1988–89 New Jersey Devils season

1988–89 New Jersey Devils
1988–89 New Jersey Devils
Division	5th Patrick
Conference	9th Wales
1988–89 record	27–41–12
Home record	17–18–5
Road record	10–23–7
Goals for	281
Goals against	325
Team information
General manager	Lou Lamoriello
Coach	Jim Schoenfeld
Captain	Kirk Muller
Alternate captains	Aaron Broten; Joe Cirella
Arena	Brendan Byrne Arena
Team leaders
Goals	John MacLean (42)
Assists	Tom Kurvers (50)
Points	John MacLean (87)
Penalty minutes	Ken Daneyko (283)
Plus/minus	John MacLean (+26)
Wins	Sean Burke (22)
Goals against average	Chris Terreri (2.69)
	← 1987–88 1989–90 →

The 1988–89 New Jersey Devils season was the 15th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and seventh season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season.^[1] After appearing in the playoffs the previous season, the Devils finished in fifth place in the Patrick Division to miss the playoffs for the thirteenth time in franchise history.

Regular season

Season standings

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Washington Capitals	80	41	29	10	305	259	92
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	40	33	7	347	349	87
New York Rangers	80	37	35	8	310	307	82
Philadelphia Flyers	80	36	36	8	307	285	80
New Jersey Devils	80	27	41	12	281	325	66
New York Islanders	80	28	47	5	265	325	61

^[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.

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1988–89 NHL records^[3]
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
New Jersey	—	1–4–2	4–3	2–5	1–4–2	4–3	12–19–4
N.Y. Islanders	4–1–2	—	2–5	1–5–1	2–4–1	3–4	12–19–4
N.Y. Rangers	3–4	5–2	—	3–3–1	3–3–1	3–2–2	17–14–4
Philadelphia	5–2	5–1–1	3–3–1	—	3–4	3–4	19–14–2
Pittsburgh	4–1–2	4–2–1	3–3–1	4–3	—	4–3	19–12–4
Washington	3–4	4–3	2–3–2	4–3	3–4	—	16–17–2

Vs. Adams Division

1988–89 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
New Jersey	0–2–1	1–2	1–2	0–3	1–2	3–11–1
N.Y. Islanders	1–2	0–3	1–2	2–1	2–1	6–9–0
N.Y. Rangers	0–1–2	0–3	1–2	0–3	2–1	3–10–2
Philadelphia	1–2	2–1	1–1–1	0–1–2	2–1	6–6–3
Pittsburgh	1–1–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	5–9–1
Washington	1–1–1	3–0	3–0	1–1–1	2–0–1	10–2–3

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1988–89 NHL records
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
New Jersey	2–1	2–0–1	1–1–1	2–1	2–1	9–4–2
N.Y. Islanders	0–3	0–3	2–1	1–2	1–2	4–11–0
N.Y. Rangers	2–0–1	0–3	2–1	3–0	1–1–1	8–5–2
Philadelphia	3–0	1–2	2–1	0–3	2–1	8–7–0
Pittsburgh	3–0	2–0–1	1–2	1–1–1	2–1	9–4–2
Washington	2–1	1–1–1	1–1–1	2–0–1	2–1	8–4–3

Vs. Smythe Division

1988–89 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
New Jersey	0–3	2–1	0–1–2	1–1–1	0–1–2	3–7–5
N.Y. Islanders	0–2–1	1–2	1–2	2–1	2–1	6–8–1
N.Y. Rangers	1–2	1–2	2–1	3–0	2–1	9–6–0
Philadelphia	0–3	0–1–2	1–2	0–3	2–0–1	3–9–3
Pittsburgh	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	2–1	7–8–0
Washington	0–2–1	2–1	1–1–1	2–1	2–1	7–6–2

