1992–93 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1992–93 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques' 23nd season of operation and its 16th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Nordiques qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 1986–87 season. Quebec achieved the largest turnaround in NHL history, recording a 52-point improvement from the previous season. Joe Sakic became captain (after a stint as co-captain in 1990–91). Four Nordiques (Owen Nolan, Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, and Scott Young) reached the 30-goal plateau.[1] Nordiques goaltenders did not record a shutout during the regular season and playoffs.[2] The Nordiques were not shut out in any game during the 84-game regular season and their six-game playoff series.[3] In addition, the Nordiques led all teams in shorthanded goals scored during the regular season (21).[1] The Nordiques also had the best shooting percentage in the league during the regular season, scoring 351 goals on just 2,519 shots (13.9%).[1]

1992–93 Quebec Nordiques
Division2nd Adams
Conference3rd Wales
1992–93 record47–27–10
Home record23–17–2
Road record24–10–8
Goals for351
Goals against300
Team information
General managerPierre Page
CoachPierre Page
CaptainJoe Sakic
Alternate captainsMike Hough
Mike Ricci
ArenaColisée de Québec
Average attendance14,981
Team leaders
GoalsJoe Sakic (48)
AssistsMats Sundin (67)
PointsMats Sundin (114)
Penalty minutesOwen Nolan (185)
Plus/minusCurtis Leschyshyn (+25)
WinsRon Hextall (29)
Goals against averageStephane Fiset (3.40)

Offseason

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NHL draft

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Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 4 Todd Warriner   Canada Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
2 28 Paul Brousseau   Canada Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
2 29 Tuomas Gronman   Finland Tacoma Rockets (WHL)
3 52 Manny Fernandez   Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)
4 76 Ian McIntyre   Canada Beauport Harfangs (QMJHL)
5 100 Charlie Wasley   United States St. Paul Vulcans (NAHL)
6 124 Paxton Schulte   Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
7 148 Martin Lepage   Canada Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
8 172 Mike Jickling   Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
9 196 Steve Passmore   Canada Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)
10 220 Anson Carter   Canada Wexford Raiders (MetJHL)
11 244 Aaron Ellis   United States Culver Military Academy (USHS-IN)
S 4 Richard Shulmistra   Canada Miami University (CCHA)

The Eric Lindros trade

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Eric Lindros was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Lindros had signaled in advance that he would never play for the Nordiques, citing distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French. He went as far as to refuse to wear the team's jersey on draft day; the team selected him anyway.

The president of the Nordiques publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centerpiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out. Due to Lindros' popularity and hype, it is alleged that the NHL president intervened to get the Nordiques to trade him, as it would otherwise damage the image of the league. During the hold out, Lindros spent the time playing with the Oshawa Generals and also participated in the 1992 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal.

In 1992, the Nordiques worked out trades for him with both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. Eventually an arbitrator, Larry Bertuzzi (grand-uncle of Todd Bertuzzi),[4] ruled in favour of the Flyers, for whom he played from 1992 to 2000, most of the time as the team's captain.[5] The trade between the Nordiques and the Rangers that was ruled invalid by the arbitrator had Lindros being traded for Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, Alexei Kovalev, John Vanbiesbrouck and three first round draft picks (1993, 1994 and 1995) and $12 million.[6]

June 20, 1992
To Philadelphia Flyers
rights to Eric Lindros
To Quebec Nordiques
Steve Duchesne
Ron Hextall
Kerry Huffman
Mike Ricci
Chris Simon
rights to Peter Forsberg
1st round pick in 1993
1st round pick in 1994
$15 million

Regular season

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Final standings

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Adams Division
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Boston Bruins 84 51 26 7 109 332 268
Quebec Nordiques 84 47 27 10 104 351 300
Montreal Canadiens 84 48 30 6 102 326 280
Buffalo Sabres 84 38 36 10 86 335 297
Hartford Whalers 84 26 52 6 58 284 369
Ottawa Senators 84 10 70 4 24 202 395

[7]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.

