# 1989–90 Calgary Flames season

The 1989–90 Calgary Flames season was the Flames' eighteenth season, and their tenth in Calgary. In defense of their first Stanley Cup championship, despite losing both Lanny McDonald and Jim Peplinski to retirement, the Flames remained a dominant team on the ice, finishing atop the Smythe Division and the Campbell Conference for the third consecutive year, and 2nd overall in the NHL with 99 points – two points behind the Boston Bruins.
The regular season success did not translate in the postseason, however, as the Flames were stunned by the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round of the playoffs. The loss began 15 years of playoff frustration, as the Flames would not win another postseason round until the 2003–04 season.
Following the loss, the Flames fired head coach Terry Crisp, later replacing him with Doug Risebrough. In three seasons with the Flames, Crisp compiled a 144–63–33 record, with one Stanley Cup win and two Presidents' Trophies.
Individually, Russian superstar Sergei Makarov, who was drafted by the Flames in 1983, was allowed to leave the Soviet Union and play in the NHL. Makarov finished 4th in team scoring with 86 points. The 32-year-old Makarov captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. The selection was controversial, as Makarov had played 11 pro seasons in the Soviet Union prior to joining the Flames. As a result, the league changed the rules for the following seasons, stating that only players under the age of 26 would be eligible for the award.
Four Flames were named to represent the Campbell Conference at the 1990 All-Star Game: Forwards Joe Mullen and Joe Nieuwendyk, defenceman Al MacInnis and goaltender Mike Vernon.

## Regular season

The Flames finished first in scoring, with 348 goals for, and first in power-play percentage, with 27.73% (99 for 357).

### Season standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 42 | 23 | 15 | 348 | 265 | 99 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 38 | 28 | 14 | 315 | 283 | 90 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 37 | 32 | 11 | 298 | 290 | 85 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 39 | 7 | 338 | 337 | 75 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 25 | 41 | 14 | 245 | 306 | 64 |
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.
Campbell Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Calgary Flames | SMY | 80 | 42 | 23 | 15 | 348 | 265 | 99 |
| 2 | Edmonton Oilers | SMY | 80 | 38 | 28 | 14 | 315 | 283 | 90 |
| 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | NRS | 80 | 41 | 33 | 6 | 316 | 294 | 88 |
| 4 | Winnipeg Jets | SMY | 80 | 37 | 32 | 11 | 298 | 290 | 85 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | NRS | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 295 | 279 | 83 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NRS | 80 | 38 | 38 | 4 | 337 | 358 | 80 |
| 7 | Minnesota North Stars | NRS | 80 | 36 | 40 | 4 | 284 | 291 | 76 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Kings | SMY | 80 | 34 | 39 | 7 | 338 | 337 | 75 |
| 9 | Detroit Red Wings | NRS | 80 | 28 | 38 | 14 | 288 | 323 | 70 |
| 10 | Vancouver Canucks | SMY | 80 | 25 | 41 | 14 | 245 | 306 | 64 |
Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe
bold – Qualified for playoffs

### Record vs. opponents
#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| Calgary | — | 4–3–1 | 4–3–1 | 5–1–2 | 3–5 | 16–12–4 |
| Edmonton | 3–4–1 | — | 4–2–2 | 6–1–1 | 5–3 | 18–10–4 |
| Los Angeles | 3–4–1 | 2–4–2 | — | 4–2–2 | 2–5–1 | 11–15–6 |
| Vancouver | 1–5–2 | 1–6–1 | 2–4–2 | — | 2–3–3 | 6–18–8 |
| Winnipeg | 5–3 | 3–5 | 5–2–1 | 3–3–2 | — | 16–13–3 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| Calgary | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 9–4–2 |
| Edmonton | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 8–6–1 |
| Los Angeles | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 7–8–0 |
| Vancouver | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 6–8–1 |
| Winnipeg | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–1 | 6–6–3 |
Vs. Wales Conference
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| Calgary | 1–1–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0–2 | 6–4–5 |
| Edmonton | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1–2 | 1–1–1 | 3–0 | 6–5–4 |
| Los Angeles | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 3–0 | 7–7–1 |
| Vancouver | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2–1 | 4–9–2 |
| Winnipeg | 1–1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 6–7–2 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| Calgary | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–1 | 0–1–2 | 11–3–4 |
| Edmonton | 0–1–2 | 1–0–2 | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 6–7–5 |
| Los Angeles | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 9–9–0 |
| Vancouver | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0–1 | 9–6–3 |
| Winnipeg | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2–1 | 3–0 | 9–7–2 |

