1988–89 NHL season

The **1988–89 NHL season** was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Calgary Flames won an all Canadian Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. To date, this is the last time two Canadian teams squared off for the Stanley Cup.

### Final standings

**_Note:** W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes_

#### Prince of Wales Conference

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Adams Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Montreal Canadiens**|80|53|18|9|115|315|218|1537||||||||||
|**Boston Bruins**|80|37|29|14|88|289|256|1929||||||||||
|**Buffalo Sabres**|80|38|35|7|83|291|299|2034||||||||||
|**Hartford Whalers**|80|37|38|5|79|299|290|1672||||||||||
|Quebec Nordiques|80|27|46|7|61|269|342|2004||||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Patrick Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Washington Capitals**|80|41|29|10|92|305|259|1836||||||||||
|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|80|40|33|7|87|347|349|2670||||||||||
|**New York Rangers**|80|37|35|8|82|310|307|1891||||||||||
|**Philadelphia Flyers**|80|36|36|8|80|307|285|2317||||||||||
|New Jersey Devils|80|27|41|12|66|281|325|2499||||||||||
|New York Islanders|80|28|47|5|61|265|325|1822||||||||||

#### Clarence Campbell Conference

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Norris Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Detroit Red Wings**|80|34|34|12|80|313|316|2245||||||||||
|**St. Louis Blues**|80|33|35|12|78|275|285|1675||||||||||
|**Minnesota North Stars**|80|27|37|16|70|258|278|1972||||||||||
|**Chicago Blackhawks**|80|27|41|12|66|297|335|2496||||||||||
|Toronto Maple Leafs|80|28|46|6|62|259|342|1740||||||||||

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="40%"|Smythe Division|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|W|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|L|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%"|T|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GF|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GA|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|**Calgary Flames**|80|54|17|9|117|354|226|2444||||||||||
|**Los Angeles Kings**|80|42|31|7|91|376|335|2215||||||||||
|**Edmonton Oilers**|80|38|34|8|84|325|306|1931||||||||||
|**Vancouver Canucks**|80|33|39|8|74|251|253|1569||||||||||
|Winnipeg Jets|80|26|42|12|64|300|355|1843||||||||||

### Scoring leaders

_Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points_
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%"|Player|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%"|Team|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|G|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|A|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Mario Lemieux|Pittsburgh Penguins|76|85|114|199|100||||||||
|Wayne Gretzky|Los Angeles Kings|78|54|114|168|26||||||||
|Steve Yzerman|Detroit Red Wings|80|65|90|155|61||||||||
|Bernie Nicholls|Los Angeles Kings|79|70|80|150|96||||||||
|Rob Brown|Pittsburgh Penguins|68|49|66|115|118||||||||
|Paul Coffey|Pittsburgh Penguins|75|30|83|113|193||||||||
|Joe Mullen|Calgary Flames|79|51|59|110|16||||||||
|Jari Kurri|Edmonton Oilers|76|44|58|102|69||||||||
|Jimmy Carson|Edmonton Oilers|80|49|51|100|36||||||||
|Luc Robitaille|Los Angeles Kings|78|46|52|98|65||||||||

### Division semi-finals

**Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|Hartford Whalers|2|**Montreal Canadiens**|**6**||||||||
|April 6|Hartford Whalers|2|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**||||||||
|April 8|**Montreal Canadiens**|**5**|Hartford Whalers|4|(OT)|||||||
|April 9|**Montreal Canadiens**|**4**|Hartford Whalers|3||||||||
_Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0_

**Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|**Buffalo Sabres**|**6**|Boston Bruins|0||||||||
|April 6|Buffalo Sabres|3|**Boston Bruins**|**5**||||||||
|April 8|**Boston Bruins**|**4**|Buffalo Sabres|2||||||||
|April 9|**Boston Bruins**|**3**|Buffalo Sabres|2||||||||
|April 11|Buffalo Sabres|1|**Boston Bruins**|**4**||||||||
_Boston wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1_

**Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|Philadelphia Flyers|2|**Washington Capitals**|**3**||||||||
|April 6|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**3**|Washington Capitals|2||||||||
|April 8|**Washington Capitals**|**4**|Philadelphia Flyers|3|(OT)|||||||
|April 9|Washington Capitals|2|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**5**||||||||
|April 11|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**8**|Washington Capitals|5||||||||
|April 13|Washington Capitals|3|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**4**||||||||
_Philadelphia wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2_

**New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|New York Rangers|1|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**3**||||||||
|April 6|New York Rangers|4|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**7**||||||||
|April 8|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**5**|New York Rangers|4|(OT)|||||||
|April 9|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**4**|New York Rangers|3||||||||
_Pittsburgh wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0_

**Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|Chicago Blackhawks|2|**Detroit Red Wings**|**3**||||||||
|April 6|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**5**|Detroit Red Wings|4|(OT)|||||||
|April 8|Detroit Red Wings|2|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**4**||||||||
|April 9|Detroit Red Wings|2|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**3**||||||||
|April 11|Chicago Blackhawks|4|**Detroit Red Wings**|**6**||||||||
|April 13|Detroit Red Wings|1|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**7**||||||||
_Chicago wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2_

