The 1984 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1983âÂÂ84 season, and the culmination of the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the defending Campbell Conference champion Edmonton Oilers and the defending Wales Conference and four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders. The upstart Oilers defeated the four-time defending champion Islanders to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, becoming the third post-1967 expansion team and first former World Hockey Association team to win the Cup, and also the first team based west of Chicago to win the Cup since the WCHL's Victoria Cougars became the last non-NHL team to win it in .
In the previous year's Stanley Cup Final, the Islanders had swept the Oilers in four straight games. The teams met again in 1984, with the Islanders seeking their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup championship. While both teams had improved on their regular season records from the previous season, Edmonton had progressed more and finished with the best record in the NHL for the first time in their short history. However, it was New York who received home-ice advantage, as they had in since the rules in place since 1982 dictated that home-ice advantage went to the conference that won the coin toss and in 1984 because the Wales Conference had more points in head-to-head play against the Campbell Conference. It was also the first time that the Finals was played under a 2âÂÂ3âÂÂ2 format. This was the third time during the era that the team with the worse record received a home-ice advantage, the other two being the 1968 and 1970. Home-ice advantage reverted to the team with the better record for the following Finals, and the Finals reverted to the former 2âÂÂ2âÂÂ1âÂÂ1âÂÂ1 format in the Finals after that.
This was the fifth straight Finals of teams that joined the NHL in 1967 or later. , the Islanders' four consecutive Cup wins (, , , 1983) and their appearance in the 1984 Cup Finals is an NHL record of 19 consecutive playoff series wins that currently stands unbroken. The 1984 Finals was the third of nine consecutive Finals contested by a team from Western Canada, second of eight contested by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six, the Calgary Flames in two, the Vancouver Canucks in one), and the first of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four times at home, the Montreal Canadiens once in Calgary).
The Oilers became the fastest Canadian-based expansion team to win a major sports title by winning a title in only their fifth NHL season. The feat was eclipsed in 2016 by the Ottawa Redblacks, who won the Grey Cup in their third CFL season.
To date, this is the last time the Islanders have appeared in the Stanley Cup Final, and they currently hold the second longest Finals appearance drought in the league at 40 years, the longest of any American-based team. The only team with a longer Finals appearance drought are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who last made the Finals in 1967.
Edmonton defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3âÂÂ0, the Calgary Flames 4âÂÂ3 and the Minnesota North Stars 4âÂÂ0 to reach the Finals.
New York defeated the New York Rangers 3âÂÂ2, the Washington Capitals 4âÂÂ1, and the Montreal Canadiens 4âÂÂ2 to reach the Finals.
NOTE: In 1981, the NHL realigned it conferences and divisions according to geographical regions. Along with this, it was decided to play the Stanley Cup Final in a 2-3-2 format, with home ice advantage being awarded to the division with the better aggregate record in interdivisional games. This format would be used until 1985, after which the Final would go back to a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with home ice going to the team with the better regular season record.
Grant Fuhr shut out the Islanders in the first game, on Long Island, with Kevin McClelland scoring the game's only goal, but the Islanders won game two 6âÂÂ1. The series then shifted to Edmonton for three games. In game three, the Islanders had a 2âÂÂ1 lead in the second period, but Mark Messier scored on an individual effort to tie the game. They proceeded to beat the Islanders 7âÂÂ2. The Oilers, however, lost Fuhr for games four and five after the Islanders' Pat LaFontaine crashed into Fuhr on the forecheck during game three, and Fuhr was slow to get up. Andy Moog started games four and five. The Oilers won game four by the same score, with Wayne Gretzky scoring his first goal of the Finals. The Oilers then won game five by the score of 5âÂÂ2 thanks to Gretzky's two first-period goals, and two Duane Sutter penalties. They became the first former WHA team, and the first team from Edmonton, to win the Stanley Cup. Mark Messier was awarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
The series aired on CBC in Canada and on the USA Network in the United States. CBC's broadcast team consisted of Bob Cole, Dick Irvin Jr., and Gary Dornhoefer. USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York area due to the local rights to Islanders games in that TV market, with SportsChannel New York airing games one and two, and WOR televising the other three games.
The 1984 Stanley Cup was presented to Oilers captain Wayne Gretzky by NHL President John Ziegler following the Oilers 5âÂÂ2 win over the Islanders in game five.
The following Oilers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup:
1983âÂÂ84 Edmonton Oilers