points in five games, leading Cornwall to the championship. With their second selection, Winnipeg selected Scott Arniel, who also played with the Cornwall Royals. Arniel had 52 goals and 123 points with Cornwall, followed by 14 goals and 33 points in 19 playoff games, and six goals and eight points in five Memorial Cup games, helping the Royals win the 1981 Memorial Cup.

On July 3, 1981, Winnipeg acquired Bryan Maxwell, Ed Staniowski and Paul MacLean from the St. Louis Blues for Scott Campbell and John Markell. Maxwell, a stay-at-home defenseman, had three goals and 13 points in 40 games with the Blues in 1980–81, while Staniowski posted a 10–3–3 record with a 4.28 GAA in 19 games as a backup to Mike Liut in St. Louis. MacLean had 36 goals and 78 points in 80 games with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL.

Twelve days later on July 15, 1981, the Jets were involved in a three-way deal with the Colorado Rockies and Vancouver Canucks. Winnipeg originally traded Ivan Hlinka to the Vancouver Canucks for Brent Ashton and the Canucks fourth round draft pick at the 1982 NHL entry draft. The Jets then traded Ashton and their own third round pick in the 1982 NHL entry draft to the Colorado Rockies for Lucien DeBlois. DeBlois had 26 goals and 42 points in 74 games with Colorado during the 1980–81 season.

One day before the regular season began, on October 5, 1981, the Jets picked up Serge Savard from the Montreal Canadiens in the waiver draft. Savard, who played with the Canadiens since the 1966–67 season, had four goals and 17 points in 77 games during the 1980–81 season. Savard was a seven time Stanley Cup champion.

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Minnesota North Stars 80 37 23 20 346 288 94
80 33 33 14 319 332 80
St. Louis Blues 80 32 40 8 315 349 72
Chicago Black Hawks 80 30 38 12 332 363 72
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 20 44 16 298 380 56
Detroit Red Wings 80 21 47 12 270 351 54

[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.

Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

1981–82 regular season[3][4]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1 L October 6, 1981 1–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 0–1–0 11,410
2 W October 9, 1981 8–3 New York Rangers (1981–82) 1–1–0 12,377
3 W October 14, 1981 4–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) 2–1–0 17,430
4 W October 15, 1981 5–4 @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) 3–1–0 7,226
5 L October 18, 1981 3–4 Colorado Rockies (1981–82) 3–2–0 11,499
6 T October 21, 1981 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) 3–2–1 14,745
7 T October 23, 1981 5–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 3–2–2 13,169
8 W October 25, 1981 9–4 Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) 4–2–2 10,664
9 L October 28, 1981 6–7 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 4–3–2 8,493
10 W October 31, 1981 6–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 5–3–2 16,360
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
11 W November 3, 1981 5–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1981–82) 6–3–2 5,126
12 W November 6, 1981 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 7–3–2 13,484
13 L November 8, 1981 1–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) 7–4–2 12,533
14 L November 10, 1981 3–5 New York Islanders (1981–82) 7–5–2 13,494
15 L November 11, 1981 2–15 @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 7–6–2 14,244
16 W November 14, 1981 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) 8–6–2 10,363
17 L November 17, 1981 4–6 @ Calgary Flames (1981–82) 8–7–2 7,226
18 L November 18, 1981 4–6 Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 8–8–2 10,992
19 T November 21, 1981 1–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 8–8–3 16,316
20 W November 22, 1981 5–4 St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 9–8–3 12,287
21 W November 25, 1981 7–2 Colorado Rockies (1981–82) 10–8–3 11,363
22 T November 27, 1981 5–5 Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 10–8–4 13,903
23 L November 29, 1981 2–10 Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) 10–9–4 15,756
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
24 L December 1, 1981 1–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) 10–10–4 17,077
25 L December 2, 1981 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) 10–11–4 8,829
26 L December 4, 1981 3–7 @ Washington Capitals (1981–82) 10–12–4 10,605
27 W December 6, 1981 5–2 New York Islanders (1981–82) 11–12–4 12,877
28 T December 9, 1981 3–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 11–12–5 16,215
29 T December 11, 1981 5–5 Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) 11–12–6 15,652
30 L December 13, 1981 1–2 Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 11–13–6 13,011
31 T December 16, 1981 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 11–13–7 10,236
32 W December 17, 1981 4–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 12–13–7 14,995
33 L December 19, 1981 4–8 Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 12–14–7 12,689
34 W December 20, 1981 5–4 St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 13–14–7 12,691
35 L December 22, 1981 2–5 @ New York Islanders (1981–82) 13–15–7 14,806
36 L December 23, 1981 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1981–82) 13–16–7 17,422
37 L December 26, 1981 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 13–17–7 13,778
38 T December 27, 1981 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 13–17–8 14,257
39 L December 30, 1981 1–6 Hartford Whalers (1981–82) 13–18–8 10,470
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
40 L January 3, 1982 5–8 Boston Bruins (1981–82) 13–19–8 14,419
41 W January 6, 1982 5–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) 14–19–8 12,097
42 L January 7, 1982 6–8 @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) 14–20–8 11,240
43 W January 9, 1982 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 15–20–8 14,234
44 T January 10, 1982 4–4 Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) 15–20–9 15,269
45 W January 13, 1982 6–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) 16–20–9 11,483
46 T January 15, 1982 4–4 New York Rangers (1981–82) 16–20–10 12,533
47 L January 17, 1982 5–7 Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) 16–21–10 14,061
48 W January 20, 1982 3–0 Washington Capitals (1981–82) 17–21–10 10,649
49 W January 22, 1982 6–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 18–21–10 12,847
50 T January 26, 1982 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 18–21–11 9,202
51 W January 27, 1982 4–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 19–21–11 16,308
52 L January 30, 1982 1–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1981–82) 19–22–11 13,842
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
53 L February 2, 1982 6–10 @ St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 19–23–11 6,502
54 W February 5, 1982 6–4 Calgary Flames (1981–82) 20–23–11 14,406
55 L February 10, 1982 3–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) 20–24–11 15,260
56 L February 13, 1982 3–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1981–82) 20–25–11 16,422
57 L February 16, 1982 3–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) 20–26–11 15,265
58 T February 19, 1982 4–4 Quebec Nordiques (1981–82) 20–26–12 13,661
59 L February 21, 1982 3–6 Washington Capitals (1981–82) 20–27–12 13,395
60 W February 24, 1982 6–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) 21–27–12 13,779
61 T February 26, 1982 4–4 Buffalo Sabres (1981–82) 21–27–13 15,794
62 W February 28, 1982 5–2 St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 22–27–13 13,308
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
63 W March 2, 1982 7–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1981–82) 23–27–13 16,912
64 W March 3, 1982 4–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1981–82) 24–27–13 10,523
65 W March 5, 1982 2–0 Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 25–27–13 14,803
66 W March 7, 1982 5–2 Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) 26–27–13 14,727
67 L March 10, 1982 2–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1981–82) 26–28–13 11,858
68 L March 11, 1982 4–7 @ Boston Bruins (1981–82) 26–29–13 12,333
69 W March 13, 1982 10–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 27–29–13 16,360
70 W March 16, 1982 7–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 28–29–13 12,167
71 W March 17, 1982 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 29–29–13 15,784
72 W March 20, 1982 7–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1981–82) 30–29–13 15,253
73 W March 21, 1982 8–2 Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 31–29–13 13,378
74 W March 24, 1982 5–3 Los Angeles Kings (1981–82) 32–29–13 12,711
75 T March 26, 1982 4–4 St. Louis Blues (1981–82) 32–29–14 15,790
76 L March 28, 1982 0–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1981–82) 32–30–14 16,079
77 W March 30, 1982 7–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 33–30–14 15,784
78 L March 31, 1982 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1981–82) 33–31–14 9,654
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
79 L April 2, 1982 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1981–82) 33–32–14 15,351
80 L April 4, 1982 1–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1981–82) 33–33–14 17,490

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

They faced the St. Louis Blues in the Division Semifinals, losing 3 games to 1.

