Skip to content

NHL battle of the nations 1982–83

Sweden won the 1982–83 nations league ahead of Canada, when every country is weighed by how good its players are rather than how many there are. Counted in raw points Canada won, as always.

The nations league ranks the 5 countries with at least five NHL skaters in five disciplines and adds up the placings.

Back to the full top-lists page
1982–83Active season80/82 games
5 countries with at least five skaters. First in a category gets 5 points, second 4 and so on down to 1 for last. The table is the total.
1
SwedenSweden25 players
CGYKent Nilsson104 ptsPHIPelle Lindbergh23 W
Rate1stTop trio2ndBlue line2ndGoalies1stPer million2nd
22pts
2
CanadaCanada542 players
EDMWayne Gretzky196 ptsBOSPete Peeters40 W
Rate4thTop trio1stBlue line4thGoalies2ndPer million1st
18pts
3
FinlandFinland13 players
EDMJari Kurri104 ptsMNSMarkus Mattsson6 W
Rate2ndTop trio4thBlue line1stGoalies4thPer million3rd
16pts
4
CzechiaCzechia10 players
VANIvan Hlinka63 pts
Rate3rdTop trio5thBlue line3rdGoalies5thPer million4th
10pts
5
USAUSA64 players
MNSNeal Broten77 ptsNYRSteve Baker0 W
Rate5thTop trio3rdBlue line5thGoalies3rdPer million5th
9pts
How the nations league is counted

Every country with at least five NHL skaters is ranked in five disciplines. First in a discipline is worth 5 points, second 4 and so on down to 1 for last. The league table is the sum. A shared placing gives the same points.

  • Points per gameAll the nation's skaters' points divided by their games, evened out toward the NHL average.
  • Best trioThe three best scorers' points combined.
  • Defencemen's points per gameThe defencemen's points per game, evened out the same way.
  • Goalies' save percentageThe goalies' save percentage, evened out toward the NHL average. A country without a goalie comes last.
  • NHL players per million inhabitantsHow many NHL players the country has per million inhabitants.

The rate disciplines are evened out so that a small country cannot win on one hot player: we add 400 games (300 for defencemen, 1,500 shots for goalies) at the NHL's own average before dividing. This season the NHL average is 0.57 points per game and player. A country with many games is barely affected; one with few is pulled toward the middle.

A player counts for his birth country, except Swedes, who count as Swedish wherever they were born. Players born in Sweden who represent another country count for no country. Regular season only, and only players with at least one game.

672 players and 17 115 points in the NHL this season.

Sweden accounts for 5.7% of all NHL points with 3.7% of the players. Sweden has 3.7% of the players and 5.7% of the points, and sits third in raw points.

Total points

CanadaCanada
13 042
USAUSA
1 521
SwedenSweden
982
FinlandFinland
466
CzechiaCzechia
372

Goalie wins

CanadaCanada
684
SwedenSweden
23
FinlandFinland
6
CzechiaCzechia
0
USAUSA
0
The nations league's five categories plus raw points and player count. The higher value takes the round.
Sweden
Sweden
1st in the league
6–1
Finland
Finland
3rd in the league

Sweden wins 6–1 against Finland.

0.66Points per game0.64
263Best trio224
0.45Defencemen's points per game0.49
.881Goalies' save percentage.873
2.4NHL players per million inhabitants2.3
982Total points466
25Players in the NHL13
Sweden against Finland season by season
The winner's flag above Sweden's placing. Sweden has won 5 of the last 30 seasons.
RussiaRussia7 titlesCzechiaCzechia7 titlesSwedenSweden5 titlesCanadaCanada4 titlesFinlandFinland3 titlesSlovakiaSlovakia2 titlesUSAUSA1 titleGermanyGermany1 title
Share

Continue reading