1987–88 NHL season

Entry draft

The 1987 NHL entry draft was held on June 13, at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. This was the first draft held in the United States instead of in Canada. Pierre Turgeon was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres.

Regular season

This was Wayne Gretzky's final season with the Edmonton Oilers and, as injuries held him out of 20% of the season, this would be the only season of the decade in which he was not the winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy and the first season of his career that he did not hold or share the league lead in points. Mario Lemieux would capture his first Hart Trophy and lead the league in scoring.

On December 8, Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers became the first goalie to directly score a goal, shooting the puck into an empty net after their opponent had pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker.

On December 19, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins combined to score two goals in two seconds. The Bruins were trailing 6-4 in the third period when Ken Linseman scored with 10 seconds remaining, followed by Blues center Doug Gilmour scoring off the resulting faceoff into an empty net.

The New Jersey Devils qualified for the playoffs for the first time, since their move from Denver in 1982.

Linesman John D'Amico retires after the season, becoming the last on-ice official from the Original Six era.

Final standings

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.

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

Main article: 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs

Bracket

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Awards

The NHL introduced a new trophy, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which was to be awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community.

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals

Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage

Source: Quanthockey.com

Coaches

Patrick Division

• New Jersey Devils: Doug Carpenter and Jim Schoenfeld
• New York Islanders: Terry Simpson
• New York Rangers: Michel Bergeron
• Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Keenan and Paul Holmgren
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Pierre Creamer
• Washington Capitals: Bryan Murray

Adams Division

• Boston Bruins: Terry O'Reilly
• Buffalo Sabres: Ted Sator
• Hartford Whalers: Jack Evans
• Montreal Canadiens: Jean Perron
• Quebec Nordiques: Andre Savard and Ron Lapointe

Norris Division

• Chicago Blackhawks: Bob Murdoch
• Detroit Red Wings: Jacques Demers
• Minnesota North Stars: Herb Brooks
• St. Louis Blues: Jacques Martin
• Toronto Maple Leafs: John Brophy

Smythe Division

• Calgary Flames: Terry Crisp
• Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
• Los Angeles Kings: Robbie Ftorek
• Vancouver Canucks: Bob McCammon
• Winnipeg Jets: Dan Maloney

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1987–88:

• Tommy Albelin, Quebec Nordiques
• Rob Brown, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Sean Burke, New Jersey Devils
• Adam Graves, Detroit Red Wings
• Jiri Hrdina, Calgary Flames
• Craig Janney, Boston Bruins
• Calle Johansson, Buffalo Sabres
• Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
• Jeff Norton, New York Islanders
• Luke Richardson, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Mathieu Schneider, Montreal Canadiens
• Brendan Shanahan, New Jersey Devils
• Ray Sheppard, Buffalo Sabres
• Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ron Tugnutt, Quebec Nordiques
• Pierre Turgeon, Buffalo Sabres
• Glen Wesley, Boston Bruins
• Trent Yawney, Chicago Blackhawks
• Scott Young, Hartford Whalers
• Zarley Zalapski, Pittsburgh Penguins

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1987–88:

• Bob Bourne, Los Angeles Kings
• Richard Brodeur, Hartford Whalers
• Clark Gillies, Buffalo Sabres
• Doug Jarvis, Hartford Whalers
• Pierre Larouche, New York Rangers
• Dave Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
• Gilles Meloche, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins
• Wilf Paiement, Pittsburgh Penguins (The last active player to have been a member of the Kansas City Scouts.)
• Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
• Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
• Dave Semenko, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Charlie Simmer, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
• Perry Turnbull, St. Louis Blues
• Tiger Williams, Hartford Whalers

Firsts

• Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers, First goaltender in NHL history to shoot and score a goal.

Broadcasting

In Canada, the cable network TSN began airing a schedule of Monday and Thursday night regular season games. The Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC continued to air Saturday night regular season games. This was the last season of the Carling O'Keefe-sponsored telecasts on Canwest/Global, with Global airing selected regular season games between January and March. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs were split between CBC and Global, with the later branding its postseason broadcasts as Stanley Cup '88. Carling O'Keefe's rights expired at the end of the season, and 1989 merger between Molson and Carling O'Keefe eventually put an end to the competition.

This was the third and final season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN, airing up to 33 regular season games each season as well as the All-Star Game and the playoffs. SportsChannel America then signed a three-year contract to take over the rights from ESPN.

References

• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley ;Notes

References

1. The original fourth game was cancelled (score was tied) while in progress, due to a rink electrical outage. The original fourth game stats were not counted. The fourth game was rescheduled and replayed.
2. "Etched in Stone: The Top 20 Most Unbreakable Records in NHL History". Bleacherreport.com.
3. [http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/seasons/1987-88-nhl-goalies-stats.html NHL Goaltender Leaders During 1987-88 Season. QuantHockey.com]
4. Matsumoto, Rick. (August 5, 1987). "Brian Propp determined to make Team Canada". Toronto Star.
5. (July 30, 1985). "ESPN acquires NHL games Backroom bickering in TV deal". The Globe and Mail.
6. (July 26, 1985). "NHL Finds a Home at ESPN". Philadelphia Daily News.
7. (April 2, 1991). "The News - Apr 2, 1991". news.google.com.