The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against. The New York Islanders won their third straight Stanley Cup by beating the Vancouver Canucks in four games.
Prior to the start of the season, the divisions of the league were re-aligned to better reflect the locations of the teams. The Patrick Division, which had been in the Clarence Campbell Conference, switched to the Prince of Wales Conference, while the Norris Division went the other way, going from the Wales Conference to the Campbell Conference. This divisional alignment existed until the 1993-94 season, at which point both the divisions and the conferences of the league were renamed to reflect geography.
Regular season
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
Clarence Campbell Conference
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket
Finals
New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks
New York wins the series 4–0.
NHL awards
All-Star teams
First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1981–82 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start in playoffs): Jiri Bubla, Vancouver Canucks Garth Butcher*, Vancouver Canucks Bob Carpenter, Washington Capitals Gaetan Duchesne, Washington Capitals Ron Francis, Hartford Whalers Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers Randy Gregg*, Edmonton Oilers Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets Ivan Hlinka, Vancouver Canucks Tim Hunter, Calgary Flames Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames Troy Murray, Chicago Black Hawks Bernie Nicholls, Los Angeles Kings Marian Stastny, Quebec Nordiques Thomas Steen, Winnipeg Jets Tony Tanti, Chicago Black Hawks John Vanbiesbrouck, New York Rangers
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1981–82 (listed with their last team): Don Marcotte, Boston Bruins Rogie Vachon, Boston Bruins Bill Clement, Calgary Flames Eric Vail, Detroit Red Wings Dave Keon, Hartford Whalers Paul Shmyr, Hartford Whalers Rick Martin, Los Angeles Kings Steve Vickers, New York Rangers Bob Dailey, Philadelphia Flyers Jimmy Watson, Philadelphia Flyers Don Luce, Toronto Maple Leafs Rene Robert, Toronto Maple Leafs Jean Pronovost, Washington Capitals