1988–89 Quebec Nordiques season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1988–89 1988 Quebec Nordiques Wales 11th Adams 5th 27–46–7 16–20–4 11–26–3 269 342 Martin Madden Ron Lapointe and Jean Perron Peter Stastny Colisée de Québec Walt Poddubny (38) Peter Stastny (50) Peter Stastny (85) Steven Finn (235) Mario Gosselin (11) Ron Tugnutt (3.60) The 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques season saw the team finish in fifth place in the Adams Division with a record of 27 wins, 46 losses, and 7 ties for 61 points. Off-season Quebec announced that interim head coach Ron Lapointe would come back on a permanent basis as head coach of the team. Lapointe had a 22-30-4 record with the Nordiques in 1987–88. At the 1988 NHL entry draft, Quebec had two picks in the first round, the third overall pick, and the fifth overall pick. The Nordiques selected Curtis Leschyshyn of the Saskatoon Blades with the third pick. He had 14 goals and 55 points, and would see regular playing time with Quebec in the upcoming season. With the fifth pick, the Nordiques selected Daniel Dore. Dore had 24 goals, 63 points and 223 penalty minutes with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 1987–88. In the later rounds of the draft, Quebec selected Valeri Kamensky and Alexei Gusarov of CSKA Moscow. The Nordiques made some trades during the summer months, as they dealt away Mike Eagles to the Chicago Blackhawks for Bob Mason. Mason appeared in 41 games with Chicago, going 13-18-8 with a 4.15 GAA in 1987–88. Quebec then traded away Terry Carkner to the Philadelphia Flyers for Greg Smyth and the Flyers third round draft pick in the 1989 NHL entry draft. Smyth had a goal and seven points in 48 games with Philadelphia, as well as 192 penalty minutes. Quebec's biggest trade of the summer was trading away Normand Rochefort and Jason Lafreniere to the New York Rangers for Bruce Bell, Jari Gronstrand, Walt Poddubny, and the Rangers fourth round draft pick in the 1989 NHL entry draft. Bell played his rookie season with the Nordiques in 1984–85, however, he spent most of the 1987–88 season with the Colorado Rangers of the IHL, where he had 11 goals and 45 points in 65 games. In 13 games with New York, Bell had a goal and two assists. Poddubny was coming off of a 38-goal and 88 point season with the Rangers in 1987–88. Poddubny scored 40 goals and 87 points with New York in 1986–87. Gronstrand had three goals and 14 points on the Rangers blueline in 1987–88. Regular season The Nordiques began the season with three wins in their first four games, however, Quebec would slump, and fall to 6-12-2 after twenty games. The team made some trades in December, acquiring former team captain Mario Marois from the Winnipeg Jets, however, the club continued to lose, and had an 11-20-2 record after 33 games. The Nordiques then fired Lapointe as head coach, and replaced him with Jean Perron on an interim basis. Perron had coached the Montreal Canadiens to the 1986 Stanley Cup. Under Perron, the club continued to lose, as Quebec quickly fell out of the playoff race. The team finished the season with a 27-46-7 record, earning 61 points, which was 18 points behind the Hartford Whalers for the final playoff spot in the Adams Division, and tied with the New York Islanders with the lowest point total in the league, On the basis of the Islanders winning more games (28–27), the Nords claimed last place in the overall standings. Captain Peter Stastny led the club with 85 points, as he scored 35 goals and 50 assists in 72 games. Walt Poddubny scored a team high 38 goals in his first season with the Nordiques, as he also had 37 assists for 75 points. Michel Goulet saw his numbers drop to 26 goals and 64 points, his lowest totals since his rookie season in 1979–80. Rookie Joe Sakic had 23 goals and 62 points. Jeff Brown had another solid season on the Nordiques blueline, scoring 21 goals and 68 points, good for third on team scoring. Brown had 13 powerplay goals, tied with Peter Stastny for second on the team, one behind team leader Walt Poddubny. In goal, Mario Gosselin saw the majority of action, appearing in 39 games, earning 11 wins and a 4.24 GAA. Bob Mason had a tough season, earning only five wins in 22 games with a 4.73 GAA, while Ron Tugnutt had a 10-10-3 record in 26 games, with a team best 3.60 GAA and a.893 save percentage. Final standings QUE Record vs. opponents QUE Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 5px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 5px solid; 1988–89 regular season1988-89 Quebec Nordiques Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/QUE/1989_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 19, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 6, 1988||5–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 8, 1988||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils (1988–89) ||1–1–0 |- |3||W||October 9, 1988||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) ||2–1–0 |- |4||W||October 12, 1988||6–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||3–1–0 |- |5||L||October 14, 1988||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||3–2–0 |- |6||W||October 16, 1988||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||4–2–0 |- |7||L||October 20, 1988||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) ||4–3–0 |- |8||L||October 22, 1988||3–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders (1988–89) ||4–4–0 |- |9||L||October 23, 1988||2–8 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1988–89) ||4–5–0 |- |10||L||October 25, 1988||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) ||4–6–0 |- |11||L||October 27, 1988||2–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||4–7–0 |- |12||W||October 29, 1988||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1988–89) ||5–7–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |13||L||November 1, 1988||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) ||5–8–0 |- |14||W||November 3, 1988||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) ||6–8–0 |- |15||L||November 5, 1988||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis Blues (1988–89) ||6–9–0 |- |16||L||November 8, 1988||4–8 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) ||6–10–0 |- |17||L||November 10, 1988||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1988–89) ||6–11–0 |- |18||L||November 12, 1988||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1988–89) ||6–12–0 |- |19||T||November 13, 1988||5–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) ||6–12–1 |- |20||T||November 15, 1988||5–5 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||6–12–2 |- |21||W||November 19, 1988||6–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) ||7–12–2 |- |22||L||November 23, 1988||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||7–13–2 |- |23||W||November 24, 1988||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||8–13–2 |- |24||L||November 26, 1988||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||8–14–2 |- |25||L||November 28, 1988||4–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) ||8–15–2 |- |26||L||November 30, 1988||2–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||8–16–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |27||L||December 1, 1988||3–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) ||8–17–2 |- |28||W||December 3, 1988||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) ||9–17–2 |- |29||L||December 6, 1988||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1988–89) ||9–18–2 |- |30||L||December 7, 1988||3–8 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) ||9–19–2 |- |31||W||December 9, 1988||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) ||10–19–2 |- |32||L||December 13, 1988||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1988–89) ||10–20–2 |- |33||W||December 15, 1988||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||11–20–2 |- |34||T||December 17, 1988||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||11–20–3 |- |35||W||December 18, 1988||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||12–20–3 |- |36||L||December 21, 1988||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||12–21–3 |- |37||W||December 23, 1988||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) ||13–21–3 |- |38||T||December 28, 1988||4–4 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||13–21–4 |- |39||L||December 29, 1988||5–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) ||13–22–4 |- |40||L||December 31, 1988||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) ||13–23–4 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |41||L||January 3, 1989||1–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Calgary Flames (1988–89) ||13–24–4 |- |42||L||January 4, 1989||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1988–89) ||13–25–4 |- |43||L||January 8, 1989||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||13–26–4 |- |44||T||January 10, 1989||4–4 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1988–89) ||13–26–5 |- |45||L||January 12, 1989||2–7 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1988–89) ||13–27–5 |- |46||T||January 14, 1989||1–1 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||13–27–6 |- |47||W||January 17, 1989||7–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils (1988–89) ||14–27–6 |- |48||W||January 19, 1989||5–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New Jersey Devils (1988–89) ||15–27–6 |- |49||W||January 21, 1989||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Calgary Flames (1988–89) ||16–27–6 |- |50||L||January 23, 1989||0–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||16–28–6 |- |51||L||January 26, 1989||3–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) ||16–29–6 |- |52||W||January 28, 1989||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||17–29–6 |- |53||W||January 30, 1989||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1988–89) ||18–29–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |54||L||February 2, 1989||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||18–30–6 |- |55||W||February 4, 1989||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota North Stars (1988–89) ||19–30–6 |- |56||L||February 5, 1989||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1988–89) ||19–31–6 |- |57||L||February 9, 1989||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) ||19–32–6 |- |58||W||February 11, 1989||8–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1988–89) ||20–32–6 |- |59||W||February 13, 1989||3–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||21–32–6 |- |60||L||February 16, 1989||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) ||21–33–6 |- |61||L||February 18, 1989||3–11 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) ||21–34–6 |- |62||W||February 21, 1989||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Winnipeg Jets (1988–89) ||22–34–6 |- |63||L||February 23, 1989||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||22–35–6 |- |64||L||February 25, 1989||2–7 