| 1989–90 NHL season | |
| Duration: | October 5, 1989 – May 24, 1990 |
| League: | National Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Draft: | Draft |
| Draft Link: | 1989 NHL Draft |
| Top Pick Link: | List of first overall NHL draft picks |
| Picked By: | Quebec Nordiques |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Presidents' Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Boston Bruins |
| No Of Teams: | 21 |
| No Of Games: | 80 |
| Tv: | CBC, TSN, SRC (Canada) SportsChannel America, NBC (United States) |
| Mvp: | Mark Messier (Oilers) |
| Mvp Link: | Hart Memorial Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Wayne Gretzky (Kings) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Art Ross Trophy |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs |
| Finals: | Stanley Cup |
| Finals Link: | 1990 Stanley Cup Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Boston Bruins |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Bill Ranford (Oilers) |
| Playoffs Mvp Link: | Conn Smythe Trophy |
| Nextseason Year: | 1990–91 |
| Prevseason Year: | 1988–89 |
| Seasonslistnames: | NHL |
The 1989–90 NHL season was the 73rd season of the National Hockey League. 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 seven seasons.
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 thrice more: in the, the, and the seasons.
Until 2017, this was last time 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.
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
See main article: 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs.
See main article: 1990 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins in the Final series, four games to one. For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and their only one without Wayne Gretzky (in fact, they defeated Gretzky's Kings in the second round). In game one, Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give the Oilers a 3–2 win., this game remains the longest in Stanley Cup Finals history (Longest NHL overtime games), edging both Brett Hull's cup-winner in 1999 and Igor Larionov's game-winner in 2002 by less than 30 seconds. In game five at the Boston Garden on May 24, the Oilers won 4–1. Craig Simpson scored the game-winning goal.
| Award | Recipient(s) | Runner(s)-up/Finalists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | |||
| Presidents' Trophy (Best regular-season record) | Calgary Flames | ||
| Prince of Wales Trophy (Wales Conference playoff champion) | Washington Capitals | ||
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Campbell Conference playoff champion) | Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| Alka-Seltzer Plus-Minus Award (Best plus-minus statistic) | Paul Cavallini (St. Louis Blues) | Stéphane Richer (Montreal Canadiens) | |
| Art Ross Trophy (Player with most points) | Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) | Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) | |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Gord Kluzak (Boston Bruins) | N/A | |
| Calder Memorial Trophy (Best first-year player) | Sergei Makarov (Calgary Flames) | Mike Modano (Minnesota North Stars) Jeremy Roenick (Chicago Blackhawks) | |
| Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Bill Ranford (Edmonton Oilers) | N/A | |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward) | Rick Meagher (St. Louis Blues) | Guy Carbonneau (Montreal Canadiens) Esa Tikkanen (Edmonton Oilers) | |
| Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season) | Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) | Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) | |
| Jack Adams Award (Best coach) | Bob Murdoch (Winnipeg Jets) | Mike Milbury (Boston Bruins) Roger Neilson (New York Rangers) | |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenceman) | Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) | Al MacInnis (Calgary Flames) Doug Wilson (Chicago Blackhawks) | |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy (Leadership and humanitarian contribution) | Kevin Lowe (Edmonton Oilers) | N/A | |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and excellence) | Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) | Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) Pat LaFontaine (New York Islanders) | |
| Lester B. Pearson Award (Outstanding player) | Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) | N/A | |
| Vezina Trophy (Best goaltender) | Patrick Roy (Montreal Canadiens) | Andy Moog (Boston Bruins) Daren Puppa (Buffalo Sabres) | |
| William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltender(s) of team with fewest goals against) | Andy Moog and Réjean Lemelin (Boston Bruins) | N/A |
| First team | Position | Second team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens | align=center | G | Daren Puppa, Buffalo Sabres |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins | align=center | D | Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames | align=center | D | Doug Wilson, Chicago Blackhawks |
| Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers | align=center | C | Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues | align=center | RW | Cam Neely, Boston Bruins |
| Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings | align=center | LW | Brian Bellows, Minnesota North Stars |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 40 | 102 | 142 | 42 | +8 | 10 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 79 | 45 | 84 | 129 | 79 | +19 | 13 | 6 | 3 | |||
| 79 | 62 | 65 | 127 | 79 | -6 | 16 | 7 | 8 | |||
| 59 | 45 | 78 | 123 | 78 | -18 | 14 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 80 | 72 | 41 | 113 | 24 | -1 | 27 | 0 | 12 | |||
| 79 | 39 | 73 | 112 | 86 | -9 | 15 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 80 | 40 | 66 | 106 | 29 | +10 | 17 | 1 | 10 | |||
| 74 | 54 | 51 | 105 | 38 | -13 | 13 | 2 | 8 | |||
| 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | 95 | -25 | 10 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 80 | 39 | 63 | 102 | 27 | -40 | 8 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 80 | 23 | 79 | 102 | 30 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
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% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 3739 | 21 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 3.47 | 88.0 | |||
| 61 | 3407 | 31 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3.22 | 89.6 | |||
| 56 | 3241 | 31 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2.89 | 90.3 | |||
| 56 | 3107 | 24 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 3.19 | 88.7 | |||
| 54 | 3173 | 31 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 2.53 | 91.2 | |||
| 52 | 2914 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 3.60 | 88.0 | |||
| 52 | 2860 | 22 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 4.07 | 87.3 | |||
| 51 | 2961 | 22 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3.42 | 89.2 | |||
| 49 | 2900 | 19 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 3.89 | 87.2 | |||
| 48 | 2793 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 3.22 | 89.0 |
This season would be the last the Toronto Maple Leafs would play under the 29 year ownership of Harold Ballard as a result of his death in April 1990 and the subsequent sale of the franchise.
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1989–90 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1989–90 (listed with their last team):
This was the second season of the league's 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 second season of the league's U.S. national broadcast rights deal SportsChannel America, with up to three regular season games a week and coverage of the playoffs. Meanwhile, NBC agreed to televise the All-Star Game, reportedly wanting to test the appeal of hockey.[3]