1991–92 Quebec Nordiques season

1991–92 Quebec Nordiques
Division5th Adams
Conference11th Wales
1991–92 record20–48–12
Home record18–19–3
Road record2–29–9
Goals for255
Goals against318
Team information
General managerPierre Page
CoachDave Chambers
Pierre Page
CaptainMike Hough
Alternate captainsSteven Finn
Joe Sakic
ArenaColisée de Québec
Team leaders
GoalsOwen Nolan (42)
AssistsJoe Sakic (65)
PointsJoe Sakic (94)
Penalty minutesSteven Finn (194)
Plus/minusMikhail Tatarinov (+8)
WinsStephane Fiset (7)
Goals against averageJohn Tanner (3.47)

The 1991–92 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques 13th season in the National Hockey League.

Off-season

Quebec once again had the first overall draft pick heading into the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, as this marked the third consecutive season the Nordiques had the first overall selection. With the pick, Quebec selected Eric Lindros of the Oshawa Generals. Lindros scored 71 goals and 149 points with the Generals during the 1990–91 season, however, he let the Nordiques know that he was not interested in playing for Quebec. Despite this, the Nordiques drafted him, however, the club was unable to sign Lindros. Rather than playing for Quebec for the 1991–92 season, Lindros played for the Canadian national men's hockey team, and then returned to the Generals for the rest of the season.

The Nordiques did make a big signing, as they signed Russian hockey player Valeri Kamensky to a four-year contract to bring him to North America. Kamensky had played with CSKA Moscow since 1985, and had represented the Soviet Union at the 1988 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal. In 1990–91 with CSKA, Kamensky 20 goals and 46 points in 46 games.

Quebec made a couple of free agent signings, as Doug Smail joined the team from the Minnesota North Stars. Smail split the 1990–91 season between the North Stars and Winnipeg Jets, scoring eight goals and 23 points in 72 games. The Nordiques also signed tough guy John Kordic from the Washington Capitals. Kordic appeared in only ten games during the 1990–91 season, splitting time between the Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, as he had no points, however, he recorded 110 penalty minutes.

The team named Mike Hough the captain, replacing Steven Finn and Joe Sakic who were co-captains of the club in the 1990–91 season.

Regular season

After winning their season opener against the Hartford Whalers, Quebec would endure a nine-game winless streak, and quickly fell into last place in the Adams Division with a 1–8–1 record. The team would eventually fall to 3–14–1, and head coach Dave Chambers was relieved of his duties, as general manager Pierre Page took over the coaching duties.

Under Page, the losses would continue to pile up, however, the team did have a five-game unbeaten streak in early December, as they went 4–0–1 during that span. However, the team did go through some very bad losing streaks, as the club went 1–16–2 during a nineteen-game span in January and February, and fell out of the playoff race. The club finished the year with a 20–48–12 record, earning 52 points, which was a six-point improvement from the previous season. The 52 points was the highest total by Quebec since they had 61 points in the 1988–89 season. Also, for the first time since 1987–88, the Nordiques did not finish in last place in the overall standings, as they had 13 more points than the expansion San Jose Sharks.

Joe Sakic had another impressive season, scoring 29 goals and 94 points in 69 games, to lead the team in points. Owen Nolan had a breakout season, scoring a team high 42 goals, while earning 73 points. Mats Sundin also saw improvement in his point totals, as he finished with 33 goals and 76 points in his second NHL season. Greg Paslawski had a surprising season, scoring 28 goals and 45 points for the team.

On defense, Mikhail Tatarinov, who came over to the Nordiques from the Washington Capitals in the off-season, led the team with 11 goals and 38 points. Alexei Gusarov was steady on the blueline, earning 23 points, while Curtis Leschyshyn had 17 points despite missing 38 games due to injuries.

In goal, Ron Tugnutt played the most, as he appeared in 30 games, earning six wins with a GAA of 4.02. Stephane Fiset led the club with seven victories, and had a 3.76 GAA. Jacques Cloutier had six wins and a 3.93 GAA, while John Tanner had a club best 3.47 GAA, however, he had only one victory in fourteen games.

