# 1989–90 Hartford Whalers season

The 1989–90 Hartford Whalers season was the Whalers' eleventh season in the National Hockey League.

## Offseason

On May 12, 1989, the Whalers announced that general manager Emile Francis would be promoted to team president. Replacing Francis as general manager of the club was Eddie Johnston. Johnston had previously held the general manager position with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1983 to 1988. During his tenure with the Penguins, the club drafted Mario Lemieux with the first overall selection in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.
Four days later, on May 16, Johnston fired head coach Larry Pleau. Pleau led the Whalers to an 81-117-26 record over parts of five seasons as head coach of the club from 1980 to 1988. Pleau also had previously been the general manager of the club from 1981 to 1983. Just over two weeks later, Hartford hired Rick Ley to take over as head coach of the team. Ley had played with the Whalers when they played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1979, then in the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1981. Ley would have his number retired by the club on December 26, 1982. In 1981-82, Ley worked as an assistant coach with the Whalers. Midway in the 1982-83, Ley took over head coaching duties with the Binghamton Whalers, leading them to a 22-17-5 record in 44 games. From 1984 to 1988, Ley was the head coach of the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the IHL, leading the club to three 50+ win seasons in four years, while winning the Turner Cup during the 1985-86 season. In 1988-89, Ley coached the Milwaukee Admirals, leading the team to a 54-23-5 record in his only season with the club.
At the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota on June 17, the Whalers selected Bobby Holik from Dukla Jihlava of the Czechoslovak Extraliga. In 36 games during the 1988-89 season, Holik scored 10 goals and 25 points in 35 games. Other notable selections that Hartford made include Blair Atcheynum, Jim McKenzie, James Black, Scott Daniels and Michel Picard.
At the draft, the Whalers made a trade with the New Jersey Devils. Hartford acquired Pat Verbeek from the Devils in exchange for Sylvain Turgeon. In 1988-89, Verbeek scored 26 goals and 47 points in 77 games. His best season with New Jersey was in 1987-88, as Verbeek scored 46 goals and 77 points in 73 games, helping the club reach the post-season for the first time since the team relocated to New Jersey. In 463 career games, Verbeek scored 170 goals and 320 points since joining the Devils in 1982.
At the 1989 NHL Supplemental Draft, the Whalers selected Chris Tancill. In 44 games during the 1988-89 season with the Wisconsin Badgers, Tancill scored 20 goals and 43 points.
On July 1, Brent Peterson announced his retirement from hockey. Nineteen days later, the Whalers hired Peterson as an assistant coach.
The Whalers acquired Mikael Andersson from the Minnesota North Stars at the Waiver Draft held on October 2. Andersson played in 14 games with the Buffalo Sabres during the 1988-89 season, earning an assist. In 56 games with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, Andersson scored 18 goals and 51 points.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 289 | 232 | 101 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 45 | 27 | 8 | 286 | 248 | 98 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 41 | 28 | 11 | 288 | 234 | 93 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 275 | 268 | 85 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 12 | 61 | 7 | 240 | 407 | 31 |
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. Campbell Conference
## Schedule and results

