1989–90 Chicago Blackhawks season

1989–90 Chicago Blackhawks
Norris Division champions
Division	1st Norris
Conference	2nd Campbell
1989–90 record	41–33–6
Home record	25–13–2
Road record	16–20–4
Goals for	316
Goals against	294
Team information
General manager	Bob Pulford
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Dirk Graham
Alternate captains	Keith Brown Steve Larmer Denis Savard Doug Wilson
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Team leaders
Goals	Steve Thomas (40)
Assists	Steve Larmer (59)
Points	Steve Larmer (90)
Penalty minutes	Wayne Van Dorp (303)
Wins	Jacques Cloutier (18)
Goals against average	Jacques Cloutier (3.09)
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The 1989–90 Chicago Blackhawks season was the Hawks' 64th season. The season involved winning the Norris Division.

Offseason[]

The Blackhawks brought 1970s Soviet star goaltender Vladislav Tretiak to Chicago to help improve their netminders. The biggest offseason trade was a September 1990 deal sending Steve Ludzick to the Sabres for goalie Jacques Cloutier.

NHL Draft[]

Chicago's draft picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	6	Adam Bennett	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
2	27	Mike Speer	Canada	Guelph Platers (OHL)
3	48	Bob Kellogg	United States	Springfield Olympics (EJHL)
6	111		Finland	Sport (Finland)
7	132		Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
8	153	Milan Tichy	Czechoslovakia	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
9	174	Jason Greyerbiehl	Canada	Colgate University (ECAC)
10	195	Matt Saunders	Canada	Northeastern University (Hockey East)
11	216	Mike Kozak	Canada	Clarkson University (ECAC)
12	237	Mike Doneghey	United States	Catholic Memorial School (USHS-MA)
S	11	Alex Roberts	United States	University of Michigan (CCHA)

Regular season[]

The Blackhawks would play consistent hockey all season as they win the Norris Division with a record of 41-33-6.

Offensively, Steve Larmer again led the team with 59 assists and 90 points. Steve Thomas led the team in goals with 40. Dennis Savard was second in points with 80 and assists with 53. Jeremey Roenick finished his first full year with 26 goals and 40 assists for 66 points. Doug Wilson had an outstanding year with 23 goals, 50 assists for a team third-best 73 points. Dave Manson was again second-highest defenseman in scoring with 28 points. On November 2, 1989, Doug Wilson scored just 18 seconds into the overtime period to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 home win over the Minnesota North Stars.^[1] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1989-90 NHL regular season.^[2]

In goal, while Alain Chevrier took the Blackhawks to the Conference finals the year before, his 16-14-3 record and 4.18 Goals Against Average in 89-90 got him traded in March 1990. Jacques Cloutier who was acquired just before the season began, was the primary goaltender with an 18-15-2 record and a 3.09 Goals Against Average. In March, the Blackhawks acquired Greg Millen from Quebec, and he began to take over in the nets at the end of the season with a 5-4-1 record. Eddie Belfour could not make the Hawks roster and instead spent six months with the Canadian national team.

Final standings[]

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Blackhawks	80	41	33	6	315	294	88
St. Louis Blues	80	37	34	9	295	279	83
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	38	38	4	337	358	80
Minnesota North Stars	80	36	40	4	284	291	76
Detroit Red Wings	80	28	38	14	288	323	70

^[3]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^[4]

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

Schedule and results[]

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 5, 1989	3–8	St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	0–1–0
2	W	October 7, 1989	3–2	@ Washington Capitals (1989–90)	1–1–0
3	L	October 8, 1989	3–5	New York Rangers (1989–90)	1–2–0
4	W	October 12, 1989	9–6	Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	2–2–0
5	L	October 14, 1989	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	2–3–0
6	W	October 15, 1989	3–0	Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	3–3–0
7	T	October 17, 1989	3–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (1989–90)	3–3–1
8	L	October 19, 1989	3–5	Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)	3–4–1
9	W	October 20, 1989	4–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)	4–4–1
10	W	October 22, 1989	7–4	Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)	5–4–1
11	W	October 24, 1989	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	6–4–1
12	W	October 26, 1989	5–3	Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)	7–4–1
13	L	October 28, 1989	2–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1989–90)	7–5–1
14	W	October 29, 1989	1–0	Washington Capitals (1989–90)	8–5–1
15	W	October 31, 1989	5–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)	9–5–1
16	W	November 2, 1989	4–3 OT	Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	10–5–1
17	L	November 4, 1989	0–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	10–6–1
18	W	November 5, 1989	4–3 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)	11–6–1
19	W	November 9, 1989	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)	12–6–1
20	W	November 11, 1989	5–3	@ New York Islanders (1989–90)	13–6–1
21	W	November 12, 1989	4–2	Hartford Whalers (1989–90)	14–6–1
22	L	November 16, 1989	3–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)	14–7–1
23	T	November 18, 1989	4–4 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1989–90)	14–7–2
24	L	November 19, 1989	4–5 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)	14–8–2
25	L	November 22, 1989	3–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)	14–9–2
26	L	November 26, 1989	3–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	14–10–2
27	L	November 30, 1989	0–2	New York Islanders (1989–90)	14–11–2
28	L	December 3, 1989	3–4	Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	14–12–2
29	W	December 6, 1989	6–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	15–12–2
30	W	December 9, 1989	6–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)	16–12–2
31	W	December 10, 1989	7–1	Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)	17–12–2
32	W	December 13, 1989	3–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)	18–12–2
33	L	December 15, 1989	4–8	@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	18–13–2
34	W	December 17, 1989	6–5	Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)	19–13–2
35	W	December 20, 1989	9–6	St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	20–13–2
36	L	December 22, 1989	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	20–14–2
37	W	December 23, 1989	7–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	21–14–2
38	L	December 26, 1989	3–8	@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	21–15–2
39	T	December 28, 1989	1–1 OT	Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	21–15–3
40	W	December 30, 1989	7–3	Hartford Whalers (1989–90)	22–15–3
41	W	January 3, 1990	3–2	Edmonton Oilers (1989–90)	23–15–3
42	W	January 6, 1990	8–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)	24–15–3
43	T	January 10, 1990	2–2 OT	@ New York Rangers (1989–90)	24–15–4
44	W	January 11, 1990	5–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)	25–15–4
45	L	January 14, 1990	5–6	Calgary Flames (1989–90)	25–16–4
46	L	January 15, 1990	6–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	25–17–4
47	W	January 17, 1990	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	26–17–4
48	W	January 19, 1990	5–2	Vancouver Canucks (1989–90)	27–17–4
49	L	January 24, 1990	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)	27–18–4
50	W	January 26, 1990	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)	28–18–4
51	L	January 27, 1990	4–6	@ Hartford Whalers (1989–90)	28–19–4
52	W	February 1, 1990	7–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1989–90)	29–19–4
53	L	February 4, 1990	3–7	@ Winnipeg Jets (1989–90)	29–20–4
54	W	February 8, 1990	8–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	30–20–4
55	L	February 10, 1990	4–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	30–21–4
56	W	February 13, 1990	4–1	Buffalo Sabres (1989–90)	31–21–4
57	L	February 15, 1990	1–4	Calgary Flames (1989–90)	31–22–4
58	W	February 17, 1990	3–1	@ New York Islanders (1989–90)	32–22–4
59	W	February 18, 1990	6–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1989–90)	33–22–4
60	W	February 20, 1990	8–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	34–22–4
61	L	February 22, 1990	3–6	Boston Bruins (1989–90)	34–23–4
62	L	February 24, 1990	2–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1989–90)	34–24–4
63	W	February 25, 1990	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1989–90)	35–24–4
64	L	February 27, 1990	0–4	@ Washington Capitals (1989–90)	35–25–4
65	L	March 1, 1990	4–6	St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	35–26–4
66	L	March 3, 1990	3–4	@ Boston Bruins (1989–90)	35–27–4
67	L	March 4, 1990	1–4	Boston Bruins (1989–90)	35–28–4
68	L	March 7, 1990	4–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	35–29–4
69	T	March 10, 1990	2–2 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	35–29–5
70	L	March 11, 1990	4–6	St. Louis Blues (1989–90)	35–30–5
71	T	March 13, 1990	3–3 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	35–30–6
72	W	March 15, 1990	6–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1989–90)	36–30–6
73	L	March 17, 1990	2–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1989–90)	36–31–6
74	W	March 19, 1990	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	37–31–6
75	W	March 22, 1990	6–3	New Jersey Devils (1989–90)	38–31–6
76	L	March 24, 1990	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	38–32–6
77	W	March 25, 1990	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1989–90)	39–32–6
78	W	March 29, 1990	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	40–32–6
79	L	March 31, 1990	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1989–90)	40–33–6
80	W	April 1, 1990	4–1	Minnesota North Stars (1989–90)	41–33–6

