1989–90 Calgary Flames season

The 1989–90 Calgary Flames season was the Flames' eighteenth season, and their tenth in Calgary. In defense of their first Stanley Cup championship, despite losing both Lanny McDonald and Jim Peplinski to retirement, the Flames remained a dominant team on the ice, finishing atop the Smythe Division and the Campbell Conference for the third consecutive year, and 2nd overall in the NHL with 99 points – two points behind the Boston Bruins.

1989–90 Calgary Flames
Smythe Division champions
Division	1st Smythe
Conference	1st Campbell
1989–90 record	42–23–15
Home record	28–7–5
Road record	14–16–10
Goals for	348 (1st)
Goals against	265 (4th)
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Terry Crisp
Captain	Jim Peplinski (Oct) Brad McCrimmon (Oct-Apr)
Alternate captains	Doug Gilmour Tim Hunter
Arena	Olympic Saddledome
Average attendance	19,861
Team leaders
Goals	Joe Nieuwendyk (45)
Assists	Doug Gilmour (67)
Points	Joe Nieuwendyk (95)
Penalty minutes	Tim Hunter (279)
Wins	Mike Vernon (23)
Goals against average	Mike Vernon (3.13)
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

Calgary Flames 10th anniversary logo patch

The regular season success did not translate in the postseason, however, as the Flames were stunned by the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round of the playoffs. The loss began 15 years of playoff frustration, as the Flames would not win another postseason round until the 2003–04 season.

Following the loss, the Flames fired head coach Terry Crisp, later replacing him with Doug Risebrough. In three seasons with the Flames, Crisp compiled a 144–63–33 record, with one Stanley Cup win and two Presidents' Trophies.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Individually, Russian superstar Sergei Makarov, who was drafted by the Flames in 1983, was allowed to leave the Soviet Union and play in the NHL. Makarov finished 4th in team scoring with 86 points. The 32-year-old Makarov captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. The selection was controversial, as Makarov had played 11 pro seasons in the Soviet Union prior to joining the Flames. As a result, the league changed the rules for the following seasons, stating that only players under the age of 26 would be eligible for the award.^[7]

Four Flames were named to represent the Campbell Conference at the 1990 All-Star Game: Forwards Joe Mullen and Joe Nieuwendyk, defenceman Al MacInnis and goaltender Mike Vernon.^[8]

Regular season

The Flames finished first in scoring, with 348 goals for, and first in power-play percentage, with 27.73% (99 for 357).^[9]

Season standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Calgary Flames	80	42	23	15	348	265	99
Edmonton Oilers	80	38	28	14	315	283	90
Winnipeg Jets	80	37	32	11	298	290	85
Los Angeles Kings	80	34	39	7	338	337	75
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	41	14	245	306	64

^[10]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.

Campbell Conference^[11]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Calgary Flames	SMY	80	42	23	15	348	265	99
2	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	38	28	14	315	283	90
3	Chicago Blackhawks	NRS	80	41	33	6	316	294	88
4	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	37	32	11	298	290	85
5	St. Louis Blues	NRS	80	37	34	9	295	279	83
6	Toronto Maple Leafs	NRS	80	38	38	4	337	358	80
7	Minnesota North Stars	NRS	80	36	40	4	284	291	76
8	Los Angeles Kings	SMY	80	34	39	7	338	337	75
9	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	28	38	14	288	323	70
10	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	25	41	14	245	306	64

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Smythe Division 1989–90 NHL records[12] Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total Calgary — 4–3–1 4–3–1 5–1–2 3–5 16–12–4 Edmonton 3–4–1 — 4–2–2 6–1–1 5–3 18–10–4 Los Angeles 3–4–1 2–4–2 — 4–2–2 2–5–1 11–15–6 Vancouver 1–5–2 1–6–1 2–4–2 — 2–3–3 6–18–8 Winnipeg 5–3 3–5 5–2–1 3–3–2 — 16–13–3

Vs. Norris Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total Calgary 2–0–1 1–2 2–1 2–0–1 2–1 9–4–2 Edmonton 1–2 1–2 3–0 2–0–1 1–2 8–6–1 Los Angeles 1–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 7–8–0 Vancouver 1–2 1–1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 6–8–1 Winnipeg 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 1–1–1 2–0–1 6–6–3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division 1989–90 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total Calgary 1–1–1 1–1–1 2–0–1 1–2 1–0–2 6–4–5 Edmonton 0–2–1 2–1 0–1–2 1–1–1 3–0 6–5–4 Los Angeles 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–1–1 3–0 7–7–1 Vancouver 2–1 0–2–1 1–2 1–2 0–2–1 4–9–2 Winnipeg 1–1–1 0–3 2–1 1–1–1 2–1 6–7–2

