1990–91 Minnesota North Stars season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1990–91 1990 Minnesota North Stars Campbell 7th Norris 4th 27–39–14 19–15–6 8–24–8 256 266 Bob Clarke Bob Gainey Curt Giles Neal BrotenDave GagnerBasil McRae Met Center Dave Gagner (40) Neal Broten (56) Dave Gagner (82) Jim Johnson and Dave Gagner (+9) Shane Churla (286) Jon Casey (21) Jon Casey (2.98) Yes The 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 24th season. The most striking aspect of the season was that despite qualifying for the playoffs with an under–.500 (or "losing") regular-season record, the team reached the 1991 Stanley Cup Final as the Clarence Campbell Conference champions. Minnesota had beaten Chicago and St. Louis (each in six games), teams that had finished nearly 40 points ahead of them in the regular season, before becoming the first Norris Division team to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the league had re-aligned a decade earlier when they eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in five games — a classic "Cinderella" postseason. The North Stars finally saw their playoff run end in game six of the Stanley Cup Final when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 8–0 in front of their home fans in the Met Center. 2 Off-season Weeks after their first-round loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, owners George and Gordon Gund sold the North Stars to a consortium led by Howard Baldwin, in exchange for purchasing the expansion franchise that would become the San Jose Sharks. Baldwin and his partners Morris Belzberg and Norman Green agreed to continue operating the North Stars in the Met Center, while opening negotiations with the owners of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves for an opportunity to invest in the team, or possibly share the Wolves' upcoming arena in the future. 1990-05-03 Deal Will Keep North Stars in Minnesota https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-03-sp-566-story.html Los Angeles Times Associated Press 2022-12-29 NHL draft Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team 1 8 Derian Hatcher (D) North Bay Centennials (OHL)350Laurie Billeck (D)Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)470Cal McGowan (C)Kamloops Blazers (WHL)471Frank Kovacs (LW)Regina Pats (WHL)592Enrico Ciccone (D)Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)6113Roman Turek (G)Motor Ceske Budejovice (Czechoslovakia)7134Jeff Levy (G)Rochester Mustangs (USHL)8155Doug Barrault (RW)Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)9176Joe Biondi (C)University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)10197Troy Binnie (LW)Ottawa 67's (OHL)11218Ole Eskild Dahlstrom (C)Furuset (Norway)12 239J. P. McKersie (G)Madison West High School (USHS-WI)S13Rod Houk (G)University of Regina (CWUAA) Regular season Final standings MIN MIN Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#009639 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 5px solid; 1990–91 regular season1990-91 Minnesota North Stars Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1991_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 26, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||L||October 4, 1990||2–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||0–1–0 |- |2||W||October 6, 1990||4–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1990–91) ||1–1–0 |- |4||L||October 9, 1990||2–5 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) ||1–3–0 |- |5||T||October 11, 1990||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (1990–91) ||1–3–1 |- |6||L||October 13, 1990||1–4 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||1–4–1 |- |7||L||October 17, 1990||2–5 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) ||1–5–1 |- |8||T||October 20, 1990||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||1–5–2 |- |9||L||October 21, 1990||1–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||1–6–2 |- |10||W||October 24, 1990||3–0 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1990–91) ||2–6–2 |- |11||L||October 26, 1990||6–8 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||2–7–2 |- |12||T||October 27, 1990||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||2–7–3 |- |13||L||October 30, 1990||4–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||2–8–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |14||L||November 1, 1990||3–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) ||2–9–3 |- |15||W||November 3, 1990||2–0 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) ||3–9–3 |- |16||T||November 4, 1990||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) ||3–9–4 |- |17||W||November 8, 1990||3–2 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) ||4–9–4 |- |18||L||November 10, 1990||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1990–91) ||4–10–4 |- |19||L||November 13, 1990||1–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) ||4–11–4 |- |20||L||November 15, 1990||2–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1990–91) ||4–12–4 |- |21||L||November 17, 1990||2–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||4–13–4 |- |22||T||November 19, 1990||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1990–91) ||4–13–5 |- |23||L||November 21, 1990||3–4 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||4–14–5 |- |24||W||November 23, 1990||6–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) ||5–14–5 |- |25||L||November 24, 1990||3–5 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (1990–91) ||5–15–5 |- |26||T||November 27, 1990||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) ||5–15–6 |- |27||W||November 30, 1990||4–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) ||6–15–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |28||W||December 1, 1990||6–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) ||7–15–6 |- |29||W||December 5, 1990||3–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||8–15–6 |- |30||L||December 6, 1990||1–2 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||8–16–6 |- |31||W||December 8, 1990||7–0 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) ||9–16–6 |- |32||L||December 11, 1990||4–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1990–91) ||9–17–6 |- |33||L||December 13, 1990||2–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||9–18–6 |- |34||W||December 15, 1990||5–1 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||10–18–6 |- |35||L||December 16, 1990||2–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||10–19–6 |- |36||L||December 20, 1990||3–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) ||10–20–6 |- |37||L||December 22, 1990||2–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1990–91) ||10–21–6 |- |38||W||December 23, 1990||5–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1990–91) ||11–21–6 |- |39||L||December 26, 1990||4–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) ||11–22–6 |- |40||T||December 29, 1990||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (1990–91) ||11–22–7 |- |41||L||December 31, 1990||2–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) ||11–23–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |42||L||January 2, 1991||2–6 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||11–24–7 |- |43||T||January 3, 1991||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||11–24–8 |- |44||L||January 5, 1991||5–6 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) ||11–25–8 |- |45||W||January 8, 1991||3–0 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1990–91) ||12–25–8 |- |46||L||January 12, 1991||3–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) ||12–26–8 |- |47||L||January 13, 1991||3–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||12–27–8 |- |48||L||January 15, 1991||1–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) ||12–28–8 |- |49||W||January 17, 1991||5–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1990–91) ||13–28–8 |- |50||L||January 21, 1991||0–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) ||13–29–8 |- |51||W||January 22, 1991||7–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||14–29–8 |- |52||T||January 25, 1991||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) ||14–29–9 |- |53||W||January 26, 1991||3–1 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) ||15–29–9 |- |54||L||January 28, 1991||0–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||15–30–9 |- |55||W||January 30, 1991||5–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||16–30–9 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |56||W||February 2, 1991||6–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) ||17–30–9 |- |57||L||February 4, 1991||3–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) ||17–31–9 |- |58||W||February 7, 1991||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||18–31–9 |- |59||W||February 9, 1991||6–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||19–31–9 |- |60||L||February 12, 1991||4–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1990–91) ||19–32–9 |- |61||T||February 13, 1991||6–6 OT|| align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) ||19–32–10 |- |62||W||February 16, 1991||3–0 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||20–32–10 |- |63||W||February 20, 1991||5–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) ||21–32–10 |- |64||T||February 23, 1991||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||21–32–11 |- |65||T||February 26, 1991||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) ||21–32–12 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |66||T||March 1, 1991||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) ||21–32–13 |- |67||L||March 2, 1991||1–5 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) ||21–33–13 |- |68||W||March 6, 1991||5–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) ||22–33–13 |- |69||W||March 9, 