1982–83 New Jersey Devils season

New Jersey Devils

Industry	Professional ice hockey
Predecessor	Colorado Rockies (NHL)
Founded	1982
Headquarters	New Jersey , United States

The 1982–83 season for the New Jersey Devils represented the ninth campaign for the franchise in the NHL and its inaugural year following the relocation from Colorado, where the team had been known as the Colorado Rockies. The Devils began their New Jersey era with a 3–3 draw against the Pittsburgh Penguins, featuring captain Don Lever netting the first goal in franchise history. Their initial victory was secured against their regional adversaries, the New York Rangers. Despite the change in location, the squad faced difficulties throughout the season, concluding in second-to-last place within the Patrick Division and ranking ninth in the Wales Conference.

Schedule and results

|- | 1 || October 5 || Pittsburgh || 3 – 3 || New Jersey || 0–0–1 || 1 || 13,663 |- | 2 || October 8 || NY Rangers || 2 – 3 || New Jersey || 1–0–1 || 3 || 19,203 |- | 3 || October 9 || New Jersey || 5 – 5 || Toronto || 1–0–2 || 4 || 16,382 |- | 4 || October 12 || Boston || 2 – 2 || New Jersey || 1–0–3 || 5 || 10,251 |- | 5 || October 14 || Montreal || 5 – 3 || New Jersey || 1–1–3 || 5 || 11,703 |- | 6 || October 16 || New Jersey || 6 – 5 || Pittsburgh || 2–1–3 || 7 || 8,852 |- | 7 || October 18 || Philadelphia || 1 – 3 || New Jersey || 3–1–3 || 9 || 12,521 |- | 8 || October 20 || New Jersey || 4 – 7 || Los Angeles || 3–2–3 || 9 || 8,519 |- | 9 || October 22|| New Jersey||1 –3|| Winnipeg||3–3–3||9||12,534 |- |10||October26||Minnesota||5 –3||New Jersey||3–4–3||9||11,208 |- |11||October28||NY Islanders||4 –2||New Jersey||3–5–3||9||19,023 |- |12||October30||New Jersey||5 –8||NY Islanders||3–6–3||9||15,230 |-

|- |13||November1||Calgary||6 –3||New Jersey||3–7–3||9||10,152 |- |14||November2||New Jersey||4 –5||Montreal||3–8–3||9||15,177 |- |15||November4||Pittsburgh||4 –4||New Jersey||3–8–4||10||10,410 |- |16||November6||New Jersey||1 –1||Detroit||3–8–5||11||11,395 |- |17||November8||Washington||2 –2||New Jersey||3–8–6||12||10,273 |- |18||November10||New Jersey||0 –3||Washington||3–9–6||12||12,445 |- |19||November11||Edmonton||5 –1||New Jersey||3–10–6||12||19,023 |- |20||November13||New Jersey||2 –7||Quebec City|||||||| ... [remaining games compressed similarly] ...

Legend:

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

		Regular season						Playoffs
Player		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Aaron Broten		73	16	39	55	28		–	–	–	–	-
Don Lever		79	23	30	53	(68)		–	–	–	–	-
Bob MacMillan			71	19	29	48		8	–	–	–	–|
Tapio Levo		73	7	40	47	22		–	–	–	–|
Jeff Larmer		65	21	24	45	21		–	–	–	–|
Hector Marini			77	17	28	45		(105)	–	–	–	–|
Steve Tambellini			73	25	18	43		14	–	–	–	–|
Brent Ashton			76	14	19	33		(47)	–	–	–	–|
Rick Meagher†			57	15	14	29		11	–	–	–	-|
Paul Gagné			53	14	15	29		13	–	-	-	-|
Murray Brumwell			59		5			14		19	(34)	-		-		-
Jan Ludvig			51		7			10		17	(30)	-		-		-
Joel Quenneville			74		5			12		17	(46)	-		-		-
Mike Antonovich			30		7			7		14	(11)	-		-		-
Glenn Merkosky			34		4			10		14	(20)	-		-		-
Bob Lorimer			66		3			10		13	(42)	-		-		-
Mike Kitchen			77		4			8		12	(52)	-		-		-
Yvon Vautour			52		4			7		11	(136)	-		-		-
Rob Palmer			60		1			10		11	(21)	-		-		-	-|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Dave Cameron|35|5|4|9|(50)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	John Wensink|(42)|(2)|(7)|(9)|(135)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Carol Vadnais|(51)|(2)|(7)|(9)|(64)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Merlin Malinowski‡|5|3|2|5|(０)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Pat Verbeek|(6)|(３)|(２)|(５)|(８)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Dave Hutchison|(32)|(1)|(4)|(5)|(102)|-|-->|-->|-->|--| -|- bgcolor=_"#_|	Garry Howatt|(38)|(1)|(4)|(5)|(114)|-|-->|-->|-->|--|

^†Indicates player joined New Jersey after playing for another team. Statistics only account for time with the Devils.
^‡Player traded during the season.

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

		Regular season									Playoffs
Player		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Chico Resch |65|36500|15|'35'|'12'|'242'|'۰'|'3.98'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'-'|
Ron Low† |11|608|2|7|1|41|۰|4.05|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'–'|'-'|
Lindsay Middlebrook‡ |9 |412 |۰ |۶ |۱ |۳۷ |۰ |۵.۳۹ '–' '–' '–' '–' '–' '–' '-' |
Shawn MacKenzie |6 |130 |۰ |۱ |۰ |۱۵ |۰ |۶.۹۲ '–' '–' '–' '–' '–' '–' '-' |

^†Indicates player was acquired during the season from another club. Stats reflect only tenure with New Jersey.
^‡Mid-season trade.
Bold italics signify franchise records.

Transactions

Throughout the 1982–83 campaign, the Devils participated in a number of significant roster moves.

Trades

October 1, 1982	To New Jersey Devils Hector Marini 4th round selection in 1983	To New York Islanders 4th round selection in 1983
October 15, 1982	To New Jersey Devils Rick Meagher Garry Howatt	To Hartford Whalers Merlin Malinowski Scott Fusco
October 29, 1982	To New Jersey Devils Cash considerations	To Detroit Red Wings Dwight Foster
February 19, 1983	To New Jersey Devils Ron Low	To Edmonton Oilers Lindsay Middlebrook Paul Miller

Free agents

Player Previous team C Mike Antonovich Minnesota North Stars C Mitch Wilson Seattle Breakers (WHL) F Jan Ludvig Edmonton Oilers

Player Acquired by

Draft picks

During the 1982 NHL entry draft, which took place at the Montreal Forum, the Devils made the following selections:

9 169 Alan HeppleUnited Kingdom D 'Ottawa 67's' (OHL) 10 190 Brent Shaw Canada RW Seattle Breakers (WHL) 10 207 Tony GilliardCanada LW 'Niagara Falls Flyers' (OHL) 11 211 Scott FuscoUnited States C Harvard University (ECAC) 12 232 Dan DorionUnited States RW Austin Mavericks (USHL)

Round	Overall Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (League)	Remarks
1	8	Rocky Trottier	Canada	C	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
1	18	Ken Daneyko	Canada	D	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
2	22	'No second-round selection'
3	44	Pat Verbeek	Canada	C	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
3	54	Dave Kasper	Canada	C	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
4	64	'No fourth-round selection'
5	85	Scott Brydges	United States	D	'White Bear Lake Mariner H.S.' (Minnesota)
6	106	Mike Moher	Canada	RW	'Kitchener Rangers' (OHL)
7	127	Paul Fulcher	Canada	LW	'London Knights' (OHL)
8	148	John Hutchings	Canada	D	'Oshawa Generals' (OHL)

See also

• 1982–83 NHL season