Schedule and results

1988–89 regular season^[4]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 6, 1988	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season)	0–1–0
2	W	October 8, 1988	5–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (season)	1–1–0
3	W	October 10, 1988	5–0	@ New York Rangers (season)	2–1–0
4	L	October 14, 1988	3–7	Montreal Canadiens (season)	2–2–0
5	L	October 15, 1988	5–8	@ Washington Capitals (season)	2–3–0
6	L	October 19, 1988	0–4	Vancouver Canucks (season)	2–4–0
7	W	October 21, 1988	6–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	3–4–0
8	T	October 23, 1988	3–3 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (season)	3–4–1
9	L	October 25, 1988	4–7	Buffalo Sabres (season)	3–5–1
10	W	October 28, 1988	5–3	Hartford Whalers (season)	4–5–1
11	L	October 29, 1988	0–3	@ Hartford Whalers (season)	4–6–1

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
12	W	November 1, 1988	3–2	Philadelphia Flyers (season)	5–6–1
13	T	November 3, 1988	3–3 OT	Winnipeg Jets (season)	5–6–2
14	W	November 6, 1988	6–5	New York Rangers (season)	6–6–2
15	L	November 9, 1988	2–3 OT	Edmonton Oilers (season)	6–7–2
16	T	November 11, 1988	3–3 OT	New York Islanders (season)	6–7–3
17	W	November 12, 1988	6–3	@ Washington Capitals (season)	7–7–3
18	W	November 15, 1988	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (season)	8–7–3
19	L	November 17, 1988	3–5	Calgary Flames (season)	8–8–3
20	L	November 19, 1988	2–3	Washington Capitals (season)	8–9–3
21	L	November 20, 1988	1–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season)	8–10–3
22	L	November 23, 1988	2–3	@ Calgary Flames (season)	8–11–3
23	T	November 25, 1988	2–2 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (season)	8–11–4
24	L	November 29, 1988	3–9	@ Los Angeles Kings (season)	8–12–4

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
25	L	December 3, 1988	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers (season)	8–13–4
26	L	December 4, 1988	2–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (season)	8–14–4
27	W	December 7, 1988	5–1	Washington Capitals (season)	9–14–4
28	W	December 9, 1988	6–5	New York Islanders (season)	10–14–4
29	T	December 10, 1988	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	10–14–5
30	W	December 13, 1988	4–3	St. Louis Blues (season)	11–14–5
31	W	December 15, 1988	6–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (season)	12–14–5
32	L	December 17, 1988	2–5	@ New York Islanders (season)	12–15–5
33	W	December 18, 1988	5–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (season)	13–15–5
34	T	December 21, 1988	5–5 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (season)	13–15–6
35	T	December 23, 1988	2–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	13–15–7
36	L	December 26, 1988	1–5	@ New York Rangers (season)	13–16–7
37	L	December 27, 1988	5–7	New York Rangers (season)	13–17–7
38	L	December 29, 1988	2–6	Boston Bruins (season)	13–18–7
39	L	December 31, 1988	6–8	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	13–19–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
40	W	January 6, 1989	5–4	Buffalo Sabres (season)	14–19–7
41	W	January 7, 1989	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (season)	15–19–7
42	W	January 9, 1989	5–4	@ New York Rangers (season)	16–19–7
43	L	January 11, 1989	0–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (season)	16–20–7
44	L	January 13, 1989	3–5	New York Islanders (season)	16–21–7
45	W	January 15, 1989	1–0	Edmonton Oilers (season)	17–21–7
46	L	January 17, 1989	4–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (season)	17–22–7
47	L	January 19, 1989	4–5	Quebec Nordiques (season)	17–23–7
48	W	January 20, 1989	6–5 OT	@ Washington Capitals (season)	18–23–7
49	L	January 23, 1989	2–7	Minnesota North Stars (season)	18–24–7
50	T	January 24, 1989	2–2 OT	@ New York Islanders (season)	18–24–8
51	L	January 27, 1989	6–8	Hartford Whalers (season)	18–25–8
52	T	January 28, 1989	4–4 OT	@ Minnesota North Stars (season)	18–25–9

