1989–90 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1989–90 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques 11th season in the National Hockey League.

1989–90 Quebec Nordiques
Division5th Adams
Conference11th Wales
1989–90 record12–61–7
Home record8–26–6
Road record4–35–1
Goals for240
Goals against407
Team information
General managerMartin Madden (Oct–Feb)
Maurice Filion (Feb–Apr) interim
CoachMichel Bergeron
CaptainPeter Stastny (Oct–Mar)
Vacant (Mar–Apr)
ArenaColisée de Québec
Team leaders
GoalsJoe Sakic (39)
AssistsJoe Sakic (63)
PointsJoe Sakic (102)
Penalty minutesPaul Gillis (234)
WinsRon Tugnutt (5)
Goals against averageRon Tugnutt (4.61)

Offseason

The Nordiques would not bring back Jean Perron, who finished the 1988–89 season as the interim head coach of the team. Quebec would bring back former head coach Michel Bergeron, who had coached the club from 1980 to 1987. Bergeron left the Nordiques to coach the New York Rangers from 1987 to 1989, leading them to two consecutive 82 point seasons. The club also named Martin Madden as the new general manager.

At the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, the Nordiques had the first overall draft pick, and selected Mats Sundin from Nacka HK. Sundin became the first ever European born player drafted with the first overall selection. In 25 games with Nacka, Sundin had ten goals and 18 points. With their second pick, Quebec drafted Adam Foote from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In 66 games, Foote had seven goals and 39 points in 1988–89.

Quebec made some trades during the off-season, dealing away their top goal scorer from the 1988–89 season, Walt Poddubny, along with a fourth round draft pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft to the New Jersey Devils for Joe Cirella, Claude Loiselle, and an eighth round draft pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Cirella had three goals and 22 points in 80 games with the Devils in 1988–89, while Loiselle had seven goals and 21 points in 74 games. Quebec also traded Bob Mason to the Washington Capitals for future considerations, and Gaetan Duchesne to the Minnesota North Stars for Kevin Kaminski. Kaminski spent the 1988–89 with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, scoring 25 goals and 68 points in 52 games. Right at the end of the pre-season, the Nordiques traded away Randy Moller to the New York Rangers for Michel Petit. Petit had eight goals and 33 points with the Rangers in 1988–89.

The biggest move the club made was signing free agent Guy Lafleur to a two-year contract. Lafleur, who originally retired during the 1984–85, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. Lafleur came out of retirement and signed with the New York Rangers for the 1988–89 season, where he scored 18 goals and 45 points in 67 games with the Rangers. Lafleur won five Stanley Cup championships with the Montreal Canadiens, and had a streak of 50 or more goals in a season and at least 119 points during a six-year stretch from 1974 to 1980. Lafleur also scored a league high 60 goals in 1977–78, and led the league in scoring for three consecutive seasons, from 1975 to 1978. The Nordiques also signed Lucien DeBlois, who also spent the previous season with the New York Rangers, where he had nine goals and 33 points in 73 games.

Regular season

Quebec would have a poor start to the season, going 1-4-1 in their first six games, before winning two in a row to be only a game under .500. The Nordiques then lost eight games in a row to quickly fall out of the playoff race, before winning two in a row to improve to 5-12-1. However, any hope of contention ended when they only won a total of four games in December and January.

As the losses piled up for the Nordiques, they began to make trades. Greg Adams and Robert Picard were traded to the Detroit Red Wings for former Nordiques player Tony McKegney, while Jeff Brown was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for Tony Hrkac and Greg Millen.

By February 2, 1990, the Nordiques were 9-36-6, and their season was all but finished. On that date, the club fired general manager Martin Madden, and replaced him on an interim basis with former general manager Maurice Filion. Under Filion, the Nordiques traded away Michel Goulet, Greg Millen and a sixth round draft pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for Everett Sanipass, Mario Doyon, and Dan Vincelette. The trades continued, as team captain Peter Stastny was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Craig Wolanin and future considerations, which turned out to be Randy Velischek.

