1982–83 Winnipeg Jets season

Offseason

After a very successful 1981–82 season, in which the club made the playoffs for the first time since joining the NHL in 1979, the Jets had a quiet off-season. With the Colorado Rockies moving to East Rutherford, New Jersey and becoming the New Jersey Devils, the NHL underwent realignment, and the Jets were shifted from the Norris Division back to the Smythe Division, where the team spent their first two seasons from 1979 to 1981. Winnipeg joined the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks to form the five team division.

On May 9, 1982, the team signed undrafted free agent goaltender Brian Hayward, who had spent the past four seasons with the Cornell Big Red, going 42-27-2 with a 3.88 GAA in his time with the team. On June 9, 1982, the Jets participated in the 1982 NHL entry draft, and with the 12th overall pick in the draft, the team picked defenseman Jim Kyte from the Cornwall Royals of the OHL. Kyte, a big, stay-at-home defenseman, had four goals and 17 points in 52 games in his rookie season with Cornwall in 1981–82.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- |1||L||October 6, 1982||4–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1982–83) ||0–1–0 ||14,347 |- |2||W||October 9, 1982||8–0 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1982–83) ||1–1–0 ||10,509 |- |3||W||October 10, 1982||5–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1982–83) ||2–1–0 ||14,564 |- |4||L||October 12, 1982||3–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) ||2–2–0 ||10,491 |- |5||W||October 14, 1982||5–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1982–83) ||3–2–0 ||10,153 |- |6||T||October 17, 1982||5–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1982–83) ||3–2–1 ||11,526 |- |7||W||October 22, 1982||3–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1982–83) ||4–2–1 ||12,534 |- |8||W||October 24, 1982||9–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1982–83) ||5–2–1 ||13,965 |- |9||W||October 27, 1982||7–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1982–83) ||6–2–1 ||12,325 |- |10||L||October 31, 1982||2–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1982–83) ||6–3–1 ||10,986

| Legend:

Playoffs

The Jets faced the Smythe Division champion Edmonton Oilers in the Division semi-finals. The Oilers swept the Jets in three games.

Player statistics

Transactions

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

|}

Draft picks

Winnipeg selected the following players at the 1982 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal on June 9, 1982.

NHL amateur draft

Farm teams

Sherbrooke Jets

References

References

1. "1982-83 Winnipeg Jets Schedule".
2. "1982-83 Winnipeg Jets Results and Schedule".
3. "1982 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.