1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks season was the 60th season in franchise history. The Black Hawks, led by three 40-goal scorers in Denis Savard, Troy Murray and Al Secord, captured the Norris Division title for the first time since 1982–83 but were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1][2][3][4][5]

1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
1985–86 record39–33–8
Goals for351
Goals against349
Team information
General managerBob Pulford
CoachBob Pulford
CaptainDarryl Sutter
Bob Murray (interim)
Alternate captainsUnknown
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsDenis Savard (47)
AssistsDenis Savard (69)
PointsDenis Savard (116)
Penalty minutesAl Secord (201)
Plus/minusTroy Murray (+32)
WinsMurray Bannerman (19)
Goals against averageBob Sauvé (3.96)

Offseason

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After a successful 1984–85 season in which the Black Hawks made it to the Campbell Conference finals, the club was happy with their roster and did not make any major off-season moves. The club did announce that general manager Bob Pulford would remain the head coach, as he took over on an interim basis after Orval Tessier was fired in February.

At the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, the club selected defenceman Dave Manson with their first round, 11th overall pick. Manson played with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL, where he helped the club win the 1985 Memorial Cup. A tough player, Manson appeared in 72 games with Prince Albert, scoring eight goals and 38 points, as well as 247 penalty minutes during the 1984–85 season.

Regular season

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Very early into the season, the Black Hawks acquired goaltender Bob Sauve from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third round draft pick in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Sauve was coming off a 13–10–3 record with the Sabres in 1984–85 with a 3.22 GAA and a .855 save percentage in 27 games. He would split time with Murray Bannerman, replacing Warren Skorodenski, who was sent back to the AHL.

The Hawks started slow, posting a 4–9–1 record in their first 14 games, however, the club was in third place in the weak Norris Division, only two points out of first place. The Black Hawks continued to sputter along throughout the first half of December, as following a five-game losing streak, Chicago had a record of 9–15–4, although they still remained in third place, just ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Hawks eventually heated up, going 16–4–3 through their next 23 games, vaulting them into first place in the division with a 25–19–7 record. The team battled the Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues for first place in the Norris Division, and Chicago eventually won the division with a 39–33–8 record, earning 86 points, winning the division for the first time since the 1982–83 season.

On offense, the Black Hawks finished third in the NHL with 351 goals. Denis Savard led the way with 49 goals and 116 points in 80 games, while Troy Murray had a breakout season offensively, scoring 45 goals and 99 points and a club high +32 rating in 80 games played. Eddie Olczyk also saw his offensive production increase significantly, scoring 29 goals and 79 points in 79 games played, as did Al Secord, who scored 40 goals and 76 points in 80 games, as well as leading Chicago with 201 penalty minutes. Steve Larmer had another solid season, scoring 36 goals and 76 points in 80 games, while Curt Fraser added 29 goals and 68 points in only 61 games played.

On defense, Doug Wilson led the way with 17 goals and 64 points in 79 games, while Behn Wilson had 13 goals and 50 points in 69 games. Keith Brown broke out offensively, scoring 11 goals and 40 points in 70 games, while Bob Murray had nine goals and 38 points in 80 games. Ken Yaremchuk scored 14 goals and 34 points in 78 games.

In goal, Murray Bannerman led the club with a 20–19–6 record in 48 games, while posting a 4.48 GAA and a .869 save percentage, and earning one shutout. Bob Sauvé had a 19–13–2 record in 38 games with a 3.94 GAA and a .886 save percentage. The Black Hawks finished the season allowing 349 goals, the fifth highest total in the league.

Final standings

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Chicago Black Hawks 80 39 33 8 351 349 86
Minnesota North Stars 80 38 33 9 327 305 85
St. Louis Blues 80 37 34 9 302 291 83
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 25 48 7 311 386 57
Detroit Red Wings 80 17 57 6 266 415 40

[6]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.