1989–90 regular season :
October
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
1LOctober 5, 19891–4Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)0–1–0
2LOctober 7, 19894–6Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)0–2–0
3WOctober 8, 19899–6@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)1–2–0
4WOctober 11, 19894–1Washington Capitals (1989–90)2–2–0
5LOctober 13, 19891–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)2–3–0
6LOctober 14, 19892–3New Jersey Devils (1989–90)2–4–0
7WOctober 18, 19892–1Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)3–4–0
8LOctober 19, 19893–7@ New York Rangers (1989–90)3–5–0
9TOctober 21, 19893–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1989–90)3–5–1
10LOctober 23, 19892–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)3–6–1
11WOctober 25, 19892–0Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)4–6–1
12WOctober 26, 19897–3@ New Jersey Devils (1989–90)5–6–1
13WOctober 28, 19891–0@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)6–6–1 :
November
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
14LNovember 1, 19893–5St. Louis Blues (1989–90)6–7–1
15WNovember 3, 19894–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)7–7–1
16WNovember 4, 19896–3Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)8–7–1
17LNovember 8, 19893–6Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)8–8–1
18WNovember 10, 19894–2@ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)9–8–1
19LNovember 12, 19892–4@ Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)9–9–1
20WNovember 14, 19893–0@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)10–9–1
21LNovember 15, 19892–5Boston Bruins (1989–90)10–10–1
22LNovember 18, 19892–3New York Rangers (1989–90)10–11–1
23LNovember 22, 19892–4Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)10–12–1
24WNovember 25, 19895–2Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)11–12–1
25LNovember 26, 19892–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)11–13–1
26LNovember 28, 19892–4Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)11–14–1
27WNovember 30, 19895–3@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)12–14–1 :
December
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
28WDecember 2, 19894–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)13–14–1
29LDecember 6, 19893–4New York Islanders (1989–90)13–15–1
30WDecember 7, 19894–3@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)14–15–1
31WDecember 9, 19897–3New Jersey Devils (1989–90)15–15–1
32LDecember 13, 19892–5Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)15–16–1
33WDecember 14, 19893–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)16–16–1
34LDecember 16, 19892–5Washington Capitals (1989–90)16–17–1
35WDecember 19, 19898–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)17–17–1
36WDecember 20, 19894–3Boston Bruins (1989–90)18–17–1
37WDecember 23, 19894–3Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)19–17–1
38TDecember 26, 19893–3 OT@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)19–17–2
39LDecember 30, 19893–7@ Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)19–18–2 :
January
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
40LJanuary 3, 19902–4Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)19–19–2
41LJanuary 5, 19904–6@ Calgary Flames (1989–90)19–20–2
42TJanuary 6, 19904–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)19–20–3
43WJanuary 10, 19903–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)20–20–3
44WJanuary 13, 19906–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)21–20–3
45LJanuary 15, 19901–4@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)21–21–3
46TJanuary 17, 19905–5 OTBoston Bruins (1989–90)21–21–4
47TJanuary 19, 19903–3 OTCalgary Flames (1989–90)21–21–5
48WJanuary 23, 19904–2New York Islanders (1989–90)22–21–5
49LJanuary 25, 19902–3@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)22–22–5
50WJanuary 27, 19906–4Chicago Blackhawks (1989–90)23–22–5
51TJanuary 30, 19904–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1989–90)23–22–6 :
February
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
52LFebruary 1, 19901–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)23–23–6
53WFebruary 3, 19905–1@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)24–23–6
54LFebruary 4, 19900–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)24–24–6
55WFebruary 7, 19905–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)25–24–6
56LFebruary 9, 19901–4Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)25–25–6
57WFebruary 10, 19906–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)26–25–6
58TFebruary 14, 19906–6 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)26–25–7
59LFebruary 17, 19903–7@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)26–26–7
60WFebruary 18, 19906–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)27–26–7
61WFebruary 21, 19903–2Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)28–26–7
62LFebruary 23, 19903–7@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)28–27–7
63LFebruary 24, 19901–3Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)28–28–7
64WFebruary 28, 19903–1Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)29–28–7 :
March
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
65WMarch 2, 19904–3@ Washington Capitals (1989–90)30–28–7
66WMarch 3, 19906–4New York Rangers (1989–90)31–28–7
67WMarch 6, 19904–2@ New York Islanders (1989–90)32–28–7
68LMarch 8, 19906–7Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)32–29–7
69LMarch 10, 19900–5Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)32–30–7
70LMarch 11, 19903–4Boston Bruins (1989–90)32–31–7
71WMarch 13, 19901–0@ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)33–31–7
72LMarch 17, 19904–5@ Calgary Flames (1989–90)33–32–7
73WMarch 18, 19903–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)34–32–7
74WMarch 21, 19904–1Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)35–32–7
75WMarch 24, 19907–4Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)36–32–7
76WMarch 25, 19904–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)37–32–7
77TMarch 27, 19903–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)37–32–8
78LMarch 29, 19902–3@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)37–33–8
79WMarch 31, 19903–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)38–33–8 :
April
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
80TApril 1, 19901–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1989–90)38–33–9 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs
### Bruins 4, Whalers 3
#### Adams Division Semi-finals
##### (1) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Hartford Whalers

* Boston wins series 4 – 3

## Transactions

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

### Trades

| June 17, 1989 | To New Jersey DevilsSylvain Turgeon | To Hartford WhalersPat Verbeek |
| October 7, 1989 | To Minnesota North StarsKevin Sullivan | To Hartford WhalersMike Berger |
| October 10, 1989 | To Edmonton OilersNorm Maciver | To Hartford WhalersJim Ennis |
| October 31, 1989 | To New Jersey DevilsJim Thomson | To Hartford WhalersChris Cichocki |
| December 13, 1989 | To Winnipeg JetsPaul MacDermid | To Hartford WhalersRandy Cunneyworth |
| March 3, 1990 | To Boston BruinsSteve Dykstra | To Hartford WhalersJeff Sirkka |
| March 5, 1990 | To Washington CapitalsMike Liut | To Hartford WhalersYvon Corriveau |
| March 6, 1990 | To Edmonton OilersMarc Laforge | To Hartford WhalersCam Brauer |

### Waivers

| October 2, 1989 | From Buffalo SabresMikael Andersson |
| December 1, 1989 | To Quebec NordiquesBrian Lawton |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Daryl Reaugh | Edmonton Oilers |
| Steve Dykstra | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Emanuel Viveiros | Minnesota North Stars |

## Draft picks

Hartford's draft picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 10 | Bobby Holik | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Jihlava (Czechoslovakia) |
| 3 | 52 | Blair Atcheynum | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 4 | 73 | Jim McKenzie | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |
| 5 | 94 | James Black | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 6 | 115 | Jerome Bechard | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 7 | 136 | Scott Daniels | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 8 | 157 | Raymond Saumier | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 178 | Michel Picard | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 10 | 199 | Trevor Buchanan | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 11 | 220 | John Battice | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 12 | 241 | Peter Kasowski | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| S | 15 | Chris Tancill | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |