1983–84 Montreal Canadiens season

NHL hockey team season

1983–84 Montreal Canadiens
Division4th Adams
Conference8th Wales
1983–84 record35–40–5
Goals for286
Goals against295
Team information
General managerSerge Savard
CoachBob Berry
Jacques Lemaire
CaptainBob Gainey
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsGuy Lafleur (30)
AssistsGuy Lafleur (40)
PointsGuy Lafleur (70)
Penalty minutesChris Nilan (338)
Plus/minusBill Root (+26)
WinsRick Wamsley (19)
Goals against averageRichard Sevigny (3.38)

The 1983–84 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 75th season of play in the National Hockey League. The team struggled on the ice and, for the first time ever in the expansion era, finished the regular season with a losing record. Coach Bob Berry was fired 63 games into the season and replaced with former Canadiens great Jacques Lemaire.

The club placed fourth in its division, which was still good enough to qualify for the playoffs ahead of the last place Hartford Whalers. The Habs then stunned their heavily favoured rivals, the Boston Bruins with a 3–0 sweep in the opening round. With the upset, Montreal recorded their first playoff series victory since 1980. Then they defeated their provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques in the Adams final, in a series notorious for the two bench clearing brawls before the third period of game 6. The Canadiens were finally eliminated in the Prince of Wales Conference finals by the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders in six games.

Regular season

Final standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Boston Bruins 80 49 25 6 336 261 104
Buffalo Sabres 80 48 25 7 315 257 103
Quebec Nordiques 80 42 28 10 360 278 94
Montreal Canadiens 80 35 40 5 286 295 75
Hartford Whalers 80 28 42 10 288 320 66

[1]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.

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1983–84 NHL records[2]
Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total
Boston — 4–4 5–2–1 6–2 4–4 19–12–1
Buffalo 4–4 — 5–3 8–0 1–6–1 18–13–1
Hartford 2–5–1 3–5 — 0–7−1 1–3−4 6–20–6
Montreal 2–6 0–8 7–0−1 — 3–5 12–19–1
Quebec 4–4 6–1–1 3–1−4 5–3 — 18–9–5

Vs. Patrick Division

1983–84 NHL records
Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total
Boston 2−1 2−0−1 2−0–1 1−1−1 3−0 2−1 12−3−3
Buffalo 2−0−1 0−3 1−1−1 3−0 3−0 2−0−1 11−4−3
Hartford 1−1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 1−2 9−8−1
Montreal 2−1 0−3 2–1 0−2−1 2−0−1 0−3 6−10−2
Quebec 2−1 2−1 0−2–1 0−2−1 3−0 2−1 9−7−2

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1983–84 NHL records
Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total
Boston 1–2 2–1 1–2 3–0 1–2 8–7–0
Buffalo 1−2 1−1−1 1−2 2−1 2−0−1 7−6−2
Hartford 2–1 1–1−1 3−0 2–1 2–1 10–4–1
Montreal 2−0–1 3−0 1–2 3–0 2−1 11–3–1
Quebec 1–1−1 1–2 2–0−1 2–0–1 2–1 8–4–3

Vs. Smythe Division

1983–84 NHL records
Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total
Boston 2−0−1 1−2 3−0 2−0−1 2−1 10−3−2
Buffalo 3−0 1–2 2−0−1 3−0 3−0 12−2−1
Hartford 0−2–1 1–2 2–1 0–3 0–2–1 3–10–2
Montreal 2−1 1−2 1−2 1–2 1−1−1 6−8−1
Quebec 2−1 0−3 3−0 1−2 1−2 7−8−0


