1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1988–89 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 80th season of play. The Canadiens finished first in the Adams Division, as well as the Prince of Wales Conference, with a 53–18–9 record for 115 points. The team finished second overall in the league behind the Calgary Flames, who had 117 points. Montreal defeated the Hartford Whalers, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs before meeting the Flames in the Stanley Cup Finals. Calgary took the series 4–2, clinching the Cup in Game 6 on the Canadiens' vaunted home ice, the Montreal Forum. This marked the only time that a visiting team defeated the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup on Forum ice.
The Canadiens were coached by Pat Burns and captained by Bob Gainey.
Offseason
Regular season
- November 7, 1988 – The Canadiens traded RW John Kordic and a 6th-round choice to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for RW Russ Courtnall.
Final standings
Schedule and results
Player statistics
Forwards
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Mats Naslund | 77 | 33 | 51 | 84 | 14 |
| Bobby Smith | 80 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 69 |
| Stephane Richer | 68 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 61 |
| Guy Carbonneau | 79 | 26 | 30 | 56 | 44 |
| Claude Lemieux | 69 | 29 | 22 | 51 | 136 |
| Shayne Corson | 80 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 193 |
| Brian Skrudland | 71 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 84 |
| Mike McPhee | 73 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 74 |
| Russ Courtnall | 64 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 15 |
| Mike Keane | 69 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 69 |
| Ryan Walter | 78 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 48 |
| Brent Gilchrist | 49 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 16 |
| Bob Gainey | 49 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 34 |
| Gilles Thibaudeau | 32 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 |
| Jose Charbonneau | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Benoit Brunet | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Stephan Lebeau | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jocelyn Lemieux | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Martinson | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 87 |
| John Kordic | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Defencemen
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Chris Chelios | 80 | 15 | 58 | 73 | 185 |
| Petr Svoboda | 71 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 147 |
| Larry Robinson | 74 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 22 |
| Craig Ludwig | 74 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 73 |
| Rick Green | 72 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 25 |
| Eric Desjardins | 36 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Mike Lalor | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| Jyrki Lumme | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Donald Dufresne | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 43 |
Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average| Player | GP | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Patrick Roy | 48 | 33 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2.47 |
| Brian Hayward | 36 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2.90 |
| Randy Exelby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Playoffs
Adams Division semi-finals
Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 5 | Hartford Whalers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | |
| April 6 | Hartford Whalers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Hartford Whalers | 4 | |
| April 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Hartford Whalers | 3 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0.
Adams Division finals
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 17 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 19 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| April 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Boston Bruins | 4 | |
| April 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | Boston Bruins | 3 | |
| April 25 | Boston Bruins | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 1.
Conference finals
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Montreal Canadiens| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |
| May 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | |
| May 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 | |
| May 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 0 | |
| May 9 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | |
| May 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | - |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.
Stanley Cup finals
Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary FlamesThe Stanley Cup Finals was decided between the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. Captain Lanny McDonald scored the second Flames goal in Game 6. This turned out to be the last goal in his Hockey Hall of Fame career because he retired during the following off-season. Doug Gilmour scored two goals in the third period, including the eventual game and Cup winner to cement the victory for the Flames.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 14 | Montreal | 2 | Calgary | 3 | |
| May 17 | Montreal | 4 | Calgary | 2 | |
| May 19 | Calgary | 3 | Montreal | 4 | |
| May 21 | Calgary | 4 | Montreal | 2 | |
| May 23 | Montreal | 2 | Calgary | 3 | |
| May 25 | Calgary | 4 | Montreal | 2 |
Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 2.
Awards and records
- Prince of Wales Trophy
- Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau
- Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns
- James Norris Memorial Trophy: Chris Chelios
- William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy/Brian Hayward
- Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy
- Patrick Roy, goalie, NHL First All-Star Team
- Chris Chelios, defence, NHL First All-Star Team
Transactions
Roster
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 20 | Eric Charron | Trois-Rivières Draveurs | |
| 2 | 34 | Martin St. Amour | Verdun Junior Canadiens | |
| 3 | 46 | Neil Carnes | Verdun Junior Canadiens | |
| 4 | 83 | Patric Kjellberg | Falu IF | |
| 5 | 93 | Peter Popovic | Vasteras HK | |
| 5 | 104 | Jean-Claude Bergeron | Verdun Junior Canadiens | |
| 6 | 125 | Patrik Carnback | Vastra Frolunda HC | |
| 7 | 146 | Tim Chase | Tabor Academy | |
| 8 | 167 | Sean Hill | East High School | |
| 9 | 188 | Harijs Vitolinsh | Dinamo Riga | |
| 10 | 209 | Yuri Krivokhizha | Dinamo Minsk | |
| 11 | 230 | Kevin Dahl | Bowling Green State University | |
| 12 | 251 | Dave Kunda | University of Guelph | |
| S | 25 | Peter Fish | Boston University |