The Chicago-based club officially changed their name from the two-worded "Black Hawks" to the one-worded "Blackhawks" based on the spelling found in their original franchise documents.[1]
On November 26, 1986, Toronto's Borje Salming was accidentally cut in the face by a skate, requiring more than 200 stitches. It was the third injury to his face and Salming returned to play wearing a visor.[3]
A bombshell was exploded when it was announced that Pat Quinn had been expelled from the NHL pending an investigation of conflict of
interest. It was reported that while serving as coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Quinn signed a contract to become president and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. In due course, NHL president John
Ziegler barred Quinn from coaching in the NHL until 1990–91
On January 22, 1987, a massive blizzard resulted in only 334 spectators attending the game between the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames at the Brendan Byrne Arena, leading to the Devils dubbing the spectators the "334 Club".[4][5]
There was trouble brewing for Bryan Trottier when he authored an
article in the publication The Hockey News criticizing officials
for failing to call penalties. This was brought to the attention of
NHL president John Ziegler who fined Trottier $1,000.
On April 4, 1987, the Islanders' captain Denis Potvin became the first NHL defenceman to reach 1000 points. A shot by the Islanders' Mikko Mäkelä deflected in off Potvin's arm in a 6–6 shootout between the Islanders and Sabres.[6]
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. This was the first year that all rounds were competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series) after the division semifinals were expanded from a best-of-five format to reduce the number of upsets. In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Minimum 2000 min. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage[10]
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):
Chico Resch, Philadelphia Flyers (Last player born in the 1940s)
Broadcasting
In Canada, the Molson-sponsored Hockey Night in Canada on CBC continued to air Saturday night regular season games, but sponsor Carling-O'Keefe's rights fell into limbo after CTV pulled out of its sub-license prior to the season.[11] Things became problematic when the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs opened with Carling O'Keefe still without a network. The problems peaked when the Montreal–Quebec second-round playoff series opened without Molson being allowed to broadcast from Quebec City, leaving Games 3 and 4 off of English-language television altogether. This led to a hastily arranged syndicated package on a chain of channels[12] that would one day form the basis of the Global Television Network. The deal between Carling O'Keefe and the Canwest/Global consortium (with a few CBC and CTV affiliates sprinkled in for good measure) came just in time for Game 6 of the Montreal-Quebec series on April 30. These Carling O'Keefe/Canwest/Global broadcasts were aired under the name Stanley Cup '87.
This was the second season of the league's three-year U.S. national broadcast rights deal with ESPN. The contract called for the network to air up to 33 regular season games each season as well as the All-Star Game and the playoffs.[13][14]
^Diamond, Dan (1991). The Official National Hockey League 75th anniversary commemorative book. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. pp. 291. ISBN0-7710-6727-5
Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN0-7710-4179-9.
Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN0-7853-9624-1.