Schedule and results

Regular season

1983–84 game log
October: 4–7–0 (home: 1–4–0; road: 3–3–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
1 October 6, 1983 NY Islanders 7–4 Montreal Wamsley Montreal Forum
16,685		 0–1–0 0
2 October 8, 1983 Philadelphia 6–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 0–2–0 0
3 October 10, 1983 Montreal 6–4 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 1–2–0 2
4 October 13, 1983 Montreal 2–4 Boston Boston Garden 1–3–0 2
5 October 15, 1983 Vancouver 4–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 2–3–0 4
6 October 19, 1983 Montreal 12–2 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena 3–3–0 6
7 October 20, 1983 Montreal 5–4 Minnesota OT Met Center 4–3–0 8
8 October 22, 1983 Montreal 3–5 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 4–4–0 8
9 October 25, 1983 Minnesota 4–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 4–5–0 8
10 October 29, 1983 Edmonton 3–1 Montreal Sevigny Montreal Forum
17,781		 4–6–0 8
11 October 30, 1983 Montreal 4–5 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 4–7–0 8
November: 7–5–1 (home: 4–3–1; road: 3–2–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
12 November 1, 1983 Hartford 2–6 Montreal Montreal Forum 5–7–0 10
13 November 3, 1983 Quebec 2–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 6–7–0 12
14 November 5, 1983 Boston 10–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 6–8–0 12
15 November 9, 1983 Montreal 3–0 Chicago Chicago Stadium 7–8–0 14
16 November 12, 1983 Montreal 4–6 Los Angeles The Forum 7–9–0 14
17 November 13, 1983 Montreal 3–4 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum 7–10–0 14
18 November 15, 1983 Montreal 5–2 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 8–10–0 16
19 November 17, 1983 Detroit 2–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 9–10–0 18
20 November 19, 1983 Chicago 5–5 Montreal OT Montreal Forum 9–10–1 19
21 November 22, 1983 Boston 2–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 10–10–1 21
22 November 23, 1983 Montreal 4–3 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 11–10–1 23
23 November 26, 1983 Washington 5–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 11–11–1 23
24 November 29, 1983 Buffalo 5–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 11–12–1 23
December: 7–6–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
25 December 1, 1983 Quebec 6–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 11–13–1 23
26 December 3, 1983 Calgary 2–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 12–13–1 25
27 December 4, 1983 Montreal 2–6 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 12–14–1 25
28 December 6, 1983 Hartford 1–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 13–14–1 27
29 December 8, 1983 Montreal 2–6 Boston Boston Garden 13–15–1 27
30 December 10, 1983 Montreal 0–2 Washington Capital Centre 13–16–1 27
31 December 11, 1983 Montreal 3–3 Pittsburgh OT Pittsburgh Civic Arena 13–16–2 28
32 December 15, 1983 Pittsburgh 1–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 14–16–2 30
33 December 17, 1983 St. Louis 3–6 Montreal Montreal Forum 15–16–2 32
34 December 20, 1983 Montreal 6–0 New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena 16–16–2 34
35 December 22, 1983 Montreal 1–4 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 16–17–2 34
36 December 26, 1983 Montreal 2–1 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 17–17–2 36
37 December 27, 1983 Buffalo 7–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 17–18–2 36
38 December 31, 1983 Quebec 2–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 18–18–2 38
January: 7–6–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 4–3–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
39 January 3, 1984 Montreal 5–9 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 18–19–2 38
40 January 5, 1984 Detroit 1–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 19–19–2 40
41 January 7, 1984 St. Louis 0–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 20–19–2 42
42 January 8, 1984 Montreal 3–4 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 20–20–2 42
43 January 11, 1984 Montreal 6–4 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 21–20–2 44
44 January 12, 1984 Montreal 3–7 NY Islanders Wamsley Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15,850		 21–21–2 44
45 January 14, 1984 New Jersey 3–1 Montreal Montreal Forum 21–22–2 44
46 January 17, 1984 Philadelphia 6–4 Montreal Montreal Forum 21–23–2 44
47 January 19, 1984 Montreal 3–2 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 22–23–2 46
48 January 21, 1984 Calgary 3–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 22–24–2 46
49 January 24, 1984 Hartford 7–7 Montreal OT Montreal Forum 22–24–3 47
50 January 26, 1984 Montreal 4–2 NY Rangers Madison Square Garden 23–24–3 49
51 January 28, 1984 Pittsburgh 2–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 24–24–3 51
52 January 29, 1984 Montreal 7–2 Boston Boston Garden 25–24–3 53
NHL All-Star Game in East Rutherford, NJ
February: 4–6–2 (home: 2–3–0; road: 2–3–2)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
53 February 2, 1984 Montreal 2–2 Philadelphia OT The Spectrum 25–24–4 54
54 February 3, 1984 Montreal 1–4 Washington Capital Centre 25–25–4 54
55 February 5, 1984 Montreal 2–2 Winnipeg OT Winnipeg Arena 25–25–5 55
56 February 7, 1984 Montreal 5–2 New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena 26–25–5 57
57 February 9, 1984 Vancouver 7–6 Montreal Montreal Forum 26–26–5 57
58 February 11, 1984 Buffalo 4–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 26–27–5 57
59 February 13, 1984 Los Angeles 3–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 27–27–5 59
60 February 14, 1984 Montreal 5–3 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 28–27–5 61
61 February 18, 1984 Montreal 3–5 Los Angeles The Forum 28–28–5 61
62 February 21, 1984 Montreal 2–3 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 28–29–5 61
63 February 23, 1984 Winnipeg 5–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 28–30–5 61
64 February 25, 1984 NY Rangers 4–7 Montreal Montreal Forum 29–30–5 63
March: 6–10–0 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–6–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Record Pts Recap
65 March 1, 1984 Montreal 3–1 Detroit Joe Louis Arena 30–30–5 65
66 March 3, 1984 Montreal 3–1 Calgary Olympic Saddledome 31–30–5 67
67 March 4, 1984 Montreal 1–6 Edmonton Sevigny Northlands Coliseum
17,498		 31–31–5 67
68 March 6, 1984 Buffalo 8–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 31–32–5 67
69 March 8, 1984 Hartford 2–3 Montreal Montreal Forum 32–32–5 69
70 March 10, 1984 Boston 4–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 32–33–5 69
71 March 12, 1984 Montreal 6–7 Minnesota OT Met Center 32–34–5 69
72 March 15, 1984 Edmonton 2–3 Montreal Wamsley Montreal Forum
18,076		 33–34–5 71
73 March 17, 1984 Toronto 1–6 Montreal Montreal Forum 34–34–5 73
74 March 19, 1984 Chicago 1–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 35–34–5 75
75 March 21, 1984 Montreal 2–4 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 35–35–5 75
76 March 24, 1984 Boston 5–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 35–36–5 75
77 March 25, 1984 Montreal 2–3 NY Rangers Madison Square Garden 35–37–5 75
78 March 27, 1984 Montreal 0–7 NY Islanders Penney Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15,850		 35–38–5 75
79 March 29, 1984 Quebec 5–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 35–39–5 75
80 March 31, 1984 Montreal 2–1 Boston Boston Garden 35–40–5 75