Vs. Patrick Division 1989–90 NHL records Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total Calgary 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–1–1 2–0–1 0–1–2 11–3–4 Edmonton 0–1–2 1–0–2 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 2–1 6–7–5 Los Angeles 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–3 2–1 3–0 9–9–0 Vancouver 3–0 1–2 0–3 1–0–2 2–1 2–0–1 9–6–3 Winnipeg 2–1 1–2 1–1–1 2–1 0–2–1 3–0 9–7–2

Schedule and results

1989–90 Schedule
October: 6–3–4 (Home: 3–0–2; Road: 3–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 1 October 5 Detroit 7 – 10 Calgary 1–0–0 2 2 October 7 NY Islanders 3 – 6 Calgary 2–0–0 4 3 October 10 Calgary 4 – 2 New Jersey 3–0–0 6 4 October 11 Calgary 4 – 5 NY Rangers 3–1–0 6 5 October 14 Calgary 4 – 4 Washington OT 3–1–1 7 6 October 15 Calgary 3 – 2 Philadelphia 4–1–1 9 7 October 17 Calgary 8 – 8 Quebec OT 4–1–2 10 8 October 18 Calgary 1 – 2 Montreal 4–2–2 10 9 October 21 Boston 2 – 5 Calgary 5–2–2 12 10 October 23 Washington 3 – 3 Calgary OT 5–2–3 13 11 October 25 Calgary 5 – 0 Los Angeles 6–2–3 15 12 October 27 Vancouver 5 – 5 Calgary OT 6–2–4 16 13 October 28 Calgary 3 – 4 Vancouver 6–3–4 16
November: 5–6–4 (Home: 4–1–2; Road: 1–5–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 14 November 1 Winnipeg 3 – 5 Calgary 7–3–4 18 15 November 3 Calgary 2 – 5 Edmonton 7–4–4 18 16 November 4 New Jersey 3 – 7 Calgary 8–4–4 20 17 November 6 Edmonton 1 – 5 Calgary 9–4–4 22 18 November 8 Calgary 5 – 4 Los Angeles 10–4–4 24 19 November 11 Calgary 2 – 3 Minnesota OT 10–5–4 24 20 November 12 Calgary 2 – 3 Winnipeg 10–6–4 24 21 November 14 Los Angeles 8 – 6 Calgary 10–7–4 24 22 November 16 Buffalo 4 – 4 Calgary OT 10–7–5 25 23 November 18 Chicago 4 – 4 Calgary OT 10–7–6 26 24 November 20 Calgary 2 – 3 Montreal 10–8–6 26 25 November 21 Calgary 4 – 4 Quebec OT 10–8–7 27 26 November 24 Calgary 2 – 3 Detroit 10–9–7 27 27 November 25 Calgary 3 – 3 St. Louis OT 10–9–8 28 28 November 30 Minnesota 2 – 5 Calgary 11–9–8 30
December: 6–4–2 (Home: 5–2–0; Road: 1–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 29 December 2 Toronto 4 – 7 Calgary 12–9–8 32 30 December 6 Winnipeg 3 – 4 Calgary 12–10–8 32 31 December 10 Calgary 1 – 4 Winnipeg 12–11–8 32 32 December 11 Calgary 3 – 3 Edmonton OT 12–11–9 33 33 December 14 Quebec 2 – 8 Calgary 13–11–9 35 34 December 16 Pittsburgh 3 – 4 Calgary 14–11–9 37 35 December 19 Calgary 2 – 1 Vancouver 15–11–9 39 36 December 20 Vancouver 1 – 2 Calgary OT 16–11–9 41 37 December 23 Calgary 1 – 2 Edmonton 16–12–9 41 38 December 27 Calgary 5 – 5 Los Angeles 16–12–10 42 39 December 29 Winnipeg 2 – 1 Calgary OT 16–13–10 42 40 December 30 Montreal 3 – 5 Calgary 17–13–10 44
