1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	5th Patrick
Conference	9th Wales
1989–90 record	32–40–8
Home record	22–15–3
Road record	10–25–5
Goals for	318
Goals against	359
Team information
General manager	Craig Patrick
Coach	Gene Ubriaco Craig Patrick
Captain	Mario Lemieux
Alternate captains	Paul Coffey John Cullen
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Mario Lemieux (45)
Assists	Mario Lemieux (78)
Points	Mario Lemieux (123)
Penalty minutes	Kevin Stevens (171)
Wins	Wendell Young (16)
Goals against average	Wendell Young (4.17)
←  1988–89 1990–91  →

The 1989–90 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the Penguins looking to improve upon the previous season's performance where they finished second in the Patrick Division and made it to the second round of playoffs where they encountered disappointment falling in seven games despite leading the series three games to two against their cross-state opponents Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, after a back injury that sidelined captain Mario Lemieux for the remainder of the season during a February 14, 1990 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers, the Penguins went 3-3-1 for the remainder of February, and 2-9-3 in March, falling out of playoff contention.

Regular season

The Penguins allowed the most short-handed goals during the regular season, with 21. ^[1]

All-Star Game

The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7. Mario Lemieux was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Rangers	80	36	31	13	279	267	85
New Jersey Devils	80	37	34	9	295	288	83
Washington Capitals	80	36	38	6	284	275	78
New York Islanders	80	31	38	11	281	288	73
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	32	40	8	318	359	72
Philadelphia Flyers	80	30	39	11	290	297	71

^[2] 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 ^[3]

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. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division 1989–90 NHL records [4] Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total New Jersey — 4–1–2 3–3–1 4–2–1 4–2–1 3–4 18–12–5 N.Y. Islanders 1–4–2 — 2–3–2 1–4–2 3–3–1 4–3 11–17–7 N.Y. Rangers 3–3–1 3–2–2 — 5–2 1–5–1 3–4 15–16–4 Philadelphia 2–4–1 4–1–2 2–5 — 4–3 1–5–1 13–18–4 Pittsburgh 2–4–1 3–3–1 5–1–1 3–4 — 5–2 18–14–3 Washington 4–3 3–4 4–3 5–1–1 2–5 — 18–16–1

Vs. Adams Division 1989–90 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total New Jersey 1–1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 8–6–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–1–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 3–0 0–2–1 2–1 0–3 3–0 8–6–1 Philadelphia 0–3 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 5–8–2 Pittsburgh 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 1–2 2–1 4–10–1 Washington 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 3–0 8–6–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total New Jersey 2–1 1–1–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 7–7–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–2 1–1–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 7–7–1 N.Y. Rangers 1–0–2 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–2–1 1–1–1 5–4–6 Philadelphia 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 Pittsburgh 0–3 2–0–1 1–1–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 Washington 1–2 3–0 3–0 0–2–1 1–2 8–6–1

Vs. Smythe Division 1989–90 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total New Jersey 0–3 1–0–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 4–9–2 N.Y. Islanders 0–3 0–1–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 6–7–2 N.Y. Rangers 1–2 2–0–1 1–2 3–0 1–1–1 8–5–2 Philadelphia 1–1–1 1–2 3–0 0–1–2 1–2 6–6–3 Pittsburgh 0–2–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 2–0–1 6–7–2 Washington 1–0–2 1–2 0–3 0–2–1 0–3 2–10–3

