1981–82 Winnipeg Jets season

NHL hockey team season

1981–82 Winnipeg Jets

Division| 2nd Norris
Conference| Campbell
1981–82 record| 33–33–14
Goals for| 319
Goals against| 332
Team information
General manager| John Ferguson
Coach| Tom Watt
Captain| Dave Christian
Alternate captains| None
Minor league affiliate(s)| Tulsa Oilers (CHL)

<- 1980–81

1982–83 ->

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

[edit]

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

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### Final standings

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Norris Division | GP  | W  | L  | T  | GF  | GA  | Pts

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Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 37 | 23 | 20 | 346 | 288 | 94
Winnipeg Jets | 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

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Norris Division record vs. opponents

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Norris Division

| 1981–82 NHL records[2]

Team  | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | WIN | Total
Chicago | — | 3−3−1 | 3−3−1 | 2−4−1 | 3−4 | 2−3−2 | 13−17−5
Detroit | 3−3−1 | — | 1−6 | 2−5 | 3−3−1 | 2−3−2 | 11−20−4
Minnesota | 3−3−1 | 6−1 | — | 3−3−1 | 4−0−3 | 3−3−1 | 19−10−6
St. Louis | 4−2−1 | 5−2 | 3−3−1 | — | 5−2 | 1−4−2 | 18−13−4
Toronto | 4−3 | 3−3−1 | 0−4−3 | 2−5 | — | 2−4−1 | 11−19−5
Winnipeg | 3−2−2 | 3−2−2 | 3−3−1 | 4−1−2 | 4−2−1 | — | 17−10−8

Vs. Smythe Division

| 1981–82 NHL records

Team  | CGY | COL | EDM | LAK | VAN | Total
Chicago | 2−0−1 | 1−2 | 1−1−1 | 3−0 | 1−2 | 8−5−2
Detroit | 1−1−1 | 3−0 | 0−2−1 | 1−2 | 1−1−1 | 6−6−3
Minnesota | 1−0−2 | 1−0−2 | 0−2−1 | 2−0−1 | 1−1−1 | 5−3−7
St. Louis | 2−1 | 2−1 | 0−3 | 1−2 | 2−1 | 7−8−0
Toronto | 0−1−2 | 1−0−2 | 1−2 | 2−1 | 0−2−1 | 4−6−5
Winnipeg | 2−1 | 2−1 | 1−2 | 3−0 | 1−2 | 9−6−0

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

| 1981–82 NHL records

Team  | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total
Chicago | 2−1 | 1−2 | 1−1−1 | 0−2−1 | 1−2 | 5−8−2
Detroit | 0−2−1 | 0−3 | 0−2−1 | 1−2 | 0−3 | 1−12−2
Minnesota | 2−1 | 1−1−1 | 2−1 | 0−1−2 | 2−0−1 | 7−4−4
St. Louis | 1−1−1 | 1−2 | 1−2 | 0−2−1 | 1−2 | 4−9−2
Toronto | 0−3 | 0−2−1 | 0−3 | 0−2−1 | 1−1−1 | 1−11−3
Winnipeg | 0−3 | 0−1−2 | 1−2 | 0−1−2 | 0−2−1 | 1−9−5

Vs. Patrick Division

| 1981–82 NHL records

Team  | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total
Chicago | 0−3 | 0−3 | 1−1−1 | 1−0−2 | 2−1 | 4−8−3
Detroit | 0−3 | 1−2 | 0−2−1 | 2−1 | 0−1−2 | 3−9−3
Minnesota | 0−2−1 | 1−2 | 1−1−1 | 2−1 | 2−0−1 | 6−6−3
St. Louis | 0−2−1 | 0−2−1 | 0−3 | 2−1 | 1−2 | 3−10−2
Toronto | 0−3 | 1−1−1 | 1−2 | 1−0−2 | 1−2 | 4−8−3
Winnipeg | 1−2 | 1−1−1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1−2 | 6–8–1

## Schedule and results

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[3]

No.  | R  | Date  | Score  | Opponent  | Record  | Attendance

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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
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
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
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
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
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
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

## Playoffs

[edit]

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

## Player statistics

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

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## Awards and records

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* Calder Memorial Trophy: Dale Hawerchuk
* Jack Adams Award: Tom Watt

## Transactions

[edit]

### Trades

[edit]

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

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October 5, 1981  | From Montreal Canadiens

* * *

Craig Levie

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### Free agents

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Acquired Player | Former Team

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Bengt Lundholm | Undrafted Free Agent
Departing Player | New Team

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Michel Dion | Pittsburgh Penguins

## Draft picks

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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.[4]

### NHL Amateur Draft

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Round  | Pick  | Player  | Nationality  | College/Junior/Club team

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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

## Farm teams

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

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## See also

[edit]

* 1981–82 NHL season

## References

[edit]

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 Results and Schedule". HockeyDB. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
4. ^ "1981 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

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Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) seasons

1970s|

* 1970–71 . 1971–72 . 1972–73
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1980s|

* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
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* 1987–88
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* 1989–90

1990s|

* 1990–91
* 1991–92
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* 1993–94
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* v
* t
* e

1981–82 NHL season

Patrick|

* NY Islanders
* NY Rangers
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* Washington

Adams|

* Boston
* Buffalo
* Hartford
* Montreal
* Quebec

Norris|

* Chicago
* Detroit
* Minnesota
* St. Louis
* Toronto
* Winnipeg

Smythe|

* Calgary
* Colorado
* Edmonton
* Los Angeles
* Vancouver

See also|

* Draft
* Waiver draft
* All-Star Game
* Stanley Cup playoffs
* Miracle on Manchester
* Towel Power
* Stanley Cup Finals

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