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NHL battle of the nations 1983–84

Sweden won the 1983–84 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.

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1983–84Active 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
SwedenSweden27 players
VANPatrik Sundström91 ptsPHIPelle Lindbergh16 W
Rate2ndTop trio3rdBlue line3rdGoalies3rdPer million2nd
17pts
2
CanadaCanada547 players
EDMWayne Gretzky205 ptsEDMGrant Fuhr30 W
Rate4thTop trio1stBlue line5thGoalies2ndPer million1st
17pts
3
FinlandFinland12 players
EDMJari Kurri113 ptsLAKMarkus Mattsson7 W
Rate1stTop trio4thBlue line2ndGoalies4thPer million3rd
16pts
4
USAUSA83 players
MNSNeal Broten89 ptsBUFTom Barrasso26 W
Rate5thTop trio2ndBlue line4thGoalies1stPer million5th
13pts
5
CzechiaCzechia6 players
VANRick Lanz57 pts
Rate3rdTop trio5thBlue line1stGoalies5thPer million4th
12pts
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 0.58 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.

690 players and 17 443 points in the NHL this season.

Sweden accounts for 6.6% of all NHL points with 3.9% of the players. Sweden has 3.9% of the players and 6.6% of the points, and sits third in raw points.

Total points

CanadaCanada
13 252
USAUSA
1 764
SwedenSweden
1 146
FinlandFinland
402
CzechiaCzechia
239

Goalie wins

CanadaCanada
695
USAUSA
36
SwedenSweden
16
FinlandFinland
7
CzechiaCzechia
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
3–4
USA
USA
4th in the league

USA wins 4–3 against Sweden.

0.63Points per game0.53
249Best trio261
0.46Defencemen's points per game0.40
.868Goalies' save percentage.878
2.5NHL players per million inhabitants0.2
1 146Total points1 764
27Players in the NHL83
Sweden against USA 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
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