Schedule and results

1989–90 regular season [5]
October: 3–7–2 (home: 3–4–0; road: 0–3–2), 8 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 1 Oct 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Boston Bruins 0–1–0 0 2 Oct 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 New Jersey Devils 0–1–1 1 3 Oct 10 Winnipeg Jets 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1–1 3 4 Oct 14 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–1–1 5 5 Oct 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 New York Rangers 2–2–1 5 6 Oct 17 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2–1 7 7 Oct 18 St. Louis Blues 9–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3–1 7 8 Oct 21 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4–1 7 9 Oct 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 8–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5–1 7 10 Oct 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Detroit Red Wings 3–5–2 8 11 Oct 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Montreal Canadiens 3–6–2 8 12 Oct 31 Los Angeles Kings 8–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7–2 8
November: 6–7–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–0), 12 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 13 Nov 2 New York Islanders 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–7–2 10 14 Nov 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 Edmonton Oilers 5–7–2 12 15 Nov 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Vancouver Canucks 5–8–2 12 16 Nov 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Chicago Blackhawks 5–9–2 12 17 Nov 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–8 St. Louis Blues 5–10–2 12 18 Nov 14 New York Rangers 0–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–10–2 14 19 Nov 16 Quebec Nordiques 2–8 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–10–2 16 20 Nov 18 New York Islanders 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–10–2 18 21 Nov 22 New Jersey Devils 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–11–2 18 22 Nov 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–4 Washington Capitals 9–11–2 20 23 Nov 25 Washington Capitals 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins 9–12–2 20 24 Nov 28 Philadelphia Flyers 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 9–13–2 20 25 Nov 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers 9–14–2 20
December: 7–5–1 (home: 4–2–0; road: 3–3–1), 15 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 26 Dec 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–4 Quebec Nordiques 10–14–2 22 27 Dec 6 Washington Capitals 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 11–14–2 24 28 Dec 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 New Jersey Devils 12–14–2 26 29 Dec 9 Chicago Blackhawks 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 12–15–2 26 30 Dec 12 Boston Bruins 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 13–15–2 28 31 Dec 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Minnesota North Stars 13–15–3 29 32 Dec 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Calgary Flames 13–16–3 29 33 Dec 19 Hartford Whalers 8–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 13–17–3 29 34 Dec 21 Washington Capitals 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 14–17–3 31 35 Dec 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–8 New York Islanders 14–18–3 31 36 Dec 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Washington Capitals 14–19–3 31 37 Dec 27 New York Rangers 4–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 15–19–3 33 38 Dec 31 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 New York Rangers 16–19–3 35
January: 6–6–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 3–3–0), 13 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 39 Jan 2 Boston Bruins 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 16–20–3 35 40 Jan 4 Vancouver Canucks 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 17–20–3 37 41 Jan 6 Winnipeg Jets 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 18–20–3 39 42 Jan 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–5 New York Rangers 19–20–3 41 43 Jan 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 New Jersey Devils 19–21–3 41 44 Jan 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 Washington Capitals 20–21–3 43 45 Jan 16 Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 21–21–3 45 46 Jan 18 New York Rangers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 21–21–4 46 47 Jan 23 New Jersey Devils 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 21–22–4 46 48 Jan 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Detroit Red Wings 22–22–4 48 49 Jan 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–9 New York Islanders 22–23–4 48 50 Jan 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–7 Buffalo Sabres 22–24–4 48 51 Jan 30 Philadelphia Flyers 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 22–25–4 48
February: 8–5–1 (home: 6–1–0; road: 2–4–1), 17 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 52 Feb 2 Edmonton Oilers 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 23–25–4 50 53 Feb 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–8 Toronto Maple Leafs 23–26–4 50 54 Feb 6 New York Islanders 8–7 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 23–27–4 50 55 Feb 8 Washington Capitals 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 24–27–4 52 56 Feb 10 Los Angeles Kings 6–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 25–27–4 54 57 Feb 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Philadelphia Flyers 26–27–4 56 58 Feb 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 New York Rangers 27–27–4 58 59 Feb 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Winnipeg Jets 27–27–5 59 60 Feb 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 Chicago Blackhawks 27–28–5 59 61 Feb 20 Philadelphia Flyers 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 28–28–5 61 62 Feb 22 New York Islanders 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 29–28–5 63 63 Feb 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–11 Montreal Canadiens 29–29–5 63 64 Feb 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 29–30–5 63 65 Feb 28 New Jersey Devils 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 30–30–5 65
March: 2–9–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 0–7–1), 7 points # Date Visitor Score Home Record Points 66 Mar 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–6 New Jersey Devils 30–31–5 65 67 Mar 4 Minnesota North Stars 6–8 Pittsburgh Penguins 31–31–5 67 68 Mar 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 OT Edmonton Oilers 31–32–5 67 69 Mar 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Calgary Flames 31–33–5 67 70 Mar 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–8 Los Angeles Kings 31–34–5 67 71 Mar 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Vancouver Canucks 31–35–5 67 72 Mar 15 Detroit Red Wings 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–35–5 69 73 Mar 17 Minnesota North Stars 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–36–5 69 74 Mar 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 New York Islanders 32–36–6 70 75 Mar 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Philadelphia Flyers 32–37–6 70 76 Mar 24 Calgary Flames 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–37–7 71 77 Mar 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Hartford Whalers 32–38–7 71 78 Mar 27 Hartford Whalers 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–38–8 72 79 Mar 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 St. Louis Blues 32–39–8 72 80 Mar 31 Buffalo Sabres 3–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 32–40–8 72
Legend:   Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season [6] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Mario Lemieux 59 45 78 123 –18 78 Paul Coffey 80 29 74 103 –25 95 John Cullen 72 32 60 92 –13 138 Rob Brown 80 33 47 80 –10 102 Kevin Stevens 76 29 41 70 –13 171 Mark Recchi 74 30 37 67 6 44 Phil Bourque 76 22 17 39 –7 108 Bob Errey 78 20 19 39 3 109 Tony Tanti † 37 14 18 32 –11 22 Zarley Zalapski 51 6 25 31 –14 37 Dan Quinn ‡ 41 9 20 29 –15 22 Troy Loney 67 11 16 27 –9 168 Barry Pederson † 38 4 18 22 –10 29 Jim Johnson 75 3 13 16 –20 154 Randy Gilhen 61 5 11 16 –8 54 Randy Hillier 61 3 12 15 11 71 Chris Dahlquist 62 4 10 14 –2 56 Andrew McBain ‡ 41 5 9 14 –8 51 Jock Callander 30 4 7 11 0 49 Gilbert Delorme 54 3 7 10 3 44 Gord Dineen 69 1 8 9 6 125 Richard Zemlak 19 1 5 6 –6 43 Jim Kyte 56 3 1 4 –10 125 Jay Caufield 37 1 2 3 0 123 Jamie Leach 10 0 3 3 3 0 Doug Smith † 10 1 1 2 –2 25 Mark Kachowski 14 0 1 1 1 40 Dave Capuano ‡ 6 0 0 0 0 2 Rod Buskas † 6 0 0 0 –4 13 Total 318 560 878 — 2,098

