The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-two teams each played 80 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, winning a best of seven series 4–0 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
As mentioned above, 1991-92 was the 75th anniversary season for the NHL. Accordingly, all players wore a patch on their uniforms depicting the NHL 75th anniversary logo (seen at above right) for this season.
This was the first season for the San Jose Sharks, the first expansion team in the NHL since 1979. The birth of the Sharks returned NHL hockey to the San Francisco Bay Area after the California Golden Seals had relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1976.
This was also the last season for John Ziegler as NHL President. He would be succeeded by Gil Stein, who held the position for one year before being replaced by Gary Bettman.
New York Rangers defenceman Brian Leetch became the fifth, and last as of 2008, defenceman to score 100 points in a season. He finished the season with 102 points and captured the Norris Trophy.
For the first time, the NHL finished play in the month of June. A primary reason for this is the 10-day NHL strike that started on April 1. The games that were supposed to be played during the strike, which was the first work-stoppage in NHL history, weren't canceled. They were rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 93 | 267 | 207 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 36 | 32 | 12 | 84 | 270 | 275 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 31 | 37 | 12 | 74 | 289 | 299 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 65 | 247 | 283 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 20 | 48 | 12 | 52 | 255 | 318 |
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Rangers | 80 | 50 | 25 | 5 | 105 | 321 | 246 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 98 | 330 | 275 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 39 | 32 | 9 | 87 | 343 | 308 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 38 | 31 | 11 | 87 | 289 | 259 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 34 | 35 | 11 | 79 | 291 | 299 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 32 | 37 | 11 | 75 | 252 | 273 |
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 43 | 25 | 12 | 98 | 320 | 256 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 80 | 36 | 29 | 15 | 87 | 257 | 236 |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 36 | 33 | 11 | 83 | 279 | 266 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6 | 70 | 246 | 278 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 30 | 43 | 7 | 67 | 234 | 294 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 96 | 285 | 250 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 35 | 31 | 14 | 84 | 287 | 296 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 36 | 34 | 10 | 82 | 295 | 297 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 81 | 251 | 244 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 31 | 37 | 12 | 74 | 296 | 305 |
| San Jose Sharks | 80 | 17 | 58 | 5 | 39 | 219 | 359 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh | 64 | 44 | 87 | 131 | |
| Kevin Stevens | Pittsburgh | 80 | 54 | 69 | 123 | |
| Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles | 74 | 31 | 90 | 121 | |
| Brett Hull | St. Louis | 73 | 70 | 39 | 109 | |
| Luc Robitaille | Los Angeles | 80 | 44 | 63 | 107 | |
| Mark Messier | NY Rangers | 79 | 35 | 72 | 107 | |
| Jeremy Roenick | Chicago | 80 | 53 | 50 | 103 | |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit | 79 | 45 | 58 | 103 | |
| Brian Leetch | NY Rangers | 80 | 22 | 80 | 102 | |
| Adam Oates | St. Louis/Boston | 80 | 20 | 79 | 99 |
Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average
| Sv% | GAA | |||||||||
| Patrick Roy | Montreal | 67 | 3935 | 36 | 22 | 8 | 155 | 5 | .914 | 2.36 |
| Ed Belfour | Chicago | 52 | 2928 | 21 | 18 | 10 | 132 | 5 | .894 | 2.70 |
| Kirk McLean | Vancouver | 65 | 3852 | 38 | 17 | 9 | 176 | 5 | .901 | 2.74 |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | NY Rangers | 45 | 2526 | 27 | 13 | 3 | 120 | 2 | .910 | 2.85 |
| Bob Essensa | Winnipeg | 47 | 2627 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 126 | 5 | .910 | 2.88 |
See main article: 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Note: All dates in 1992
See main article: 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. The series was held between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins won in four games, three out of four won by a one-goal margin. Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP.
| Pittsburgh vs. Chicago | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Away | Home | |
| May 26 | Chicago 4 | 5 Pittsburgh | |
| May 28 | Chicago 1 | 3 Pittsburgh | |
| May 30 | Pittsburgh 1 | 0 Chicago | |
| June 1 | Pittsburgh 6 | 5 Chicago | |
As part of the NHL's 75th anniversary celebration, and taking cues from Major League Baseball's "Turn Back The Clock" uniform program, throwback uniforms were worn by Original Six teams for select games, and throwbacks were also worn for the All-Star Game.
The uniform styles that were worn include:
The throwback uniforms would have an impact on future seasons in the NHL, as several teams adopted throwbacks as alternate jerseys. The National Football League and National Basketball Association would follow the NHL's lead, with teams wearing throwbacks to celebrate their leagues' 75th and 50th anniversaries, respectively.
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991–92 (listed with their first team):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1991–92 (listed with their last team):