# 1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the Penguins finish fifth in the Patrick Division and not qualify for the playoffs.
The last remaining active member of the 1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins was Mark Recchi, who retired after the 2010–11 season, right after winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Boston Bruins.

## Regular season

The Penguins allowed the most short-handed goals during the regular season, with 21.

### All-Star Game

The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7. Mario Lemieux was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 279 | 267 | 85 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 295 | 288 | 83 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 284 | 275 | 78 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 281 | 288 | 73 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 318 | 359 | 72 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 30 | 39 | 11 | 290 | 297 | 71 |
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.
Wales Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 289 | 232 | 101 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 286 | 248 | 98 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | ADM | 80 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 288 | 234 | 93 |
| 4 | Hartford Whalers | ADM | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 275 | 268 | 85 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 279 | 267 | 85 |
| 6 | New Jersey Devils | PTK | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 295 | 288 | 83 |
| 7 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 284 | 275 | 78 |
| 8 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 281 | 288 | 73 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh Penguins | PTK | 80 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 318 | 359 | 72 |
| 10 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 30 | 39 | 11 | 290 | 297 | 71 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 12 | 61 | 7 | 240 | 407 | 31 |
Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

### Record vs. opponents
#### Vs. Wales Conference

1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| New Jersey | — | 4–1–2 | 3–3–1 | 4–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 3–4 | 18–12–5 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–4–2 | — | 2–3–2 | 1–4–2 | 3–3–1 | 4–3 | 11–17–7 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–3–1 | 3–2–2 | — | 5–2 | 1–5–1 | 3–4 | 15–16–4 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4–1 | 4–1–2 | 2–5 | — | 4–3 | 1–5–1 | 13–18–4 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 5–1–1 | 3–4 | — | 5–2 | 18–14–3 |
| Washington | 4–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–1–1 | 2–5 | — | 18–16–1 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| New Jersey | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |
| Philadelphia | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 5–8–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–10–1 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 8–6–1 |

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| New Jersey | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 7–7–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 1–0–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 0–2–1 | 1–1–1 | 5–4–6 |
| Philadelphia | 0–3 | 0–1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–7–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–3 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 4–9–2 |
| Washington | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 8–6–1 |
1989–90 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| New Jersey | 0–3 | 1–0–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 4–9–2 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 0–3 | 0–1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–7–2 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1–1 | 8–5–2 |
| Philadelphia | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1–2 | 1–2 | 6–6–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0–1 | 6–7–2 |
| Washington | 1–0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2–1 | 0–3 | 2–10–3 |

## Schedule and results

1989–90 Schedule :
October: 3–7–2 (Home: 3–4–0; Road: 0–3–2), 8 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
1Oct 5Pittsburgh Penguins4–5Boston Bruins0–1–00
2Oct 7Pittsburgh Penguins4–4New Jersey Devils0–1–11
3Oct 10Winnipeg Jets1–5Pittsburgh Penguins1–1–13
4Oct 14Montreal Canadiens1–2Pittsburgh Penguins2–1–15
5Oct 15Pittsburgh Penguins2–4New York Rangers2–2–15
6Oct 17Toronto Maple Leafs5–7Pittsburgh Penguins3–2–17
7Oct 18St. Louis Blues9–3Pittsburgh Penguins3–3–17
8Oct 21Buffalo Sabres4–2Pittsburgh Penguins3–4–17
9Oct 25Toronto Maple Leafs8–6Pittsburgh Penguins3–5–17
10Oct 26Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Detroit Red Wings3–5–28
11Oct 28Pittsburgh Penguins1–5Montreal Canadiens3–6–28
12Oct 31Los Angeles Kings8–4Pittsburgh Penguins3–7–28 :
November: 6–7–0 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 2–4–0), 12 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
13Nov 2New York Islanders2–5Pittsburgh Penguins4–7–210
14Nov 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Edmonton Oilers5–7–212
15Nov 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Vancouver Canucks5–8–212
16Nov 9Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Chicago Blackhawks5–9–212
17Nov 11Pittsburgh Penguins3–8St. Louis Blues5–10–212
18Nov 14New York Rangers0–6Pittsburgh Penguins6–10–214
19Nov 16Quebec Nordiques2–8Pittsburgh Penguins7–10–216
20Nov 18New York Islanders3–5Pittsburgh Penguins8–10–218
21Nov 22New Jersey Devils6–3Pittsburgh Penguins8–11–218
22Nov 24Pittsburgh Penguins7–4Washington Capitals9–11–220
23Nov 25Washington Capitals4–1Pittsburgh Penguins9–12–220
24Nov 28Philadelphia Flyers6–3Pittsburgh Penguins9–13–220
25Nov 30Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Philadelphia Flyers9–14–220 :
December: 7–5–1 (Home: 4–2–0; Road: 3–3–1), 15 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
26Dec 2Pittsburgh Penguins7–4Quebec Nordiques10–14–222
27Dec 6Washington Capitals3–5Pittsburgh Penguins11–14–224
28Dec 8Pittsburgh Penguins3–2New Jersey Devils12–14–226
29Dec 9Chicago Blackhawks6–4Pittsburgh Penguins12–15–226
30Dec 12Boston Bruins5–7Pittsburgh Penguins13–15–228
31Dec 14Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Minnesota North Stars13–15–329
32Dec 16Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Calgary Flames13–16–329
33Dec 19Hartford Whalers8–4Pittsburgh Penguins13–17–329
34Dec 21Washington Capitals2–5Pittsburgh Penguins14–17–331
35Dec 23Pittsburgh Penguins6–8New York Islanders14–18–331
36Dec 26Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Washington Capitals14–19–331
37Dec 27New York Rangers4–7Pittsburgh Penguins15–19–333
38Dec 31Pittsburgh Penguins5–4New York Rangers16–19–335 :
January: 6–6–1 (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 3–3–0), 13 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
39Jan 2Boston Bruins5–2Pittsburgh Penguins16–20–335
40Jan 4Vancouver Canucks3–4Pittsburgh Penguins17–20–337
41Jan 6Winnipeg Jets3–5Pittsburgh Penguins18–20–339
42Jan 8Pittsburgh Penguins7–5New York Rangers19–20–341
43Jan 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–6New Jersey Devils19–21–341
44Jan 12Pittsburgh Penguins6–4Washington Capitals20–21–343
45Jan 16Philadelphia Flyers3–4Pittsburgh Penguins21–21–345
46Jan 18New York Rangers3–3Pittsburgh Penguins21–21–446
47Jan 23New Jersey Devils4–2Pittsburgh Penguins21–22–446
48Jan 25Pittsburgh Penguins5–3Detroit Red Wings22–22–448
49Jan 27Pittsburgh Penguins3–9New York Islanders22–23–448
50Jan 28Pittsburgh Penguins2–7Buffalo Sabres22–24–448
51Jan 30Philadelphia Flyers6–3Pittsburgh Penguins22–25–448 :
February: 8–5–1 (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 2–4–1), 17 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
52Feb 2Edmonton Oilers3–6Pittsburgh Penguins23–25–450
53Feb 3Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Toronto Maple Leafs23–26–450
54Feb 6New York Islanders8–7 OTPittsburgh Penguins23–27–450
55Feb 8Washington Capitals5–7Pittsburgh Penguins24–27–452
56Feb 10Los Angeles Kings6–7Pittsburgh Penguins25–27–454
57Feb 11Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Philadelphia Flyers26–27–456
58Feb 14Pittsburgh Penguins4–3New York Rangers27–27–458
59Feb 16Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Winnipeg Jets27–27–559
