1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks season

1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks
Division	4th Norris
1981–82 record	30–38–12
Goals for	332
Goals against	363
Team information
General Manager	Bob Pulford
Coach	Keith Magnuson
Captain	Terry Ruskowski
Alternate captains	None
← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The 1981–82 Chicago Black Hawks season was the 56th season of operation of the Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League.

During the off-season, the NHL realigned their divisions, and the Black Hawks moved from the Smythe Division to the Norris Division. Joining Chicago in the Norris Division were the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Winnipeg Jets, making it the only six team division in the league.

At the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, the Hawks drafted Tony Tanti with their first round draft pick. Tanti had 81 goals and 150 points with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL in 1980-81.

Chicago had a solid start to the season, opening with a 9-5-6 record in their first 20 games, only two points behind the Minnesota North Stars for first place in the Norris Division. The Black Hawks struggled over the next part of the season, as they quickly fell out of contention for first place, going 14-28-4 in their next 46 games, falling into fourth place. During the slump, head coach Keith Magnuson resigned, as Bob Pulford took over as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Chicago finished the season with a 30-38-12 record, earning 72 points, which was good enough for the final playoff spot in the Norris.

Offensively, Denis Savard had a breakout season, scoring 32 goals and a club record 119 points while playing in all 80 games. Al Secord scored a team high 44 goals, and finished with 75 points, while getting a team high 303 penalty minutes. Tom Lysiak had another solid season, scoring 32 goals and 82 points. On defence, Doug Wilson had an excellent season, scoring 39 goals and 85 points, while Doug Crossman emerged with 12 goals and 40 points.

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