1988–89 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques season saw the team finish in fifth place in the Adams Division with a record of 27 wins, 46 losses, and 7 ties for 61 points.

1988–89 Quebec Nordiques
Division5th Adams
Conference11th Wales
1988–89 record27–46–7
Home record16–20–4
Road record11–26–3
Goals for269
Goals against342
Team information
General managerMartin Madden
CoachRon Lapointe and Jean Perron
CaptainPeter Stastny
ArenaColisée de Québec
Team leaders
GoalsWalt Poddubny (38)
AssistsPeter Stastny (50)
PointsPeter Stastny (85)
Penalty minutesSteven Finn (235)
WinsMario Gosselin (11)
Goals against averageRon Tugnutt (3.60)

Off-season

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Quebec announced that interim head coach Ron Lapointe would come back on a permanent basis as head coach of the team. Lapointe had a 22-30-4 record with the Nordiques in 1987–88.

At the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Quebec had two picks in the first round, the third overall pick, and the fifth overall pick. The Nordiques selected Curtis Leschyshyn of the Saskatoon Blades with the third pick. He had 14 goals and 55 points, and would see regular playing time with Quebec in the upcoming season. With the fifth pick, the Nordiques selected Daniel Dore. Dore had 24 goals, 63 points and 223 penalty minutes with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 1987–88. In the later rounds of the draft, Quebec selected Valeri Kamensky and Alexei Gusarov of CSKA Moscow.

The Nordiques made some trades during the summer months, as they dealt away Mike Eagles to the Chicago Blackhawks for Bob Mason. Mason appeared in 41 games with Chicago, going 13-18-8 with a 4.15 GAA in 1987–88. Quebec then traded away Terry Carkner to the Philadelphia Flyers for Greg Smyth and the Flyers third round draft pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Smyth had a goal and seven points in 48 games with Philadelphia, as well as 192 penalty minutes.

Quebec's biggest trade of the summer was trading away Normand Rochefort and Jason Lafreniere to the New York Rangers for Bruce Bell, Jari Gronstrand, Walt Poddubny, and the Rangers fourth round draft pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Bell played his rookie season with the Nordiques in 1984–85, however, he spent most of the 1987–88 season with the Colorado Rangers of the IHL, where he had 11 goals and 45 points in 65 games. In 13 games with New York, Bell had a goal and two assists. Poddubny was coming off of a 38-goal and 88 point season with the Rangers in 1987–88. Poddubny scored 40 goals and 87 points with New York in 1986–87. Gronstrand had three goals and 14 points on the Rangers blueline in 1987–88.

Regular season

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The Nordiques began the season with three wins in their first four games, however, Quebec would slump, and fall to 6-12-2 after twenty games. The team made some trades in December, acquiring former team captain Mario Marois from the Winnipeg Jets, however, the club continued to lose, and had an 11-20-2 record after 33 games. The Nordiques then fired Lapointe as head coach, and replaced him with Jean Perron on an interim basis. Perron had coached the Montreal Canadiens to the 1986 Stanley Cup. Under Perron, the club continued to lose, as Quebec quickly fell out of the playoff race. The team finished the season with a 27-46-7 record, earning 61 points, which was 18 points behind the Hartford Whalers for the final playoff spot in the Adams Division, and tied with the New York Islanders with the lowest point total in the league, On the basis of the Islanders winning more games (28–27), the Nords claimed last place in the overall standings.

Captain Peter Stastny led the club with 85 points, as he scored 35 goals and 50 assists in 72 games. Walt Poddubny scored a team high 38 goals in his first season with the Nordiques, as he also had 37 assists for 75 points. Michel Goulet saw his numbers drop to 26 goals and 64 points, his lowest totals since his rookie season in 1979–80. Rookie Joe Sakic had 23 goals and 62 points.

Jeff Brown had another solid season on the Nordiques blueline, scoring 21 goals and 68 points, good for third on team scoring. Brown had 13 powerplay goals, tied with Peter Stastny for second on the team, one behind team leader Walt Poddubny.

In goal, Mario Gosselin saw the majority of action, appearing in 39 games, earning 11 wins and a 4.24 GAA. Bob Mason had a tough season, earning only five wins in 22 games with a 4.73 GAA, while Ron Tugnutt had a 10-10-3 record in 26 games, with a team best 3.60 GAA and a.893 save percentage.

Final standings

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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

[1]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.