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

[3]

Playoffs

1984 Stanley Cup playoffs
Adams Division Semifinals vs. (A1) Boston Bruins: Montreal won 3–0
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Series Recap
1 April 4, 1984 Montreal 2–1 Boston Boston Garden 1–0
2 April 5, 1984 Montreal 3–1 Boston Boston Garden 2–0
3 April 7, 1984 Boston 0–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 3–0
Adams Division Finals vs. (A3) Quebec Nordiques: Montreal won 4–2
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Series Recap
1 April 12, 1984 Montreal 2–4 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 0–1
2 April 13, 1984 Montreal 4–1 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 1–1
3 April 15, 1984 Quebec 1–2 Montreal Montreal Forum 2–1
4 April 16, 1984 Quebec 4–3 Montreal OT Montreal Forum 2–2
5 April 18, 1984 Montreal 4–0 Quebec Quebec Coliseum 3–2
6 April 20, 1984 Quebec 3–5 Montreal Montreal Forum 4–2
Prince of Wales Conference Finals vs. (P1) New York Islanders: NY Islanders won 4–2
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Location
Attendance		 Series Recap
1 April 24, 1984 NY Islanders 0–3 Montreal Penney Montreal Forum
16,904		 1–0
2 April 26, 1984 NY Islanders 2–4 Montreal Penney Montreal Forum
17,836		 2–0
3 April 28, 1984 Montreal 2–5 NY Islanders Penney Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15,861		 2–1
4 May 1, 1984 Montreal 1–3 NY Islanders Penney Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15,861		 2–2
5 May 3, 1984 NY Islanders 3–1 Montreal Penney Montreal Forum
18,095		 2–3
6 May 5, 1984 Montreal 1–4 NY Islanders Penney Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
15,861		 2–4

Legend:   Win   Loss

[4]

