1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins
1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	8th Wales
1981–82 record	31-36-13
Goals for	310
Goals against	337
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Eddie Johnston
Captain	Randy Carlyle
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Paul Gardner &; Mike Bullard (36)
Assists	Randy Carlyle (64)
Points	Rick Kehoe (85)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (409)
Wins	Michel Dion (25)
Goals against average	Gary Edwards (3.67)
	← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The 1981–82 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 15th in the National Hockey League. The qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight year, but lost in the opening round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders three games to two. This would be the Penguins last playoff appearance until 1989.

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	54	16	10	385	250	118
New York Rangers	80	39	27	14	316	306	92
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	31	11	325	313	87
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	31	36	13	310	337	75
Washington Capitals	80	26	41	13	319	338	65

^[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.

Schedule and results

1981–82 Schedule

October: 5–7–2 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 1–5–2), 12 Points

November: 7–1–2 (Home: 5–0–1 ; Road: 2–1–1), 16 Points

December: 4–7–2 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 0–5–1), 10 Points

January: 5–8–2 (Home: 4–1–1 ; Road: 1–7–1), 12 Points

February: 3–8–2 (Home: 2–4–2 ; Road: 1–4–0), 8 Points

March: 5–5–3 (Home: 1–2–3 ; Road: 4–3–0), 13 Points

April: 2–0–0 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 1–0–0), 4 Points

Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins lost in the division semi-final round (3-2) versus the New York Islanders.

April 7

Pittsburgh Penguins

1–8

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

April 8

Pittsburgh Penguins

2–7

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

April 10

New York Islanders

1–2

OT

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Civic Arena

April 11

New York Islanders

2–5

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Civic Arena

April 13

Pittsburgh Penguins

3–4

OT

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

New York won series 3–2

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season^[2]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Rick Kehoe	71	33	52	85	–27	8
Randy Carlyle	73	11	64	75	–16	131
Pat Boutette	80	23	51	74	–23	230
Paul Gardner	59	36	33	69	–7	28
Mike Bullard	75	36	27	63	–1	91
George Ferguson	71	22	31	53	–6	45
Paul Baxter	76	9	34	43	–9	409
Greg Malone	78	15	24	39	–24	125
Pat Price	77	7	31	38	2	322
Peter Lee	74	18	16	34	–8	98
Rick MacLeish^†	40	13	12	25	–7	28
Doug Shedden	38	10	15	25	–2	12
Gregg Sheppard	58	11	10	21	9	35
Rod Schutt	35	9	12	21	3	42
Mark Johnson^‡	46	10	11	21	–14	30
Ron Stackhouse	76	2	19	21	–11	102
Bobby Simpson	26	9	9	18	–3	4
Steve Gatzos	16	6	8	14	0	14
Pat Graham	42	6	8	14	–1	55
André St. Laurent^†	18	8	5	13	5	4
Mario Faubert	14	4	8	12	–2	14
Greg Hotham^†	25	4	6	10	–6	16
Paul Mulvey^‡	27	1	7	8	–7	76
Jim Hamilton	11	5	3	8	2	2
Marc Chorney	60	1	6	7	–11	63
Kevin McClelland	10	1	4	5	6	4
Randy Boyd	23	0	2	2	–5	49
Russ Anderson^‡	31	0	1	1	–4	98
Tony Feltrin	4	0	0	0	–3	4
Dave Hannan	1	0	0	0	–2	0
Bennett Wolf	1	0	0	0	0	2
Gary Rissling	16	0	0	0	–2	55
Total		310	509	819	—	2,196

Playoffs^[3]
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Paul Gardner	5	1	5	6	0	2
Rick Kehoe	5	2	3	5	0	2
Randy Carlyle	5	1	3	4	0	16
Pat Boutette	5	3	1	4	0	8
Rod Schutt	5	1	2	3	0	0
Greg Hotham	5	0	3	3	0	6
André St. Laurent	5	2	1	3	0	8
Rick MacLeish	5	1	1	2	0	0
Mike Bullard	5	1	1	2	0	4
Kevin McClelland	5	1	1	2	0	5
George Ferguson	5	0	1	1	0	0
Randy Boyd	3	0	0	0	0	11
Pat Graham	4	0	0	0	0	2
Peter Lee	3	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Gatzos	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ron Stackhouse	1	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Baxter	5	0	0	0	0	14
Greg Malone	3	0	0	0	0	4
Bobby Simpson	2	0	0	0	0	0
Marc Chorney	5	0	0	0	0	0
Pat Price	5	0	0	0	0	28
Total		13	22	35	—	110

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[4]
Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Michel Dion	62	25	24	12	226	0
Gary Edwards^†	6	3	2	1	22	1
Paul Harrison^‡	13	3	7	0	64	0
Nick Ricci	3	0	3	0	14	0
Total		31	36	13	326	1

Playoffs^[5]
Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Michel Dion	5	2	3	0	22	0
Total		2	3	0	22	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Paul Baxter became the first Penguins player to receive 400 penalty minutes in a season. He did so in a 7–2 loss to New York on April 4th, finishing the season with 409 PIMs.
Mike Bullard established a new franchise rookie record for goals with 36. He topped the previous high of 31 held by Pierre Larouche.
Ron Stackhouse established a franchise record for goals (66), assists (277) and points (343) by a defenseman. He had led in all categories since the mid-1970s.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1981–82 season:

Trades

September 11, 1981	To Toronto Maple Leafs 1982 4th round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Paul Harrison
September 28, 1981	To New York Islanders Rob Holland	To Pittsburgh Penguins future considerations
December 29, 1981	To Hartford Whalers Russ Anderson 1983 8th round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rick MacLeish
February 3, 1982	To Toronto Maple Leafs 1983 5th round pick future considerations (1982 6th round pick)	To Pittsburgh Penguins Greg Hotham
February 14, 1982	To St. Louis Blues 1984 8th round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins right to claim Gary Edwards off waivers from Blues without having to pay a cash waiver price
March 2, 1982	To Minnesota North Stars Mark Johnson	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1982 2nd round pick

Additions and subtractions

Additions
Player	Former team	Via
Pat Boutette	Hartford Whalers	compensation for signing of Greg Millen (1981-06-29)
Kevin McClelland	Hartford Whalers	compensation for signing of Greg Millen (1981-06-29)
Michel Dion	Winnipeg Jets	free agency (1981-06-30)
Paul Mulvey	Washington Capitals	compensation for signing of Orest Kindrachuk (1981-09-04)
Bobby Simpson	St. Louis Blues	free agency (1981-10-01)
Gary Edwards	St. Louis Blues	waivers (1982-02-14)
Andre St. Laurent	Los Angeles Kings	waivers (1982-02-23)

Subtractions
Player	New team	Via
Greg Millen	Hartford Whalers	free agency (1981-06-15)
Orest Kindrachuk	Washington Capitals	free agency (1981-09-04)
Paul Mulvey	Los Angeles Kings	waivers (1981-12-30)
Paul Harrison	St. Louis Blues	waivers (1982-02-08)

Roster

#	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
4	Paul Baxter	D	R	26	1975	Winnipeg, Manitoba
15	Patrick Boutette	LW	R	30	1972	Windsor, Ontario
8	Randy Boyd	D	L	20	1980	Coniston, Ontario
22	Michael Bullard	C	L	21	1980	Ottawa, Ontario
25	Randy Carlyle (C)	D	L	26	1976	Sudbury, Ontario
16	Marc Chorney	D	L	22	1979	Sudbury, Ontario
29	Michel Dion	G	R	28	Undrafted	Granby, Quebec
30	Gary Edwards	G	R	34	1968	Toronto, Ontario
5	Mario Faubert	D	R	27	1974	Valleyfield, Quebec
33	Tony Feltrin	D	L	20	1980	Ladysmith, British Columbia
11	George Ferguson	C	R	29	1972	Trenton, Ontario
20	Paul Gardner	C	L	26	1976	Fort Erie, Ontario
26	Steve Gatzos	RW	R	20	1981	Toronto, Ontario
24	Pat Graham	LW	R	20	1980	Toronto, Ontario
23	James Hamilton	RW	L	25	1977	Barrie, Ontario
32	David Hannan	C	L	20	1981	Sudbury, Ontario
6	Gregory Hotham	D	R	26	1976	London, Ontario
17	Rick Kehoe	RW	R	30	1971	Windsor, Ontario
10	Peter Lee	RW	R	26	1976	Ellesmere, Great Britain
7	Richard Macleish	C	R	32	1970	Lindsay, Ontario
12	William Malone	C	L	26	1976	Fredericton, New Brunswick
18	Kevin McClelland	RW	R	19	1980	Oshawa, Ontario
2	Pat Price	D	L	27	1975	Nelson, British Columbia
31	Nick Ricci	G	R	28	1979	Niagara Falls, Ontario
23	Gary Rissling	LW	R	25	Undrafted	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
27	Rodney Schutt	LW	L	25	1976	Bancroft, Ontario
14	Douglas Shedden	C	R	21	1980	Wallaceburg, Ontario
19	Gregory Sheppard	C	L	33	Undrafted	North Battleford, Saskatchewan
28	Robert Simpson	LW	R	25	1976	Caughnawaga, Quebec
34	Andre St. Laurent	C	R	29	1973	Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
3	Ronald Stackhouse	D	R	32	1969	Haliburton, Ontario
6	Bennett Wolf	D	R	22	1979	Kitchener, Ontario

Draft picks

The 1981 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 10, 1981 in Montreal, Quebec.^[6]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	28	Steve Gatzos	Right Wing	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
3	49	Tom Thornbury	Right Wing	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHL)
4	70	Norm Schmidt	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
6	109	Paul Edwards	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
6	112	Rod Buskas	Defense	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
7	133	Geoff Wilson	Left Wing	Canada	Winnipeg Warriors (WHL)
8	154	Mitch Lamoureux	Center	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9	175	Dean DeFazio	Left Wing	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHL)
10	196	David Hannan	Center	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OHL)

References

Penguins on Hockey Database

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
^ "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
^ "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
^ "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
^ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[2] "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.

[3] "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.

[4] "1981–1982 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.

[5] "1981–1982 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.

[6] "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved June 27, 2014.

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v t e Pittsburgh Penguins seasons
1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

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

v t e Pittsburgh Penguins
Founded in 1967 Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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