Final standings

Adams Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 41 28 11 267 207 93
Boston Bruins 80 36 32 12 270 275 84
Buffalo Sabres 80 31 37 12 289 299 74
Hartford Whalers 80 26 41 13 247 283 65
Quebec Nordiques 80 20 48 12 255 318 52

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 5, 1991 4–2 Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 1–0–0
2 L October 8, 1991 5–6 @ New Jersey Devils (1991–92) 1–1–0
3 L October 10, 1991 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1991–92) 1–2–0
4 L October 12, 1991 4–5 Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 1–3–0
5 T October 13, 1991 1–1 OT New York Islanders (1991–92) 1–3–1
6 L October 17, 1991 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92) 1–4–1
7 L October 19, 1991 1–6 Detroit Red Wings (1991–92) 1–5–1
8 L October 23, 1991 2–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 1–6–1
9 L October 24, 1991 0–5 Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 1–7–1
10 L October 26, 1991 3–5 New York Rangers (1991–92) 1–8–1
11 W October 29, 1991 7–2 Winnipeg Jets (1991–92) 2–8–1
12 L October 31, 1991 4–5 @ New York Rangers (1991–92) 2–9–1
13 W November 2, 1991 6–3 San Jose Sharks (1991–92) 3–9–1
14 L November 7, 1991 2–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92) 3–10–1
15 L November 10, 1991 3–10 Washington Capitals (1991–92) 3–11–1
16 L November 12, 1991 4–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 3–12–1
17 L November 14, 1991 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1991–92) 3–13–1
18 L November 16, 1991 2–6 Edmonton Oilers (1991–92) 3–14–1
19 L November 18, 1991 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92) 3–15–1
20 W November 21, 1991 5–2 Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 4–15–1
21 L November 23, 1991 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 4–16–1
22 W November 25, 1991 5–2 Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 5–16–1
23 T November 27, 1991 4–4 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 5–16–2
24 L November 28, 1991 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1991–92) 5–17–2
25 W November 30, 1991 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 6–17–2
26 W December 3, 1991 3–0 Vancouver Canucks (1991–92) 7–17–2
27 T December 5, 1991 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1991–92) 7–17–3
28 W December 7, 1991 7–5 Los Angeles Kings (1991–92) 8–17–3
29 W December 10, 1991 5–2 Boston Bruins (1991–92) 9–17–3
30 L December 12, 1991 1–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1991–92) 9–18–3
31 L December 14, 1991 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1991–92) 9–19–3
32 L December 17, 1991 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (1991–92) 9–20–3
33 T December 19, 1991 5–5 OT @ Calgary Flames (1991–92) 9–20–4
34 L December 21, 1991 1–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1991–92) 9–21–4
35 T December 22, 1991 6–6 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1991–92) 9–21–5
36 L December 26, 1991 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 9–22–5
37 W December 28, 1991 4–1 Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 10–22–5
38 W December 30, 1991 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1991–92) 11–22–5
39 L January 2, 1992 1–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 11–23–5
40 L January 4, 1992 2–5 @ New York Islanders (1991–92) 11–24–5
41 L January 8, 1992 2–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 11–25–5
42 L January 9, 1992 4–5 @ Boston Bruins (1991–92) 11–26–5
43 L January 11, 1992 2–7 New York Rangers (1991–92) 11–27–5
44 L January 14, 1992 3–5 Calgary Flames (1991–92) 11–28–5
45 L January 21, 1992 3–5 Vancouver Canucks (1991–92) 11–29–5
46 L January 23, 1992 2–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92) 11–30–5
47 W January 25, 1992 2–1 Winnipeg Jets (1991–92) 12–30–5
48 L January 28, 1992 2–4 Boston Bruins (1991–92) 12–31–5
49 L January 29, 1992 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1991–92) 12–32–5
50 T January 31, 1992 4–4 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1991–92) 12–32–6
51 L February 2, 1992 2–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1991–92) 12–33–6
52 L February 5, 1992 3–5 @ Calgary Flames (1991–92) 12–34–6
53 L February 8, 1992 0–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92) 12–35–6
54 L February 9, 1992 1–2 New Jersey Devils (1991–92) 12–36–6
55 L February 11, 1992 3–4 Washington Capitals (1991–92) 12–37–6
56 L February 13, 1992 2–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92) 12–38–6
57 T February 15, 1992 4–4 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 12–38–7
58 W February 18, 1992 4–0 Minnesota North Stars (1991–92) 13–38–7
59 T February 20, 1992 4–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92) 13–38–8
60 L February 22, 1992 0–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 13–39–8
61 T February 23, 1992 3–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 13–39–9
62 L February 26, 1992 4–7 @ San Jose Sharks (1991–92) 13–40–9
63 L February 27, 1992 2–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1991–92) 13–41–9
64 T March 3, 1992 4–4 OT Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 13–41–10
65 W March 5, 1992 10–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 14–41–10
66 T March 7, 1992 4–4 OT Detroit Red Wings (1991–92) 14–41–11
67 W March 9, 1992 2–0 Hartford Whalers (1991–92) 15–41–11
68 W March 11, 1992 5–4 Montreal Canadiens (1991–92) 16–41–11
69 L March 14, 1992 4–5 OT Boston Bruins (1991–92) 16–42–11
70 L March 15, 1992 4–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 16–43–11
71 L March 17, 1992 3–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1991–92) 16–44–11
72 L March 19, 1992 3–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92) 16–45–11
73 W March 21, 1992 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1991–92) 17–45–11
74 W March 24, 1992 5–2 New York Islanders (1991–92) 18–45–11
75 L March 26, 1992 4–5 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92) 18–46–11
76 L March 28, 1992 2–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1991–92) 18–47–11
77 L March 31, 1992 4–5 OT Boston Bruins (1991–92) 18–48–11
78 T April 12, 1992 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (1991–92) 18–48–12
79 W April 14, 1992 7–3 Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 19–48–12
80 W April 15, 1992 4–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92) 20–48–12