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1988–89) ||22–36–6 |- |65||L||February 28, 1989||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Vancouver Canucks (1988–89) ||22–37–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |66||L||March 2, 1989||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||22–38–6 |- |67||W||March 4, 1989||6–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||23–38–6 |- |68||W||March 5, 1989||8–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||24–38–6 |- |69||L||March 7, 1989||4–6 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1988–89) ||24–39–6 |- |70||L||March 9, 1989||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||24–40–6 |- |71||L||March 14, 1989||0–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings (1988–89) ||24–41–6 |- |72||T||March 16, 1989||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||24–41–7 |- |73||W||March 18, 1989||8–3 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1988–89) ||25–41–7 |- |74||L||March 22, 1989||0–8 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1988–89) ||25–42–7 |- |75||W||March 23, 1989||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Hartford Whalers (1988–89) ||26–42–7 |- |76||W||March 25, 1989||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||27–42–7 |- |77||L||March 29, 1989||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1988–89) ||27–43–7 |- |78||L||March 30, 1989||3–4 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ St. Louis Blues (1988–89) ||27–44–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0072CE 2px solid; border-bottom:#C8102E 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |79||L||April 1, 1989||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1988–89) ||27–45–7 |- |80||L||April 2, 1989||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1988–89) ||27–46–7 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics Forwards Player GP G AST PTS PIM Peter Stastny 72 35 50 85 117 Walt Poddubny 72 38 37 75 107 Michel Goulet 69 26 38 64 67 Joe Sakic 70 23 39 62 24 Iiro Jarvi 75 11 30 41 40 Paul Gillis 79 15 25 40 163 Marc Fortier 57 20 19 39 45 Anton Stastny 55 7 30 37 12 Gaetan Duchesne 70 8 21 29 56 Mike Hough 46 9 10 19 39 Ken McRae 37 6 11 17 68 David Latta 24 4 8 12 4 Jeff Jackson 33 4 6 10 28 Alain Cote 55 2 8 10 14 Trevor Stienburg 55 6 3 9 125 Mark Vermette 12 0 4 4 7 Lane Lambert 13 2 2 4 23 Darin Kimble 26 3 1 4 149 Dean Hopkins 5 0 2 2 4 Jacques Mailhot 5 0 0 0 33 Joel Baillargeon 5 0 0 0 4 Defencemen Player GP G AST PTS PIM Jeff Brown 78 21 47 68 62 Randy Moller 74 7 22 29 136 Robert Picard 74 7 14 21 61 Curtis Leschyshyn 71 4 9 13 71 Mario Marois 42 2 11 13 101 Steven Finn 77 2 6 8 235 Tommy Albelin 14 2 4 6 27 Gord Donnelly 16 4 0 4 46 Jari Gronstrand 25 1 3 4 14 Bobby Dollas 16 0 3 3 16 Greg Smyth 10 0 1 1 70 Scott Shaunessy 4 0 0 0 16 Goaltending Player GP W L T SO GAA Mario Gosselin 39 11 19 3 0 4.24 Ron Tugnutt 26 10 10 3 0 3.60 Bob Mason 22 5 14 1 0 4.73 Mario Brunetta 5 1 3 0 0 5.04 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques at Hockey Reference Transactions The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1988–89 season. Trades July 5, 1988To Chicago BlackhawksMike EaglesTo Quebec NordiquesBob Mason July 25, 1988To Philadelphia FlyersTerry CarknerTo Quebec NordiquesGreg Smyth 3rd round pick in 1989—John Tanner July 29, 1988To Winnipeg JetsFuture considerationsTo Quebec NordiquesJoel Baillargeon August 1, 1988To New York RangersNormand Rochefort Jason LafreniereTo Quebec NordiquesBruce Bell Jari Gronstrand Walt Poddubny 4th round pick in 1989—Eric Dubois December 6, 1988To Winnipeg JetsGord DonnellyTo Quebec NordiquesMario Marois December 12, 1988To New Jersey DevilsTommy AlbelinTo Quebec Nordiques4th round pick in 1989—Niklas Andersson December 15, 1988To Minnesota North StarsFuture ConsiderationsTo Quebec NordiquesStephane Roy June 17, 1989To Washington CapitalsBob MasonTo Quebec NordiquesFuture Considerations June 17, 1989To New Jersey DevilsWalt Poddubny 4th round pick in 1990—Mike BodnarchukTo Quebec NordiquesJoe Cirella Claude Loiselle 8th round pick in 1990—Alexander Karpovtsev Waivers December 20, 1988To Detroit Red WingsBruce Bell Free agents Player Former team Brent Severyn University of Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA) Dean Hopkins Edmonton Oilers Jacques Mailhot Fredericton Express (AHL) Draft picks Quebec's draft picks from the 1988 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)13 Curtis Leschyshyn Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)15 Daniel Dore Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)224 Stephane Fiset Canada Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)345 Petri Aaltonen HIFK (Finland)466 Darin Kimble Canada Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)587 Stephane Venne Canada Vermont Catamounts (NCAA)6108 Ed Ward Canada Northern Michigan Wildcats (NCAA)7129 Valeri Kamensky USSR CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)8150 Sakari Lindfors HIFK (Finland)9171 Dan Wiebe Canada Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA)11213 Alexei Gusarov USSR CSKA Moscow (Soviet Union)12234 Claude Lapointe Canada Laval Titan (QMJHL)S3Phil BergerUnited StatesNorthern Michigan University (CCHA)S8Jamie BakerCanadaSaint Lawrence University (ECAC) Farm teams Fredericton Express—AHL References Quebec Nordiques season, 1988-89 Category:Quebec Nordiques seasons Que Category:1980s in Quebec City Category:1988 in sports in Quebec Category:1989 in sports in Quebec