## Schedule and results

1989–90 Schedule :
October: 6–3–4 (Home: 3–0–2; Road: 3–3–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
1October 5Detroit7 – 10Calgary1–0–02
2October 7NY Islanders3 – 6Calgary2–0–04
3October 10Calgary4 – 2New Jersey3–0–06
4October 11Calgary4 – 5NY Rangers3–1–06
5October 14Calgary4 – 4WashingtonOT3–1–17
6October 15Calgary3 – 2Philadelphia4–1–19
7October 17Calgary8 – 8QuebecOT4–1–210
8October 18Calgary1 – 2Montreal4–2–210
9October 21Boston2 – 5Calgary5–2–212
10October 23Washington3 – 3CalgaryOT5–2–313
11October 25Calgary5 – 0Los Angeles6–2–315
12October 27Vancouver5 – 5CalgaryOT6–2–416
13October 28Calgary3 – 4Vancouver6–3–416 :
November: 5–6–4 (Home: 4–1–2; Road: 1–5–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
14November 1Winnipeg3 – 5Calgary7–3–418
15November 3Calgary2 – 5Edmonton7–4–418
16November 4New Jersey3 – 7Calgary8–4–420
17November 6Edmonton1 – 5Calgary9–4–422
18November 8Calgary5 – 4Los Angeles10–4–424
19November 11Calgary2 – 3MinnesotaOT10–5–424
20November 12Calgary2 – 3Winnipeg10–6–424
21November 14Los Angeles8 – 6Calgary10–7–424
22November 16Buffalo4 – 4CalgaryOT10–7–525
23November 18Chicago4 – 4CalgaryOT10–7–626
24November 20Calgary2 – 3Montreal10–8–626
25November 21Calgary4 – 4QuebecOT10–8–727
26November 24Calgary2 – 3Detroit10–9–727
27November 25Calgary3 – 3St. LouisOT10–9–828
28November 30Minnesota2 – 5Calgary11–9–830 :
December: 6–4–2 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 1–2–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
29December 2Toronto4 – 7Calgary12–9–832
30December 6Winnipeg3 – 4Calgary12–10–832
31December 10Calgary1 – 4Winnipeg12–11–832
32December 11Calgary3 – 3EdmontonOT12–11–933
33December 14Quebec2 – 8Calgary13–11–935
34December 16Pittsburgh3 – 4Calgary14–11–937
35December 19Calgary2 – 1Vancouver15–11–939
36December 20Vancouver1 – 2CalgaryOT16–11–941
37December 23Calgary1 – 2Edmonton16–12–941
38December 27Calgary5 – 5Los Angeles16–12–1042
39December 29Winnipeg2 – 1CalgaryOT16–13–1042
40December 30Montreal3 – 5Calgary17–13–1044 :
January: 8–2–3 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 4–1–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
41January 2Philadelphia4 – 4CalgaryOT17–13–1145
42January 5Hartford4 – 6Calgary18–13–1147
43January 7Calgary3 – 1Edmonton19–13–1149
44January 9Edmonton3 – 2CalgaryOT19–14–1149
45January 11Buffalo3 – 5Calgary20–14–1151
46January 13Calgary5 – 6Toronto20–15–1151
47January 14Calgary6 – 5Chicago21–15–1153
48January 16Calgary5 – 2St. Louis22–15–1155
49January 18Calgary2 – 2BostonOT22–15–1256
50January 19Calgary3 – 3HartfordOT22–15–1357
51January 25NY Rangers5 – 8Calgary23–15–1359
52January 27Minnesota1 – 3Calgary24–15–1361
53January 30Calgary7 – 2Vancouver25–15–1363 :
February: 6–5–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–3–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
54February 1Vancouver3 – 4CalgaryOT26–15–1365
55February 3Calgary3 – 4Los Angeles26–16–1365
56February 6Los Angeles5 – 3Calgary26–17–1365
57February 10Calgary5 – 7Detroit26–18–1365
58February 11Calgary5 – 2NY Rangers27–18–1367
59February 13Calgary4 – 2NY Islanders28–18–1369
60February 15Calgary4 – 1Chicago29–18–1371
61February 18Calgary1 – 5Winnipeg29–19–1371
62February 20Boston5 – 3Calgary29–20–1371
63February 22Toronto2 – 12Calgary30–20–1373
64February 25Edmonton4 – 10Calgary31–20–1375 :
March: 10–3–2 (Home: 8–1–0; Road: 2–2–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
65March 1Philadelphia4 – 2Calgary31–21–1375
66March 3Vancouver1 – 5Calgary32–21–1377
67March 5Los Angeles0 – 5Calgary33–21–1379
68March 7Pittsburgh3 – 6Calgary34–21–1381
69March 9Calgary4 – 4VancouverOT34–21–1482
70March 11Calgary6 – 4Winnipeg35–21–1484
71March 12Winnipeg4 – 5CalgaryOT36–21–1486
72March 15New Jersey4 – 5Calgary37–21–1488
73March 17Hartford4 – 5Calgary38–21–1490
74March 19St. Louis2 – 5Calgary39–21–1492
75March 21Calgary4 – 5Buffalo39–22–1492
76March 24Calgary3 – 3PittsburghOT39–22–1593
77March 25Calgary1 – 4Washington39–23–1593
78March 27Calgary4 – 2NY Islanders40–23–1595
79March 30Edmonton2 – 6Calgary41–23–1597 :
April: 1–0–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 0–0–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTRecordPoints
80April 1Los Angeles4 – 8Calgary42–23–1599 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Flames defense of their first Stanley Cup championship ended quickly as Calgary was stunned by the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The loss would begin a string of playoff disappointments for the Flames, who would not win another playoff round until the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Flames 12–4 defeat in game four of the series remains a Flames team record for most goals against in one playoff game.
1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs :
Smythe Division semi-final vs. Los Angeles – Kings win 4–2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTAttendanceSeries
1April 4Los Angeles5 – 3Calgary19,172Los Angeles leads 1–0
2April 6Los Angeles5 – 8Calgary20,168Series tied 1–1
3April 8Calgary1 – 2Los AngelesOT16,005Los Angeles leads 2–1
4April 10Calgary4 – 12Los Angeles16,005Los Angeles leads 3–1
5April 12Los Angeles1 – 5Calgary20,107Los Angeles leads 3–2
6April 14Calgary3 – 4Los Angeles2OT16,005Los Angeles wins 4–2 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Joe Nieuwendyk | 25 | 79 | 45 | 50 | 95 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| Doug Gilmour | 39 | 78 | 24 | 67 | 91 | 54 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Al MacInnis | 2 | 79 | 28 | 62 | 90 | 82 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Sergei Makarov | 42 | 80 | 24 | 62 | 86 | 55 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Gary Suter | 20 | 76 | 16 | 60 | 76 | 97 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Gary Roberts | 10 | 78 | 39 | 33 | 72 | 222 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 41 |
| Joe Mullen | 7 | 78 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Theoren Fleury | 14 | 80 | 31 | 35 | 66 | 157 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Paul Ranheim | 28 | 80 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Brian MacLellan | 27 | 65 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Jamie Macoun | 34 | 78 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 70 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| Joel Otto | 29 | 75 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 116 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Jiri Hrdina | 17 | 64 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dana Murzyn | 5 | 78 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 140 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Brad McCrimmon | 4 | 79 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 78 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Ric Nattress | 6 | 49 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Colin Patterson | 11 | 61 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jonas Bergqvist | 18 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mark Hunter | 22 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 39 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Tim Hunter | 19 | 67 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 279 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Roger Johansson | 21 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 48 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sergei Priakin | 16 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Vernon | 30 | 47 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Korn$^†$ | 26 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Jim Peplinski | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Glynn | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Steve Guenette | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Stu Grimson | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Marc Bureau | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ken Sabourin | 55 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rick Wamsley | 31 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Mike Vernon | 30 | 47 | 2795 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 146 | 1 | 3.13 | 6 | 342 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 3.33 |
| Rick Wamsley | 31 | 36 | 1969 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 107 | 0 | 3.26 | 1 | 49 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 11.02 |
| Steve Guenette | 1 | 2 | 119 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.03 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1989–90 season.