Wales Conference[8]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Pittsburgh Penguins PTK 84 56 21 7 367 268 119
2 Boston Bruins ADM 84 51 26 7 332 268 109
3 Quebec Nordiques ADM 84 47 27 10 351 300 104
4 Montreal Canadiens ADM 84 48 30 6 326 280 102
5 Washington Capitals PTK 84 43 34 7 325 286 93
6 New York Islanders PTK 84 40 37 7 335 297 87
7 New Jersey Devils PTK 84 40 37 7 308 299 87
8 Buffalo Sabres ADM 84 38 36 10 335 297 86
9 Philadelphia Flyers PTK 84 36 37 11 319 319 83
10 New York Rangers PTK 84 34 39 11 304 308 79
11 Hartford Whalers ADM 84 26 52 6 284 369 58
12 Ottawa Senators ADM 84 10 70 4 202 395 24

p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs


Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1 W October 8, 1992 5–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 1–0–0 15,176
2 W October 10, 1992 9–2 Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 2–0–0 15,399
3 W October 13, 1992 6–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1992–93) 3–0–0 15,399
4 W October 15, 1992 4–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1992–93) 4–0–0 19,683
5 L October 17, 1992 5–6 St. Louis Blues (1992–93) 4–1–0 15,086
6 T October 21, 1992 5–5 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1992–93) 4–1–1 14,862
7 L October 22, 1992 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1992–93) 4–2–1 12,171
8 L October 24, 1992 2–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1992–93) 4–3–1 9,528
9 W October 27, 1992 4–3 Tampa Bay Lightning (1992–93) 5–3–1 14,685
10 W October 29, 1992 6–3 @ New York Rangers (1992–93) 6–3–1 16,441
11 W October 31, 1992 3–2 Winnipeg Jets (1992–93) 7–3–1 15,041
12 T November 3, 1992 3–3 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 7–3–2 7,723
13 L November 5, 1992 4–6 @ Boston Bruins (1992–93) 7–4–2 13,898
14 L November 7, 1992 4–7 Chicago Blackhawks (1992–93) 7–5–2 14,561
15 T November 8, 1992 5–5 OT Calgary Flames (1992–93) 7–5–3 14,844
16 W November 11, 1992 7–3 @ Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 8–5–3 10,500
17 T November 12, 1992 4–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1992–93) 8–5–4 16,164
18 W November 14, 1992 6–3 New York Rangers (1992–93) 9–5–4 14,592
19 W November 17, 1992 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1992–93) 10–5–4 17,026
20 W November 19, 1992 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 11–5–4 15,399
21 W November 21, 1992 8–2 Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 12–5–4 14,445
22 L November 22, 1992 4–6 Washington Capitals (1992–93) 12–6–4 14,679
23 T November 25, 1992 1–1 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 12–6–5 14,832
24 W November 26, 1992 5–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1992–93) 13–6–5 15,505
25 L November 28, 1992 3–6 New Jersey Devils (1992–93) 13–7–5 14,734
26 L November 30, 1992 3–4 Boston Bruins (1992–93) 13–8–5 14,328
27 L December 3, 1992 2–3 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1992–93) 13–9–5 17,277
28 L December 5, 1992 4–7 Minnesota North Stars (1992–93) 13–10–5 14,431
29 W December 7, 1992 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 14–10–5 14,010
30 W December 10, 1992 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1992–93) 15–10–5 15,221
31 W December 12, 1992 8–7 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1992–93) 16–10–5 11,089
32 T December 13, 1992 3–3 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1992–93) 16–10–6 16,150
33 W December 16, 1992 5–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 17–10–6 17,582
34 L December 17, 1992 3–8 Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 17–11–6 15,399
35 W December 20, 1992 5–3 New York Islanders (1992–93) 18–11–6 14,195
36 L December 21, 1992 4–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1992–93) 18–12–6 16,164
37 W December 26, 1992 4–2 Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 19–12–6 15,337
