The 1985–86 Hartford Whalers season saw the Whalers finish in fourth place in the Adams Division with a record of 40 wins, 36 losses, and 4 ties for 84 points. They beat the Quebec Nordiques in the Adams Division Semifinals in three games, for their first and only playoff series victory in franchise history. They lost the Adams Division Finals in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens. Because the Whalers made it to the Adams Division Finals, the 1985–86 season is considered by many to be the most successful in Whalers history.
Offseason At the 1985 NHL entry draft held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Hartford Whalers selected defenseman Dana Murzyn from the Calgary Wranglers of the WHL with their first round, fifth overall draft pick. In 72 games with the Wranglers, Murzyn scored 32 goals, 92 points and accumulated 233 penalty minutes during the 1984–85 season. In eight playoff games, Murzyn had a goal and 12 points. Some other notable picks by the Whalers included goaltender Kay Whitmore from the Peterborough Petes in the second round, and right winger Shane Churla from the Medicine Hat Tigers in the sixth round.
On September 19, the Whalers signed free agent center John Newberry. In 16 games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1984–85 season, Newberry had four assists. With the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the AHL, Newberry scored 23 goals and 63 points in 58 games.
Hartford acquired defenseman Tim Bothwell in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on October 4, as the Whalers sent cash to the Blues to complete the trade. Bothwell scored four goals and 26 points in 79 with the Blues during the 1984–85 season. He also had a +27 rating, and over the past two seasons, Bothwell was a +49.
Three days later, on October 7, Hartford traded defenseman Chris Kotsopoulos to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for left winger Stew Gavin. Gavin scored 12 goals and 25 points in 73 games with Toronto in 1984–85. In 268 career games to date, Gavin scored 34 goals and 82 points since beginning his career in the 1980–81 season.
Draft picks
Below are the Hartford Whalers' selections at the 1985 NHL entry draft, which were held on June 15, 1985. It was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto.
Round # Player Pos. Nationality College/junior/club team (League)15 Dana Murzyn D Calgary Wranglers (WHL)226 Kay Whitmore G Peterborough Petes (OHL)468 Gary Callaghan C Belleville Bulls (OHL)6110 Shane Churla RW Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)7131 Chris Brant LW Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)8152 Brian Puhalski LW Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)9173 Greg Dornbach C Miami University (CCHA)10194 Paul Tory RW University of Illinois at Chicago (CCHA)11215 Jerry Pawloski D Harvard University (ECAC)12236 Bruce Hill LW University of Denver (WCHA)
Roster + 1985–86 Hartford Whalers RosterNo. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace 20 John Anderson LW L/– 28 1986 Toronto 44 Dave Babych D L/– 24 1985 Edmonton, Alberta 17 Wayne Babych RW R/– 27 1986 Edmonton, Alberta 24 Tim Bothwell D L/– 30 1985 Vancouver 34 Jack Brownschidle D L/– 30 1983 Buffalo, New York 21 Sylvain Côté D R/– 20 1984 Quebec City, Quebec 25 Bob Crawford RW R/– 26 1983 Belleville, Ontario 11 Kevin Dineen RW R/– 22 1984 Quebec City, Quebec 12 Dean Evason C R/– 21 1984 Flin Flon, Manitoba 29 Paul Fenton LW L/– 26 1984 Springfield, Massachusetts 26 Ray Ferraro C L/– 21 1982 Trail, British Columbia 10 Ron Francis (C) C L/– 22 1981 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 14 Bill Gardner C L/– 25 1985 Toronto 7 Stew Gavin RW R/– 25 1985 Ottawa, Ontario 20 Mike Hoffman LW L/– 22 1981 Cambridge, Ontario 27 Doug Jarvis C L/– 30 1985 Peterborough, Ontario 18 Scot Kleinendorst D L/– 26 1984 Grand Rapids, Minnesota 28 Paul Lawless LW L/– 21 1982 Scarborough, Ontario 1 Mike Liut G –/L 30 1985 Weston, Ontario 23 Paul MacDermid RW R/– 22 1981 Chesley, Ontario 14 Greg Malone C L/– 29 1985 Fredericton, New Brunswick 25 Mike McEwen D L/– 29 1985 Hornepayne, Ontario 4 Dana Murzyn D L/– 19 1985 Calgary, Alberta 17 Ray Neufeld RW R/– 26 1979 Saint Boniface, Manitoba 33 John Newberry C L/– 23 1985 Port Alberni, British Columbia 6 Mark Paterson D L/– 21 1982 Ottawa, Ontario 22 Jörgen Pettersson LW L/– 29 1985 Gothenburg, Sweden 3 Joel Quenneville D L/– 27 1983 Windsor, Ontario 32 Torrie Robertson LW L/– 24 1983 Victoria, British Columbia 5 Ulf Samuelsson D L/– 21 1982 Fagerstad, Sweden 38 Brad Shaw D R/– 21 1985 Cambridge, Ontario 8 Risto Siltanen D R/– 27 1982 Tampere, Finland 15 Dave Tippett LW L/– 24 1983 Moosomin, Saskatchewan 16 Sylvain Turgeon LW L/– 21 1983 Noranda, Quebec 31 Steve Weeks G –/L 27 1984 Scarborough, Ontario 20 Mike Zuke C R/– 31 1983 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Head coach Jack Evans Assistant Coach Claude Larose Head Trainer Tom Woodcock Assistant TrainerEquipment Manager Skip Cunningham
Regular season October Hartford began the 1985–86 season on the road against the Buffalo Sabres on October 10. The Whalers, led by two goals by Kevin Dineen, overcame a 3–0 deficit to defeat the Sabres 5–4. Two nights later, on October 12, the Whalers hosted the New York Rangers for their home opener, and were led by two goals by Ron Francis and Ray Ferraro, as well as 33 saves by Mike Liut, as Hartford defeated New York 8–2 in front of 15,142 fans at the Civic Center.
The Whalers dropped their next game to the Quebec Nordiques, however, they would win their following two games, including a wild 11–6 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, to open the season 4–1–0. Hartford then began a four-game road trip, in which they dropped their first three games before salvaging a victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, bringing their record to 5–4–0.
In their final game of the month, Hartford defeated the Quebec Nordiques on home ice, finishing October with a 6–4–0 record, as they earned 12 points. The Whalers sat in third place in the Adams Division, five points behind the first place Quebec Nordiques.
November Hartford got off to a tough start in November, losing their first three games, including blowout losses of 8–1 to the Los Angeles Kings and 8–3 to the Montreal Canadiens. The Whalers ended their losing streak with a 4–3 win over the Quebec Nordiques as they stormed back from a 3–0 third period deficit to take the victory.
The Whalers won their next game against the Minnesota North Stars, however, this followed by another three game losing skid, dropping the Whalers to a record of 8–10–0 and falling into last place in the Adams Division. On November 21, the Whalers acquired defenseman Dave Babych from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for right winger Ray Neufeld. Babych had four goals and 16 points in 19 games with the Jets at the time of the trade. A high-scoring defenseman, Babych had recorded at least 60 points in three of his four previous seasons, including 74 points in 79 games with Winnipeg in 1982–83.
The trade sparked the Whalers to a huge 8–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on November 23, as Ron Francis led the way with a hat trick. In their next game, the Whalers shutout the Los Angeles Kings 9–0, as Mike Liut earned the shutout with 30 saves.
The Whalers won their third game in row on November 29, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 5–4, however, the Edmonton Oilers snapped the Whalers winning streak the next night, as they defeated Hartford 8–5.
Hartford struggled to a 5–7–0 record in November, dropping their overall record to 11–11–0 through their first 22 games. The Whalers were in last place in the Adams Division, three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot.
December The Whalers opened December the same way they closed November, as Hartford lost by a score of 8–5, this time to the Calgary Flames, on December 4. Two days later, Hartford acquired center Doug Jarvis from the Washington Capitals for left winger Jörgen Pettersson. Jarvis, who began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1975–76 season, had never missed a game in his career, as he had played in 825 games in a row at the time of the trade. Jarvis was a four time Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens, winning the Cup in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. He was traded to the Washington Capitals prior to the 1982–83 season, and won the Selke Trophy in 1984. Jarvis had a goal and three points in 25 games with Washington to begin the 1985–86 season.
In their next six games after the trade, the Whalers posted a record of 4–1–1 to climb over the .500 mark with an overall record of 15–13–1, pulling the Whalers within one point of the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth and final playoff position in the Adams Division.
Hartford dropped two of their final three games before Christmas, however, the Whalers rebounded by winning their first three games after the Christmas break, before dropping their final game of December.
The Whalers posted a record of 8–5–1 record during December, bringing their overall record to 19–16–1 through 36 games. The Whalers were tied with the Buffalo Sabres for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Adams Division. They were also only three points behind the first place Montreal Canadiens, as three points separated first and last place in the division.
January Hartford dropped their first two games on January, losing to the Quebec Nordiques and Edmonton Oilers, bringing their overall losing streak to three games. The Whalers ended their losing skid with a 9–1 win over the Calgary Flames, as Dean Evason and Kevin Dineen each scored hat tricks in the victory. Hartford won their next game against the Vancouver Canucks, before dropping two in a row.
On January 17, the Whalers acquired Wayne Babych, the older brother of Whalers defenseman Dave Babych, from the Quebec Nordiques, in exchange for Greg Malone. Babych, who was acquired by Quebec from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the season, had six goals and 11 points in 15 games with the Nordiques. His best season came in 1980–81, while as a member of the St. Louis Blues, Babych scored 54 goals and 96 points in 78 games. During that season, he led the NHL with 40 even strength goals.
The trade marked the beginning of a five-game winning streak, as that evening, the Whalers defeated the Quebec Nordiques 11–6. On January 21, the Whalers shutout the New York Rangers 5–0, as Steve Weeks stopped all 19 shots he faced.
The Whalers winning streak came to an end on January 27, as the Boston Bruins defeated Hartford 6–3. Two nights later, in the Whalers final game of the month, the club lost to the Boston Bruins 5–4 in overtime.
Hartford earned a record of 7–6–0 during January, which was their second consecutive winning month of the season. Their overall record at the end of January was 26–22–1, as the club had 53 points and sat in the fourth and final playoff spot in the Adams Division, two points ahead of the fifth place Buffalo Sabres.
February The Whalers continued their winless skid into February, as Hartford began February with a 0–7–1 record in their first eight games, bringing their overall winless skid to 10 games (0–9–1). During this slump, the club acquired center Bill Gardner from the Chicago Black Hawks in exchange for a third round draft pick in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Gardner scored three goals and 13 points in 46 games with Chicago during the 1985–86 season.
The winless skid dropped the Whalers overall record to 26–29–2 following their 4–1 loss to the Minnesota North Stars on February 15. This dropped the club into last place in the Adams Division, six points behind the fourth place Buffalo Sabres.
On February 18, the Whalers earned their first win of February, a 5–4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The next night, the Whalers defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6–4, bringing their winning streak to two games. This came to an abrupt end, as Hartford lost their remaining three games of February.