### Trades

| June 16, 1989 | To Calgary Flames 2nd round pick in 1989 (Kent Manderville) | To Toronto Maple Leafs Rob Ramage |
| March 6, 1990 | To Calgary Flames Jim Korn | To New Jersey Devils 5th round pick in 1990 (Petr Kuchyna) |

### Free Agents

| Player | Former team |
| Player | New team |

## Draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, held in Bloomington, Minnesota.
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics |
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2 | 24 | Kent Manderville | Canada | C | N/A | 646 | 37 | 67 | 104 | 348 |
| 2 | 42 | Ted Drury | United States | C | N/A | 414 | 41 | 52 | 93 | 367 |
| 3 | 50 | Veli-Pekka Kautonen | Finland | D | HIFK Helsinki (FNL) | | | | | |
| 3 | 63 | Corey Lyons | Canada | RW | Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL) | | | | | |
| 4 | 70 | Robert Reichel | Czechoslovakia | C | CHZ LITVÍNOV (CZE) | 830 | 252 | 378 | 630 | 388 |
| 4 | 84 | Ryan O'Leary | United States | C | N/A | | | | | |
| 5 | 105 | Toby Kearney | United States | LW | N/A | | | | | |
| 7 | 147 | Alex Nikolic | Canada | LW | Cornell (ECAC) | | | | | |
| 8 | 168 | Kevin Wortman | United States | D | N/A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 189 | Sergey Gomolyako | Soviet Union | RW | Traktor Chelyabinsk (USSR) | | | | | |
| 10 | 210 | Dan Sawyer | United States | D | N/A | | | | | |
| 11 | 231 | Alexander Yudin | Soviet Union | D | HC Dynamo Moscow (USSR) | | | | | |
| 12 | 252 | Kenneth Kennholt | Sweden | D | Djurgårdens IF (SEL) | | | | | |
| S | 26 | Shawn Heaphy | Canada | C | N/A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |