# 1987–88 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1987–88 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques ninth season in the National Hockey League.

## Offseason

Quebec made a huge trade during the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, as the Nordiques traded away Dale Hunter and Clint Malarchuk to the Washington Capitals for Gaetan Duchesne, Alan Haworth, and the Capitals first round draft pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, in which the Nordiques selected Joe Sakic. Haworth had an injury plagued season in 1986–87, appearing in only 50 games, however, he scored 25 goals and 41 points. In 1985–86, Haworth had a career high 34 goals and 73 points for the Capitals. Duchesne had a career high 52 points with Washington in 1986–87, as he scored 17 goals and had 35 assists. Joe Sakic was the Nordiques second selection in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, as he scored 60 goals and 133 points in 72 games with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL), as Quebec selected Bryan Fogarty with their first pick. Fogarty had 70 points in 56 games with the Kingston Canadians of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Head coach Michel Bergeron left the Nordiques to take the head coaching job with the New York Rangers. As compensation, the Nordiques received the New York Rangers first round pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. Quebec hired former Nordiques player Andre Savard to replace Bergeron. Savard ended his twelve-year playing career by playing his last two seasons with Quebec from 1983 to 1985. He had been the head coach of the Fredericton Express of the AHL.
Late in the pre-season, the Nordiques made a trade with the New York Rangers, when Quebec sent David Shaw and John Ogrodnick to the Rangers for Terry Carkner and Jeff Jackson. Carkner had a solid rookie season with New York in 1986–87, scoring two goals and 15 points in 52 games with the Rangers, while Jackson split the season between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Rangers, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 64 games between the two teams.

## Regular season

Quebec began the season with a three-game winning streak, and continued their early season success, as they had a 9–5–1 record through their first 15 games. The Nordiques then lost eight of their next nine games, to fall to 10–13–1--a slump which cost head coach Andre Savard his job. He was replaced by assistant coach Ron Lapointe on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. Under Lapointe, the Nordiques would go 6–3–1 in his first ten games to reach the .500 level with a 16–16–2 record, and found themselves in a fight with the Buffalo Sabres and Hartford Whalers for the final two playoff spots in the Adams Division. Quebec would remain in the hunt, as after 72 games, the team had a 32–36–4 record, good for 68 points, and a three-point lead on the Whalers for the final playoff spot. Quebec then went winless in their last eight games, going 0–7–1, as the Nordiques sank to last place in the Adams Division, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1980. Their record was 32–43–5, earning 69 points, which was their worst record since 1979–80, when the Nordiques were 25–44–11, getting 61 points.
On offence, the club was led by Peter Stastny, who recorded 111 points, which was good for a tie for fifth place in the National Hockey League (NHL). Stastny scored 46 goals, his highest total since 1983–84, while adding 65 assists. Michel Goulet once again led the club in goals, as he scored 48 times, while he added 58 assists for 106 points. Anton Stastny was solid once again, getting 27 goals and 72 points, while newcomers Gaetan Duchesne and Alan Haworth each cracked the 20 goal plateau, scoring 24 and 23 goals respectively.
Jeff Brown led the Nordiques from the blueline, scoring 16 goals and 52 points, while Terry Carkner chipped in with 27 points in his first season in Quebec.
In goal, Mario Gosselin appeared in 54 games, winning a team high 20 games, while posting a 3.78 GAA, and recording two shutouts for the team. Rookie Mario Brunetta was the backup, winning 10 games with a 3.72 GAA in 29 games. Another rookie, Ron Tugnutt, appeared in six games, earning two wins with a 3.38 GAA.

### Final standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 298 | 238 | 103 |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 44 | 30 | 6 | 300 | 251 | 94 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 37 | 32 | 11 | 283 | 305 | 85 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 35 | 38 | 7 | 249 | 267 | 77 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 32 | 43 | 5 | 271 | 306 | 69 |
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

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Boston
—4–3–14–3–13–4–15–316–13–3
Buffalo
3–4–1—3–4–13–3–25–2–114–13–5
Hartford
3–4–14–3–1—2–4–22–611–17–4
Montreal
4–3–13–3–24–2−2—6–217–10–5
Quebec
3–52–5–16–22–6—13–18–1
Vs. Patrick Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
2–11–21–21–22–0–11–28–9–1
Buffalo
2–0–11–23–00–30–2–12–0–18–7–3
Hartford
1–1–11–21–21–21–21–26–11–1
Montreal
1–23–01–1–11–0–21–21–1–18–6–4
Quebec
3–01–21–20–2–10–31–26–11–1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Boston
3–01–23–01–22–110–5–0
Buffalo
2–11–21–1–13–03–010–4–1
Hartford
2–12–13–01–23–011–4–0
Montreal
2–0–12–11–1–12–13–010–3–2
Quebec
2–0–13–02–11–23–011–3–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1987–88 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Boston
2–11–1–12–0–12–13–010–3–2
Buffalo
1–20–32–11–1–11–1–15–8–2
Hartford
0–31–23–01–0–22–17–6–2
Montreal
0–2–13–02–12–0–13–010–3–2
Quebec
0–31–1–11–20–30–2–12–11–2 :