Record vs. opponents

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Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 10, 1985 2–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 0–1–0
2 L October 12, 1985 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 0–2–0
3 L October 13, 1985 1–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 0–3–0
4 T October 16, 1985 5–5 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 0–3–1
5 W October 19, 1985 6–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 1–3–1
6 L October 20, 1985 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 1–4–1
7 W October 23, 1985 9–2 Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 2–4–1
8 W October 24, 1985 6–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 3–4–1
9 L October 27, 1985 2–4 Washington Capitals (1985–86) 3–5–1
10 W October 30, 1985 6–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 4–5–1
11 L November 2, 1985 4–5 @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) 4–6–1
12 L November 5, 1985 4–8 @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) 4–7–1
13 L November 7, 1985 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 4–8–1
14 L November 9, 1985 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 4–9–1
15 W November 11, 1985 5–4 OT @ New York Rangers (1985–86) 5–9–1
16 W November 13, 1985 6–4 Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 6–9–1
17 L November 16, 1985 4–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 6–10–1
18 T November 17, 1985 5–5 OT Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 6–10–2
19 W November 20, 1985 2–0 Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 7–10–2
20 W November 23, 1985 7–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 8–10–2
21 T November 24, 1985 4–4 OT Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 8–10–3
22 W November 26, 1985 5–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 9–10–3
23 T November 30, 1985 4–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 9–10–4
24 L December 3, 1985 2–9 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 9–11–4
25 L December 6, 1985 2–5 @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 9–12–4
26 L December 8, 1985 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 9–13–4
27 L December 11, 1985 9–12 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 9–14–4
28 L December 14, 1985 3–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 9–15–4
29 W December 15, 1985 6–4 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 10–15–4
30 W December 18, 1985 5–4 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 11–15–4
31 W December 21, 1985 6–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 12–15–4
32 W December 22, 1985 5–4 OT Calgary Flames (1985–86) 13–15–4
33 L December 26, 1985 6–9 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 13–16–4
34 W December 28, 1985 7–4 @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) 14–16–4
35 W December 29, 1985 4–3 Boston Bruins (1985–86) 15–16–4
36 W January 1, 1986 7–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 16–16–4
37 W January 4, 1986 4–1 @ New York Islanders (1985–86) 17–16–4
38 W January 5, 1986 6–2 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 18–16–4
39 L January 8, 1986 7–8 New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 18–17–4
40 W January 10, 1986 9–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 19–17–4
41 W January 12, 1986 4–2 Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 20–17–4
42 T January 14, 1986 3–3 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 20–17–5
43 W January 15, 1986 4–2 Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 21–17–5
44 L January 17, 1986 1–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 21–18–5
45 W January 19, 1986 6–4 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 22–18–5
46 T January 22, 1986 3–3 OT Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 22–18–6
47 W January 24, 1986 5–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 23–18–6
48 T January 25, 1986 3–3 OT @ New York Islanders (1985–86) 23–18–7
49 L January 27, 1986 3–4 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 23–19–7
50 W January 29, 1986 5–4 New York Rangers (1985–86) 24–19–7
51 W February 1, 1986 7–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 25–19–7
52 L February 2, 1986 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 25–20–7
53 W February 5, 1986 3–2 New York Islanders (1985–86) 26–20–7
54 L February 8, 1986 5–8 @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 26–21–7
55 T February 9, 1986 2–2 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 26–21–8
56 W February 11, 1986 5–4 Boston Bruins (1985–86) 27–21–8
57 W February 13, 1986 5–4 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 28–21–8
58 L February 15, 1986 3–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 28–22–8
59 W February 16, 1986 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 29–22–8
60 L February 19, 1986 5–6 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 29–23–8
61 W February 21, 1986 5–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 30–23–8
62 W February 23, 1986 6–2 Calgary Flames (1985–86) 31–23–8
63 W February 27, 1986 6–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 32–23–8
64 L March 1, 1986 3–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 32–24–8
65 W March 2, 1986 6–4 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 33–24–8
66 L March 5, 1986 3–8 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 33–25–8
67 L March 8, 1986 3–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 33–26–8
68 W March 9, 1986 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 34–26–8
69 L March 12, 1986 6–7 Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 34–27–8
70 L March 15, 1986 4–11 @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 34–28–8
71 W March 16, 1986 5–4 Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) 35–28–8
72 L March 22, 1986 4–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 35–29–8
73 W March 23, 1986 5–3 @ New York Rangers (1985–86) 36–29–8
74 W March 26, 1986 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 37–29–8
75 L March 29, 1986 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 37–30–8
76 L March 30, 1986 4–5 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 37–31–8
77 W April 1, 1986 2–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 38–31–8
78 L April 2, 1986 5–7 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 38–32–8
79 L April 5, 1986 5–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 38–33–8
80 W April 6, 1986 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 39–33–8

Playoffs

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Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Chicago Black Hawks 0

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The Black Hawks opened the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs struggled throughout the 1985–86 season, earning a record of 25–48–7, earning 57 points, placing them in fourth place in the Norris Division, which was 29 fewer points than the heavily favored first place Black Hawks.