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Jets only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
10 Dale Hawerchuk C 80 45 58 103 −7 47 4 1 7 8 −5 5
12 Morris Lukowich LW 77 43 49 92 −4 102 4 0 2 2 −2 16
13 Dave Christian C 80 25 51 76 −40 28 4 0 1 1 −8 2
44 Dave Babych D 79 19 49 68 −9 92 4 1 2 3 −8 29
15 Paul MacLean RW 74 36 25 61 −8 106 4 3 2 5 −3 20
20 Willy Lindstrom RW 74 32 27 59 12 33 4 2 1 3 0 2
23 Lucien DeBlois RW 65 25 27 52 −10 87 4 2 1 3 −3 4
22 Bengt Lundholm LW 66 14 30 44 4 10 4 1 1 2 0 2
25 Thomas Steen C 73 15 29 44 16 42 4 0 4 4 −1 2
28 Norm Dupont LW 62 13 25 38 −24 22 4 2 0 2 −3 0
9 Doug Smail LW 72 17 18 35 −22 55 4 0 0 0 0 0
17 Larry Hopkins LW 41 10 15 25 8 22 4 0 0 0 −5 2
7 Tim Watters D 69 2 22 24 13 97 4 0 1 1 −1 8
24 Ron Wilson C 39 3 13 16 −4 49 — — — — — —
14 Tim Trimper LW 74 8 8 16 −7 100 1 0 0 0 0 0
27 Don Spring D 78 0 16 16 −10 21 4 0 0 0 −8 4
21 Craig Levie D 40 4 9 13 2 48 — — — — — —
2 Moe Mantha D 25 0 12 12 −10 28 4 1 3 4 4 16
3 Bryan Maxwell D 45 1 9 10 −11 110 — — — — — —
11 Scott Arniel C 17 1 8 9 2 14 3 0 0 0 −1 0
18 Serge Savard† D 47 2 5 7 −9 26 4 0 0 0 −3 2
8 Jimmy Mann RW 37 3 2 5 −8 79 2 0 0 0 0 7
31 Ed Staniowski G 45 0 5 5 4 2 0 0 0 0
6 Barry Legge D 38 1 2 3 −6 57 — — — — — —
33 Doug Soetaert G 39 0 2 2 14 2 0 0 0 0
4 Barry Long D 5 0 2 2 −1 4 — — — — — —
26 Murray Eaves C 2 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — —
5 Dan Geoffrion RW 1 0 0 0 0 5 — — — — — —
16 Rick Bowness RW — — — — — — 1 0 0 0 −2 0

Goaltending

No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
31 Ed Staniowski 45 20 19 6 1405 174 3.96 .876 1 2637 2 0 2 42 12 6.05 .714 0 119
33 Doug Soetaert 39 13 14 8 1188 155 4.32 .870 2 2155 2 1 1 62 8 4.00 .871 0 120

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

July 3, 1981 To St. Louis Blues
Scott Campbell
John Markell 		To Winnipeg Jets
Bryan Maxwell
Ed Staniowski
Paul MacLean
July 15, 1981 To Vancouver Canucks
Ivan Hlinka 		To Winnipeg Jets
Brent Ashton
4th round pick in 1982 – Tom Martin
July 15, 1981 To Colorado Rockies
Brent Ashton
2nd round pick in 1982 – Dave Kasper 		To Winnipeg Jets
Lucien DeBlois
July 27, 1981 To Minnesota North Stars
Lindsay Middlebrook 		To Winnipeg Jets
Cash
September 8, 1981 To New York Rangers
3rd round pick in 1983 – Vesa Salo 		To Winnipeg Jets
Doug Soetaert
December 19, 1981 To Montreal Canadiens
6th round pick in 1982 – Ernie Vargas 		To Winnipeg Jets
Serge Savard

Waivers

October 5, 1981 From Montreal Canadiens
Craig Levie

Free agents

Acquired Player Former Team
Bengt Lundholm Undrafted Free Agent
Departing Player New Team
Michel Dion Pittsburgh Penguins

Draft picks

The Jets selected the following players at the 1981 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, on June 10, 1981.[5]

NHL amateur draft

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 1 Dale Hawerchuk (C)  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
2 22 Scott Arniel (LW)  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
3 43 Jyrki Seppa (D)  Finland Ilves Tampere (SM-liiga)
4 64 Kirk McCaskill (LW)  Canada University of Vermont (NCAA)
5 85 Marc Behrend (G)  United States University of Wisconsin (NCAA)
6 106 Bob O'Connor (G)  United States Boston College (NCAA)
7 127 Peter Nilsson (D)  Sweden Hammarby IK (SEL)
8 148 Dan McFall (D)  United States Buffalo Jr. Sabres (NYPJHL)
9 169 Greg Dick (D)  United States Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (NCAA)
10 190 Vladimir Kadlec (D)  Czechoslovakia HC Vitkovice (Czech.)
11 211 Dave Kirwin (D)  United States Irondale (MN) High School

See also

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1981-82 Winnipeg Jets Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  4. ^ "1981-82 Winnipeg Jets Results and Schedule". HockeyDB. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "1981 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
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