The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the 1992–93 regular season and playoffs to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the Stanley Cup. Twenty-four teams played 84 games each. It proved, at the time, to be the highest-scoring regular season in NHL history, as a total of 7,311 goals were scored. Twenty of the twenty-four teams scored three goals or more per game, and only two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks, allowed fewer than three goals per game. Only 63 shutouts were recorded during the regular season. The Montreal Canadiens won their league-leading 24th Cup by defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one. As of the end of the 2007–08 season, this is the last time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup.
This was the final season that the two conferences were known as the Wales and Campbell Conferences, and that the four divisions bore the names Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe. Both the conferences and the divisions would be renamed to reflect geography rather than the league's history for the following season. This was also the last year in which the playoff structure bracketed and seeded teams by division; they would be bracketed and seeded by conference (as in the NBA) for 1993-94.
This season saw two new clubs join the league: the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators were a revival of a previous NHL team of the same name and brought professional hockey back to Canada's capital, while the Tampa Bay franchise (headed by Hockey Hall of Fame brothers Phil and Tony Esposito) strengthened the NHL's presence in the U.S. Sun Belt, which had first started with the birth of the Los Angeles Kings in 1967.
All teams wore a commemorative patch this year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup.
On February 1, 1993, Gary Bettman became the first NHL Commissioner. Prior to this the title of the NHL's chief executive was "President."
Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets shattered the rookie scoring record by scoring 76 goals and 56 assists for 132 points this season. He was easily named the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year, and his goals and points marks remain the NHL rookie records to this day.
For the first time in his NHL career, Wayne Gretzky did not finish in the top 3 in scoring. A back injury limited Gretzky to 45 games in which he scored 65 points.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
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| Player | Team | GP | G | A | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh | 60 | 69 | 91 | 160 |
| Pat LaFontaine | Buffalo | 84 | 53 | 95 | 148 |
| Adam Oates | Boston | 84 | 45 | 97 | 142 |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit | 84 | 58 | 79 | 137 |
| Teemu Selanne | Winnipeg | 84 | 76 | 56 | 132 |
| Pierre Turgeon | NY Islanders | 83 | 58 | 74 | 132 |
| Alexander Mogilny | Buffalo | 77 | 76 | 51 | 127 |
| Doug Gilmour | Toronto | 83 | 32 | 95 | 127 |
| Luc Robitaille | Los Angeles | 84 | 63 | 62 | 125 |
| Mark Recchi | Philadelphia | 84 | 53 | 70 | 123 |
| Mats Sundin | Quebec | 80 | 47 | 67 | 114 |
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Potvin | Toronto | 48 | 2781 | 116 | 2 | 2.50 |
| Ed Belfour | Chicago | 71 | 4106 | 177 | 7 | 2.59 |
| Tom Barrasso | Pittsburgh | 63 | 3702 | 186 | 4 | 3.01 |
| Curtis Joseph | St. Louis | 68 | 3890 | 196 | 1 | 3.02 |
| Kay Whitmore | Vancouver | 31 | 1817 | 94 | 1 | 3.10 |
| Dominik Hasek | Buffalo | 28 | 1429 | 75 | 0 | 3.15 |
| Andy Moog | Boston | 55 | 3194 | 168 | 3 | 3.16 |
| Jeff Reese | Calgary | 26 | 1311 | 70 | 1 | 3.20 |
| Patrick Roy | Montreal | 62 | 3595 | 192 | 2 | 3.20 |
| Daren Puppa | Buffalo/Toronto | 32 | 1785 | 96 | 2 | 3.23 |
See main article: 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs.
See main article: 1993 Stanley Cup Finals.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1 | Los Angeles | 4 | Montreal | 1 | |
| June 3 | Los Angeles | 2 | Montreal | 3 | (OT) |
| June 5 | Montreal | 4 | Los Angeles | 3 | (OT) |
| June 7 | Montreal | 3 | Los Angeles | 2 | (OT) |
| June 9 | Los Angeles | 1 | Montreal | 4 |
One of the biggest controversies that is still in argument today is the possible winner of the Clarence Campbell Conference and the 100th Stanley Cup. During the Semi-Final match-up, Wayne Gretzky delivered a High-Stick to the face of Doug Gilmour during a Face-off which had drawn blood and required four stitches. According to Official NHL Rules and Guidelines as of the 1992–93 NHL Season, 'If the Referee is not in clear view of an interaction, the wrongful player(s) is removed from play by the Linesmen. If a Referee is in clear view of the interaction, then the wrongful player(s) will receive a two minute penalty'.
