1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts


The 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts were held via telephone conference call on May 30, 1991. The dispersal draft took place to fill the roster of the league's only expansion team for the 1991–92 season, the San Jose Sharks, first from the Minnesota North Stars pool of players, and then from the rest of the NHL pool of players.

Background

In 1990, as a result of slipping attendance, George and Gordon Gund, the owners of the Minnesota North Stars, petitioned the NHL for permission to relocate their team to the San Francisco Bay Area. The NHL denied their request, with other owners wishing for the market to be used to draw a lucrative expansion fee. As a compromise, the league agreed to award the Gund brothers a new NHL expansion franchise to be located in the Bay Area, which would become the San Jose Sharks. The Gunds would sell the North Stars to an NHL-approved purchaser. One of the conditions of sale and expansion deal was that the Sharks would have the right to draft players from the North Stars organization. After that draft, the North Stars' roster would be replenished by the expansion draft as well.
The Gunds paid $50 million for the Sharks franchise. They sold the North Stars to a consortium consisting of Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg, and Norman Green for $31.5 million. A series of disputes led to the team being completely controlled by Green, who would eventually move the team to Dallas after the 1992–93 season.
George and Gordon Gund had previously owned the Cleveland Barons and its predecessor, the California Golden Seals, before merging that team with, and ultimately assuming ownership of, the North Stars in 1978. By spinning off the Sharks from the North Stars, it effectively undid the 13-year merger between the two franchises.

Rules

Dispersal Draft: Before the draft, the North Stars selected 14 skaters and two goaltenders who had played at least 50 NHL games by the end of the 1989–90 season. These players were protected. From the unprotected North Stars players, the Sharks selected 14 skaters and two goaltenders. Up to three Shark selections could have been unsigned North Stars draft choices, while another three could have been players signed between May 2 and June 15, 1990.
After San Jose had chosen 14 skaters and two goaltenders from Minnesota, the teams would take turns choosing from the pool of unclaimed players until the Sharks roster reached thirty players.
Expansion Draft: The other 20 teams in the league were allowed to protect two goaltenders and 16 skaters. The Sharks and North Stars would take turns selecting from the pool of unprotected players until each had chosen ten players. 20 total players would be selected, one from each franchise.

Dispersal Draft results

The Sharks selected 24 players from the North Stars.
#Player1990-91 teamLeague
1.Shane Churla Minnesota North StarsNHL
2.Brian Hayward Minnesota North StarsNHL
3.Neil Wilkinson Minnesota North StarsNHL
4.Rob Zettler Minnesota North StarsNHL
5.Ed Courtenay Kalamazoo WingsIHL
6.Kevin Evans Kalamazoo WingsIHL
7.Link Gaetz Kalamazoo WingsIHL
8.Dan Keczmer Kalamazoo WingsIHL
9.Dean Kolstad Kalamazoo WingsIHL
10.Peter Lappin Kalamazoo WingsIHL
11.Pat MacLeod Kalamazoo WingsIHL
12.Mike McHugh Kalamazoo WingsIHL
13.Jarmo Myllys Kalamazoo WingsIHL
14.J. F. Quintin Kalamazoo WingsIHL
15.Scott Cashman Boston UniversityH.E.
16.Murray Garbutt SpokaneWHL
17.Rob Gaudreau Providence CollegeH.E.
18.Arturs Irbe Dynamo RigaSoviet Championship League
19.Shaun Kane Providence CollegeH.E.
20.Larry Olimb University of MinnesotaWCHA
21.Tom Pederson University of MinnesotaWCHA
22.Bryan Schoen University of DenverWCHA
23.John Weisbrod HarvardECAC
24.Doug Zmolek University of MinnesotaWCHA

Expansion Draft results

#PlayerDrafted fromDrafted by
1.Jeff Hackett New York IslandersSan Jose Sharks
2.Rob Ramage Toronto Maple LeafsMinnesota North Stars
3.Jayson More Montreal CanadiensSan Jose Sharks
4.Dave Babych Hartford WhalersMinnesota North Stars
5.Rick Lessard Calgary FlamesSan Jose Sharks
6.Allen Pedersen Boston BruinsMinnesota North Stars
7.Bob McGill Chicago BlackhawksSan Jose Sharks
8.Charlie Huddy Edmonton OilersMinnesota North Stars
9.Tim Kerr Philadelphia FlyersSan Jose Sharks
10.Kelly Kisio New York RangersMinnesota North Stars
11.Jeff Madill New Jersey DevilsSan Jose Sharks
12.Randy Gilhen Pittsburgh PenguinsMinnesota North Stars
13.David Bruce St. Louis BluesSan Jose Sharks
14.Rob Murray Washington CapitalsMinnesota North Stars
15.Greg Paslawski Buffalo SabresSan Jose Sharks
16.Tyler Larter Winnipeg JetsMinnesota North Stars
17.Bengt-Ake Gustafsson Detroit Red WingsSan Jose Sharks
18.Jim Thomson Los Angeles KingsMinnesota North Stars
19.Craig Coxe Vancouver CanucksSan Jose Sharks
20.Guy Lafleur Quebec NordiquesMinnesota North Stars

Post-draft

Not all of the players selected by the Sharks and North Stars in these drafts stayed with their new teams for long. Among players moved before the start of the 1991–92 season were the following:
The majority of the players selected did not have lengthy NHL careers; many of them ended up in the minor leagues. San Jose's original minor league affiliate was the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League. The Blades won the IHL Championship, the Turner Cup, in 1992, and a majority of their players were under contract to San Jose. In fact, many of those players were under contract with the North Stars the previous year and played for a rival IHL team, the Kalamazoo Wings.

Citations