## Schedule and results

1987–88 regular season :
October
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
1WOctober 8, 19875–1@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)1–0–0
2WOctober 10, 19876–5 OTBoston Bruins (1987–88)2–0–0
3WOctober 12, 19875–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)3–0–0
4TOctober 16, 19872–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)3–0–1
5LOctober 17, 19873–6Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)3–1–1
6LOctober 22, 19873–5Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)3–2–1
7LOctober 24, 19875–7Calgary Flames (1987–88)3–3–1
8WOctober 27, 19875–0Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)4–3–1
9WOctober 29, 19874–2@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)5–3–1
10LOctober 31, 19874–5 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)5–4–1 :
November
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
11LNovember 1, 19871–5Hartford Whalers (1987–88)5–5–1
12WNovember 3, 19874–3St. Louis Blues (1987–88)6–5–1
13WNovember 6, 19874–1@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)7–5–1
14WNovember 7, 19875–3@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)8–5–1
15WNovember 9, 19876–4Boston Bruins (1987–88)9–5–1
16LNovember 13, 19874–6@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)9–6–1
17LNovember 14, 19877–8@ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)9–7–1
18LNovember 18, 19871–4@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)9–8–1
19LNovember 19, 19871–9@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)9–9–1
20WNovember 23, 19874–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (1987–88)10–9–1
21LNovember 25, 19874–6@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)10–10–1
22LNovember 28, 19873–6Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)10–11–1 :
December
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
23LDecember 1, 19871–3Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)10–12–1
24LDecember 3, 19873–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)10–13–1
25WDecember 5, 19873–2New Jersey Devils (1987–88)11–13–1
26LDecember 8, 19874–5Hartford Whalers (1987–88)11–14–1
27TDecember 11, 19873–3 OT@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)11–14–2
28WDecember 12, 19875–0@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)12–14–2
29LDecember 16, 19874–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)12–15–2
30WDecember 20, 19874–2Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)13–15–2
31LDecember 22, 19871–2Washington Capitals (1987–88)13–16–2
32WDecember 26, 19874–2@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)14–16–2
33WDecember 27, 19875–3Hartford Whalers (1987–88)15–16–2
34WDecember 29, 19875–1Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)16–16–2
35LDecember 31, 19871–6@ New York Rangers (1987–88)16–17–2 :
January
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
36LJanuary 2, 19881–5@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)16–18–2
37LJanuary 3, 19881–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)16–19–2
38WJanuary 6, 19886–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)17–19–2
39LJanuary 9, 19882–3Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)17–20–2
40WJanuary 13, 19885–3@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)18–20–2
41LJanuary 14, 19885–8@ New York Islanders (1987–88)18–21–2
42WJanuary 16, 19884–1Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)19–21–2
43TJanuary 19, 19884–4 OTEdmonton Oilers (1987–88)19–21–3
44WJanuary 21, 19885–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)20–21–3
45LJanuary 23, 19883–5St. Louis Blues (1987–88)20–22–3
46LJanuary 24, 19883–5Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)20–23–3
47WJanuary 26, 19885–3Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)21–23–3
48LJanuary 28, 19880–3@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)21–24–3
49LJanuary 30, 19882–5@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)21–25–3 :
February
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
50LFebruary 2, 19883–6Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)21–26–3
51WFebruary 4, 19883–2New York Rangers (1987–88)22–26–3
52LFebruary 6, 19882–3Boston Bruins (1987–88)22–27–3
53TFebruary 7, 19885–5 OTChicago Blackhawks (1987–88)22–27–4
54LFebruary 11, 19883–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)22–28–4
55WFebruary 13, 19887–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1987–88)23–28–4
56LFebruary 14, 19882–3@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)23–29–4
57LFebruary 16, 19883–7Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)23–30–4
58LFebruary 20, 19883–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)23–31–4
59WFebruary 21, 19886–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)24–31–4
60LFebruary 23, 19881–3Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)24–32–4
61WFebruary 26, 19883–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)25–32–4
62WFebruary 27, 19885–4Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)26–32–4
63LFebruary 29, 19881–2Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)26–33–4 :
March
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
64WMarch 2, 19884–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)27–33–4
65LMarch 4, 19882–6@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)27–34–4
66LMarch 6, 19880–2New York Islanders (1987–88)27–35–4
67WMarch 8, 19886–4Hartford Whalers (1987–88)28–35–4
68WMarch 10, 19884–3@ New York Islanders (1987–88)29–35–4
69LMarch 12, 19883–4Boston Bruins (1987–88)29–36–4
70WMarch 13, 19884–1@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)30–36–4
71WMarch 15, 19883–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)31–36–4
72WMarch 17, 19884–3@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)32–36–4
73LMarch 19, 19884–5 OTCalgary Flames (1987–88)32–37–4
74LMarch 23, 19881–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)32–38–4
75LMarch 26, 19882–6@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)32–39–4
76LMarch 27, 19883–6Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)32–40–4
77LMarch 29, 19881–3Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)32–41–4
78TMarch 31, 19884–4 OT@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)32–41–5 :
April
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecord
79LApril 2, 19884–7Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)32–42–5
80LApril 3, 19880–3@ New York Rangers (1987–88)32–43–5 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Peter Stastny | C | 76 | 46 | 65 | 111 | 69 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 2 |
| Michel Goulet | LW | 80 | 48 | 58 | 106 | 56 | -31 | 29 | 1 | 4 |
| Anton Stastny | LW | 69 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 14 | -9 | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| Alan Haworth | C | 72 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 112 | -5 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Jeff Brown | D | 78 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 64 | -25 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Gaetan Duchesne | LW | 80 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 83 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Lane Lambert | RW | 61 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jason Lafreniere | C | 40 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 4 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeff Jackson | LW | 68 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 103 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Terry Carkner | D | 63 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 159 | -8 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Tommy Albelin | D | 60 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 47 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Moller | D | 66 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 169 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alain Cote | LW | 76 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Eagles | C/LW | 76 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 74 | -18 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Paul Gillis | C | 80 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 164 | -29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Picard | D | 65 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 103 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Marc Fortier | C | 27 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 12 | -17 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Normand Rochefort | D | 46 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 49 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Steven Finn | D | 75 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 198 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Donnelly | D | 63 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 301 | -16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Hough | LW | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Quinney | RW | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean-Marc Richard | D | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stu Kulak | RW | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevor Stienburg | RW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Tugnutt | G | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Brunetta | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Dollas | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Gosselin | G | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephane Guerard | D | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Latta | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken McRae | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Middendorf | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Natyshak | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Poudrier | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Mario Gosselin | 3002 | 54 | 20 | 28 | 4 | 189 | 3.78 | 2 | 1422 | 1233 | .867 |
| Mario Brunetta | 1550 | 29 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 96 | 3.72 | 0 | 778 | 682 | .877 |
| Ron Tugnutt | 284 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 3.38 | 0 | 123 | 107 | .870 |
| Team: | 4836 | 80 | 32 | 43 | 5 | 301 | 3.73 | 2 | 2323 | 2022 | .870 |
    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;

