1981–82 New York Rangers season
The 1981–82 New York Rangers season was the 56th season for the team in the National Hockey League. During the regular season, the Rangers finished second in the Patrick Division with 92 points and qualified for the NHL playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, New York defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, three games to one, to advance to the Patrick Division Finals. There, the Rangers lost to the New York Islanders in six games.
Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Key: Win LossPlayer statistics
;Skaters| Player | ||||||
| 80 | 38 | 65 | 103 | 2 | 43 | |
| 72 | 40 | 36 | 76 | 18 | 82 | |
| 79 | 33 | 43 | 76 | 21 | 67 | |
| 68 | 30 | 28 | 58 | −5 | 57 | |
| 54 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 9 | 73 | |
| 78 | 18 | 38 | 56 | 18 | 27 | |
| 64 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 2 | 105 | |
| 60 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 19 | 111 | |
| 64 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 17 | 39 | |
| † | 30 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 8 | 24 |
| 53 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 2 | 18 | |
| †‡ | 53 | 15 | 14 | 29 | −15 | 32 |
| 48 | 7 | 15 | 22 | −3 | 74 | |
| 79 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 7 | 104 | |
| 34 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 4 | 13 | |
| 56 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 64 | |
| 70 | 8 | 10 | 18 | −7 | 151 | |
| 29 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −11 | 16 | |
| ‡ | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 10 |
| 29 | 6 | 7 | 13 | −3 | 8 | |
| ‡ | 26 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −2 | 16 |
| 50 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −2 | 45 | |
| 41 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −8 | 152 | |
| 40 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 12 | |
| † | 47 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
| 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 10 | |
| 49 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 0 | |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 | |
| ‡ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Player | |||||
| 10 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 11 | |
| 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | |
| 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | |
| 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 25 | |
| 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 20 | |
| 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |
| 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | |
| 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |
| 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 31 | |
| 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | |
| 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | |
| 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | |
| 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | |
| 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltenders
| Player | ||||||||||
| 49 | 2852 | 23 | 16 | 9 | 179 | 3.77 | 1345 | .867 | 1 | |
| 25 | 1500 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 89 | 3.56 | 767 | .884 | 0 | |
| 6 | 328 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 6.04 | 163 | .798 | 0 | |
| 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.00 | 29 | .966 | 0 | |
| 1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.00 | 30 | .967 | 0 |
| Player | |||||||
| 8 | 443 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 3.79 | 0 | |
| 4 | 127 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4.25 | 0 | |
| 1 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5.45 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
Awards and records
Transactions
- September 8, 1981 – Rangers trade Doug Soetaert to the Winnipeg Jets for a 1983 3rd round pick.
- October 2, 1981 – Rangers acquire Mike Rogers from the Hartford Whalers for Chris Kotsopoulos, Doug Sulliman, and Gerry McDonald.
- October 16, 1981 – Rangers acquire Pat Hickey from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 1982 5th round pick.
- October 30, 1981 – Rangers acquire the rights to Tom Younghans from the Minnesota North Stars for cash.
- December 11, 1981 – Rangers acquire Eddie Mio from the Edmonton Oilers for Lance Nethery.
- December 30, 1981 – Rangers acquire Robbie Ftorek and a 1982 8th round pick from the Quebec Nordiques for Jere Gillis and Dean Talafous. Talafous, however, did not report to the Nordiques and an arbitrator awarded Pat Hickey to the Nordiques on March 8, 1982.
- February 2, 1982 – Rangers acquire Rob McClanahan from the Hartford Whalers for a 1982 10th round pick.
Roster
Draft picks
New York's picks at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Montreal Forum.| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 9 | James Patrick | D | Prince Albert Raiders | |
| 2 | 30 | Jan Erixon | LW | Skelleftea AIK | |
| 3 | 50 | Peter Sundstrom | LW | Bjorkloven | |
| 3 | 51 | Mark Morrison | C | Victoria Cougars | |
| 4 | 72 | John Vanbiesbrouck | G | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | |
| 6 | 114 | Eric Magnuson | C | R.P.I. | |
| 7 | 135 | Mike Guentzel | D | Greenway | |
| 8 | 156 | Ari Lahteenmaki | RW | HIFK | |
| 9 | 177 | Paul Reifenberger | C | Anoka High School | |
| 10 | 198 | Mario Proulx | G | Providence College |