# 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.

## Off-season

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

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

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 |
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
#### Vs. Wales Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| Boston | — | 0–5–3 | 5–3 | 0–7–1 | 4–1–3 | 9–16–7 |
| Buffalo | 5–0–3 | — | 3–5 | 3–5 | 3–4–1 | 14–13–5 |
| Hartford | 3–5 | 5–3 | — | 1–7 | 4–3–1 | 13–18–1 |
| Montreal | 7–0–1 | 5–3 | 7–1 | — | 4–4 | 23–8–1 |
| Quebec | 1–4–3 | 4–3–1 | 3–4–1 | 4–4 | — | 12–15–5 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| Boston | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 1–1–1 | 9–4–5 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 11–7–0 |
| Hartford | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 9–8–1 |
| Montreal | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 11–4–3 |
| Quebec | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 7–10–1 |

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| Boston | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 0–2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 9–4–2 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 8–5–2 |
| Hartford | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 9–4–2 |
| Montreal | 1–0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0–2 | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 7–3–5 |
| Quebec | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 4–10–1 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| Boston | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 10–5–0 |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–9–1 |
| Hartford | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 6–8–1 |
| Montreal | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 12–3–0 |
| Quebec | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–11–0 |

## Schedule and results

| 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
### Forwards

| 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

| 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

| 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 |
    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

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

### Trades

| July 5, 1988 | To Chicago BlackhawksMike Eagles | To Quebec NordiquesBob Mason |
| July 25, 1988 | To Philadelphia FlyersTerry Carkner | To Quebec NordiquesGreg Smyth 3rd round pick in 1989—John Tanner |
| July 29, 1988 | To Winnipeg JetsFuture considerations | To Quebec NordiquesJoel Baillargeon |
| August 1, 1988 | To New York RangersNormand Rochefort Jason Lafreniere | To Quebec NordiquesBruce Bell Jari Gronstrand Walt Poddubny 4th round pick in 1989—Eric Dubois |
| December 6, 1988 | To Winnipeg JetsGord Donnelly | To Quebec NordiquesMario Marois |
| December 12, 1988 | To New Jersey DevilsTommy Albelin | To Quebec Nordiques4th round pick in 1989—Niklas Andersson |
| December 15, 1988 | To Minnesota North StarsFuture Considerations | To Quebec NordiquesStephane Roy |
| June 17, 1989 | To Washington CapitalsBob Mason | To Quebec NordiquesFuture Considerations |
| June 17, 1989 | To New Jersey DevilsWalt Poddubny 4th round pick in 1990—Mike Bodnarchuk | To Quebec NordiquesJoe Cirella Claude Loiselle 8th round pick in 1990—Alexander Karpovtsev |

### Waivers

| December 20, 1988 | To Detroit Red WingsBruce Bell |

### Free agents

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

## Draft picks

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

* Fredericton Express—AHL