The 1989–90 NHL season was the 73rd season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Edmonton Oilers, who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Boston Bruins.The championship was the Oilers' fifth Stanley Cup in the past four years.
This also marked the first time that all three New York City metro area teams made the playoffs in the same season.
Regular season
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Prince of Wales Conference
Clarence Campbell Conference
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player |
Team |
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
| Wayne Gretzky |
Los Angeles Kings |
73 |
40 |
102 |
142 |
42 |
| Mark Messier |
Edmonton Oilers |
79 |
45 |
84 |
129 |
79 |
| Steve Yzerman |
Detroit Red Wings |
79 |
62 |
65 |
127 |
79 |
| Mario Lemieux |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
59 |
45 |
78 |
123 |
78 |
| Brett Hull |
St. Louis Blues |
80 |
72 |
41 |
113 |
24 |
| Bernie Nicholls |
Los Angeles Kings / New York Rangers |
79 |
39 |
73 |
112 |
86 |
| Pierre Turgeon |
Buffalo Sabres |
80 |
40 |
66 |
106 |
29 |
| Pat LaFontaine |
New York Islanders |
74 |
54 |
51 |
105 |
38 |
| Paul Coffey |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
80 |
29 |
74 |
103 |
95 |
| Joe Sakic |
Quebec Nordiques |
80 |
39 |
63 |
102 |
27 |
| Adam Oates |
St. Louis Blues |
80 |
23 |
79 |
102 |
30 |
Stanley Cup playoffs
Note: All dates in 1990
Division semi-finals
Wales Conference
|
|
| Buffalo vs. Montreal |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 5 |
Montreal 1 |
4 Buffalo |
| April 7 |
Montreal 3 |
0 Buffalo |
| April 9 |
Buffalo 1 |
2 Montreal |
OT |
| April 11 |
Buffalo 4 |
2 Montreal |
| April 13 |
Montreal 4 |
2 Buffalo |
| April 15 |
Buffalo 2 |
5 Montreal |
| Montreal wins series 4–2 |
|
| NY Rangers vs. NY Islanders |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 5 |
NY Islanders 1 |
2 NY Rangers |
| April 7 |
NY Islanders 2 |
5 NY Rangers |
| April 9 |
NY Rangers 3 |
4 NY Islanders |
2OT |
| April 11 |
NY Rangers 6 |
1 NY Islanders |
| April 13 |
NY Islanders 5 |
6 NY Rangers |
| NY Rangers wins series 4–1 |
|
| New Jersey vs. Washington |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 5 |
Washington 5 |
4 New Jersey |
OT |
| April 7 |
Washington 5 |
6 New Jersey |
| April 9 |
New Jersey 2 |
1 Washington |
| April 11 |
New Jersey 1 |
3 Washington |
| April 13 |
Washington 4 |
3 New Jersey |
| April 15 |
New Jersey 2 |
3 Washington |
| Washington wins series 4–2 |
|
Campbell Conference
| Chicago vs. Minnesota |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 4 |
Minnesota 2 |
1 Chicago |
| April 6 |
Minnesota 3 |
5 Chicago |
| April 8 |
Chicago 2 |
1 Minnesota |
| April 10 |
Chicago 0 |
4 Minnesota |
| April 12 |
Minnesota 1 |
5 Chicago |
| April 14 |
Chicago 3 |
5 Minnesota |
| April 16 |
Minnesota 2 |
5 Chicago |
| Chicago wins series 4–3 |
|
| St. Louis vs. Toronto |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 4 |
Toronto 2 |
4 St. Louis |
| April 6 |
Toronto 2 |
4 St. Louis |
| April 8 |
St. Louis 6 |
5 Toronto |
OT |
| April 10 |
St. Louis 2 |
4 Toronto |
| April 12 |
Toronto 3 |
4 St. Louis |
| St. Louis wins series 4–1 |
|
| Calgary vs. Los Angeles |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 4 |
Los Angeles 5 |
3 Calgary |
| April 6 |
Los Angeles 5 |
8 Calgary |
| April 8 |
Calgary 1 |
2 Los Angeles |
OT |
| April 10 |
Calgary 4 |
12 Los Angeles |
| April 12 |
Los Angeles 1 |
5 Calgary |
| April 14 |
Calgary 3 |
4 Los Angeles |
2OT |
| Los Angeles wins series 4–2 |
|
| Edmonton vs. Winnipeg |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 4 |
Winnipeg 7 |
5 Edmonton |
| April 6 |
Winnipeg 2 |
3 Edmonton |
OT |
| April 8 |
Edmonton 1 |
2 Winnipeg |
| April 10 |
Edmonton 3 |
4 Winnipeg |
2OT |
| April 12 |
Winnipeg 3 |
4 Edmonton |
| April 14 |
Edmonton 4 |
3 Winnipeg |
| April 16 |
Winnipeg 1 |
4 Edmonton |
| Edmonton wins series 4–3 |
|
Division finals
Wales Conference
| Boston vs. Montreal |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 19 |
Montreal 0 |
1 Boston |
| April 21 |
Montreal 4 |
5 Boston |
OT |
| April 23 |
Boston 6 |
3 Montreal |
| April 25 |
Boston 1 |
4 Montreal |
| April 27 |
Montreal 1 |
3 Boston |
| Boston win series 4–1 |
|
| NY Rangers vs. Washington |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 19 |
Washington 3 |
7 NY Rangers |
| April 21 |
Washington 6 |
3 NY Rangers |
| April 23 |
NY Rangers 1 |
7 Washington |
| April 25 |
NY Rangers 3 |
4 Washington |
OT |
| April 27 |
Washington 2 |
1 NY Rangers |
OT |
| Washington wins series 4–1 |
|
Campbell Conference
|
|
| Edmonton vs. Los Angeles |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| April 18 |
Los Angeles 0 |
7 Edmonton |
| April 20 |
Los Angeles 1 |
6 Edmonton |
| April 22 |
Edmonton 5 |
4 Los Angeles |
| April 24 |
Edmonton 6 |
5 Los Angeles |
OT |
| Edmonton wins series 4–0 |
|
Conference finals
Wales Conference
| Boston vs. Washington |
| Date |
Away |
Home |
| May 3 |
Washington 3 |
5 Boston |
| May 5 |
Washington 0 |
3 Boston |
| May 13 |
Boston 4 |
1 Washington |
| May 9 |
Boston 3 |
2 Washington |
Boston wins series 4–0
and Prince of Wales Trophy |
|
|
Finals
NHL awards
| Presidents' Trophy: |
Boston Bruins |
| Prince of Wales Trophy: |
Boston Bruins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: |
Edmonton Oilers |
| Art Ross Memorial Trophy: |
Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: |
Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: |
Sergei Makarov, Calgary Flames |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: |
Bill Ranford, Edmonton Oilers |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy: |
Rick Meagher, St. Louis Blues |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: |
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
| Jack Adams Award: |
Bob Murdoch, Winnipeg Jets |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: |
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy: |
Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: |
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: |
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Plus/Minus Award: |
Paul Cavallini, St. Louis Blues |
| Vezina Trophy: |
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens |
| William M. Jennings Trophy: |
Reggie Lemelin/Andy Moog, Boston Bruins |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: |
Len Ceglarski |
All-Star teams
| First Team |
Position |
Second Team |
| Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens |
G |
Darren Puppa, Buffalo Sabres |
| Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
D |
Paul Coffey, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames |
D |
Doug Wilson, Chicago Blackhawks |
| Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers |
C |
Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings |
| Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues |
RW |
Cam Neely, Boston Bruins |
| Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings |
LW |
Brian Bellows, Minnesota North Stars |
First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1989–90 (listed with their first team, stars(*) mark debut in playoffs):
- Wes Walz, Boston Bruins
- Alexander Mogilny, Buffalo Sabres
- Rob Ray, Buffalo Sabres
- Donald Audette*, Buffalo Sabres
- Sergei Makarov, Calgary Flames
- Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings
- Helmut Balderis, Minnesota North Stars
- Andrew Cassels, Montreal Canadiens
- Lyle Odelein, Montreal Canadiens
- Vyacheslav Fetisov, New Jersey Devils
- Alexei Kasatonov, New Jersey Devils
- Murray Baron, Philadelphia Flyers
- Curtis Joseph, St. Louis Blues
- Tie Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vladimir Krutov, Vancouver Canucks
- Igor Larionov, Vancouver Canucks
- Olaf Kolzig, Washington Capitals
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1989–90 (listed with their last team):
- Reed Larson, Buffalo Sabres
- Al Secord, Chicago Blackhawks
- Bob Murray, Chicago Blackhawks
- Duane Sutter, Chicago Blackhawks
- Bernie Federko, Detroit Red Wings
- Börje Salming, Detroit Red Wings
- Reijo Ruotsalainen, Edmonton Oilers
- Barry Beck, Los Angeles Kings
- Helmut Balderis, Minnesota North Stars
- Curt Fraser, Minnesota North Stars
- Mark Johnson, New Jersey Devils
- Ron Greschner, New York Rangers
- Vladimir Krutov, Vancouver Canucks
- Paul Reinhart, Vancouver Canucks
- Doug Wickenheiser, Washington Capitals