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
53	T	February 2, 1989	6–6 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (season)	18–25–10
54	W	February 5, 1989	4–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (season)	19–25–10
55	W	February 9, 1989	6–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (season)	20–25–10
56	L	February 11, 1989	4–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (season)	20–26–10
57	W	February 13, 1989	8–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (season)	21–26–10
58	L	February 15, 1989	3–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (season)	21–27–10
59	L	February 17, 1989	2–3 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (season)	21–28–10
60	L	February 18, 1989	3–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (season)	21–29–10
61	L	February 20, 1989	4–7	@ New York Rangers (season)	21–30–10
62	L	February 24, 1989	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (season)	21–31–10
63	T	February 26, 1989	1–1 OT	Los Angeles Kings (season)	21–31–11
64	T	February 28, 1989	3–3 OT	Boston Bruins (season)	21–31–12

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
65	L	March 1, 1989	1–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	21–32–12
66	W	March 3, 1989	6–3	New York Rangers (season)	22–32–12
67	W	March 5, 1989	2–0	Minnesota North Stars (season)	23–32–12
68	L	March 7, 1989	2–6	@ St. Louis Blues (season)	23–33–12
69	W	March 8, 1989	7–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (season)	24–33–12
70	L	March 11, 1989	2–3 OT	@ New York Islanders (season)	24–34–12
71	L	March 14, 1989	1–5	Calgary Flames (season)	24–35–12
72	L	March 16, 1989	1–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	24–36–12
73	L	March 18, 1989	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks (season)	24–37–12
74	W	March 20, 1989	3–1	Vancouver Canucks (season)	25–37–12
75	L	March 23, 1989	3–5	@ Boston Bruins (season)	25–38–12
76	L	March 25, 1989	4–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (season)	25–39–12
77	W	March 27, 1989	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (season)	26–39–12
78	L	March 29, 1989	4–5 OT	New York Islanders (season)	26–40–12

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
79	L	April 1, 1989	4–6	@ Washington Capitals (season)	26–41–12
80	W	April 2, 1989	7–4	Washington Capitals (season)	27–41–12

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

The 1988–89 season was a disappointing one for the Devils. Just a year after their cinderella 1987–88 campaign in which they fell one win short of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, the team failed to make the playoffs altogether, managing only a fifth-place finish in the Patrick Division with a roster largely intact from the previous season.

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
John MacLean	74	42	45	87	122
Kirk Muller	80	31	43	74	119
Patrik Sundström	65	28	41	69	36
Aaron Broten	80	16	43	59	81
Brendan Shanahan	68	22	28	50	115
Pat Verbeek	77	26	21	47	189
Mark Johnson	40	13	25	38	24
Doug Brown	63	15	10	25	15
Claude Loiselle	74	7	14	21	209
Pat Conacher	55	7	5	12	14
Anders Carlsson	47	4	8	12	20
David Maley	68	5	6	11	249
Perry Anderson	39	3	6	9	128
Paul Ysebaert	5	0	4	4	0
Steve Rooney	25	3	1	4	79
Jon Morris	4	0	2	2	0
Alan Stewart	6	0	2	2	15
Chris Cichocki	2	0	1	1	2
Janne Ojanen	3	0	1	1	2
George McPhee	1	0	1	1	2
Kevin Todd	1	0	0	0	0

Defensemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tom Kurvers	74	16	50	66	38
Jim Korn	65	15	16	31	212
Tommy Albelin	46	7	24	31	40
Jack O'Callahan	36	5	21	26	51
Joe Cirella	80	3	19	22	155
Randy Velischek	80	4	14	18	70
Bruce Driver	27	1	15	16	24
Craig Wolanin	56	3	8	11	69
Ken Daneyko	80	5	5	10	283
Jamie Huscroft	15	0	2	2	51
Eric Weinrich	2	0	0	0	0
Corey Foster	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
Sean Burke	62	22	31	9	3	3.84
Bob Sauvé	15	4	5	1	0	4.67
Craig Billington	3	1	1	0	0	4.71
Chris Terreri	8	0	4	2	2.69

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

The Devils' draft picks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.

Rd #	Pick #	Player	Nat	Pos	Team (League)	Notes
1	12	Corey Foster	Canada	D	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
2	23	Jeff Christian	Canada	LW	London Knights (OHL)	^[a]
3	54	Zdeno Ciger	Czechoslovakia	LW	Martimex ZTS Martin HC (Czechoslovak Extraliga)
4	65	Matt Ruchty	Canada	LW	Bowling Green State University (CCHA)	^[a]
4	75	Scott Luik	Canada	RW	Miami University (CCHA)
5	96	Chris Nelson	United States	D	Rochester Jr. Americans (MJHL)
6	117	Chad Johnson	United States	C	Rochester Jr. Americans (MJHL)
7	138	Chad Erickson	United States	G	Warroad H.S. (Minnesota)
8	159	Bryan LaFort	United States	G	Waltham H.S. (Massachusetts)
9	180	Sergei Svetlov	Soviet Union	RW	Moscow Dynamo (Soviet League)
10	201	Bob Woods	Canada	D	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
10	207	Alexander Semak	Soviet Union	C	Moscow Dynamo (Soviet League)	^[b]
11	222	Chuck Hughes	United States	G	Catholic Memorial H.S. (Massachusetts)
12	243	Michael Pohl	West Germany	F	SB Rosenheim (DEL)
S	17	Tim Budy	Canada	LW	Colorado College (WCHA)

Notes

^ ^a ^b The Devils acquired 1988 second-round (Christian) and fourth-round (Ruchty) draft picks, along with Patrik Sundstrom, from Vancouver in exchange for the Devils' 1988 second-round draft pick (used on Leif Rohlin), Greg Adams and Kirk McLean on September 10, 1987.
^ The Devils acquired the 1988 tenth-round draft pick from Boston for Steve Tsujiura on March 8, 1988.

References

"1988-89 National Hockey League Standings". hockeyDB. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
"1988-89 New Jersey Devils player statistics". hockeyDB. Retrieved October 12, 2007.

^ National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1988-89 New Jersey Devils Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[88van-5] The Devils acquired 1988 second-round (Christian) and fourth-round (Ruchty) draft picks, along with Patrik Sundstrom, from Vancouver in exchange for the Devils' 1988 second-round draft pick (used on Leif Rohlin), Greg Adams and Kirk McLean on September 10, 1987.

[6] The Devils acquired the 1988 tenth-round draft pick from Boston for Steve Tsujiura on March 8, 1988.

[1] National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.

[nhl-gd-standings-2] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-4] "1988-89 New Jersey Devils Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]

[b]

v t e New Jersey Devils
Formerly the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies Founded in 1974 Based in Newark, New Jersey
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) David Blitzer and Josh Harris (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment) General manager Tom Fitzgerald Head coach Sheldon Keefe Team captain Nico Hischier Current roster
Arenas	Meadowlands Arena Prudential Center
Rivalries	New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers
Affiliates	AHL Utica Comets ECHL Adirondack Thunder
Media	TV MSG Sportsnet MSG 2 MSG Network WCBS-TV Radio WFAN WBBR
Culture and lore	The A Line The Crash Line The BMW Line John McMullen Arlette Roxburgh Don Koharski Jersey Devil A day with the Cup Mike "Doc" Emrick Mrs. Fields Hockey Night Live! "The Face Painter" (Seinfeld episode) N.J. Devil Neutral zone trap The Brodeur Rule "Howl" 334 Club "Hip Hop Hooray" "Hells Bells" 2014 Stadium Series 2024 Stadium Series
Category WikiProject Commons

v t e New Jersey Devils seasons
Pre-1982	Kansas City Scouts Colorado Rockies
1980s	1980–81 . 1981–82 . 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e 1988–89 NHL season
Patrick	New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Hartford Montreal Quebec
Norris	Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Toronto
Smythe	Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	Entry draft Supplemental draft Waiver draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Finals