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe Sakic C 69 29 65 94 20 5 6 3 1
Mats Sundin C 80 33 43 76 103 -19 8 2 2
Owen Nolan RW 75 42 31 73 183 -9 17 0 0
Greg Paslawski RW 80 28 17 45 18 -12 5 1 4
Mike Hough LW 61 16 22 38 77 -1 6 2 1
Mikhail Tatarinov D 66 11 27 38 72 8 5 0 1
Claude Lapointe LW/C 78 13 20 33 86 -8 0 2 2
Doug Smail LW 46 10 18 28 47 -11 0 1 1
Alexei Gusarov D 68 5 18 23 22 -9 3 0 1
Valeri Kamensky LW 23 7 14 21 14 -1 2 0 1
Herb Raglan RW 62 6 14 20 120 -5 0 0 0
Jamie Baker C 52 7 10 17 32 -5 3 0 1
Curtis Leschyshyn D 42 5 12 17 42 -28 3 0 1
Dan Lambert D 28 6 9 15 22 -5 2 0 0
Kip Miller C 36 5 10 15 12 -21 1 0 2
Bryan Fogarty D 20 3 12 15 16 -15 0 0 0
Marc Fortier C 39 5 9 14 33 -7 2 0 1
Craig Wolanin D 69 2 11 13 80 -12 0 0 0
Steven Finn D 65 4 7 11 194 -9 0 0 0
Stephane Morin C 30 2 8 10 14 -2 0 0 0
Wayne Van Dorp LW 24 3 5 8 109 5 0 0 0
Gino Cavallini LW 18 1 7 8 4 -1 0 0 0
Adam Foote D 46 2 5 7 44 -4 0 0 0
Bill Lindsay RW 23 2 4 6 14 -6 0 0 1
John Tonelli LW 19 2 4 6 14 -7 2 0 0
Randy Velischek D 38 2 3 5 22 -3 0 0 0
Mike McNeill RW 26 1 4 5 8 -8 1 0 0
Scott Pearson LW 10 1 2 3 14 -5 0 0 0
Martin Rucinsky LW 4 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0
John Kordic RW 18 0 2 2 115 -3 0 0 0
Greg Smyth D 29 0 2 2 138 -10 0 0 0
Mark Vermette RW 10 1 0 1 8 -6 0 0 0
Jon Klemm D 4 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
Ken McRae C 10 0 1 1 31 -5 0 0 0
Tony Twist LW 44 0 1 1 164 -3 0 0 0
Don Barber W 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Stephane Charbonneau RW 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Jacques Cloutier G 26 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Stephane Fiset G 23 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Kevin Kaminski C 5 0 0 0 45 -2 0 0 0
Dave Karpa D 4 0 0 0 14 2 0 0 0
Dave Marcinyshyn D 5 0 0 0 26 -1 0 0 0
Andy Rymsha D 6 0 0 0 23 -3 0 0 0
John Tanner G 14 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Ron Tugnutt G 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Stephane Fiset 1133 23 7 10 2 71 3.76 1 646 575 .890
Jacques Cloutier 1345 26 6 14 3 88 3.93 0 712 624 .876
Ron Tugnutt 1583 30 6 17 3 106 4.02 1 782 676 .864
John Tanner 796 14 1 7 4 46 3.47 1 394 348 .883
Team: 4857 80 20 48 12 311 3.84 3 2534 2223 .877

[2]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1991–92 season.

Trades

September 3, 1991 To New York Rangers
Cash 		To Quebec Nordiques
Stephane Guerard
September 25, 1991 To Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan McGill 		To Quebec Nordiques
Mike Dagenais
October 22, 1991 To Winnipeg Jets
Shawn Anderson 		To Quebec Nordiques
Sergei Kharin
February 18, 1992 To Chicago Blackhawks
Future Considerations 		To Quebec Nordiques
John Tonelli
March 7, 1992 To San Jose Sharks
Don Barber 		To Quebec Nordiques
Murray Garbutt
March 8, 1992 To Minnesota North Stars
Kip Miller 		To Quebec Nordiques
Steve Maltais
March 10, 1992 To Edmonton Oilers
Ron Tugnutt
Brad Zavisha 		To Quebec Nordiques
Martin Rucinsky
March 10, 1992 To Calgary Flames
Greg Smyth 		To Quebec Nordiques
Martin Simard
March 10, 1992 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Fogarty 		To Quebec Nordiques
Scott Young
June 15, 1992 To Detroit Red Wings
Cash 		To Quebec Nordiques
Doug Crossman
Dennis Vial
June 19, 1992 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Martin Simard 		To Quebec Nordiques
Tim Hunter

Waivers

November 12, 1991 From Winnipeg Jets
Don Barber
February 27, 1992 From St. Louis Blues
Gino Cavallini

Expansion Draft

June 18, 1992 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Doug Crossman
June 18, 1992 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Steve Maltais

Free agents

Player Former Team
Doug Smail Minnesota North Stars
John Kordic Washington Capitals
Player New Team
Ken Quinney Detroit Red Wings
Jeff Jackson Chicago Blackhawks

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1991 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

Round # Player Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 1 Eric Lindros  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
2 23 Rene Corbet  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
3 46 Rich Brennan  United States Tabor Academy (USHS-MA)
4 68 Dave Karpa  Canada Ferris State University (WCHA)
5 90 Patrick Labrecque  Canada Saint-Jean Lynx (QMJHL)
5 103 Bill Lindsay  Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
7 134 Mikael Johansson  Sweden Djurgårdens IF (Sweden)
8 156 Janne Laukkanen  Finland Lahti (Finland)
8 157 Aaron Asp  Canada Ferris State University (WCHA)
9 178 Adam Bartell  Canada Niagara Scenic (NAJHL)
9 188 Brent Brekke  United States Western Michigan University (CCHA)
10 200 Paul Koch  United States Omaha Lancers (USHL)
11 222 Doug Friedman  United States Boston University (Hockey East)
12 244 Eric Meloche  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
S 2 Dave Trombley  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC)
S 8 Chris Hynnes  Canada Colorado College (WCHA)

Farm teams

References

  1. ^ "1991-1992 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. ^ "1991-92 Quebec Nordiques Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2009.