January: 8–2–3 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 4–1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 41 January 2 Philadelphia 4 – 4 Calgary OT 17–13–11 45 42 January 5 Hartford 4 – 6 Calgary 18–13–11 47 43 January 7 Calgary 3 – 1 Edmonton 19–13–11 49 44 January 9 Edmonton 3 – 2 Calgary OT 19–14–11 49 45 January 11 Buffalo 3 – 5 Calgary 20–14–11 51 46 January 13 Calgary 5 – 6 Toronto 20–15–11 51 47 January 14 Calgary 6 – 5 Chicago 21–15–11 53 48 January 16 Calgary 5 – 2 St. Louis 22–15–11 55 49 January 18 Calgary 2 – 2 Boston OT 22–15–12 56 50 January 19 Calgary 3 – 3 Hartford OT 22–15–13 57 51 January 25 NY Rangers 5 – 8 Calgary 23–15–13 59 52 January 27 Minnesota 1 – 3 Calgary 24–15–13 61 53 January 30 Calgary 7 – 2 Vancouver 25–15–13 63
February: 6–5–0 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 54 February 1 Vancouver 3 – 4 Calgary OT 26–15–13 65 55 February 3 Calgary 3 – 4 Los Angeles 26–16–13 65 56 February 6 Los Angeles 5 – 3 Calgary 26–17–13 65 57 February 10 Calgary 5 – 7 Detroit 26–18–13 65 58 February 11 Calgary 5 – 2 NY Rangers 27–18–13 67 59 February 13 Calgary 4 – 2 NY Islanders 28–18–13 69 60 February 15 Calgary 4 – 1 Chicago 29–18–13 71 61 February 18 Calgary 1 – 5 Winnipeg 29–19–13 71 62 February 20 Boston 5 – 3 Calgary 29–20–13 71 63 February 22 Toronto 2 – 12 Calgary 30–20–13 73 64 February 25 Edmonton 4 – 10 Calgary 31–20–13 75
March: 10–3–2 (Home: 8–1–0; Road: 2–2–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 65 March 1 Philadelphia 4 – 2 Calgary 31–21–13 75 66 March 3 Vancouver 1 – 5 Calgary 32–21–13 77 67 March 5 Los Angeles 0 – 5 Calgary 33–21–13 79 68 March 7 Pittsburgh 3 – 6 Calgary 34–21–13 81 69 March 9 Calgary 4 – 4 Vancouver OT 34–21–14 82 70 March 11 Calgary 6 – 4 Winnipeg 35–21–14 84 71 March 12 Winnipeg 4 – 5 Calgary OT 36–21–14 86 72 March 15 New Jersey 4 – 5 Calgary 37–21–14 88 73 March 17 Hartford 4 – 5 Calgary 38–21–14 90 74 March 19 St. Louis 2 – 5 Calgary 39–21–14 92 75 March 21 Calgary 4 – 5 Buffalo 39–22–14 92 76 March 24 Calgary 3 – 3 Pittsburgh OT 39–22–15 93 77 March 25 Calgary 1 – 4 Washington 39–23–15 93 78 March 27 Calgary 4 – 2 NY Islanders 40–23–15 95 79 March 30 Edmonton 2 – 6 Calgary 41–23–15 97
April: 1–0–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Points 80 April 1 Los Angeles 4 – 8 Calgary 42–23–15 99

Playoffs

The Flames defense of their first Stanley Cup championship ended quickly as Calgary was stunned by the Los Angeles Kings in six games. The loss would begin a string of playoff disappointments for the Flames, who would not win another playoff round until the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Flames 12–4 defeat in game four of the series remains a Flames team record for most goals against in one playoff game.^[13]

1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Smythe Division semi-final vs. Los Angeles – Kings win 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 4 Los Angeles 5 – 3 Calgary 19,172 Los Angeles leads 1–0 2 April 6 Los Angeles 5 – 8 Calgary 20,168 Series tied 1–1 3 April 8 Calgary 1 – 2 Los Angeles OT 16,005 Los Angeles leads 2–1 4 April 10 Calgary 4 – 12 Los Angeles 16,005 Los Angeles leads 3–1 5 April 12 Los Angeles 1 – 5 Calgary 20,107 Los Angeles leads 3–2 6 April 14 Calgary 3 – 4 Los Angeles 2OT 16,005 Los Angeles wins 4–2
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Joe Nieuwendyk	25		79	45	50	95	40		6	4	6	10	4
Doug Gilmour	39		78	24	67	91	54		6	3	1	4	8
Al MacInnis	2		79	28	62	90	82		6	2	3	5	8
Sergei Makarov	42		80	24	62	86	55		6	0	6	6	3
Gary Suter	20		76	16	60	76	97		6	0	1	1	12
Gary Roberts	10		78	39	33	72	222		6	2	5	7	41
Joe Mullen	7		78	36	33	69	24		6	3	0	3	0
Theoren Fleury	14		80	31	35	66	157		6	2	3	5	10
Paul Ranheim	28		80	26	28	54	23		6	1	3	4	2
Brian MacLellan	27		65	20	18	38	26		6	0	2	2	8
Jamie Macoun	34		78	8	27	35	70		6	0	3	3	10
Joel Otto	29		75	13	20	33	116		6	2	2	4	2
Jiri Hrdina	17		64	12	18	30	31		6	0	1	1	2
Dana Murzyn	5		78	7	13	20	140		6	2	2	4	2
Brad McCrimmon	4		79	4	15	19	78		6	0	2	2	8
Ric Nattress	6		49	1	14	15	26		6	2	0	2	8
Colin Patterson	11		61	5	3	8	20		-	-	-	-	-
Jonas Bergqvist	18		22	2	5	7	10		-	-	-	-	-
Mark Hunter	22		10	2	3	5	39		-	-	-	-	-
Tim Hunter	19		67	2	3	5	279		6	0	0	0	4
Roger Johansson	21		35	0	5	5	48		-	-	-	-	-
Sergei Priakin	16		20	2	2	4	0		2	0	0	0	0
Mike Vernon	30		47	0	3	3	21		6	0	0	0	0
Jim Korn†	26		9	0	2	2	26		4	1	0	1	12
Jim Peplinski	24		6	1	0	1	4		-	-	-	-	-
Brian Glynn	32		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Steve Guenette	1		2	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
Stu Grimson	35		3	0	0	0	17		-	-	-	-	-
Marc Bureau	33		5	0	0	0	4		-	-	-	-	-
Ken Sabourin	55		5	0	0	0	10		-	-	-	-	-
Rick Wamsley	31		36	0	0	0	4		1	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Mike Vernon	30		47	2795	23	14	9	146	1	3.13		6	342	2	3	19	0	3.33
Rick Wamsley	31		36	1969	18	8	6	107	0	3.26		1	49	0	1	9	0	11.02
Steve Guenette	1		2	119	1	1	0	8	0	4.03		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Transactions

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

Trades

June 16, 1989	To Calgary Flames 2nd round pick in 1989 (Kent Manderville)	To Toronto Maple Leafs Rob Ramage
March 6, 1990	To Calgary Flames Jim Korn	To New Jersey Devils 5th round pick in 1990 (Petr Kuchyna)

Free Agents

Player Former team

Player New team

Draft picks

Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, held in Bloomington, Minnesota.^[14]

Rnd	Pick	Player	Nationality	Position	Team (league)	NHL statistics
						GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2	24	Kent Manderville	Canada	C	N/A	646	37	67	104	348
2	42	Ted Drury	United States	C	N/A	414	41	52	93	367
3	50	Veli-Pekka Kautonen	Finland	D	HIFK Helsinki (FNL)
3	63	Corey Lyons	Canada	RW	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
4	70	Robert Reichel	Czechoslovakia	C	CHZ LITVÍNOV (CZE)	830	252	378	630	388
4	84	Ryan O'Leary	United States	C	N/A
5	105	Toby Kearney	United States	LW	N/A
7	147	Alex Nikolic	Canada	LW	Cornell (ECAC)
8	168	Kevin Wortman	United States	D	N/A	5	0	0	0	2
9	189	Sergey Gomolyako	Soviet Union	RW	Traktor Chelyabinsk (USSR)
10	210	Dan Sawyer	United States	D	N/A
11	231	Alexander Yudin	Soviet Union	D	HC Dynamo Moscow (USSR)
12	252	Kenneth Kennholt	Sweden	D	Djurgårdens IF (SEL)
S	26	Shawn Heaphy	Canada	C	N/A	1	0	0	0	2

See also

• 1989–90 NHL season

References

• Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 122
• Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg 138
• Team standings: 1989–90 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
• Trades: Individual player pages at hockeydb.com

1. "SPORTS PEOPLE: HOCKEY; Crisp Is Dismissed As Coach of Flames". New York Times. May 8, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
2. Archives, L. A. Times (May 7, 1990). "A Year After Cup, Flames Oust Crisp : NHL: Defending champion Calgary fires its coach in the wake of a first-round playoff loss to the Kings. No successor is named". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
3. "CRISP FIRED BECAUSE OF HIS PERSONALITY". Deseret News. May 8, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
4. "Flames fire coach - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
5. Archives, L. A. Times (May 18, 1990). "Flames Name Risebrough as Coach : Hockey: Former Calgary player replaces Terry Crisp, who was fired last month". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
6. Archives, L. A. Times (May 19, 1990). "Flames Replace Fired Crisp With Risebrough". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
7. New Rules for Rookies, New York Times, June 20, 1990, accessed June 10, 2007
8. All-Stars, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 22
9. "1989-90 NHL Summary".
10. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
11. "1989-1990 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
12. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
13. Playoff Records, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, pg. 225
14. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed June 4, 2007