60Feb 18Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Chicago Blackhawks27–28–559
61Feb 20Philadelphia Flyers4–6Pittsburgh Penguins28–28–561
62Feb 22New York Islanders3–4Pittsburgh Penguins29–28–563
63Feb 24Pittsburgh Penguins1–11Montreal Canadiens29–29–563
64Feb 26Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Quebec Nordiques29–30–563
65Feb 28New Jersey Devils1–2Pittsburgh Penguins30–30–565 :
March: 2–9–3 (Home: 2–2–2; Road: 0–7–1), 7 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPoints
66Mar 2Pittsburgh Penguins5–6New Jersey Devils30–31–565
67Mar 4Minnesota North Stars6–8Pittsburgh Penguins31–31–567
68Mar 6Pittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTEdmonton Oilers31–32–567
69Mar 7Pittsburgh Penguins3–6Calgary Flames31–33–567
70Mar 10Pittsburgh Penguins2–8Los Angeles Kings31–34–567
71Mar 11Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Vancouver Canucks31–35–567
72Mar 15Detroit Red Wings1–6Pittsburgh Penguins32–35–569
73Mar 17Minnesota North Stars6–2Pittsburgh Penguins32–36–569
74Mar 18Pittsburgh Penguins2–2New York Islanders32–36–670
75Mar 22Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Philadelphia Flyers32–37–670
76Mar 24Calgary Flames3–3Pittsburgh Penguins32–37–771
77Mar 25Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Hartford Whalers32–38–771
78Mar 27Hartford Whalers3–3Pittsburgh Penguins32–38–872
79Mar 29Pittsburgh Penguins4–5St. Louis Blues32–39–872
80Mar 31Buffalo Sabres3–2 OTPittsburgh Penguins32–40–872 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mario Lemieux | 59 | 45 | 78 | 123 | –18 | 78 |
| Paul Coffey | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 | –25 | 95 |
| John Cullen | 72 | 32 | 60 | 92 | –13 | 138 |
| Rob Brown | 80 | 33 | 47 | 80 | –10 | 102 |
| Kevin Stevens | 76 | 29 | 41 | 70 | –13 | 171 |
| Mark Recchi | 74 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 6 | 44 |
| Phil Bourque | 76 | 22 | 17 | 39 | –7 | 108 |
| Bob Errey | 78 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 3 | 109 |
| Tony Tanti$^†$ | 37 | 14 | 18 | 32 | –11 | 22 |
| Zarley Zalapski | 51 | 6 | 25 | 31 | –14 | 37 |
| Dan Quinn$^‡$ | 41 | 9 | 20 | 29 | –15 | 22 |
| Troy Loney | 67 | 11 | 16 | 27 | –9 | 168 |
| Barry Pederson$^†$ | 38 | 4 | 18 | 22 | –10 | 29 |
| Jim Johnson | 75 | 3 | 13 | 16 | –20 | 154 |
| Randy Gilhen | 61 | 5 | 11 | 16 | –8 | 54 |
| Randy Hillier | 61 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 71 |
| Chris Dahlquist | 62 | 4 | 10 | 14 | –2 | 56 |
| Andrew McBain$^‡$ | 41 | 5 | 9 | 14 | –8 | 51 |
| Jock Callander | 30 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 49 |
| Gilbert Delorme | 54 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 44 |
| Gord Dineen | 69 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 125 |
| Richard Zemlak | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –6 | 43 |
| Jim Kyte | 56 | 3 | 1 | 4 | –10 | 125 |
| Jay Caufield | 37 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 123 |
| Jamie Leach | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Doug Smith$^†$ | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –2 | 25 |
| Mark Kachowski | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 40 |
| Dave Capuano$^‡$ | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rod Buskas$^†$ | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –4 | 13 |
| Total | Total | 318 | 560 | 878 | — | 2,098 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Wendell Young | 43 | 2318:16 | 16 | 20 | 3 | 161 | 4.17 | 1263 | 0.873 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Frank Pietrangelo | 21 | 1066:26 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 77 | 4.33 | 580 | 0.867 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Barrasso | 24 | 1294:19 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 101 | 4.68 | 746 | 0.865 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Alain Chevrier$^†$ | 3 | 166:06 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 5.06 | 89 | 0.843 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 4845:07 | 32 | 40 | 8 | 353 | 4.37 | 2678 | 0.868 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 20 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