The series opened at Chicago Stadium with Bob Sauvé getting the start in goal, and the Leafs took an early 1–0 after a goal by Steve Thomas only 3:46 into the game. The Black Hawks tied it up midway through the period on a goal by Doug Wilson, however, Toronto retook the lead before the end of the period on a goal by Wendel Clark, giving the Leafs a 2–1 lead. The teams then played to a scoreless second period. Early in the third, Chicago tied the game on a goal by Darryl Sutter 4:48 into the frame, however, just over a minute later, the Leafs took the lead again on a Gary Leeman goal. Walt Poddubny scored again for Toronto just over three minutes later, giving the Leafs a 4–2 lead. Late in the period, the Leafs Steve Thomas scored his second goal of the game, giving Toronto a 5–2 lead. The Hawks Tom Lysiak scored late in the game, as the final score was 5–3 for the Maple Leafs.

In game two, the Hawks changed goaltenders, as Murray Bannerman was given the start. In the first period, Dan Daoust scored early for Toronto, giving the Leafs a 1–0 lead 4:01 into the game. Denis Savard tied it up for Chicago midway through the period, however, Steve Thomas restored the lead for Toronto with just under five minutes remaining in the period. The Hawks' Denis Savard tied the game with 32 seconds remaining in the first period, as the score was 2–2 after one period. In the second, Denis Savard completed the hat trick just 1:04 into the period, giving the Black Hawks a 3–2 lead. Soon, Murray Bannerman was injured, the Hawks then pulled and replaced him with Bob Sauvé. With just over five minutes remaining in the second period, Denis Savard scored his fourth goal of the game, giving the Hawks a 4–2 lead. Toronto's Wendel Clark scored just over a minute later, making the score 4–3 for Chicago after two periods. In the third, there was no scoring until just over five minutes remaining in the period, when the Leafs Peter Ihnačák scored, tying the game at 4–4. Then, with only 56 seconds remaining, the Leafs Walt Poddubny scored, giving Toronto a late 5–4 lead. The Leafs sealed the win with an empty net goal by Steve Thomas, giving Toronto the 6–4 victory, and a 2–0 series lead. Leafs goaltender Allan Bester made 42 saves for the win.

The series shifted to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto for the third game. The Black Hawks started goaltender Murray Bannerman for this game after the late collapse by Bob Sauvé in the previous game. The Maple Leafs came out strong in the first period, as Russ Courtnall and Rick Vaive scored, making it 2–0 for Toronto. In the second period, the Leafs continued to dominate the game, as they took a 5–0 lead after goals by Tom Fergus, Miroslav Fryčer, and Wendel Clark. The Black Hawks eventually scored two goals of their own, as Ken Yaremchuk and Tom Lysiak scored 17 seconds apart late in the period, cutting the Leafs lead to 5–2. In the third, the Leafs put the game out of reach after goals by Walt Poddubny and Russ Courtnall, as Toronto defeated the Black Hawks 7–2, and stunned the hockey world by sweeping Chicago out of the playoffs.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks 0–1
2 April 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–4 Chicago Black Hawks 0–2
3 April 12 Chicago Black Hawks 2–7 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–3

Player stats

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Denis Savard C 80 47 69 116 111 7 14 1 8
Troy Murray C 80 45 54 99 94 32 9 5 7
Eddie Olczyk C 79 29 50 79 47 2 8 1 2
Al Secord LW 80 40 36 76 201 8 12 0 3
Steve Larmer RW 80 31 45 76 47 9 13 1 3
Curt Fraser LW 61 29 39 68 84 11 7 0 1
Doug Wilson D 79 17 47 64 80 24 3 0 2
Behn Wilson D 69 13 37 50 113 -11 10 0 6
Keith Brown D 70 11 29 40 87 -6 1 1 0
Bob Murray D 80 9 29 38 75 6 3 0 1
Ken Yaremchuk C 78 14 20 34 43 -17 0 0 2
Darryl Sutter LW 50 17 10 27 44 -15 3 0 2
Bill Watson RW 52 8 16 24 2 -4 2 0 0
Jack O'Callahan D 80 4 19 23 116 5 0 0 0
Tom Lysiak C 51 2 19 21 14 -19 0 0 0
Wayne Presley RW 38 7 8 15 38 -6 0 0 1
Jerry Dupont D 75 2 13 15 173 -17 0 0 0
Marc Bergevin D 71 7 7 14 60 0 0 0 1
Bill Gardner C 46 3 10 13 6 -8 0 0 0
Rick Paterson C 70 9 3 12 24 -1 0 5 0
Steve Ludzik C 49 6 5 11 21 -2 0 1 0
Murray Bannerman G 48 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 0
Bruce Boudreau C 7 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0
Bob Sauve G 38 0 1 1 27 0 0 0 0
Bruce Cassidy D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeff Larmer LW 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Mark LaVarre RW 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Tom McMurchy RW 4 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Victor Posa LW/D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Warren Skorodenski G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Murray Bannerman 2689 48 20 19 6 201 4.48 1 1538 1337 .869
Bob Sauve 2099 38 19 13 2 138 3.94 0 1210 1072 .886
Warren Skorodenski 60 1 0 1 0 6 6.00 0 45 39 .867
Team: 4848 80 39 33 8 345 4.27 1 2793 2448 .876

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Denis Savard C 3 4 1 5 6 -1 2 0 0
Tom Lysiak C 3 2 1 3 2 -1 0 0 0
Darryl Sutter LW 3 1 2 3 0 -4 1 0 0
Steve Larmer RW 3 0 3 3 4 -1 0 0 0
Doug Wilson D 3 1 1 2 2 -5 0 0 0
Ken Yaremchuk C 3 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0
Bob Murray D 3 0 2 2 0 -4 0 0 0
Al Secord LW 2 0 2 2 26 -1 0 0 0
Keith Brown D 3 0 1 1 9 -1 0 0 0
Curt Fraser LW 3 0 1 1 12 -4 0 0 0
Jack O'Callahan D 3 0 1 1 4 -3 0 0 0
Bill Watson RW 2 0 1 1 0 -1 0 0 0
Murray Bannerman G 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Marc Bergevin D 3 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Jerry Dupont D 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Steve Ludzik C 3 0 0 0 12 -1 0 0 0
Troy Murray C 2 0 0 0 2 -3 0 0 0
Eddie Olczyk C 3 0 0 0 0 -6 0 0 0
Rick Paterson C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wayne Presley RW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bob Sauve G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Behn Wilson D 2 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Murray Bannerman 81 2 0 1 9 6.67 0 40 31 .775
Bob Sauve 99 2 0 2 8 4.85 0 61 53 .869
Team: 180 3 0 3 17 5.67 0 101 84 .832

[8]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals; MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Chicago's draft picks at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 11 Dave Manson   Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
3 53 Andy Helmuth   Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL)
4 74 Dan Vincelette   Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
5 87 Rick Herbert   Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
5 95 Brad Belland   Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
6 116 Jonas Heed   Sweden Södertälje SK (Sweden)
7 137 Victor Posa   United States University of Wisconsin Madison (WCHA)
8 158 John Reid   Canada Belleville Bulls (OHL)
9 179 Richard Laplante   Canada University of Vermont (Hockey East)
10 200 Brad Hamilton   Canada Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)
11 221 Ian Pound   Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
12 242 Richard Braccia   United States Avon Old Farms (USHS-CT)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ McDill, Kent (April 9, 1986). "Gary Leeman scored the go-ahead goal and set up..." UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  2. ^ McDill, Kent (April 10, 1986). "The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the playoffs with the... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. ^ McDill, Kent (April 11, 1986). "The greatest playoff performance in Chicago Blackhawks history and... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ McDill, Kent (April 11, 1986). "Al Iafrate can already hear the cheers at Toronto's... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished two surprising feats Saturday... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  7. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-May-03.
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