38 W December 27, 1992 6–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 20–12–6 10,500
39 W December 29, 1992 4–1 New Jersey Devils (1992–93) 21–12–6 15,399
40 W December 31, 1992 6–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 22–12–6 9,403
41 L January 2, 1993 2–6 Detroit Red Wings (1992–93) 22–13–6 15,399
42 W January 5, 1993 2–1 @ New York Islanders (1992–93) 23–13–6 9,168
43 W January 7, 1993 3–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1992–93) 24–13–6 14,128
44 L January 9, 1993 2–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 24–14–6 11,265
45 L January 14, 1993 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 24–15–6 15,399
46 W January 16, 1993 4–1 San Jose Sharks (1992–93) 25–15–6 15,147
47 W January 19, 1993 5–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 26–15–6 10,500
48 L January 22, 1993 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 26–16–6 16,325
49 W January 23, 1993 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 27–16–6 15,399
50 T January 26, 1993 4–4 OT Boston Bruins (1992–93) 27–16–7 15,082
51 W January 28, 1993 6–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1992–93) 28–16–7 17,297
52 T January 29, 1993 3–3 OT @ Washington Capitals (1992–93) 28–16–8 17,818
53 W February 2, 1993 3–2 Los Angeles Kings (1992–93) 29–16–8 14,843
54 L February 3, 1993 1–4 Boston Bruins (1992–93) 29–17–8 14,287
55 L February 9, 1993 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1992–93) 29–18–8 14,360
56 T February 12, 1993 4–4 OT @ Calgary Flames (1992–93) 29–18–9 20,214
57 W February 14, 1993 3–2 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1992–93) 30–18–9 17,503
58 W February 17, 1993 6–4 Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 31–18–9 14,385
59 W February 20, 1993 5–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1992–93) 32–18–9 9,584
60 W February 21, 1993 6–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1992–93) 33–18–9 5,246
61 W February 23, 1993 6–3 Edmonton Oilers (1992–93) 34–18–9 14,012
62 W February 25, 1993 6–4 New York Islanders (1992–93) 35–18–9 14,486
63 L February 27, 1993 3–5 Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 35–19–9 15,398
64 L February 28, 1993 4–6 @ Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 35–20–9 10,500
65 W March 2, 1993 7–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1992–93) 36–20–9 14,397
66 T March 4, 1993 3–3 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1992–93) 36–20–10 17,490
67 W March 6, 1993 10–2 New York Rangers (1992–93) 37–20–10 15,399
68 L March 8, 1993 2–4 Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 37–21–10 15,030
69 L March 10, 1993 4–7 Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 37–22–10 15,021
70 W March 13, 1993 5–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 38–22–10 17,954
71 W March 15, 1993 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1992–93) 39–22–10 15,399
72 L March 18, 1993 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 39–23–10 15,399
73 W March 20, 1993 5–1 @ New Jersey Devils (1992–93) 40–23–10 18,524
74 L March 23, 1993 1–5 @ Washington Capitals (1992–93) 40–24–10 12,861
75 W March 27, 1993 8–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1992–93) 41–24–10 15,399
76 W March 28, 1993 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1992–93) 42–24–10 18,200
77 W March 31, 1993 6–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1992–93) 43–24–10 17,959
78 W April 1, 1993 4–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 44–24–10 10,500
79 L April 3, 1993 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1992–93) 44–25–10 15,399
80 L April 6, 1993 1–7 Boston Bruins (1992–93) 44–26–10 15,399
81 L April 8, 1993 2–6 @ Boston Bruins (1992–93) 44–27–10 14,448
82 W April 10, 1993 6–3 Hartford Whalers (1992–93) 45–27–10 15,399
83 W April 11, 1993 3–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1992–93) 46–27–10 14,003
84 W April 13, 1993 6–2 Ottawa Senators (1992–93) 47–27–10 15,399