Goaltenders

Regular Season ^[7]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Wendell Young	43	2318:16	16	20	3	161	4.17	1263	0.873	1	0	4	8
Frank Pietrangelo	21	1066:26	8	6	2	77	4.33	580	0.867	0	0	0	2
Tom Barrasso	24	1294:19	7	12	3	101	4.68	746	0.865	0	0	0	8
Alain Chevrier †	3	166:06	1	2	0	14	5.06	89	0.843	0	0	1	2
Total		4845:07	32	40	8	353	4.37	2678	0.868	1	0	5	20

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

• Mario Lemieux, All-Star Game MVP ^[8]
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 800 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–3 win over Vancouver on January 4.
• Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for goals (345). He broke the previous records of 316 held by Jean Pronovost.
• Paul Coffey established a franchise record for goals (74) by a defenseman. He broke the previous records of 66 held by both Ron Stackhouse and Randy Carlyle.
• Rod Buskas set a franchise record for penalty minutes (959). He had led the category since the previous season.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1989–90 season: ^[9]

Trades

September 14, 1989	To New York Rangers Lee Giffin	To Pittsburgh Penguins future considerations
October 24, 1989	To Vancouver Canucks Rod Buskas	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1990 6th round pick
January 8, 1990	To Vancouver Canucks Dave Capuano Andrew McBain Dan Quinn	To Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Buskas Barry Pederson Tony Tanti
February 26, 1990	To Vancouver Canucks cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Doug Smith
March 6, 1990	To Edmonton Oilers future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Brian Wilks
March 6, 1990	To Chicago Blackhawks future considerations	To Pittsburgh Penguins Alain Chevrier

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date
Gilbert Delorme	Detroit Red Wings		June 28, 1989
Tim Tookey		Philadelphia Flyers	June 30, 1989
Chris Clifford	Chicago Blackhawks		September 6, 1989
Steve Dykstra		Hartford Whalers	October 9, 1989
Bryan Erickson		Winnipeg Jets	March 2, 1990

Signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Gord Dineen	June 27, 1989	Multi-year contract
Phil Bourque	June 27, 1989	Multi-year contract
Troy Loney	June 27, 1989	Multi-year contract
Wendell Young	June 30, 1989	Multi-year contract
Mario Lemieux	August 1, 1989	5 year/$10 million
Rob Brown	September 14, 1989	2 years
Mike Needham	June 5, 1990	Multi-year contract
Paul Laus	June 5, 1990	Multi-year contract

Other

Name	Date	Details
John Welday	July 29, 1989	Hired as strength and conditioning coach
Gene Ubriaco	December 5, 1989	Fired as head coach
Tony Esposito	December 5, 1989	Fired as GM
Craig Patrick	December 5, 1989	Hired as head coach/GM
Gilles Meloche	January 24, 1990	Hired as goaltending coach
Craig Patrick	June 12, 1990	Replaced as head coach (remained as GM)
Bob Johnson	June 12, 1990	Hired as head coach
Scotty Bowman	June 12, 1990	Hired as Director of development and recruitment
Joe Dragon	June 15, 1990	Supplemental draft pick
Savo Mitrovic	June 15, 1990	Supplemental draft pick

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1989 NHL entry draft. ^[10]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	16	Jamie Heward	D	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
2	37	Paul Laus	D	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
3	58	John Brill	R	United States	Grand Rapids H.S. (Minn.)
4	79	Todd Nelson	D	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
5	100	Tom Nevers	C	United States	Edina H.S. (Minn.)
6	121	Michael Markovich	D	United States	U. of Denver (NCAA)
6	126 [a]	Michael Needham	R	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
7	142	Patrick Schafhauser	D	United States	Hill-Murray H.S. (Minn.)
8	163	David Shute	C	United States	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
9	184	Andrew Wolf	D	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
10	205	Greg Hagen	R	United States	Hill-Murray H.S. (Minn.)
11	226	Scott Farrell	D	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
12	247	Jason Smart	C	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
S	21	John DePourcq	C	Canada	Ferris State University (CCHA)

Draft notes ^[11]

• ^a The Calgary Flames' sixth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a January 9, 1989, trade that sent Steve Guenette to the Flames in exchange for this pick.

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database

1. "1989-90 NHL Summary".
2. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN   9781894801225.
3. "1989–1990 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
4. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
5. "1989-90 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
6. "1989–1990 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
7. "1989–1990 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
8. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 219, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN   0-920445-98-5
9. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". ProSportsTransactions.
10. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.com.
11. "1989 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions.