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1988–89 NHL season

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1988–89 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 6, 1988 – May 25, 1989
Number of games80
Number of teams21
TV partner(s)CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)
SportsChannel America (United States)
Draft
Top draft pickMike Modano
Picked byMinnesota North Stars
Regular season
Presidents' TrophyCalgary Flames
Season MVPWayne Gretzky (Kings)
Top scorerMario Lemieux (Penguins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPAl MacInnis (Flames)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsCalgary Flames
  Runners-upMontreal Canadiens
NHL seasons

The 1988–89 NHL season was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames won an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. This remains the last time two Canadian teams faced each other for the Stanley Cup.

Entry draft

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The 1988 NHL entry draft was held on June 11, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. Mike Modano was selected first overall by the Minnesota North Stars.

Arena changes

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The Los Angeles Kings' home arena, The Forum, became the first NHL arena to sell its naming rights, becoming the Great Western Forum as part of a deal with Great Western Savings & Loan that the team announced on December 5, 1988. Although the St. Louis Blues' home arena was named the Checkerdome from 1977 to 1983, Ralston Purina owned both the Blues and their arena during that time.

Regular season

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This year saw the start of Wayne Gretzky's tenure with the Los Angeles Kings, having been traded in the off-season after leading the Edmonton Oilers to the 1988 Stanley Cup. Coinciding with Gretzky's acquisition, the team also changed its uniforms and colours for 1988–89, scrapping the purple and gold associated with its co-tenant at the Great Western Forum, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, in favour of black and silver. Gretzky's presence signaled a dramatic on-ice turnaround for the Kings. Prior to his arrival via trade with the Edmonton Oilers on August 9, 1988, Los Angeles had the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 30 wins, 42 losses, and 8 ties. After Gretzky's first season with the Kings, however, they moved all the way up to fourth-best in the NHL, with a record of 42 wins, 31 losses, and 7 ties for 91 points. They also managed to defeat Gretzky's former team, the Oilers, in seven games in the Smythe Division semifinals before falling victim to a four-game sweep at the hands of the eventual Cup champion Flames in the division finals.

Four years after Andy Van Hellemond became the first on-ice official to wear a helmet, the NHL also made helmets mandatory for its officials like it did with its players in 1979; like the ruling for players, any official that was not wearing a helmet before the ruling could also go helmetless if they so desired.[1]

Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Art Ross Trophy for the second consecutive season, leading the league with 199 points and recording all three of his eight point games in his career, with one of them happening during the playoffs. Lemieux remains the only player other than Gretzky to approach the 200 point plateau (Gretzky surpassed the 200 point mark four times in five years during the 1980s). This was the only season that there were four players that scored 150 or more points; Gretzky tallied 168, while Steve Yzerman and Bernie Nicholls totalled 155 and 150 points, respectively. This was also the only time that two teammates, Gretzky and Nicholls of the Los Angeles Kings, had hit the 150 point mark. Narrowly edging out Lemieux, Gretzky won his ninth Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, while Yzerman finished third in the balloting. Yzerman was voted by his fellow players as the NHLPA MVP, taking the Lester B. Pearson Award.

New York Rangers rookie Brian Leetch broke the record for goals by a rookie defenceman with 23. He finished that season with 71 points and easily captured the Calder Memorial Trophy.

On March 22, an incident took place in Buffalo during a game between the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues. During a goalmouth collision between the Blues' Steve Tuttle and the Sabres' Uwe Krupp, Tuttle's skate blade slashed the throat of Buffalo goaltender Clint Malarchuk, severing the latter's jugular vein. Thanks to some timely action by Sabres trainer and former US Army Vietnam War veteran Jim Pizzutelli, Malarchuk quickly received treatment and was released from the hospital the next day. He returned to action 10 days later.

This was the first season that every NHL arena had full rink board advertisements.

Final standings

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Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

Prince of Wales Conference

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Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 53 18 9 315 218 115
Boston Bruins 80 37 29 14 289 256 88
Buffalo Sabres 80 38 35 7 291 299 83
Hartford Whalers 80 37 38 5 299 290 79
Quebec Nordiques 80 27 46 7 269 342 61

[2]

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Washington Capitals 80 41 29 10 305 259 92
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 40 33 7 347 349 87
New York Rangers 80 37 35 8 310 307 82
Philadelphia Flyers 80 36 36 8 307 285 80
New Jersey Devils 80 27 41 12 281 325 66
New York Islanders 80 28 47 5 265 325 61

[2]

Clarence Campbell Conference

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Detroit Red Wings 80 34 34 12 313 316 80
St. Louis Blues 80 33 35 12 275 285 78
Minnesota North Stars 80 27 37 16 258 278 70
Chicago Blackhawks 80 27 41 12 297 335 66
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 28 46 6 259 342 62

[2]

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Calgary Flames 80 54 17 9 354 226 117
Los Angeles Kings 80 42 31 7 376 335 91
Edmonton Oilers 80 38 34 8 325 306 84
Vancouver Canucks 80 33 39 8 251 253 74
Winnipeg Jets 80 26 42 12 300 355 64

[2]

Playoffs

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Main article: 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs

Bracket

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The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Division semifinals Division finals Conference finals Stanley Cup Finals
            
A1 Montreal 4
A4 Hartford 0
A1 Montreal 4
A2 Boston 1
A2 Boston 4
A3 Buffalo 1
A1 Montreal 4
Prince of Wales Conference
P4 Philadelphia 2
P1 Washington 2
P4 Philadelphia 4
P4 Philadelphia 4
P2 Pittsburgh 3
P2 Pittsburgh 4
P3 NY Rangers 0
A1 Montreal 2
S1 Calgary 4
N1 Detroit 2
N4 Chicago 4
N4 Chicago 4
N2 St. Louis 1
N2 St. Louis 4
N3 Minnesota 1
N4 Chicago 1
Clarence Campbell Conference
S1 Calgary 4
S1 Calgary 4
S4 Vancouver 3
S1 Calgary 4
S2 Los Angeles 0
S2 Los Angeles 4
S3 Edmonton 3

Awards

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Presidents' Trophy: Calgary Flames
Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Wales Conference playoff champion)		 Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:
(Campbell Conference playoff champion)		 Calgary Flames
Art Ross Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
Calder Memorial Trophy: Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy: Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns, Montreal Canadiens
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames
Lester B. Pearson Award: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames,
William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

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First team   Position   Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens G Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames
Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens D Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins D Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins C Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames RW Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings LW Gerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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Note: 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
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins 76 85 114 199 100 +41 31 13 8
Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings 78 54 114 168 26 +15 11 5 5
Steve Yzerman Detroit Red Wings 80 65 90 155 61 +17 17 3 7
Bernie Nicholls Los Angeles Kings 79 70 80 150 96 +30 21 8 6
Rob Brown Pittsburgh Penguins 68 49 66 115 118 +27 24 0 6
Paul Coffey Pittsburgh Penguins 75 30 83 113 195 −10 11 0 2
Joe Mullen Calgary Flames 79 51 59 110 16 +51 13 1 7
Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers 76 44 58 102 69 +19 10 5 8
Jimmy Carson Edmonton Oilers 80 49 51 100 36 +3 19 0 5
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles Kings 78 46 52 98 65 +5 10 0 4

Source: NHL.[3]

Leading goaltenders

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GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage

Player Team GP Min W L T SO GAA Sv%
Patrick Roy Montreal Canadiens 48 2743 33 5 6 4 2.47 .908
Mike Vernon Calgary Flames 52 2938 37 6 5 0 2.65 .897
Reggie Lemelin Boston Bruins 40 2392 19 15 6 0 3.01 .887
Peter Sidorkiewicz Hartford Whalers 44 2635 22 18 4 4 3.03 .890
Jon Casey Minnesota North Stars 55 2961 18 17 12 1 3.06 .900
Kirk McLean Vancouver Canucks 42 2477 20 17 3 4 3.08 .891
Andy Moog Boston Bruins 41 2482 18 14 8 1 3.22 .877
Ron Hextall Philadelphia Flyers 64 3756 30 28 6 0 3.23 .891
Clint Malarchuk Washington Capitals/Buffalo Sabres 49 2754 19 19 8 2 3.36 .880
Greg Millen St. Louis Blues 52 3019 22 20 7 6 3.38 .880

Source: Quanthockey.com.[4]

Coaches

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Patrick Division

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Adams Division

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Norris Division

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Smythe Division

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Milestones

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Debuts

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The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1988–89 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

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The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1988–89 (listed with their last team):

Firsts

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Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers, First goaltender to score a goal in post-season.

Broadcasting

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This was the first season of the league's new Canadian national broadcast rights deals with TSN and Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. Saturday night regular season games continued to air on CBC, while TSN televised selected weeknight games. Coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs was primarily on CBC, with TSN airing first round all-U.S. series.

This was also the first season of the league's new U.S. national broadcast rights deal SportsChannel America. While SportsChannel America agreed to pay more than double what previous rightsholder ESPN paid for the previous three years,[5] SportsChannel America was only available in a few major markets.[6][7][8][9] Notably absent though were the Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis markets.[10] In this first year of the deal alone, SportsChannel America was available in only 7 million homes when compared to ESPN's reach of 50 million.[11] Whereas the previous deal with ESPN called for up to 33 games per regular season and only one nationally televised game a week, SportsChannel America televised 80–100 games and up to three nights a week.[12][13]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Shoalts, David (April 28, 2000). "Ex ref supports mandatory helmets". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 29, 2019. The NHL has 60 referees and linesmen under contract and among them are 11 men who do not wear helmets. This is allowed through a grandfather clause in the collective agreement between the NHL Officials' Association and the league, which made wearing helmets mandatory beginning with the 1988–89 season. However, just as the NHL did with its players when helmets became compulsory for them in 1979, a grandfather clause was inserted in the agreement. All referees and linesmen who were employed on or before Sept. 1, 1988 did not have to wear a helmet.
  2. ^ a b c d Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  3. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 153.
  4. ^ 1988–89 NHL Goalie Leaders | QuantHockey.com
  5. ^ Chad, Norman (November 26, 1988). "NHL AND SPORTSCHANNEL MORE IS LESS". Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Moncour, Gilles (October 29, 2018). "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of John Ziegler's NHL reign". HockeyBuzz.com.
  7. ^ Swift, E.M. (August 22, 1988). "WOE, CANADA". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ^ Martzke, Rudy (May 2, 1989). "NHL broadcast boss pleased with cable move". USA Today. p. 3C.
  9. ^ Staudohar, Paul D. (May 31, 2018). Playing for Dollars: Labor Relations and the Sports Business. Cornell University Press. p. 138. ISBN 9781501717857.
  10. ^ Strachan, Al (March 15, 2005). "NHL needs a TV partner". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019.
  11. ^ Greenberg, Jay (October 7, 1991). "GREED, INDEED". Sports Illustrated.
  12. ^ "USA NETWORK MAKING SOME MAJOR-LEAGUE CUTS". Miami Herald. February 10, 1984. p. 7F.
  13. ^ FCC Record: A Comprehensive Compilation of Decisions ..., Volume 8, Issue 5. 1993. p. 4900.

References

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