## Awards and records

* Mario Lemieux, All-Star Game MVP
* Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 800 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–3 win over Vancouver on January 4.
* Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for goals (345). He broke the previous records of 316 held by Jean Pronovost.
* Paul Coffey established a franchise record for goals (74) by a defenseman. He broke the previous records of 66 held by both Ron Stackhouse and Randy Carlyle.
* Rod Buskas set a franchise record for penalty minutes (959). He had led the category since the previous season.

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1989–90 season:

### Trades

| September 14, 1989 | To New York Rangers Lee Giffin | To Pittsburgh Penguins future considerations |
| October 24, 1989 | To Vancouver Canucks Rod Buskas | To Pittsburgh Penguins 1990 6th round pick |
| January 8, 1990 | To Vancouver Canucks Dave Capuano Andrew McBain Dan Quinn | To Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Buskas Barry Pederson Tony Tanti |
| February 26, 1990 | To Vancouver Canucks cash | To Pittsburgh Penguins Doug Smith |
| March 6, 1990 | To Edmonton Oilers future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Wilks |
| March 6, 1990 | To Chicago Blackhawks future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins Alain Chevrier |

### Free agents

| Player | Acquired from | Lost to | Date |
| Gilbert Delorme | Detroit Red Wings | | June 28, 1989 |
| Tim Tookey | | Philadelphia Flyers | June 30, 1989 |
| Chris Clifford | Chicago Blackhawks | | September 6, 1989 |
| Steve Dykstra | | Hartford Whalers | October 9, 1989 |
| Bryan Erickson | | Winnipeg Jets | March 2, 1990 |

### Signings

| Player | Date | Contract terms |
| Gord Dineen | June 27, 1989 | Multi-year contract |
| Phil Bourque | June 27, 1989 | Multi-year contract |
| Troy Loney | June 27, 1989 | Multi-year contract |
| Wendell Young | June 30, 1989 | Multi-year contract |
| Mario Lemieux | August 1, 1989 | 5 year/$10 million |
| Rob Brown | September 14, 1989 | 2 years |
| Mike Needham | June 5, 1990 | Multi-year contract |
| Paul Laus | June 5, 1990 | Multi-year contract |

### Other

| Name | Date | Details |
| John Welday | July 29, 1989 | Hired as strength and conditioning coach |
| Gene Ubriaco | December 5, 1989 | Fired as head coach |
| Tony Esposito | December 5, 1989 | Fired as GM |
| Craig Patrick | December 5, 1989 | Hired as head coach/GM |
| Gilles Meloche | January 24, 1990 | Hired as goaltending coach |
| Craig Patrick | June 12, 1990 | Replaced as head coach (remained as GM) |
| Bob Johnson | June 12, 1990 | Hired as head coach |
| Scotty Bowman | June 12, 1990 | Hired as Director of development and recruitment |
| Joe Dragon | June 15, 1990 | Supplemental draft pick |
| Savo Mitrovic | June 15, 1990 | Supplemental draft pick |

## Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 16 | Jamie Heward | D | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 2 | 37 | Paul Laus | D | Canada | Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | John Brill | R | United States | Grand Rapids H.S. (Minn.) |
| 4 | 79 | Todd Nelson | D | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 5 | 100 | Tom Nevers | C | United States | Edina H.S. (Minn.) |
| 6 | 121 | Michael Markovich | D | United States | U. of Denver (NCAA) |
| 6 | 126 | Michael Needham | R | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 7 | 142 | Patrick Schafhauser | D | United States | Hill-Murray H.S. (Minn.) |
| 8 | 163 | David Shute | C | United States | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 9 | 184 | Andrew Wolf | D | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 10 | 205 | Greg Hagen | R | United States | Hill-Murray H.S. (Minn.) |
| 11 | 226 | Scott Farrell | D | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 12 | 247 | Jason Smart | C | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| S | 21 | John DePourcq | C | Canada | Ferris State University (CCHA) |

### Draft notes

* $^a$ The Calgary Flames' sixth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a January 9, 1989, trade that sent Steve Guenette to the Flames in exchange for this pick.