None of the roster moves had much effect. The Nordiques only won three more games for the remainder of the season to finish with a 12-61-7 record, earning 31 points—easily the worst record in the NHL. The next-worst record belonged to the Vancouver Canucks, who finished with more than twice the Nordiques' point total. The twelve wins was the fewest by a team since the Winnipeg Jets had nine in 1980–81, while their 31 points was the fewest since the Washington Capitals had 21 in the 1974–75 season. It is still the worst season in Nordiques/Avalanche history, and one of the worst for a non-expansion team since 1967.

Offensively, the Nordiques were led by Joe Sakic, who had 39 goals and 102 points, both team highs. Peter Stastny was the only other Nordique to finish with more than 20 goals, as he had 24 goals and 62 points before being traded to the New Jersey Devils. Tony McKegney had 16 goals and 27 points in 48 games after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings, while Guy Lafleur had 12 goals and 34 points in his first season with the Nordiques.

On defense, Michel Petit put up twelve goals and 36 points in his first season with the club. Rookie Bryan Fogarty had four goals and 14 points in 45 games, however, he had a -47 rating, the worst on the club.

In goal, Ron Tugnutt led the Nordiques with five wins, while posting a club best 4.61 GAA in 35 games.

The Nordiques finished the regular season last in scoring (240 goals for), last in goaltending (407 goals allowed), last in power-play goals allowed (98) and last in penalty-killing percentage (74.35%).[1]

The Nordiques finished the 1989–90 regular season with a 5.05 GAA. They are the last team to finish the regular season with a GAA above five to date.

Final standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Boston Bruins8046259289232101
Buffalo Sabres804527828624898
Montreal Canadiens8041281128823493
Hartford Whalers803833927526885
Quebec Nordiques801261724040731

[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Wales Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Boston BruinsADM8046259289232101
2Buffalo SabresADM804527828624898
3Montreal CanadiensADM8041281128823493
4Hartford WhalersADM803833927526885
5New York RangersPTK8036311327926785
6New Jersey DevilsPTK803734929528883
7Washington CapitalsPTK803638628427578
8New York IslandersPTK8031381128128873
9Pittsburgh PenguinsPTK803240831835972
10Philadelphia FlyersPTK8030391129029771
11Quebec NordiquesADM801261724040731

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1LOctober 5, 19893–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)0–1–014,465
2WOctober 7, 19894–1Boston Bruins (1989–90)1–1–015,399
3LOctober 8, 19896–9Hartford Whalers (1989–90)1–2–015,379
4LOctober 12, 19892–4@ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)1–3–017,266
5LOctober 14, 19892–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)1–4–011,236
6TOctober 17, 19898–8 OTCalgary Flames (1989–90)1–4–115,391
7WOctober 19, 19895–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)2–4–114,668
8WOctober 21, 19897–2Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)3–4–115,393
9LOctober 25, 19890–2@ Hartford Whalers (1989–90)3–5–111,831
10LOctober 26, 19892–4@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)3–6–114,084
11LOctober 28, 19893–6Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)3–7–115,399
12LOctober 31, 19893–5Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)3–8–115,375
13LNovember 2, 19891–6@ New York Rangers (1989–90)3–9–116,364
14LNovember 4, 19892–5St. Louis Blues (1989–90)3–10–114,902
15LNovember 5, 19890–3Washington Capitals (1989–90)3–11–115,323
16LNovember 8, 19893–6@ New Jersey Devils (1989–90)3–12–111,609
17WNovember 9, 19897–5@ New York Islanders (1989–90)4–12–110,307
18WNovember 11, 19893–2Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)5–12–115,396
19LNovember 14, 19893–5Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)5–13–115,220
20LNovember 16, 19892–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)5–14–116,015
21LNovember 18, 19891–8Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)5–15–115,113
22TNovember 21, 19894–4 OTCalgary Flames (1989–90)5–15–214,647
23WNovember 22, 19894–2@ Hartford Whalers (1989–90)6–15–212,723
24LNovember 25, 19892–3Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)6–16–214,847
25LNovember 26, 19891–3@ New York Rangers (1989–90)6–17–215,605
26LNovember 29, 19892–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)6–18–217,184
27LNovember 30, 19892–6Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)6–19–215,399
28LDecember 2, 19894–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)6–20–215,020
29TDecember 5, 19893–3 OTBoston Bruins (1989–90)6–20–314,886
30TDecember 9, 19896–6 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1989–90)6–20–415,399
31LDecember 10, 19894–8Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)6–21–415,399
32LDecember 13, 19891–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)6–22–416,213
33LDecember 14, 19892–8@ Calgary Flames (1989–90)6–23–419,261
34TDecember 17, 19892–2 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)6–23–515,232
35LDecember 21, 19891–6@ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)6–24–515,265
36LDecember 23, 19895–6Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)6–25–514,943
37TDecember 26, 19893–3 OTHartford Whalers (1989–90)6–25–614,091
38WDecember 30, 19896–3New York Islanders (1989–90)7–25–615,399
39LJanuary 3, 19904–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)7–26–616,382
40LJanuary 4, 19901–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)7–27–619,647
41LJanuary 6, 19902–5@ New York Islanders (1989–90)7–28–613,526
42WJanuary 9, 19905–2Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)8–28–615,399
43LJanuary 11, 19901–3@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)8–29–614,207
44LJanuary 13, 19904–5New Jersey Devils (1989–90)8–30–614,962
45WJanuary 16, 19908–6@ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)9–30–611,730
46LJanuary 18, 19904–7@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)9–31–610,877
47LJanuary 23, 19902–9Boston Bruins (1989–90)9–32–614,609
48LJanuary 24, 19903–7@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)9–33–616,907
49LJanuary 27, 19906–8Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)9–34–614,836
50LJanuary 30, 19902–5Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)9–35–614,777
51LJanuary 31, 19903–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)9–36–616,433
52LFebruary 3, 19901–5Hartford Whalers (1989–90)9–37–615,006
53LFebruary 4, 19902–3Boston Bruins (1989–90)9–38–614,839
54LFebruary 6, 19902–12@ Washington Capitals (1989–90)9–39–615,558
55LFebruary 8, 19901–5@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)9–40–614,071
56LFebruary 10, 19902–7@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)9–41–617,939
57WFebruary 13, 19905–3Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)10–41–614,839
58LFebruary 15, 19902–9@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)10–42–615,845
59LFebruary 17, 19901–7@ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)10–43–616,005
60LFebruary 21, 19902–3@ Hartford Whalers (1989–90)10–44–613,932
61LFebruary 22, 19905–6Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)10–45–615,399
62LFebruary 24, 19901–6St. Louis Blues (1989–90)10–46–615,363
63WFebruary 26, 19903–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)11–46–615,109
64LFebruary 28, 19904–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)11–47–616,382
65TMarch 3, 19903–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (1989–90)11–47–715,090
66LMarch 4, 19903–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)11–48–716,433
67LMarch 7, 19903–6@ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)11–49–711,813
68LMarch 9, 19903–4@ Washington Capitals (1989–90)11–50–716,186
69LMarch 10, 19903–9@ New Jersey Devils (1989–90)11–51–719,040
70LMarch 13, 19901–4Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)11–52–715,174
71LMarch 15, 19903–6Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)11–53–715,162
72WMarch 17, 19906–3Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)12–53–714,754
73LMarch 18, 19903–8@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)12–54–717,367
74LMarch 21, 19901–4@ Hartford Whalers (1989–90)12–55–712,230
75LMarch 22, 19903–7@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)12–56–714,448
76LMarch 24, 19903–4 OTToronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)12–57–715,337
77LMarch 27, 19904–7New York Rangers (1989–90)12–58–714,466
78LMarch 29, 19902–5Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)12–59–715,399
79LMarch 31, 19902–3Hartford Whalers (1989–90)12–60–715,015
80LApril 1, 19902–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)12–61–716,433

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe SakicC80396310227-40812
Peter StastnyC6224386224-451000
Michel GouletLW5716294542-33800
Michel PetitD63122436215-38500
Guy LafleurRW391222344-15602
Marc FortierC5913173028-16311
Tony McKegneyLW4816112745-31500
Mike HoughLW4313132684-24310
Claude LoiselleC72111425104-27030
Paul GillisC7181422234-24010
Jeff JacksonLW658122071-21010
Iiro JarviRW417132018-11101
Joe CirellaD564141867-27100
Mario MaroisD6731518104-45200
Lucien DeBloisC70981745-29101
Jeff BrownD296101618-14203
Ken McRaeC667815191-38001
Bryan FogartyD454101431-47200
Tony HrkacC2248122-5200
Steven FinnD643912208-33100
Brian LawtonLW14561110-9300
Darin KimbleRW445510185-20201
Curtis LeschyshynD6826844-41100
Everett SanipassLW93368-4200
Mark VermetteRW111568-3000
Daniel DoreRW1623559-8100
Mario DoyonD92356-1100
Robert PicardD2405528-5000
Greg AdamsLW713417-2000
Craig WolaninD13033102000
Stephane MorinC602221000
Jaroslav SevcikLW130222-5000
Brent SeverynLW3502242-19000
Jari GronstrandD70112-1000
Dan VinceletteLW1101125-6000
Jamie BakerC10000-1000
Mario BrunettaG600000000
Stephane FisetG600000000
Scott GordonG1000000000
Stephane GuerardD40006-5000
Kevin KaminskiC10000-1000
Max MiddendorfRW30000-9000
Greg MillenG1800000000
Sergei MylnikovG1000000000
Jean-Marc RichardD10000-1000
Jean-Marc RouthierRW80009-3000
Greg SmythD1300057-8000
John TannerG100000000
Ron TugnuttG3500020000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ron Tugnutt19783552431524.6101080928.859
Greg Millen1080183141955.280648553.853
Scott Gordon59710280535.330368315.856
Mario Brunetta1916120134.0809986.869
Sergei Mylnikov56810172474.960330283.858
Stephane Fiset3426051345.960199165.829
John Tanner60101033.0003027.900
Team:481680126173974.95027542357.856

[4]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1989–90 season.

Trades

June 19, 1989 To Minnesota North Stars
Gaetan Duchesne
To Quebec Nordiques
Kevin Kaminski
October 5, 1989 To New York Rangers
Randy Moller
To Quebec Nordiques
Michel Petit
December 4, 1989 To Detroit Red Wings
Greg Adams
Robert Picard
To Quebec Nordiques
Tony McKegney
December 13, 1989 To St. Louis Blues
Jeff Brown
To Quebec Nordiques
Tony Hrkac
Greg Millen
March 5, 1990 To Chicago Blackhawks
Michel Goulet
Greg Millen
6th round pick in 1991 - Kevin St. Jacques
To Quebec Nordiques
Mario Doyon
Everett Sanipass
Dan Vincelette
March 6, 1990 To New Jersey Devils
Peter Stastny
To Quebec Nordiques
Craig Wolanin
Randy Velischek

Waivers

October 2, 1989 From Vancouver Canucks
Greg Adams
November 21, 1989 To New York Islanders
Jari Gronstrand
December 1, 1989 From Hartford Whalers
Brian Lawton

Free agents

PlayerFormer Team
Lucien DeBloisNew York Rangers
Guy LafleurNew York Rangers
PlayerNew Team
Brian LawtonBoston Bruins

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1989 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
11Mats Sundin SwedenNacka HK (Sweden)
222Adam Foote CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
343Stephane Morin CanadaChicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
354John Tanner CanadaPeterborough Petes (OHL)
468Niklas Andersson SwedenVästra Frölunda HC (Sweden)
476Eric Dubois CanadaLaval Titan (QMJHL)
585Kevin Kaiser CanadaMinnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (NCAA)
6106Dan Lambert CanadaSwift Current Broncos (WHL)
7127Sergei Mylnikov Soviet UnionChelyabinsk Traktor (Soviet Union)
8148Paul Krake CanadaAlaska-Anchorage Seawolves (NCAA)
9169Vyacheslav Bykov Soviet UnionCSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)
10190Andrei Khomutov Soviet UnionCSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)
11211Byron Witkowski CanadaNipawin Hawks (SJHL)
12232Noel Rahn United StatesEdina High School (USHS)
S1Dave DePinto United StatesUniversity of Illinois at Chicago (NCAA)
S6Rick Berens United StatesUniversity of Denver (WCAC)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. "1989-90 NHL Summary".
  2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  3. "1989–1990 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  4. "1989-90 Quebec Nordiques Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
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