Harman Patil (Editor)

1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins season

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Division
  
1984–85 record
  
24–51–5

Goals against
  
385

Conference
  
11th Wales

Goals for
  
276

General Manager
  

The 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 18th in the National Hockey League. It marked the debut of Mario Lemieux for the Penguins. Lemieux debuted on October 11, 1984, against the Boston Bruins and scored a goal with his very first NHL shot, on his first shift. Later that season, Lemieux played in the NHL All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be named the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player. Despite missing seven games during the season, Lemieux scored 100 points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year.

Contents

Offseason

Before the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Lemieux announced he wanted to play for whoever drafted him. He and his agent were deadlocked with the Penguins and could not negotiate a contract. Because of this, when the Penguins called his name as the first overall draft pick, he did not shake general manager Eddie Johnston's hand or don the Penguins jersey, as is NHL tradition. He claimed he was upset about the contract negotiation, and said that "Pittsburgh doesn't want [him] bad enough." Even though the draft was held in Montreal, over 3,000 fans viewed a broadcast in Pittsburgh's Civic Arena — a typical Penguins game drew less than 7,000 fans at the time. Lemieux's actions upset many fans and led to accusations of arrogance and aloofness. After the draft, Johnston signed Lemieux to a two-year contract for $600,000, plus a $150,000 bonus for signing. Although Lemieux wore the jersey #27 during his time with the Laval Voisins, he wanted to adopt Wayne Gretzky's #99 when he entered the NHL. However, his agent advised him to create his own identity; thus, Lemieux turned #99 upside down and landed on #66, which stuck with him throughout his career.

Season standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

The Penguins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive year, and finished in last again as well.

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

  • Mario Lemieux, Calder Trophy
  • Mario Lemieux, NHL All-Rookie Team
  • Warren Young, NHL All-Rookie Team
  • Transactions

    The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1984–85 season:

    Draft picks

    The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 9, 1984, in Montreal, Quebec.

    References

    1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins season Wikipedia


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