The 1986-87 NHL season was the 70th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to three in the Cup finals.
Regular season
The Oilers won their second straight Presidents' Trophy as the top team and Wayne Gretzky won his eighth straight Hart Trophy and his seventh straight Art Ross Trophy.
Francis "King" Clancy, former defenceman with Ottawa and Toronto, had to undergo surgery to remove his gall bladder. Unfortunately, infection from the gall bladder seeped into his body during surgery, causing him to go into septic shock. He died November 10th, 1986.
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Prince of Wales Conference
| Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 43 | 30 | 7 | 93 | 287 | 270 | 1496 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 92 | 277 | 241 | 1802 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 39 | 34 | 7 | 85 | 301 | 276 | 1870 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 31 | 39 | 10 | 72 | 267 | 276 | 1741 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 28 | 44 | 8 | 64 | 280 | 308 | 1810 |
| Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 46 | 26 | 8 | 100 | 310 | 245 | 2082 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 86 | 285 | 278 | 1720 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 82 | 279 | 281 | 1857 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 76 | 307 | 323 | 1718 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 72 | 297 | 290 | 1693 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 29 | 45 | 6 | 64 | 293 | 368 | 1735 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
| Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 32 | 33 | 15 | 79 | 281 | 293 | 1572 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 34 | 36 | 10 | 78 | 260 | 274 | 2209 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 80 | 29 | 37 | 14 | 72 | 290 | 310 | 1692 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6 | 70 | 286 | 319 | 1827 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 30 | 40 | 10 | 70 | 296 | 314 | 1936 |
| Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 50 | 24 | 6 | 106 | 372 | 284 | 1721 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 46 | 31 | 3 | 95 | 318 | 289 | 2036 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 88 | 279 | 271 | 1537 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 41 | 8 | 70 | 318 | 341 | 2038 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 29 | 43 | 8 | 66 | 282 | 314 | 1917 |
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 79 | 62 | 121 | 183 | 28 |
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 79 | 54 | 54 | 108 | 41 |
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 63 | 54 | 53 | 107 | 57 |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 77 | 37 | 70 | 107 | 73 |
| Doug Gilmour | St. Louis Blues | 80 | 42 | 63 | 105 | 58 |
| Dino Ciccarelli | Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 92 |
| Dale Hawerchuk | Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 47 | 53 | 100 | 54 |
| Michel Goulet | Quebec Nordiques | 75 | 49 | 47 | 96 | 61 |
| Tim Kerr | Philadelphia Flyers | 75 | 58 | 37 | 95 | 57 |
| Raymond Bourque | Boston Bruins | 78 | 23 | 72 | 95 | 36 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
Note: all dates in 1987
In attempts to reduce the number of first round upsets, the NHL expanded the best-of-five series in the first round to a best-of-seven series.
Playoff bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Finals | |||||||||||||||
| A1 | Hartford Whalers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Quebec Nordiques | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Boston Bruins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | New York Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Washington Capitals | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | New York Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | St. Louis Blues | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Winnipeg Jets | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Winnipeg Jets | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Finals
Edmonton Oilers Vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Oilers and Flyers would meet again in the finals for the second time in three years. This time, Edmonton was the regular season champion with 50 wins and 106 points, and Philadelphia was second with 46 wins and 100 points.
Unlike the 1985 final, this series would go the distance. Edmonton took the first two games at home, then split in Philadelphia. However, the Flyers won the next two games, one in Edmonton and one back in Philadelphia by one goal, to force a deciding seventh game. Edmonton won Game 7 to earn its third Stanley Cup in four seasons.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17 | Philadelphia | 2 | Edmonton | 4 | |
| May 20 | Philadelphia | 2 | Edmonton | 3 | (OT) |
| May 22 | Edmonton | 3 | Philadelphia | 5 | |
| May 24 | Edmonton | 4 | Philadelphia | 1 | |
| May 26 | Philadelphia | 4 | Edmonton | 3 | |
| May 28 | Edmonton | 2 | Philadelphia | 3 | |
| May 30 | Philadelphia | 1 | Edmonton | 3 |
Edmonton wins best-of-seven series 4-3
Stanley Cup scoring leaders
NHL awards
All-Star teams
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1986-87 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Gary Roberts, Calgary Flames
- Joe Nieuwendyk, Calgary Flames
- Dave Manson, Chicago Blackhawks
- Joe Murphy, Detroit Red Wings
- Steve Chiasson, Detroit Red Wings
- Kelly Buchberger*, Edmonton Oilers
- Jimmy Carson, Los Angeles Kings
- Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
- Steve Duchesne, Los Angeles Kings
- Craig Berube, Philadelphia Flyers
- Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers
- Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Fredrik Olausson, Winnipeg Jets
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1986-87 (listed with their last team):
- Thomas Gradin, Boston Bruins
- Mike Milbury, Boston Bruins
- Lee Fogolin, Buffalo Sabres
- Don Lever, Buffalo Sabres
- Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
- Phil Russell, Buffalo Sabres
- Murray Bannerman, Chicago Blackhawks
- Darryl Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
- Danny Gare, Edmonton Oilers
- Wayne Babych, Hartford Whalers
- Peter McNab, New Jersey Devils
- Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
- Chico Resch, Philadelphia Flyers
See also
References
| NHL Seasons |
|---|
|
1982-83 | 1983-84 | 1984-85 | 1985-86 | 1986-87 | 1987-88 | 1988-89 | 1989-90 | 1990-91 |
| National Hockey League | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Structure | Playoffs (Streaks • Droughts • All-time playoff series) • Conference Finals • Finals |
|---|---|
| Annual events | Seasons • Stanley Cup (Champions • Winning players • Traditions and anecdotes) • Presidents' Trophy • All-Star Game • Draft • Awards • All-Star Teams |
| Players | List of players • Association • Retired jersey numbers • Captains |
| History | Lore • Organizational changes :: • Defunct teams • NHA • Original Six • 1967 Expansion • WHA Merger • Lockouts |
| Others | Outdoor games (Winter Classic • Heritage Classic • Stadium Series) • Potential expansion • Hall of Fame (Members) • Rivalries • Arenas • Rules • Fighting • Violence : International games • Kraft Hockeyville • Collective bargaining agreement • Television and radio coverage |
| Category • 2020–21 Season • 2021–22 Season • 2022–23 Season | |
| 1986–87 NHL season by team | |
|---|---|
| Patrick | New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Washington |
| Adams | Boston • Buffalo • Hartford • Montreal • Quebec |
| Norris | Chicago • Detroit • Minnesota • St. Louis • Toronto |
| Smythe | Calgary • Edmonton • Los Angeles • Winnipeg • Vancouver |
| See also | 1986 NHL Entry Draft • Rendez-vous '87 • 1987 Stanley Cup Finals |