The 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 5, after the conclusion of the 1982–83 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 17 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4–0 to win the final series four games to none and win the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive season.
The 1983 playoffs marked the first time that seven NHL teams based in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Quebec, Winnipeg, and Calgary) all qualified for the playoffs in the same season. Since the 1967–68 expansion, all the Canadian teams have qualified for the playoffs on five other occasions – 1969 (Montreal and Toronto), 1975, 1976 and 1979 (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), and 1986 (the same seven as in 1983), the last time to date (as of 2023) that all active Canadian teams qualified.
In the Wales Conference, the Patrick Division champion Philadelphia Flyers were upset by the New York Rangers in the first round. The defending champion Islanders had qualified second in the Patrick Division, and defeated the Washington Capitals in the first round, and defeated the Rangers to qualify for the Conference Final. In the Adams Division, the first-place Boston Bruins defeated the Quebec Nordiques and the Buffalo Sabres (who swept the Canadiens in their opening round series) to advance to the Conference Final. In the Conference Final, the Islanders defeated Boston in six games to qualify for their fourth consecutive Cup Finals appearance.
In the Campbell Conference, the Smythe Division first seed Edmonton Oilers swept the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round, and defeated the Calgary Flames (who defeated the Vancouver Canucks three games to one in the opening round) in the Smythe Final. The Norris champion Chicago Black Hawks defeated the St. Louis Blues three games to one and the Minnesota North Stars (who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs three games to one in the opening round) in the Norris Final four games to one. Edmonton defeated the Norris Division champion Chicago Black Hawks in a four-game sweep in the Conference Final to advance to the Cup Finals.
Playoff seeds
The 1983 playoffs followed the format introduced in the previous season. The four teams with the best regular-season records from each of the four divisions would secure playoff berths. The division semi-finals would see the first-place club against the fourth-place team, while the second- and third-place teams faced off. The winning clubs would then meet in the division final. Home-ice advantage for these first two rounds of the playoffs would be granted to the team with the better regular-season record. Division winners would then face one another in the conference finals.
Home-ice advantage for the conference finals had been determined by coin flips prior to the start of the previous season. That event determined that home-ice advantage were granted to champions of the Adams and Smythe divisions this season. Similarly, a puck flip determined that home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup finals would be granted to Campbell Conference champion this season.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:
Prince of Wales Conference
Adams Division
Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 110 points Montreal Canadiens – 98 points Buffalo Sabres – 89 points Quebec Nordiques – 80 points
Patrick Division
Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions – 106 points
New York Islanders – 96 points
Washington Capitals – 94 points
New York Rangers – 80 points
Clarence Campbell Conference
Norris Division
Chicago Black Hawks, Norris Division champions – 104 points
Minnesota North Stars – 96 points
Toronto Maple Leafs – 68 points
St. Louis Blues – 65 points
Smythe Division
Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 106 points Calgary Flames – 78 points Vancouver Canucks – 75 points Winnipeg Jets – 74 points
Playoff bracket
Division Semifinals
Prince of Wales Conference
(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of the previous year's Adams Division Finals, in which Quebec won in seven games.
(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A3) Buffalo Sabres
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Both teams split their previous two meetings. They last met in the 1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Buffalo won in six games.