**Minnesota North Stars vs. St. Louis Blues**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|Minnesota North Stars|3|**St. Louis Blues**|**4**|(OT)|||||||
|April 6|Minnesota North Stars|3|**St. Louis Blues**|**4**|(OT)|||||||
|April 8|**St. Louis Blues**|**5**|Minnesota North Stars|3||||||||
|April 9|St. Louis Blues|4|**Minnesota North Stars**|**5**||||||||
|April 11|Minnesota North Stars|1|**St. Louis Blues**|**6**||||||||
_St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1_

**Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames**

|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|**Vancouver Canucks**|**4**|Calgary Flames|3|(OT)|||||||
|April 6|Vancouver Canucks|2|**Calgary Flames**|**5**||||||||
|April 8|**Calgary Flames**|**4**|Vancouver Canucks|0||||||||
|April 9|Calgary Flames|3|**Vancouver Canucks**|**5**||||||||
|April 11|Vancouver Canucks|0|**Calgary Flames**|**4**||||||||
|April 13|Calgary Flames|3|**Vancouver Canucks**|**6**||||||||
|April 15|Vancouver Canucks|3|**Calgary Flames**|**4**|(OT)|||||||
_Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3_

**Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 5|**Edmonton Oilers**|**4**|Los Angeles Kings|3||||||||
|April 6|Edmonton Oilers|2|**Los Angeles Kings**|**5**||||||||
|April 8|Los Angeles Kings|0|**Edmonton Oilers**|**4**||||||||
|April 9|Los Angeles Kings|3|**Edmonton Oilers**|**4**||||||||
|April 11|Edmonton Oilers|2|**Los Angeles Kings**|**4**||||||||
|April 13|**Los Angeles Kings**|**4**|Edmonton Oilers|1||||||||
|April 15|Edmonton Oilers|3|**Los Angeles Kings**|**6**||||||||
_Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3_

### Division finals

**Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 17|Boston Bruins|2|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**||||||||
|April 19|Boston Bruins|2|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**|(OT)|||||||
|April 21|**Montreal Canadiens**|**5**|Boston Bruins|4||||||||
|April 23|Montreal Canadiens|2|**Boston Bruins**|**3**||||||||
|April 25|Boston Bruins|2|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**||||||||
_Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1_

**Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 17|Philadelphia Flyers|3|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**4**||||||||
|April 19|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**4**|Pittsburgh Penguins|2||||||||
|April 21|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**4**|Philadelphia Flyers|3|(OT)|||||||
|April 23|Pittsburgh Penguins|1|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**4**||||||||
|April 25|Philadelphia Flyers|7|**Pittsburgh Penguins**|**10**||||||||
|April 27|Pittsburgh Penguins|2|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**6**||||||||
|April 29|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**4**|Pittsburgh Penguins|1||||||||
_Philadelphia wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3_

**Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 18|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**3**|St. Louis Blues|1||||||||
|April 20|Chicago Blackhawks|4|**St. Louis Blues**|**5**||||||||
|April 22|St. Louis Blues|2|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**5**||||||||
|April 24|St. Louis Blues|2|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**3**||||||||
|April 26|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**4**|St. Louis Blues|2||||||||
_Chicago wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1_

**Los Angeles Kings vs. Calgary Flames**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|April 18|Los Angeles Kings|3|**Calgary Flames**|**4**|(OT)|||||||
|April 20|Los Angeles Kings|3|**Calgary Flames**|**8**||||||||
|April 22|**Calgary Flames**|**5**|Los Angeles Kings|2||||||||
|April 24|**Calgary Flames**|**5**|Los Angeles Kings|3||||||||
_Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0_

### Conference finals

**Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 1|**Philadelphia Flyers**|**3**|Montreal Canadiens|1||||||||
|May 3|Philadelphia Flyers|0|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**||||||||
|May 5|**Montreal Canadiens**|**5**|Philadelphia Flyers|1||||||||
|May 7|**Montreal Canadiens**|**3**|Philadelphia Flyers|0||||||||
|May 9|**Philadelphia Flyers**|2|Montreal Canadiens|1|(OT)|||||||
|May 11|**Montreal Canadiens**|**4**|Philadelphia Flyers|2||||||||
_Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2_

**Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames**
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Date|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Away|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="150"|Home|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Score|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="60"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|May 2|Chicago Blackhawks|0|**Calgary Flames**|**3**||||||||
|May 4|**Chicago Blackhawks**|**4**|Calgary Flames|2||||||||
|May 6|**Calgary Flames**|**5**|Chicago Blackhawks|2||||||||
|May 8|**Calgary Flames**|**2**|Chicago Blackhawks|1|(OT)|||||||
|May 10|Chicago Blackhawks|1|**Calgary Flames**|**3**||||||||
_Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1_

### Finals

**Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames**

The Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his NHL Hall of Fame career because he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.