1991||6–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) ||23–33–13 |- |70||W||March 10, 1991||7–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1990–91) ||24–33–13 |- |71||W||March 12, 1991||5–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) ||25–33–13 |- |72||T||March 14, 1991||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||25–33–14 |- |73||L||March 16, 1991||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||25–34–14 |- |74||W||March 17, 1991||4–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) ||26–34–14 |- |75||L||March 22, 1991||1–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) ||26–35–14 |- |76||L||March 24, 1991||4–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||26–36–14 |- |77||L||March 25, 1991||4–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||26–37–14 |- |78||L||March 28, 1991||5–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) ||26–38–14 |- |79||W||March 30, 1991||2–1 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (1990–91) ||27–38–14 |- |80||L||March 31, 1991||1–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) ||27–39–14 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Player statistics Skaters Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes Regular season Playoffs Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM Dave Gagner 15 73 40 42 82 114 23 12 15 27 28 Brian Bellows 23 80 35 40 75 43 23 10 19 29 30 Brian Propp 16 79 26 47 73 58 23 8 15 23 28 Neal Broten 7 79 13 56 69 26 23 9 13 22 6 Mike Modano 9 79 28 36 64 61 23 8 12 20 16 Bobby Smith 18 73 15 31 46 60 23 8 8 16 56 Ulf Dahlen 22 66 21 18 39 6 15 2 6 8 4 Mark Tinordi 24 69 5 27 32 189 23 5 6 11 78 Doug Smail 14 57 7 13 20 38 1 0 0 0 0 Brian Glynn 6 66 8 11 19 83 23 2 6 8 18 Gaetan Duchesne 10 68 9 9 18 18 23 2 3 5 34 Perry Berezan 21 52 11 6 17 30 1 0 0 0 0 Ilkka Sinisalo - 46 5 12 17 24 - - - - - Larry Murphy - 31 4 11 15 38 - - - - - Curt Giles 2 70 4 10 14 48 10 1 0 1 16 Mike Craig 20 39 8 4 12 32 10 1 1 2 20 Neil Wilkinson 5 50 2 9 11 117 22 3 3 6 12 Jim Johnson 8 44 1 9 10 100 14 0 1 1 52 Stewart Gavin 12 38 4 4 8 36 21 3 10 13 20 Chris Dahlquist 4 42 2 6 8 33 23 1 6 7 20 Marc Bureau 11 9 0 6 6 4 23 3 2 5 20 Rob Zettler 3 47 1 4 5 119 - - - - - Shane Churla 27 40 2 2 4 286 22 2 1 3 90 Shawn Chambers 26 29 1 3 4 24 23 0 7 7 16 Basil McRae 17 40 1 3 4 224 22 1 1 2 94 Larry DePalma 31 14 3 0 3 26 - - - - - Frank Musil - 8 0 2 2 23 - - - - - Warren Babe 29 1 0 1 1 0 - - - - - Pat MacLeod 32 1 0 1 1 0 - - - - - Dan Keczmer 46 9 0 1 1 6 - - - - - Peter Taglianetti - 16 0 1 1 14 - - - - - Steve Gotaas 34 1 0 0 0 2 - - - - - Mitch Messier 37 2 0 0 0 0 - - - - - Kevin Evans 44 4 0 0 0 19 - - - - - Dean Kolstad 40 5 0 0 0 15 - - - - - Mike McHugh 45 6 0 0 0 0 - - - - - Don Barber - 7 0 0 0 4 - - - - - Goaltending Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average Player GP MIN W L T SO GAA Jon Casey 55 3185 21 20 11 3 2.98 Brian Hayward 26 1473 6 15 3 2 3.14 Jarmo Myllys 2 78 0 2 0 0 6.15 Kari Takko 2 119 0 2 0 0 6.05 Playoffs Norris Division Semi-Finals Chicago vs. Minnesota Date Away Home April 4 Minnesota 4 3 Chicago OT April 6 Minnesota 2 5 Chicago April 8 Chicago 6 5 Minnesota April 10 Chicago 1 3 Minnesota April 12 Minnesota 6 0 Chicago April 14 Chicago 1 3 Minnesota Minnesota wins series 4–2 Norris Division Finals St. Louis vs. Minnesota Date Away Home April 18 Minnesota 2 1 St. Louis April 20 Minnesota 2 5 St. Louis April 22 St. Louis 1 5 Minnesota April 24 St. Louis 4 8 Minnesota April 26 Minnesota 2 4 St. Louis April 28 St. Louis 2 3 Minnesota Minnesota wins series 4–2 Campbell Conference Finals + Campbell Conference Edmonton vs. Minnesota Date Away Home May 2 Minnesota 3 1 Edmonton May 4 Minnesota 2 7 Edmonton May 6 Edmonton 3 7 Minnesota May 8 Edmonton 1 5 Minnesota May 10 Minnesota 3 2 Edmonton Minnesota wins series 4–1 and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Stanley Cup Final 1991 Stanley Cup Final Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars Date Away Score Home Score NotesMay 15Minnesota North Stars5Pittsburgh Penguins4May 17Minnesota North Stars1Pittsburgh Penguins4May 19Pittsburgh Penguins1Minnesota North Stars3 May 21Pittsburgh Penguins5Minnesota North Stars3May 23Minnesota North Stars4Pittsburgh Penguins6May 25Pittsburgh Penguins8Minnesota North Stars0 Pittsburgh wins best-of-seven series 4–2 Awards and records Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Transactions Trades October 26, 1990 To Minnesota North Stars Brian Glynn To Calgary Flames Frank Musil November 1990 To Minnesota North Stars Brian HaywardPatrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.278, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, 978-0-470-15616-2 To Montreal Canadiens Jayson More References External links North Stars on Hockey Database Category:1990–91 NHL season by team 1990-91 1990-91 Category:1991 Stanley Cup Category:1991 in sports in Minnesota Category:1990 in sports in Minnesota