• The second Canada Cup competition was held prior to the season, with the Soviet Union beating Canada to win the championship.

• The divisions are realigned to better reflect geographical locations of the teams. The Patrick Division moves to the Wales Conference, while the Norris Division moves to the Campbell Conference.

• The Philadelphia Flyers take to the ice wearing a new kind of uniform, featuring long pants. The new look, dubbed Cooperalls, is intended to make the uniform lighter and, in effect, make the players skate faster. Instead, it made for dangerous situations when a player is upended and slides on the ice. Cooperalls are put to pasture after two years.

• The playoffs also change format. The top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, and they played each other in the first two rounds to determine division champions. They then advanced to play for the conference championship, then the last two teams played in the Final for the Stanley Cup.

• The New York Islanders win their third straight Stanley Cup, sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in the Final.