The 1989–90 NHL season was the 73rd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). The season began on October 5, 1989 and ended on May 24, 1990.
The Stanley Cup winners were the Edmonton Oilers who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Boston Bruins. The championship was the Oilers' fifth Stanley Cup in the past seven years.
Regular Season[]
This season marked the first time that all three New York City area NHL teams, including the New Jersey Devils made the playoffs in the same season, a feat which has since been repeated twice more: in the 1993–94 and the 2006–07 seasons.
As of 2013, this was last time that the Detroit Red Wings missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sam St. Laurent of the Red Wings became the last goalie to wear a full fiberglass mask during an NHL game.
Awards[]
| Presidents' Trophy: | Boston Bruins |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: | Boston Bruins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Art Ross Trophy: | Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: | Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: | Sergei Makarov, Calgary Flames |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: | Bill Ranford, Edmonton Oilers |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: | Rick Meagher, St. Louis Blues |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: | Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
| Jack Adams Award: | Bob Murdoch, Winnipeg Jets |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: | Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: | Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: | Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: | Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: | Paul Cavallini, St. Louis Blues |
| Vezina Trophy: | Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: | Réjean Lemelin/Andy Moog, Boston Bruins |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: | Len Ceglarski |
All-Star Teams[]
| First team | Position | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens | G | Daren Puppa, Buffalo Sabres |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | D | Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames | D | Doug Wilson, Chicago Blackhawks |
| Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers | C | Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues | RW | Cam Neely, Boston Bruins |
| Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings | LW | Brian Bellows, Minnesota North Stars |
Player Statistics[]
(GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals)
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles Kings | 73 | 40 | 102 | 142 | 42 | +8 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 79 | 45 | 84 | 129 | 79 | +19 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 79 | 62 | 65 | 127 | 79 | -6 | 16 | 7 | 8 |
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 59 | 45 | 78 | 123 | 78 | -18 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Brett Hull | St. Louis Blues | 80 | 72 | 41 | 113 | 24 | -1 | 27 | 0 | 12 |
| Bernie Nicholls | New York Rangers | 79 | 39 | 73 | 112 | 86 | -9 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Turgeon | Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 40 | 66 | 106 | 29 | +10 | 17 | 1 | 10 |
| Pat LaFontaine | New York Islanders | 74 | 54 | 51 | 105 | 38 | -13 | 13 | 2 | 8 |
| Paul Coffey | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | 95 | -25 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Sakic | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 39 | 63 | 102 | 27 | -40 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Adam Oates | St. Louis Blues | 80 | 23 | 79 | 102 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
Leading Goaltenders[]
(GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals)
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles Kings | 73 | 40 | 102 | 142 | 42 | +8 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 79 | 45 | 84 | 129 | 79 | +19 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 79 | 62 | 65 | 127 | 79 | -6 | 16 | 7 | 8 |
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 59 | 45 | 78 | 123 | 78 | -18 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Brett Hull | St. Louis Blues | 80 | 72 | 41 | 113 | 24 | -1 | 27 | 0 | 12 |
| Bernie Nicholls | New York Rangers | 79 | 39 | 73 | 112 | 86 | -9 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Turgeon | Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 40 | 66 | 106 | 29 | +10 | 17 | 1 | 10 |
| Pat LaFontaine | New York Islanders | 74 | 54 | 51 | 105 | 38 | -13 | 13 | 2 | 8 |
| Paul Coffey | Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | 95 | -25 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Sakic | Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 39 | 63 | 102 | 27 | -40 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Adam Oates | St. Louis Blues | 80 | 23 | 79 | 102 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
NHL Milestones[]
Player Debuts[]
- Wes Walz, Boston Bruins
- Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo Sabres
- Rob Ray, Buffalo Sabres
- Donald Audette, Buffalo Sabres
- Sergei Makarov, Calgary Flames
- Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings
- Helmut Balderis, Minnesota North Stars
- Andrew Cassels, Montreal Canadiens
- Lyle Odelein, Montreal Canadiens
- Vyacheslav Fetisov, New Jersey Devils
- Alexei Kasatonov, New Jersey Devils
- Murray Baron, Philadelphia Flyers
- Curtis Joseph, St. Louis Blues
- Tie Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vladimir Krutov, Vancouver Canucks
- Igor Larionov, Vancouver Canucks
- Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals
Last Games[]
- Reed Larson, Buffalo Sabres
- Al Secord, Chicago Blackhawks
- Bob Murray, Chicago Blackhawks
- Duane Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
- Bernie Federko, Detroit Red Wings
- Borje Salming, Detroit Red Wings
- Reijo Ruotsalainen, Edmonton Oilers
- Barry Beck, Los Angeles Kings
- Helmut Balderis, Minnesota North Stars
- Curt Fraser, Minnesota North Stars
- Mark Johnson, New Jersey Devils
- Ron Greschner, New York Rangers
- Doug Smith, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Vladimir Krutov, Vancouver Canucks
- Paul Reinhart, Vancouver Canucks
- Doug Wickenheiser, Washington Capitals
Trading Deadline[]
The trading deadline began March 6, 1990.
- March 6, 1990: Adrien Plavsic, St. Louis' first round pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and second round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft traded from St. Louis to Vancouver for Rich Sutter, Harold Snepsts and St. Louis' second round pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (acquired previously).
- March 6, 1990: Mike Gartner traded from Minnesota to NY Rangers for Ulf Dahlen, NY Rangers' fourth round pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and future considerations.
- March 6, 1990: Alain Chevrier traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh for future considerations.
- March 6, 1990: Jack Capuano traded from NY Islanders to Vancouver for Jeff Rohlicek.
- March 6, 1990: Jyrki Lumme traded from Montreal to Vancouver for St. Louis' second round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft (acquired previously).
- March 6, 1990: Jim Korn traded from New Jersey to Calgary for Calgary's fifth round pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
- March 6, 1990: Peter Stastny traded from Quebec to New Jersey for Craig Wolanin and future considerations.
- March 6, 1990: Jeff Sharples traded from Edmonton to New Jersey for Reijo Ruotsalainen.
- March 6, 1990: Brian Wilks traded from Edmonton to Pittsburgh for future considerations.
- March 6, 1990: The rights to Cam Brauer traded from Edmonton to Hartford for Marc Laforge.