1992–93 Quebec Nordiques season

Offseason

The Eric Lindros trade

Main article: Eric Lindros trade

Eric Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 NHL entry draft. Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French. He went as far as to refuse to wear the team's jersey on draft day; the team selected him anyway.

The president of the Nordiques publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centerpiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out. Due to Lindros' popularity and hype, it is alleged that the NHL president intervened to get the Nordiques to trade him, as it would otherwise damage the image of the league. During the hold out, Lindros spent the time playing with the Oshawa Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal.

In 1992, the Nordiques worked out trades for him with both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. Eventually an arbitrator, Larry Bertuzzi (grand-uncle of Todd Bertuzzi), ruled in favour of the Flyers, for whom he played from 1992 to 2000, most of the time as the team's captain. The trade between the Nordiques and the Rangers that was ruled invalid by the arbitrator had Lindros being traded for Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck and three first round draft picks (1993, 1994 and 1995) and $12 million.

Regular season

Final standings

Playoffs

Montreal head coach Jacques Demers held himself to a promise he made to goaltender Patrick Roy earlier in the season and kept him as the starting goaltender despite a couple of weak goals allowed in the first two games of the series against the Nordiques. With the Canadiens staring a potential 3–0 series deficit to the rival Nords in the face, overtime in Game 3 was marked by two disputed goals that were reviewed by the video goal judge. The first review ruled that Stephan Lebeau had knocked the puck in with a high stick, but the second upheld the Habs' winning goal, as it was directed in by the skate of Quebec defenceman Alexei Gusarov, and not that of a Montreal player.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- |1||October 8, 1992||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) ||1–0–0||15,176 || |- |2||October 10, 1992||9–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators (1992–93) ||2–0–0||15,399 || |- |3||October 13, 1992||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1992–93) ||3–0–0||15,399 || |- |4||October 15, 1992||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1992–93) ||4–0–0||19,683 || |- |5||October 17, 1992||5–6 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1992–93) ||4–1–0||15,086 || |- |6||October 21, 1992||5–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1992–93) ||4–1–1||14,862 || |- |7||October 22, 1992||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1992–93) ||4–2–1||12,171 || |- |8||October 24, 1992||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1992–93) ||4–3–1||9,528 || |- |9||October 27, 1992||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1992–93) ||5–3–1||14,685 || |- |10||October 29, 1992||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1992–93) ||6–3–1||16,441 || |- |11||October 31, 1992||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1992–93) ||7–3–1||15,041 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 18, 1993 || 3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens || Nordiques lead 1–0 || 15,399 || |- | 2 || April 20, 1993 || 4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens || Nordiques lead 2–0 || 15,399 || |- | 3 || April 22, 1993 || 1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Nordiques lead 2–1 || 17,679 || |- | 4 || April 24, 1993 || 2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Series tied 2–2 || 17,955 || |- | 5 || April 26, 1993 || 4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens lead 3–2 || 15,399 || |- | 6 || April 28, 1993 || 2–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens win 4–2 || 17,959 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

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Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1992–93 season.

Trades

Waivers

Expansion Draft

Free agents

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Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks at the 1992 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Quebec.

References

References

1. [https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/QUE/1993.html 1992–93 Quebec Nordiques Roster and Statistics {{pipe Hockey-Reference.com] {{webarchive. link. (September 6, 2008)
2. New York Times. (June 27, 1993). "Islanders Pick Name With a Ring to It". New York Times.
3. Shawn P. Roarke, [http://www.nhl.com/futures/2006draft/lookback_91_053106.html A Look Back: 1991], NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2006. {{dead link. (June 2011)
4. (June 2016)
5. "1992-93 Quebec Nordiques Schedule".
6. "1992-93 Quebec Nordiques Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
7. "1992 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".