Playoffs

As fourth-place finishers, the Canadiens drew the division winner Boston Bruins as their first round opponent. The Canadiens upset the Bruins, sweeping the series in three straight games. The Canadiens then faced off against the Quebec Nordiques in a "Battle of Quebec" which culminated in the Good Friday Massacre. The Canadiens defeated the Nordiques four games to two to advance against the New York Islanders, the defending Stanley Cup champion. The Islanders would eliminate the Canadiens in six games.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 80 30 40 70 19 -14 6 0 6
Mats Naslund LW 77 29 35 64 4 5 3 0 1
Bobby Smith C 70 26 37 63 62 -7 6 1 3
Guy Carbonneau C 78 24 30 54 75 5 3 7 2
Ryan Walter C/LW 73 20 29 49 83 -11 7 1 4
John Chabot C 56 18 25 43 13 -2 4 1 2
Larry Robinson D 74 9 34 43 39 4 4 0 1
Bob Gainey LW 77 17 22 39 41 10 0 0 3
Mario Tremblay RW 67 14 25 39 112 2 3 0 3
Pierre Mondou C 52 15 22 37 8 9 3 1 1
Steve Shutt LW 63 14 23 37 29 -18 4 0 2
Chris Nilan RW 76 16 10 26 338 -4 4 0 1
Craig Ludwig D 80 7 18 25 52 -10 0 0 1
Bill Root D 72 4 13 17 45 26 1 1 0
Alfie Turcotte C 30 7 7 14 10 -9 5 0 0
Perry Turnbull C 40 6 7 13 59 -12 2 0 1
Jean Hamel D 79 1 12 13 92 7 0 0 0
Ric Nattress D 34 0 12 12 15 -11 0 0 0
Mark Hunter RW 22 6 4 10 42 -2 1 0 0
Doug Wickenheiser C 27 5 5 10 6 1 0 0 1
Keith Acton C 9 3 7 10 4 -5 2 0 0
Kent Carlson D 65 3 7 10 73 -15 0 0 2
Gilbert Delorme D 27 2 7 9 8 -4 0 0 0
Mike McPhee LW 14 5 2 7 41 4 0 0 0
Mark Napier RW 5 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 1
Greg Paslawski RW 26 1 4 5 4 -5 0 0 0
Rick Wamsley G 42 0 3 3 6 0 0 0 0
Claude Lemieux RW 8 1 1 2 12 -2 0 0 0
Chris Chelios D 12 0 2 2 12 -5 0 0 0
Robert Picard D 7 0 2 2 0 -1 0 0 0
Rick Green D 7 0 1 1 7 -5 0 0 0
Dave Allison D 3 0 0 0 12 -2 0 0 0
Normand Baron LW 4 0 0 0 12 -2 0 0 0
Jocelyn Gauvreau D 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Mark Holden G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bill Kitchen D 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Larry Landon RW 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Sergio Momesso LW 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
John Newberry C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Steve Penney G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Richard Sevigny G 40 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Rick Wamsley 2333 42 19 17 3 144 3.70 2
Richard Sevigny 2203 40 16 18 2 124 3.38 1
Mark Holden 52 1 0 1 0 4 4.62 0
Steve Penney 240 4 0 4 0 19 4.75 0
Team: 4828 80 35 40 5 291 3.62 3

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Mats Naslund LW 15 6 8 14 4 3 1 3
Chris Chelios D 15 1 9 10 17 1 0 0
Steve Shutt LW 11 7 2 9 8 2 0 0
Pierre Mondou C 14 6 3 9 2 1 0 1
Mario Tremblay RW 15 6 3 9 31 0 0 1
Bobby Smith C 15 2 7 9 8 1 0 1
Guy Carbonneau C 15 4 3 7 12 0 0 1
Bob Gainey LW 15 1 5 6 9 0 0 0
John Chabot C 11 1 4 5 0 0 0 1
Larry Robinson D 15 0 5 5 22 0 0 0
Mark Hunter RW 14 2 1 3 69 0 0 0
Ryan Walter C/LW 15 2 1 3 4 1 0 1
Rick Green D 15 1 2 3 33 0 0 0
Perry Turnbull C 9 1 2 3 10 0 0 0
Guy Lafleur RW 12 0 3 3 5 0 0 0
Craig Ludwig D 15 0 3 3 23 0 0 0
Jean Hamel D 15 0 2 2 16 0 0 0
Steve Penney G 15 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Mike McPhee LW 15 1 0 1 31 0 0 0
Chris Nilan RW 15 1 0 1 81 0 0 0
Normand Baron LW 3 0 0 0 22 0 0 0
Rick Wamsley G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Steve Penney 871 15 9 6 32 2.20 3
Rick Wamsley 32 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
Team: 903 15 9 6 32 2.13 3

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 17 Alfie Turcotte  United States Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
2 26 Claude Lemieux  Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
2 27 Sergio Momesso  Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
2 35 Todd Francis  Canada Brantford Alexanders (OHL)
3 45 Daniel Letendre  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
4 78 John Kordic  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
5 98 Dan Wurst  United States Edina High School (USHS-MN)
6 118 Arto Javanainen  Finland Pori (Finland)
7 138 Vladislav Tretiak  Soviet Union Moscow CSKA (USSR)
8 158 Rob Bryden  Canada Henry Carr Crusaders (MetJHL)
9 178 Grant McKay  Canada University of Calgary (CIAU)
10 198 Thomas Rundqvist  Sweden Karlstad (Sweden)
11 218 Jeff Perpich  United States Hibbing High School (USHS-MN)
12 238 Jean-Guy Bergeron  Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

Farm teams

See also

References

  • Canadiens on Hockey Database
  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1983–84 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  4. ^ "1983–84 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  5. ^ "1983-84 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
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