1988–89 NHL season explained

1988–89 NHL season
League:National Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Duration:October 6, 1988 – May 25, 1989
Draft:Draft
Draft Link:1988 NHL Draft
Top Pick Link:List of first overall NHL draft picks
Picked By:Minnesota North Stars
Season:Regular season
Season Champ Name:Presidents' Trophy
Season Champs:Calgary Flames
Mvp:Wayne Gretzky (Kings)
Mvp Link:Hart Memorial Trophy
Top Scorer:Mario Lemieux (Penguins)
Top Scorer Link:Art Ross Trophy
Playoffs:Playoffs
Playoffs Link:1989 Stanley Cup playoffs
Finals:Stanley Cup
Finals Link:1989 Stanley Cup Finals
Finals Champ:Calgary Flames
Finals Runner-Up:Montreal Canadiens
Playoffs Mvp:Al MacInnis (Flames)
Playoffs Mvp Link:Conn Smythe Trophy
Nextseason Year:1989–90
Prevseason Year:1987–88
No Of Games:80
No Of Teams:21
Tv:CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada)
SportsChannel America (United States)

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.

Arena changes

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.

Teams

1988-89 National Hockey League
Division Team City Arena Capacity
AdamsBoston BruinsBoston, MassachusettsBoston Garden14,448
Buffalo SabresBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo Memorial Auditorium16,433
Hartford WhalersHartford, ConnecticutHartford Civic Center15,223
Montreal CanadiensMontreal, QuebecMontreal Forum18,076
Quebec NordiquesQuebec City, QuebecColisée de Québec15,399
Patrick
New Jersey DevilsEast Rutherford, New JerseyBrendan Byrne Arena19,040
New York IslandersUniondale, New YorkNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum16,297
New York RangersNew York, New YorkMadison Square Garden17,500
Philadelphia FlyersPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaSpectrum17,423
Pittsburgh PenguinsPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaCivic Arena16,025
Washington CapitalsLandover, MarylandCapital Centre18,130
NorrisChicago BlackhawksChicago, IllinoisChicago Stadium17,317
Detroit Red WingsDetroit, MichiganJoe Louis Arena19,275
Minnesota North StarsBloomington, MinnesotaMet Center15,000
St. Louis BluesSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis Arena17,188
Toronto Maple LeafsToronto, OntarioMaple Leaf Gardens16,182
Smythe
Calgary FlamesCalgary, AlbertaOlympic Saddledome20,240
Edmonton OilersEdmonton, AlbertaNorthlands Coliseum17,503
Los Angeles KingsInglewood, CaliforniaGreat Western Forum16,005
Vancouver CanucksVancouver, British ColumbiaPacific Coliseum16,553
Winnipeg JetsWinnipeg, ManitobaWinnipeg Arena15,565

Regular season

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

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

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

See main article: 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs. The 1989 Stanley Cup Finals featured two Canadian hockey teams, the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. Montreal finished the regular season with 115 points, only two behind the league leader Calgary. They had last faced each other only three years earlier, with Montreal winning a five-game series in 1986. Calgary was only the second opposing team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup at the Montreal Forum (the New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Maroons in 1928) and the first to do so against the Canadiens, marking the first time since that the Stanley Cup wasn't awarded in the province of Alberta.

Stanley Cup Finals

See main article: 1989 Stanley Cup Finals. The Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Co-captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his Hockey Hall of Fame career as he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.

Awards

Presidents' TrophyCalgary Flames
Prince of Wales Trophy


(Wales Conference playoff champion)

Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl


(Campbell Conference playoff champion)

Calgary Flames
Art Ross TrophyMario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial TrophyTim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
Calder Memorial TrophyBrian Leetch, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe TrophyAl MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Frank J. Selke TrophyGuy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial TrophyWayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Jack Adams AwardPat Burns, Montreal Canadiens
James Norris Memorial TrophyChris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens
King Clancy Memorial TrophyBryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial TrophyJoe Mullen, Calgary Flames
Lester B. Pearson AwardSteve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
NHL Plus/Minus AwardJoe Mullen, Calgary Flames,
William M. Jennings TrophyPatrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina TrophyPatrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

First team   Position   Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiensalign=center GMike Vernon, Calgary Flames
Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiensalign=center DAl MacInnis, Calgary Flames
Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguinsalign=center DRay Bourque, Boston Bruins
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguinsalign=center CWayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Joe Mullen, Calgary Flamesalign=center RWJari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kingsalign=center LWGerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes, PPG = Powerplay Goals, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goals

PlayerTeamGPGAPtsPIM+/-PPGSHGGWG
76 85 114 199 100 +41 31 13 8
78 54 114 168 26 +15 11 5 5
80 65 90 155 61 +17 17 3 7
79 70 80 150 96 +30 21 8 6
68 49 66 115 118 +27 24 0 6
75 30 83 113 195 −10 11 0 2
79 51 59 110 16 +51 13 1 7
76 44 58 102 69 +19 10 5 8
80 49 51 100 36 +3 19 0 5
78 46 52 98 65 +5 10 0 4
Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

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

PlayerTeamGPMinWLTSOGAASv%
48 2743 33 5 6 4 2.47 .908
52 2938 37 6 5 0 2.65 .897
40 2392 19 15 6 0 3.01 .887
44 2635 22 18 4 4 3.03 .890
55 2961 18 17 12 1 3.06 .900
42 2477 20 17 3 4 3.08 .891
41 2482 18 14 8 1 3.22 .877
64 3756 30 28 6 0 3.23 .891
49 2754 19 19 8 2 3.36 .880
52 3019 22 20 7 6 3.38 .880
Source: Quanthockey.com.[2]

Coaches

Patrick Division

Adams Division

Norris Division

Smythe Division

Milestones

Debuts

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

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

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

Broadcasting

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,[3] SportsChannel America was only available in a few major markets.[4] [5] [6] [7] Notably absent though were the Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis markets.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] [11]

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Ex ref supports mandatory helmets . Shoalts . David . April 28, 2000 . The Globe and Mail . 29 September 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. http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/seasons/1988-89-nhl-goalies-stats.html 1988–89 NHL Goalie Leaders | QuantHockey.com
  3. News: NHL AND SPORTSCHANNEL MORE IS LESS. Norman. Chad. Washington Post. November 26, 1988. February 9, 2016.
  4. Web site: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of John Ziegler's NHL reign. Moncour. Gilles. October 29, 2018. HockeyBuzz.com.
  5. WOE, CANADA. August 22, 1988. E.M.. Swift. Sports Illustrated.
  6. News: NHL broadcast boss pleased with cable move. May 2, 1989. Rudy. Martzke. USA Today. 3C.
  7. Book: Staudohar, Paul D.. 31 May 2018. Playing for Dollars: Labor Relations and the Sports Business. Cornell University Press. 138. 9781501717857.
  8. News: Strachan. Al. March 15, 2005. NHL needs a TV partner. https://web.archive.org/web/20191103093933/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Columnists/Strachan/2005/03/15/961494.html. dead. November 3, 2019. Toronto Sun.
  9. GREED, INDEED. October 7, 1991. Jay. Greenberg. Sports Illustrated.
  10. News: USA NETWORK MAKING SOME MAJOR-LEAGUE CUTS. February 10, 1984. Miami Herald. 7F.
  11. Book: FCC Record: A Comprehensive Compilation of Decisions ..., Volume 8, Issue 5. 1993. 4900.