^[5]

Player stats[]

Regular season[]

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Steve Larmer	RW	80	31	59	90	40	25	8	2	4
Denis Savard	C	60	27	53	80	56	8	10	2	4
Doug Wilson	D	70	23	50	73	40	13	13	1	2
Steve Thomas	LW	76	40	30	70	91	-3	13	0	7
Adam Creighton	C	80	34	36	70	224	4	12	0	3
Jeremy Roenick	C	78	26	40	66	54	2	6	0	4
Troy Murray	C	68	17	38	55	86	-2	3	1	4
Dirk Graham	W	73	22	32	54	102	1	2	3	1
Greg Gilbert	LW	70	12	25	37	54	27	0	0	3
Dave Manson	D	59	5	23	28	301	4	1	0	1
Keith Brown	D	67	5	20	25	87	26	2	0	0
Bob Murray	D	49	5	19	24	45	3	3	0	1
Al Secord	LW	43	14	7	21	131	5	1	0	0
Jocelyn Lemieux	RW	39	10	11	21	47	0	1	0	1
Mike Hudson	C/LW	49	9	12	21	56	-3	0	0	3
Trent Yawney	D	70	5	15	20	82	-6	1	0	1
Duane Sutter	RW	72	4	14	18	156	-2	0	0	1
Steve Konroyd	D	75	3	14	17	34	6	1	0	0
Wayne Presley	RW	49	6	7	13	69	-19	1	0	0
Bob McGill	D	69	2	10	12	204	-7	0	1	0
Wayne Van Dorp	LW	61	7	4	11	303	-3	0	0	1
Michel Goulet	LW	8	4	1	5	9	1	1	1	0
Everett Sanipass	LW	12	2	2	4	17	0	0	0	0
Mike Eagles	C/LW	23	1	2	3	34	-4	0	0	0
Bob Bassen	C	6	1	1	2	8	1	0	0	0
Bruce Cassidy	D	2	1	1	2	0	-1	1	0	0
Alain Chevrier	G	39	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Brian Noonan	RW	8	0	2	2	6	0	0	0	0
Greg Millen	G	10	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Cam Russell	D	19	0	1	1	27	-3	0	0	0
Jacques Cloutier	G	43	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	0
Mike Peluso	LW	2	0	0	0	15	0	0	0	0
Dan Vincelette	LW	2	0	0	0	4	-1	0	0	0
Jimmy Waite	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Jacques Cloutier	2178	43	18	15	2	112	3.09	2	931	819	.880
Alain Chevrier	1894	39	16	14	3	132	4.18	0	898	766	.853
Greg Millen	575	10	5	4	1	32	3.34	0	267	235	.880
Jimmy Waite	183	4	2	0	0	14	4.59	0	92	78	.848
Team:	4830	80	41	33	6	290	3.60	2	2188	1898	.867

Playoffs[]

After reaching the Conference finals the year before, hopes were high entering the playoffs. The first round reunited the Hawks with their old rivals, the Minnesota North Stars for the first time since their four-year consecutive playoff match streak ended in 1985. The playoff format had changed since then, and now featured a seven-game series. The Blackhawks would barely survive this seven game war with the fourth place Minnesota North Stars. The Hawks defeated the North Stars four games to three with the Hawks outscoring Minnesota by a total of three goals over the series.

Apr 4, 1990 - MIN 2, CHI 1

Apr 6, 1990 - MIN 3, CHI 5

Apr 8, 1990 - CHI 2, MIN 1

Apr 10, 1990 - CHI 0, MIN 4

Apr 12, 1990 - MIN 1, CHI 5

Apr 14, 1990 - CHI 3, MIN 5

Apr 16, 1990 - MIN 2, CHI 5

The second round Norris Division Finals, saw the Blackhawks pitted against the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks again needed all seven games to advance. In a bold move, coach Mike Keenan decided to start Ed Belfour, who was recently recalled from the minors, in net in three of the games, and Eddie the Eagle won all three. The first six games were decided by one or two goals each, and game seven in Chicago was set for another close battle, however after Jeremy Roenick gave the Hawks a 2-0 first period lead, the Blues went on a powerplay only to have Steve Larmer score a demoralizing shorthanded goal, and the rout was on - resulting in 8-2 victory. The Blackhawks were again headed to the conference finals - with only the Edmonton Oilers standing in their way to get to the Stanley Cup Finals (and unlike their previous playoff loses to Edmonton, this time the Oilers were without Gretzky)

Apr 18, 1990 - STL 4, CHI 3

Apr 20, 1990 - STL 3, CHI 5

Apr 22, 1990 - CHI 4, STL 5

Apr 24, 1990 - CHI 3, STL 2

Apr 26, 1990 - STL 2, CHI 3

Apr 28, 1990 - CHI 2, STL 4

Apr 30, 1990 - STL 2, CHI 8

The Conference Finals saw Keenan go back to Millen and Cloutier in the nets with Belfour only appearing in the first game despite his 2.49 goals against average. After splitting the first two in the Edmonton, the Hawks took the first home game at the Chicago Stadium to take a 2-1 series lead. However the Oilers won the next three to win the series, and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

May 2, 1990 - CHI 2, EDM 5

May 4, 1990 - CHI 4, EDM 3

May 6, 1990 - EDM 1, CHI 5

May 8, 1990 - EDM 4, CHI 2

May 10, 1990 - CHI 3, EDM 4

May 12, 1990 - EDM 8, CHI 4

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Steve Larmer	RW	20	7	15	22	2	2	2	2	2
Denis Savard	C	20	7	15	22	41	0	4	0	1
Jeremy Roenick	C	20	11	7	18	8	-1	4	0	1
Wayne Presley	RW	19	9	6	15	29	8	1	1	1
Doug Wilson	D	20	3	12	15	18	5	1	0	1
Steve Thomas	LW	20	7	6	13	33	2	1	0	3
Greg Gilbert	LW	19	5	8	13	34	10	0	0	0
Adam Creighton	C	20	3	6	9	59	1	0	1	0
Jocelyn Lemieux	RW	18	1	8	9	28	1	0	0	0
Troy Murray	C	20	4	4	8	22	2	1	0	0
Trent Yawney	D	20	3	5	8	27	-1	3	0	1
Michel Goulet	LW	14	2	4	6	6	2	0	0	0
Dave Manson	D	20	2	4	6	46	-5	1	0	0
Bob Murray	D	16	2	4	6	8	8	0	0	0
Dirk Graham	W	5	1	5	6	2	0	0	1	0
Steve Konroyd	D	20	1	3	4	19	6	0	0	0
Keith Brown	D	18	0	4	4	43	2	0	0	0
Duane Sutter	RW	20	1	1	2	48	-1	0	0	0
Ed Belfour	G	9	0	1	1	6	0	0	0	0
Bob Bassen	C	1	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0
Jacques Cloutier	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Hudson	C/LW	4	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Bob McGill	D	5	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
Greg Millen	G	14	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Cam Russell	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Al Secord	LW	12	0	0	0	8	-2	0	0	0
Wayne Van Dorp	LW	8	0	0	0	23	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Greg Millen	613	14	6	6	40	3.92	0	300	260	.867
Ed Belfour	409	9	4	2	17	2.49	0	200	183	.915
Jacques Cloutier	175	4	0	2	8	2.74	0	75	67	.893
Team:	1197	20	10	10	65	3.26	0	575	510	.887

^[6]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

References[]

• Blackhawks on Hockey Database