Record vs. opponents

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Vs. Wales Conference

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Vs. Campbell Conference

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 6, 1988 5–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 1–0–0
2 L October 8, 1988 3–5 New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 1–1–0
3 W October 9, 1988 4–1 Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) 2–1–0
4 W October 12, 1988 6–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 3–1–0
5 L October 14, 1988 4–5 Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 3–2–0
6 W October 16, 1988 5–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 4–2–0
7 L October 20, 1988 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 4–3–0
8 L October 22, 1988 3–7 @ New York Islanders (1988–89) 4–4–0
9 L October 23, 1988 2–8 @ New York Rangers (1988–89) 4–5–0
10 L October 25, 1988 4–7 Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 4–6–0
11 L October 27, 1988 2–6 @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 4–7–0
12 W October 29, 1988 3–2 OT New York Islanders (1988–89) 5–7–0
13 L November 1, 1988 1–3 Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 5–8–0
14 W November 3, 1988 6–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 6–8–0
15 L November 5, 1988 2–5 St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 6–9–0
16 L November 8, 1988 4–8 Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 6–10–0
17 L November 10, 1988 1–4 @ Washington Capitals (1988–89) 6–11–0
18 L November 12, 1988 3–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 6–12–0
19 T November 13, 1988 5–5 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 6–12–1
20 T November 15, 1988 5–5 OT Boston Bruins (1988–89) 6–12–2
21 W November 19, 1988 6–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 7–12–2
22 L November 23, 1988 3–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 7–13–2
23 W November 24, 1988 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 8–13–2
24 L November 26, 1988 2–4 Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 8–14–2
25 L November 28, 1988 4–7 Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 8–15–2
26 L November 30, 1988 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 8–16–2
27 L December 1, 1988 3–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 8–17–2
28 W December 3, 1988 6–4 Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 9–17–2
29 L December 6, 1988 2–3 @ Calgary Flames (1988–89) 9–18–2
30 L December 7, 1988 3–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 9–19–2
31 W December 9, 1988 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 10–19–2
32 L December 13, 1988 1–4 Washington Capitals (1988–89) 10–20–2
33 W December 15, 1988 6–4 Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 11–20–2
34 T December 17, 1988 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 11–20–3
35 W December 18, 1988 4–2 Boston Bruins (1988–89) 12–20–3
36 L December 21, 1988 4–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 12–21–3
37 W December 23, 1988 5–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 13–21–3
38 T December 28, 1988 4–4 OT Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 13–21–4
39 L December 29, 1988 5–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 13–22–4
40 L December 31, 1988 1–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 13–23–4
41 L January 3, 1989 1–5 @ Calgary Flames (1988–89) 13–24–4
42 L January 4, 1989 2–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) 13–25–4
43 L January 8, 1989 2–4 Boston Bruins (1988–89) 13–26–4
44 T January 10, 1989 4–4 OT Washington Capitals (1988–89) 13–26–5
45 L January 12, 1989 2–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) 13–27–5
46 T January 14, 1989 1–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 13–27–6
47 W January 17, 1989 7–4 New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 14–27–6
48 W January 19, 1989 5–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1988–89) 15–27–6
49 W January 21, 1989 4–3 Calgary Flames (1988–89) 16–27–6
50 L January 23, 1989 0–5 Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 16–28–6
51 L January 26, 1989 3–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) 16–29–6
52 W January 28, 1989 3–2 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 17–29–6
53 W January 30, 1989 4–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) 18–29–6
54 L February 2, 1989 1–6 Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 18–30–6
55 W February 4, 1989 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) 19–30–6
56 L February 5, 1989 2–3 New York Islanders (1988–89) 19–31–6
57 L February 9, 1989 2–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 19–32–6
58 W February 11, 1989 8–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) 20–32–6
59 W February 13, 1989 3–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 21–32–6
60 L February 16, 1989 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 21–33–6
61 L February 18, 1989 3–11 @ Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 21–34–6
62 W February 21, 1989 4–3 Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) 22–34–6
63 L February 23, 1989 2–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 22–35–6
64 L February 25, 1989 2–7 New York Rangers (1988–89) 22–36–6
65 L February 28, 1989 2–3 Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) 22–37–6
66 L March 2, 1989 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 22–38–6
67 W March 4, 1989 6–2 Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 23–38–6
68 W March 5, 1989 8–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 24–38–6
69 L March 7, 1989 4–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) 24–39–6
70 L March 9, 1989 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 24–40–6
71 L March 14, 1989 0–4 Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) 24–41–6
72 T March 16, 1989 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) 24–41–7
73 W March 18, 1989 8–3 New York Rangers (1988–89) 25–41–7
74 L March 22, 1989 0–8 @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) 25–42–7
75 W March 23, 1989 6–3 Hartford Whalers (1988–89) 26–42–7
76 W March 25, 1989 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 27–42–7
77 L March 29, 1989 1–3 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) 27–43–7
78 L March 30, 1989 3–4 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1988–89) 27–44–7
79 L April 1, 1989 4–5 Boston Bruins (1988–89) 27–45–7
80 L April 2, 1989 2–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) 27–46–7