Player statistics

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Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Mats Sundin C 80 47 67 114 96 21 13 4 9
Joe Sakic C 78 48 57 105 40 −3 20 2 4
Steve Duchesne D 82 20 62 82 57 15 8 0 2
Mike Ricci C 77 27 51 78 123 8 12 1 10
Owen Nolan RW 73 36 41 77 185 −1 15 0 4
Andrei Kovalenko RW 81 27 41 68 57 13 8 1 4
Scott Young RW 82 30 30 60 20 5 9 6 5
Martin Rucinsky LW 77 18 30 48 51 16 4 0 1
Valeri Kamensky LW 32 15 22 37 14 13 2 3 0
Claude Lapointe LW/C 74 10 26 36 98 5 0 0 1
Curtis Leschyshyn D 82 9 23 32 61 25 4 0 2
Alexei Gusarov D 79 8 22 30 57 18 0 2 1
Mike Hough LW 77 8 22 30 69 −11 2 1 2
Gino Cavallini LW 67 9 15 24 34 10 0 0 0
Kerry Huffman D 52 4 18 22 54 0 3 0 0
Adam Foote D 81 4 12 16 168 6 0 1 0
Scott Pearson LW 41 13 1 14 95 3 0 0 1
Steven Finn D 80 5 9 14 160 −3 0 0 0
Bill Lindsay RW 44 4 9 13 16 0 0 0 0
Tim Hunter RW 48 5 3 8 94 −4 0 0 0
Mikhail Tatarinov D 28 2 6 8 28 6 1 0 0
Craig Wolanin D 24 1 4 5 49 9 0 0 0
Chris Simon LW 16 1 1 2 67 −2 0 0 1
Stephane Fiset G 37 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Ron Hextall G 54 0 2 2 56 0 0 0 0
Tony Twist LW 34 0 2 2 64 0 0 0 0
Niklas Andersson LW 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Len Esau D 4 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Dave Karpa D 12 0 1 1 13 −6 0 0 0
Jacques Cloutier G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ron Hextall 2988 54 29 16 5 172 3.45 0 1529 1357 .888
Stephane Fiset 1939 37 18 9 4 110 3.40 0 945 835 .884
Jacques Cloutier 154 3 0 2 1 10 3.90 0 65 55 .846
Team: 5081 84 47 27 10 292 3.45 0 2539 2247 .885
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe Sakic C 6 3 3 6 2 −3 1 0 0
Claude Lapointe LW/C 6 2 4 6 8 4 0 0 0
Mike Ricci C 6 0 6 6 8 5 0 0 0
Scott Young RW 6 4 1 5 0 5 0 0 2
Steve Duchesne D 6 0 5 5 6 0 0 0 0
Mats Sundin C 6 3 1 4 6 −4 1 0 0
Curtis Leschyshyn D 6 1 1 2 6 3 1 0 0
Martin Rucinsky LW 6 1 1 2 4 −3 1 0 0
Andrei Kovalenko RW 4 1 0 1 2 −5 0 0 0
Owen Nolan RW 5 1 0 1 2 −2 0 0 0
Steven Finn D 6 0 1 1 8 −3 0 0 0
Adam Foote D 6 0 1 1 2 −3 0 0 0
Alexei Gusarov D 5 0 1 1 0 −3 0 0 0
Mike Hough LW 6 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Valeri Kamensky LW 6 0 1 1 6 −1 0 0 0
Gino Cavallini LW 4 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Stephane Fiset G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ron Hextall G 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kerry Huffman D 3 0 0 0 0 −2 0 0 0
Dave Karpa D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Scott Pearson LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chris Simon LW 5 0 0 0 26 −2 0 0 0
Craig Wolanin D 4 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ron Hextall 372 6 2 4 18 2.90 0 211 193 .915
Stephane Fiset 21 1 0 0 1 2.86 0 12 11 .917
Team: 393 6 2 4 19 2.90 0 223 204 .915

[9]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Playoffs

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Quebec vs. Montreal

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Montreal head coach Jacques Demers held himself to a promise he made to goaltender Patrick Roy earlier in the season and kept him as the starting goaltender despite a couple of weak goals allowed in the first two games of the series against the Nordiques. With the Canadiens staring a potential 3–0 series deficit to the rival Nords in the face, overtime in Game 3 was marked by two disputed goals that were reviewed by the video goal judge. The first review ruled that Stephan Lebeau had knocked the puck in with a high stick, but the second upheld the Habs' winning goal, as it was directed in by the skate of Quebec defenceman Alexei Gusarov, and not that of a Montreal player.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Attendance
1 April 18 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 1–0 15,399
2 April 20 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 Quebec Nordiques 2–0 15,399
3 April 22 Quebec Nordiques 1–2 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 17,679
4 April 24 Quebec Nordiques 2–3 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 17,955
5 April 26 Montreal Canadiens 5–4 Quebec Nordiques 2–3 15,399
6 April 28 Quebec Nordiques 2–6 Montreal Canadiens 2–4 17,959

Transactions

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The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1992–93 season.

Trades

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June 30, 1992 To Philadelphia Flyers
Eric Lindros
To Quebec Nordiques
Ron Hextall
Peter Forsberg
Steve Duchesne
Kerry Huffman
Mike Ricci
Chris Simon
1st round pick in 1993 (Jocelyn Thibault)
1st round pick in 1994 (Nolan Baumgartner)
$15 million
July 21, 1992 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ken McRae
To Quebec Nordiques
Len Esau
August 24, 1992 To Winnipeg Jets
Dan Lambert
To Quebec Nordiques
Shawn Cronin
September 9, 1992 To Detroit Red Wings
Dennis Vial
To Quebec Nordiques
Cash
October 27, 1992 To Calgary Flames
Future Considerations
To Quebec Nordiques
Bryan Deasley
February 12, 1993 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Herb Raglan
To Quebec Nordiques
Michel Mongeau
Martin Simard
Steve Tuttle
June 15, 1993 To Washington Capitals
Ken Kaminski
To Quebec Nordiques
Mark Matier
June 20, 1993 To New York Islanders
Ron Hextall
1st round pick in 1993 (Todd Bertuzzi)
To Quebec Nordiques
Mark Fitzpatrick
1st round pick in 1993 (Adam Deadmarsh)
June 20, 1993 To Edmonton Oilers
Scott Pearson
To Quebec Nordiques
Martin Gelinas
6th round pick in 1993 (Nick Checco)
June 20, 1993 To Washington Capitals
Mike Hough
To Quebec Nordiques
Reggie Savage
Paul MacDermid

Waivers

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October 4, 1992 To Philadelphia Flyers
Shawn Cronin

Expansion Draft

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June 24, 1993 To Florida Panthers
Mark Fitzpatrick
June 24, 1993 To Florida Panthers
Bill Lindsay

Free agents

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Player New Team
Dave Marcinyshyn New York Rangers
Jamie Baker Ottawa Senators

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c 1992–93 Quebec Nordiques Roster and Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ 1992–93 Quebec Nordiques Schedule and Results | Hockey-Reference.com
  3. ^ "Quebec Nordiques 1992–93 season". hockey-reference.com.
  4. ^ New York Times (June 27, 1993). "Islanders Pick Name With a Ring to It". New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
  5. ^ Shawn P. Roarke, A Look Back: 1991, NHL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2006. [dead link]
  6. ^ Dallas Stars Official Website. [dead link]
  7. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 154. ISBN 9781894801225.
  8. ^ "1992–1993 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "1992-93 Quebec Nordiques Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
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