1983–84 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1983–84 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 75th season of play in the National Hockey League. The team struggled on the ice and, for the first time ever in the expansion era, finished the regular season with a losing record. Coach Bob Berry was fired 63 games into the season and replaced with former Canadiens great Jacques Lemaire.
| 1983–84 Montreal Canadiens | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Adams |
| Conference | 8th Wales |
| 1983–84 record | 35–40–5 |
| Goals for | 286 |
| Goals against | 295 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Serge Savard |
| Coach | Bob Berry Jacques Lemaire |
| Captain | Bob Gainey |
| Alternate captains | None |
| Arena | Montreal Forum |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Guy Lafleur (30) |
| Assists | Guy Lafleur (40) |
| Points | Guy Lafleur (70) |
| Penalty minutes | Chris Nilan (338) |
| Plus/minus | Bill Root (+26) |
| Wins | Rick Wamsley (19) |
| Goals against average | Richard Sevigny (3.38) |
The club placed fourth in its division, which was still good enough to qualify for the playoffs ahead of the last place Hartford Whalers. The Habs then stunned their heavily favoured rivals, the Boston Bruins with a 3–0 sweep in the opening round. With the upset, Montreal recorded their first playoff series victory since 1980. Then they defeated their provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques in the Adams final, in a series notorious for the two bench clearing brawls before the third period of game 6. The Canadiens were finally eliminated in the Prince of Wales Conference finals by the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders in six games.