Since the Match-up was a Semi-Final Playoff Game, as well as the sensitivity of the parties involved, a two minute penalty would have sufficed by even the official rule book. Instead, Wayne Gretzky did not receive a dismissal from the game nor a penalty.
As the controversy stands, if Wayne Gretzky had received a Dismissal from the game, or at the very least a Two Minute Penalty as opposed to nothing, Toronto would have possibly won Game 6 in Los Angeles because Wayne Gretzky went ahead to score the game winning goal during the Overtime Period. Toronto would have proceeded on to play the Montreal Canadiens for the 100th Stanley Cup.
According the 1992–93 NHL Season Statistics of the previous Match-ups of the Toronto Maple Leafs versus Montreal Canadiens, Toronto was predicted to win.
| Date | Score | City | Arena | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 13, 1992 | Calgary Flames 4, Minnesota North Stars 3 | Saskatoon, Sask. | SaskPlace | 8,783 | |
| October 20, 1992 | Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Ottawa Senators 3 | Hamilton, ON | Copps Coliseum | 7,186 | |
| November 3, 1992 | Washington Capitals 4, Chicago Blackhawks 1 | Indianapolis, IN | Market Square Arena | 8,792 | |
| November 17, 1992 | Quebec Nordiques 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 | Hamilton, ON | Copps Coliseum | 17,026* | |
| November 18, 1992 | New Jersey Devils 3, Buffalo Sabres 2 | Hamilton, ON | Copps Coliseum | 6,972 | |
| December 1, 1992 | Los Angeles Kings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 3 | Milwaukee, WI | Bradley Center | - | |
| December 8, 1992 | Montréal Canadiens 5, Los Angeles Kings 5 (OT) | Phoenix, AZ | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 12,276 | |
| December 9, 1992 | New York Rangers 6, Tampa Bay Lightning 5 | Miami, FL | Miami Arena | 12,842 | |
| December 13, 1992 | New York Islanders 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 | Oklahoma City, OK | Myriad Convention Center | 11,110 | |
| December 15, 1992 | St. Louis Blues 4, New York Islanders 3 | Dallas, TX | Reunion Arena | - | |
| January 4, 1993 | Montréal Canadiens 2, San Jose Sharks 1 | Sacramento, CA | ARCO Arena | 11,814 | |
| January 18, 1993 | Winnipeg Jets 8, Hartford Whalers 7 | Saskatoon, Sask. | SaskPlace | 7,756 | |
| February 8, 1993 | Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Boston Bruins 0 | Atlanta, GA | The Omni | 12,572 | |
| February 9, 1993 | St. Louis Blues 3, Hartford Whalers 1 | Peoria, IL | Carver Arena | 9,013 | original date Dec. 29th in Birmingham, AL |
| February 16, 1993 | Calgary Flames 4, Philadelphia Flyers 4 (OT) | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Coliseum | - | |
| February 19, 1993 | Quebec Nordiques 5, Tampa Bay Lightning 2 | Halifax, N.S. | Halifax Metro Centre | 9,584 | |
| February 22, 1993 | Detroit Red Wings 5, Philadelphia Flyers 5 (OT) | Cleveland, OH | Richfield Coliseum | 13,382 | |
| February 22, 1993 | New York Rangers 4, San Jose Sharks 0 | Sacramento, CA | ARCO Arena | 13,633 | |
| February 23, 1993 | Winnipeg Jets 8, Ottawa Senators 2 | Saskatoon, Sask. | SaskPlace | - | |
| March 1, 1993 | Vancouver Canucks 5, Buffalo Sabres 2 | Hamilton, Ont. | Copps Coliseum | 17,098* | |
| March 11, 1993 | Minnesota North Stars 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 | Saskatoon, Sask. | SaskPlace | 12,006* | |
| March 16, 1993 | Washington Capitals 4, Detroit Red Wings 2 | Milwaukee, WI | Bradley Center | - | |
| March 16, 1993 | Boston Bruins 3, New Jersey Devils 1 | Providence, RI | Providence Civic Center | - | |
| March 21, 1993 | Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Edmonton Oilers 4 | Cleveland, OH | Richfield Coliseum | 18,782* |
* Equalled existing record
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1992–93 (listed with their first team):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1992–93 (listed with their last team):
Trading deadline: March 22, 1993.[1]