## Awards

* Second NHL All-Star team: Michel Goulet

## Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1987–88 season.

### Trades

| September 30, 1987 | To New York RangersJohn Ogrodnick David Shaw | To Quebec NordiquesTerry Carkner Jeff Jackson |
| December 17, 1987 | To Winnipeg JetsStu Kulak | To Quebec NordiquesBobby Dollas |
| May 18, 1988 | To New York RangersHead Coach Michel Bergeron | To Quebec Nordiques1st round pick in 1988 – Daniel Dore |

### Waivers

| October 5, 1987 | To Minnesota North StarsRichard Zemlak |
| October 5, 1987 | To New Jersey DevilsRisto Siltanen |
| October 5, 1987 | From New York RangersStu Kulak |

### Free agents

| Player | New Team |
| Jimmy Mann | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Basil McRae | Minnesota North Stars |

## Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1987 NHL Entry Draft which was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 9 | Bryan Fogarty | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHL) |
| 1 | 15 | Joe Sakic | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WHL) |
| 3 | 51 | Jim Sprott | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 4 | 72 | Kip Miller | United States | Michigan State Spartans (NCAA) |
| 5 | 93 | Rob Mendel | United States | Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) |
| 6 | 114 | Garth Snow | United States | Mount St. Charles Academy (USHS) |
| 7 | 135 | Tim Hanus | United States | Minnetonka High School (USHS) |
| 8 | 156 | Jake Enebak | United States | Northfield High School (USHS) |
| 9 | 177 | Jaroslav Sevcik | Czechoslovakia | ZKL Brno (Czech.) |
| 9 | 183 | Ladislav Tresl | Czechoslovakia | ZKL Brno (Czech.) |
| 10 | 198 | Darren Nauss | Canada | North Battleford North Stars (SJHL) |
| 11 | 219 | Mike Williams | United States | Ferris State Bulldogs (NCAA) |
| S2 | 11 | Mike Hiltner | United States | University of Alaska Anchorage (WCHA) |

## Farm teams

* Fredericton Express – AHL