### Playoff scoring leaders

_Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points_
|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="125"|Player|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="125"|Team|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|GP|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|G|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|A|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|Pts|bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5"|PIM|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Al MacInnis|Calgary Flames|22|7|24|31|||||||||

## NHL awards

|Presidents' Trophy:|Calgary Flames|
| --- | --- |
|Prince of Wales Trophy:|Montreal Canadiens|
|Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:|Calgary Flames|
|Art Ross Memorial Trophy:|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|
|Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:|Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers|
|Calder Memorial Trophy:|Brian Leetch, New York Rangers|
|Conn Smythe Trophy:|Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames|
|Frank J. Selke Trophy:|Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens|
|Hart Memorial Trophy:|Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings|
|Jack Adams Award:|Pat Burns, Montreal Canadiens|
|James Norris Memorial Trophy:|Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens|
|King Clancy Memorial Trophy:|Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders|
|Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:|Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames|
|Lester B. Pearson Award:|Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings|
|NHL Plus/Minus Award:|Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames,|
|William M. Jennings Trophy:|Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward, Montreal Canadiens|
|Vezina Trophy:|Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens|
|Lester Patrick Trophy:|Dan Kelly, Lou Nanne, Lynn Patrick, Bud Poile|

### All-Star teams

|First Team|Position|Second Team||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens|align=center|G|Mike Vernon, Calgary Flames|
|Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens|align=center|D|Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames|
|Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins|align=center|D|Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins|
|Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins|align=center|C|Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings|
|Joe Mullen, Calgary Flames|align=center|RW|Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers|
|Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings|align=center|LW|Gerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings|

## First games

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1988–89 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark start in playoffs):
- Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins
- Stephane Quintal, Boston Bruins
- Sergei Priakin, Calgary Flames
- Paul Ranheim, Calgary Flames
- Theoren Fleury, Calgary Flames
- Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
- Jeremy Roenick, Chicago Blackhawks
- Randy McKay, Detroit Red Wings
- Tim Cheveldae, Detroit Red Wings
- Martin Gelinas, Edmonton Oilers
- Mike Modano*, Minnesota North Stars
- Eric Desjardins, Montreal Canadiens
- Jyrki Lumme, Montreal Canadiens
- Mike Keane, Montreal Canadiens
- Eric Weinrich, New Jersey Devils
- Paul Ysebaert, New Jersey Devils
- Tom Fitzgerald, New York Islanders
- Tony Granato, New York Rangers
- Mike Richter*, New York Rangers
- John Cullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Mark Recchi, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Curtis Leschyshyn, Quebec Nordiques
- Joe Sakic, Quebec Nordiques
- Rod Brind'Amour*, St. Louis Blues
- Trevor Linden, Vancouver Canucks
- Bob Essensa, Winnipeg Jets

## Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1988–89 (listed with their last team):
- Mark Napier, Buffalo Sabres
- Hakan Loob, Calgary Flames
- Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames
- Doug Halward, Edmonton Oilers
- Tomas Jonsson, Edmonton Oilers
- John Anderson, Hartford Whalers
- Ron Duguay, Los Angeles Kings
- Craig Hartsburg, Minnesota North Stars
- Dennis Maruk, Minnesota North Stars
- Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
- Billy Smith, New York Islanders
- Marcel Dionne, New York Rangers
- Anton Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
- Mel Bridgman, Vancouver Canucks
- Bengt Gustafsson, Washington Capitals

## References

- Hockey Database
- NHL.com

## Infobox (sports season)

- **title**: 1988–89 NHL season
- **league**: National Hockey League
- **sport**: Ice hockey
- **duration**: October 6, 1988 – May 25, 1989
- **draft**: Draft
- **draft link**: 1988 NHL Draft
- **top pick link**: List of first overall NHL draft picks
- **top pick**: Mike Modano
- **picked by**: Minnesota North Stars
- **season**: Regular season
- **season champ name**: Presidents' Trophy
- **season champs**: Calgary Flames
- **mvp**: Wayne Gretzky <small>(Los Angeles Kings, Kings)</small>
- **mvp link**: Hart Memorial Trophy
- **top scorer**: Mario Lemieux <small>(Pittsburgh Penguins, Penguins)</small>
- **top scorer link**: Art Ross Trophy
- **playoffs**: Playoffs
- **playoffs link**: 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs
- **conf1**: Eastern
- **conf1 link**: Eastern Conference (NHL)
- **conf1 champ**: Montreal Canadiens
- **conf1 runner-up**: Philadelphia Flyers
- **conf2**: Western
- **conf2 link**: Western Conference (NHL)
- **conf2 champ**: Calgary Flames
- **conf2 runner-up**: Chicago Blackhawks
- **finals**: Stanley Cup
- **finals link**: 1989 Stanley Cup Final
- **finals champ**: Calgary Flames
- **finals runner-up**: Montreal Canadiens
- **playoffs mvp**: Al MacInnis <small>(Calgary Flames, Flames)</small>
- **playoffs mvp link**: Conn Smythe Trophy
- **nextseason year**: 1989–90 NHL season, 1989–90
- **prevseason year**: 1987–88 NHL season, 1987–88
- **seasonslistnames**: List of NHL seasons, NHL
- **no of games**: 80
- **no of teams**: 21