Player statistics

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Forwards

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Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Peter Stastny 72 35 50 85 117
Walt Poddubny 72 38 37 75 107
Michel Goulet 69 26 38 64 67
Joe Sakic 70 23 39 62 24
Iiro Jarvi 75 11 30 41 40
Paul Gillis 79 15 25 40 163
Marc Fortier 57 20 19 39 45
Anton Stastny 55 7 30 37 12
Gaetan Duchesne 70 8 21 29 56
Mike Hough 46 9 10 19 39
Ken McRae 37 6 11 17 68
David Latta 24 4 8 12 4
Jeff Jackson 33 4 6 10 28
Alain Cote 55 2 8 10 14
Trevor Stienburg 55 6 3 9 125
Mark Vermette 12 0 4 4 7
Lane Lambert 13 2 2 4 23
Darin Kimble 26 3 1 4 149
Dean Hopkins 5 0 2 2 4
Jacques Mailhot 5 0 0 0 33
Joel Baillargeon 5 0 0 0 4

Defencemen

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Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Jeff Brown 78 21 47 68 62
Randy Moller 74 7 22 29 136
Robert Picard 74 7 14 21 61
Curtis Leschyshyn 71 4 9 13 71
Mario Marois 42 2 11 13 101
Steven Finn 77 2 6 8 235
Tommy Albelin 14 2 4 6 27
Gord Donnelly 16 4 0 4 46
Jari Gronstrand 25 1 3 4 14
Bobby Dollas 16 0 3 3 16
Greg Smyth 10 0 1 1 70
Scott Shaunessy 4 0 0 0 16

Goaltending

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Player GP W L T SO GAA
Mario Gosselin 39 11 19 3 0 4.24
Ron Tugnutt 26 10 10 3 0 3.60
Bob Mason 22 5 14 1 0 4.73
Mario Brunetta 5 1 3 0 0 5.04

[3]

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

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The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1988–89 season.

Trades

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July 5, 1988 To Chicago Blackhawks
Mike Eagles
To Quebec Nordiques
Bob Mason
July 25, 1988 To Philadelphia Flyers
Terry Carkner
To Quebec Nordiques
Greg Smyth
3rd round pick in 1989John Tanner
July 29, 1988 To Winnipeg Jets
Future considerations
To Quebec Nordiques
Joel Baillargeon
August 1, 1988 To New York Rangers
Normand Rochefort
Jason Lafreniere
To Quebec Nordiques
Bruce Bell
Jari Gronstrand
Walt Poddubny
4th round pick in 1989Eric Dubois
December 6, 1988 To Winnipeg Jets
Gord Donnelly
To Quebec Nordiques
Mario Marois
December 12, 1988 To New Jersey Devils
Tommy Albelin
To Quebec Nordiques
4th round pick in 1989Niklas Andersson
December 15, 1988 To Minnesota North Stars
Future Considerations
To Quebec Nordiques
Stephane Roy
June 17, 1989 To Washington Capitals
Bob Mason
To Quebec Nordiques
Future Considerations
June 17, 1989 To New Jersey Devils
Walt Poddubny
4th round pick in 1990Mike Bodnarchuk
To Quebec Nordiques
Joe Cirella
Claude Loiselle
8th round pick in 1990Alexander Karpovtsev

Waivers

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December 20, 1988 To Detroit Red Wings
Bruce Bell

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Brent Severyn University of Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA)
Dean Hopkins Edmonton Oilers
Jacques Mailhot Fredericton Express (AHL)

Draft picks

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Quebec's draft picks from the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 3 Curtis Leschyshyn   Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
1 5 Daniel Dore   Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
2 24 Stephane Fiset   Canada Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
3 45 Petri Aaltonen   Finland HIFK (Finland)
4 66 Darin Kimble   Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
5 87 Stephane Venne   Canada Vermont Catamounts (NCAA)
6 108 Ed Ward   Canada Northern Michigan Wildcats (NCAA)
7 129 Valeri Kamensky   Soviet Union CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)
8 150 Sakari Lindfors   Finland HIFK (Finland)
9 171 Dan Wiebe   Canada Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA)
11 213 Alexei Gusarov   Soviet Union CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)
12 234 Claude Lapointe   Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)
S 3 Phil Berger   United States Northern Michigan University (CCHA)
S 8 Jamie Baker   Canada Saint Lawrence University (ECAC)

Farm teams

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References

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  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques at Hockey Reference