1990–91 NHL season

**The 1990–91 NHL season** was the 74th season of the National Hockey League (NHL) which lasted from October 4, 1990 to May 25, 1991 (making in the last NHL season to end in May).

The Stanley Cup winners were the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the best of seven series 4–2 against the Minnesota North Stars.

## League Business

At meetings in Florida in December of 1990, the NHL Board of Governors awarded provisional franchises to groups from Ottawa and Tampa.

The Ottawa franchise marked a return to one of the original cities of the NHL while Tampa meant the first franchise in the sunbelt state of Florida.

In a later book published by NHL president Gil Stein, Stein revealed that the two groups were the only ones of the applicants who agreed to the $50 million expansion fee without question.

The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning began play in the 1992-93 NHL season.

## NHL Awards

* Presidents' Trophy: Chicago Blackhawks
* Prince of Wales Trophy: Pittsburgh Penguins
* Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Minnesota North Stars
* Art Ross Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
* Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
* Calder Memorial Trophy: Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
* Conn Smythe Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Frank J. Selke Trophy: Dirk Graham, Chicago Blackhawks
* Hart Memorial Trophy: Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues
* Jack Adams Award: Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
* James Norris Memorial Trophy: Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
* King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
* Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
* Lester B. Pearson Award: Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues
* NHL Plus/Minus Award: Marty McSorley, Los Angeles Kings & Theo Fleury, Calgary Flames
* Vezina Trophy: Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
* William M. Jennings Trophy: Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
* Lester Patrick Trophy: Rod Gilbert & Mike Ilitch

## Player Statistics

**Scoring Leaders**

**Leading Goaltenders**

*GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average*

## Coaches

### Patrick Division

* New Jersey Devils: John Cunniff and Tom McVie
* New York Islanders: Al Arbour
* New York Rangers: Roger Neilson
* Philadelphia Flyers: Paul Holmgren
* Pittsburgh Penguins: Bob Johnson
* Washington Capitals: Terry Murray

### Adams Division

* Boston Bruins: Mike Milbury
* Buffalo Sabres: Rick Dudley
* Hartford Whalers: Rick Ley
* Montreal Canadiens: Pat Burns
* Quebec Nordiques: Dave Chambers

### Norris Division

* Chicago Blackhawks: Mike Keenan
* Detroit Red Wings: Bryan Murray
* Minnesota North Stars: Bob Gainey
* St. Louis Blues: Brian Sutter
* Toronto Maple Leafs: Tom Watt

### Smythe Division

* Calgary Flames: Doug Risebrough
* Edmonton Oilers: John Muckler
* Los Angeles Kings: Tom Webster
* Vancouver Canucks: Bob McCammon and Pat Quinn
* Winnipeg Jets: Bob Murdoch

## Milestones

### Debuts

* Robert Reichel, Calgary Flames
* Dominik Hasek, Chicago Blackhawks
* Keith Primeau, Detroit Red Wings
* Mike Sillinger, Detroit Red Wings
* Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings
* Bobby Holik, Hartford Whalers
* Geoff Sanderson, Hartford Whalers
* John LeClair, Montreal Canadiens
* Patrice Brisebois, Montreal Canadiens
* Sean Hill\*, Montreal Canadiens
* Doug Weight, New York Rangers
* Tony Amonte, New York Rangers
* Mike Ricci, Philadelphia Flyers
* Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Mats Sundin, Quebec Nordiques
* Owen Nolan, Quebec Nordiques
* Petr Nedved, Vancouver Canucks
* Dmitri Khristich, Washington Capitals
* Peter Bondra, Washington Capitals
* Kris Draper, Winnipeg Jets

### Last Games

* Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins
* Tony McKegney, Chicago Blackhawks
* Glen Hanlon, Detroit Red Wings
* Don Maloney, New York Islanders
* Lindy Ruff, New York Rangers
* Pete Peeters, Philadelphia Flyers
* Guy Lafleur, Quebec Nordiques
* Harold Snepsts, St. Louis Blues
* Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues
* Rick Meagher, St. Louis Blues
* Stan Smyl, Vancouver Canucks
* Joel Quenneville, Washington Capitals

## Trading Deadline

The NHL Trading Deadline occurred on March 5, 1991.

* March 4, 1991: Ron Francis, Grant Jennings, and Ulf Samuelsson traded from Hartford to Pittsburgh for John Cullen, Jeff Parker, and Zarley Zalapski.
* March 5, 1991: Allan Bester traded from Toronto to Detroit for Detroit's sixth round pick in 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
* March 5, 1991: Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, and future considerations traded from St. Louis to Vancouver for Dan Quinn and Garth Butcher.
* March 5, 1991: Mark Hunter traded from Calgary to Hartford for Carey Wilson.
* March 5, 1991: Mark Pederson traded from Montreal to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's second round pick in 1991 NHL Entry Draft and future considerations.
* March 5, 1991: Keith Osborne traded from St. Louis to Toronto for Darren Veitch and future considerations.
* March 5, 1991: Ken Priestlay traded from Buffalo to Pittsburgh for Tony Tanti.
* March 5, 1991: Dana Murzyn traded from Calgary to Vancouver for Ron Stern, Kevan Guy and future considerations.
* March 5, 1991: Kim Issel traded from Edmonton to Pittsburgh for Brad Aitken.
* March 5, 1991: Steve Weeks traded from Vancouver to Buffalo for future considerations.
* March 5, 1991: Marc Bureau traded from Calgary to Minnesota for Minnesota's third round choice in 1991 Entry Draft.
* March 5, 1991: Joey Kocur and Per Djoos traded from Detroit to NY Rangers for Kevin Miller, Jim Cummins, and Dennis Vial.
* March 5, 1991: Bobby Reynolds traded from Toronto to Washington for Robert Mendel.
* March 5, 1991: Mike McNeill and Ryan McGill traded from Chicago to Quebec for Paul Gillis and Daniel Vincelette.
* March 5, 1991: Ilkka Sinisalo traded from Minnesota to Los Angeles for Los Angeles' eighth round choice in 1991 Entry Draft.