The 1988–89

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

season was the Oilers' tenth

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and they were coming off a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championship after defeating the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

the previous season, which was their fourth Stanley Cup in the past 5 seasons. The Oilers finished third in the

Smythe Division The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the league ...

with 84 points, their lowest point total since the 1980–81 season. For the eighth consecutive season, the Oilers had five 30-goal scorers. Prior to the season, the Oilers was involved in one of the biggest trades in NHL history, dealing

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Marty McSorley Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 until 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions. A form ...

and

Mike Krushelnyski Michael "Krusher" Krushelnyski (born April 27, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre/left winger who played 14 years in the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing in the NHL, he won three Stanley Cups as a player with the ...

to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in exchange for

Jimmy Carson James Charles Carson (born July 20, 1968) is an American former professional hockey player. He played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League with five different teams. In 1988, he became only the second teenager in NHL history to score 50 goals ...

Martin Gelinas Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

, the Kings first round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, and $15 million.

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named one ...

led the club with 102 points, while

scored a team high 49 goals, and

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

had a team best 61 assists.

Charlie Huddy Charles William Huddy (born June 2, 1959) is a Canadian former NHL defenceman and former assistant coach of the Winnipeg Jets. He is also one of only seven Edmonton Oilers to be a member of all 5 of the franchise's Stanley Cup-winning teams (1984, ...

led the defense with 44 points, while

Kelly Buchberger Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders ...

provided the team toughness, leading the Oilers with 234 penalty minutes. In goal,

Grant Fuhr Grant Scott Fuhr (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who is best remembered for a decade of stellar play for the Edmonton Oilers i ...

got the majority of the starts, leading the team with 23 wins, while

Bill Ranford William Edward Ranford (born December 14, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Los Angeles Kings. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall, by the Bo ...

had a team best 3.50 GAA. The Oilers finished the regular season first in short-handed goals scored, with 27. In the playoffs, the Oilers faced

and the

in the opening round of the playoffs. The heavily-favored Oilers took a 3–1 series lead, however, the Kings responded by winning 3 games in a row by a combined score of 16–6 to win the series, ending the Oilers bid at winning a third straight

. It marked the first time since 1982 that Edmonton had lost in the first round of the playoffs, ironically it was the Kings who eliminated them in the opening round that year.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Los Angeles Kings 4, Edmonton Oilers 3

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Awards and Records

Awards

Records

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the

1988 NHL Entry Draft The 1988 NHL Entry Draft was the 26th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Teemu Selanne, who retired after the 2013–14 season. Selections by round Below ...

References

External links

SHRP Sports

The Internet Hockey Database
* National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1988-89 Edmonton Oilers season Edmonton Oilers season, 1988-89 Edmon Edmonton Oilers seasons National Hockey League All-Star Game hosts