WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 Welcome to the deep dive. If you were looking 00:00:02.299 --> 00:00:04.339 at our Apple podcast feed today, you probably 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:06.719 noticed the title of this deep dive. Yeah, the 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:11.199 unpacking the 1989 -90 NHL season. Gretzky's 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:14.000 record, the Oilers dynasty and hockey's evolution. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:17.039 Exactly. And the description promises that whether 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.500 you are, you know, a diehard fan looking for 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.820 vintage NHL player statistics. Right. Or maybe 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:24.359 you're just curious about the end of the full 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.160 fiberglass goalie mask era. Yeah. Or even if 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:29.079 you just want to know how broadcasting deals 00:00:29.079 --> 00:00:31.640 with NBC and Sports Channel America shape the 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:33.899 game's popularity. We have you completely covered 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:36.759 today. We really do. So our source material today 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.859 is this remarkably comprehensive encyclopedia. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:43.520 entry detailing the 1989 -90 National Hockey 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:46.439 League season and our mission here. To figure 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:48.719 out what it all means. Right. We are taking this 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.640 massive stack of standings, you know, statistics, 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.280 award lists, and we are going to extract the 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.340 living, breathing narrative of a sports league 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.130 undergoing a massive, massive transition. And 00:01:00.130 --> 00:01:01.549 I think it's important to point out to you listening 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:03.649 right now that even if you aren't a massive hockey 00:01:03.649 --> 00:01:05.670 fan, or even if you already know hockey history 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:08.829 inside and out, this specific season is just 00:01:08.829 --> 00:01:12.129 an absolute goldmine. Oh, totally. It's the exact 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:14.930 fulcrum point between the old guard and the modern 00:01:14.930 --> 00:01:18.209 era. You are watching a multi -million dollar 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:22.129 industry actively shed its old equipment. Shatter 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:25.489 unbreakable records. Yeah, and tentatively test. 00:01:26.010 --> 00:01:28.750 These brand new media markets. It's really a 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:31.590 masterclass in watching a sport pivot. The friction 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:34.150 of that transition is visible in almost every 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:36.469 single stat line from that year. OK, let's unpack 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:38.689 this, because to truly understand the scale of 00:01:38.689 --> 00:01:41.049 this transition, we kind of have to start with 00:01:41.049 --> 00:01:42.829 the biggest milestone of them all. The big one. 00:01:42.909 --> 00:01:46.090 Right. Let's set the dial to October 15th, 1989. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.620 On this specific day, Wayne Gretzky records his 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:54.659 1 ,851st career point. Wow. And with that single 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.980 puck finding the back of the net, he officially 00:01:56.980 --> 00:01:59.219 passes the legendary Gordie Howe for the most 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:01.640 points in the history of the NHL. What's fascinating 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.939 here is the sheer narrative weight of that moment. 00:02:04.099 --> 00:02:05.799 I mean, Gordie Howe was an institution, right? 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.900 Yeah. Untouchable. Exactly. For decades, his 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:12.120 point record was viewed as this untouchable summit 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:14.740 in professional hockey. So when Gretzky passes 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:19.000 him, it isn't just... a really good player having 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.520 a standout year. It is the definitive, undeniable 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.979 crowning of a new statistical king. And he didn't 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:28.120 just break the record in October and then coast 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:29.860 for the rest of the year either. Not at all. 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:32.120 He went on to win the Art Ross Trophy that season 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:35.539 as the league's top scorer. He put up an unbelievable 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:39.419 142 points. Just staggering. That is 40 goals 00:02:39.419 --> 00:02:43.099 and 102 assists. and he managed to do all of 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:46.360 that in just 73 games. The math on that is just, 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:48.360 I mean, it's staggering. He is averaging nearly 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.740 two points every single time he laces up his 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:52.900 skates. Yeah. Just imagine stepping onto the 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:55.139 ice knowing you are statistically guaranteed 00:02:55.139 --> 00:02:57.340 to generate two goals for your team that night. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.560 That's a huge psychological advantage. But while 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:01.620 Gretzky was launching the league's record books 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:03.860 into the stratosphere and kind of redefining 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:06.419 modern offense, there were other very literal 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:08.699 end -of -an -era moments happening down on the 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:11.800 ice. Oh, the equipment changes. Yeah. The source 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:14.080 notes this fantastic, almost cinematic piece 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.340 of trivia regarding Sam St. Laurent of the Detroit 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:19.759 Red Wings. Right. During this season, he became 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.580 the very last goalie to ever wear a full fiberglass 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:26.520 goalie mask during an NHL game. And that image. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.900 really captures the essence of this 1989 -90 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.180 season perfectly. On one end of the ice, you 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:36.419 have these high -flying, impossibly skilled offensive 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:39.460 superstars completely rewriting the geometry 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:41.960 of the game. Yeah. And then down at the other 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:44.719 end, scaring them down, you have the final echoes 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:48.000 of analog hockey. That form -fitting, full fiberglass 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:49.759 mask. Right, the kind that looks like a vintage 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:51.879 movie prop. It's such a potent symbol of the 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:54.439 old guard. It really is. As player strength increased 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.240 and stick technology advanced, you know, slapshots 00:03:57.240 --> 00:03:59.460 were becoming dangerously fast. So the fiberglass 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:01.960 just wasn't cutting it anymore. Exactly. It was 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:03.759 finally phased out to make way for the modern 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.379 hybrid cage helmets, helmets that actually prioritize 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:08.800 physiological safety over that old school bare 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:11.379 bones aesthetic. It's the literal shedding of 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:14.900 old armor. And that shedding extended far beyond 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:18.129 just the goalie equipment. We saw massive institutional 00:04:18.129 --> 00:04:20.370 shifts in the front offices as well. Oh, definitely. 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:22.670 The Toronto Maple Leafs played their final season 00:04:22.670 --> 00:04:25.629 under the ownership of Harold Ballard. Now, Ballard 00:04:25.629 --> 00:04:27.949 had owned the team for 29 years, but he passed 00:04:27.949 --> 00:04:30.970 away in April of 1990. And when a single individual 00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:34.930 controls a historic franchise for three decades. 00:04:35.370 --> 00:04:37.589 That's a long time. Yeah, their philosophy just 00:04:37.589 --> 00:04:41.019 becomes baked into the walls of the arena. His 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:43.160 passing marked a total changing of the guard 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:45.459 at the very top of one of the sport's most storied 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:47.899 original franchises. The ripple effects of new 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.459 ownership would fundamentally alter the trajectory 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:53.160 of the Maple Leafs. And speaking of altering 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:55.500 franchise trajectories, we have to look at what 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:57.959 was happening in Detroit. This is wild. The source 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.879 notes that in this 1989 -90 season, the Detroit 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.699 Red Wings missed the playoffs, which, you know, 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:05.439 on the surface sounds like a standard disappointment. 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:08.810 But the source contextualizes this with a mind 00:05:08.810 --> 00:05:12.769 bending fact. This specific failure in 1990 initiated 00:05:12.769 --> 00:05:15.750 a streak of success that is almost hard to comprehend 00:05:15.750 --> 00:05:18.389 in modern sports. It really is. After missing 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:20.410 the playoffs this season, the Red Wings would 00:05:20.410 --> 00:05:22.810 not miss the postseason again until the year 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:26.189 2017. Just think about the generational span 00:05:26.189 --> 00:05:29.329 of that streak. It's crazy. A fan born during 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:34.050 this 1989 -90 season would be 27 years old before 00:05:34.050 --> 00:05:36.889 they ever experienced a spring without Detroit 00:05:36.889 --> 00:05:40.589 Red Wings playoff hockey. 27 years. Yeah. That 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:43.350 level of sustained institutional competence is 00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:46.089 incredibly rare. It highlights how sometimes 00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:49.250 missing the mark forces a front office to lock 00:05:49.250 --> 00:05:51.769 in a new developmental system that ultimately 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:54.110 builds a multi -generational dynasty. That sets 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:56.410 up the landscape of the league perfectly, actually. 00:05:56.649 --> 00:05:58.670 Let's look at the actual structure of the NHL 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:00.509 that year. It was a tighter ship than the league 00:06:00.509 --> 00:06:02.449 we know today. Right, fewer teams. Yeah, there 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:04.529 were only 21 teams and they played an 80 -game 00:06:04.529 --> 00:06:07.149 regular season. And during that 80 -game grind, 00:06:07.449 --> 00:06:11.230 the Boston Bruins emerged as the absolute juggernaut. 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:13.819 Oh, they were dominant. They won the President's 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:15.720 Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:19.180 best regular season record. They posted 101 points 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:24.060 with 46 wins, 25 losses, and 9 ties. And their 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:25.959 internal metrics backed up that point total, 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:29.100 too. I mean, they scored 289 goals and only allowed 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:32.439 232. That's a huge differential. Yeah, they had 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:35.060 a stifling defense paired with a highly effective 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:38.089 offense. By every statistical measure available 00:06:38.089 --> 00:06:40.889 in the regular season, Boston was the team heavily 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:42.829 favored to take it all the way. Right. You look 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:45.769 at Boston's regular season, 101 points, just 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:48.689 steamrolling the league. By all logic, they should 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:51.029 have hoisted the Cup. So why did they completely 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:53.009 hit a wall in the Stanley Cup finals against 00:06:53.009 --> 00:06:55.529 the Edmonton Oilers? Because Edmonton didn't 00:06:55.529 --> 00:06:58.949 just edge them out. They decisively dismantled 00:06:58.949 --> 00:07:01.370 Boston, winning the best of seven series, four 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:03.910 games to one. Because regular season metrics 00:07:03.910 --> 00:07:07.480 don't account for championship money. The Boston 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:09.959 Bruins were undoubtedly a phenomenal hockey team, 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.519 but they ran into an Edmonton Oilers roster that 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.579 fundamentally knew how to win championships. 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.600 Even with Wayne Gretzky now playing in Los Angeles, 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.699 the culture in Edmonton remained completely intact. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:26.279 That victory cemented a true dynasty. Capturing 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:28.300 that championship meant the Oilers had won their 00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:30.939 fifth Stanley Cup in just seven seasons. Five 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:33.160 championships in seven years is video game material. 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.019 It really is. And you mentioned Gretzky being 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:38.839 in L .A., which meant other players on that Edmonton 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:41.279 roster had to carry the monumental weight of 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:43.860 expectations. Marc Messier really stepped up 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:46.139 into that leadership vacuum in a historic way. 00:07:46.220 --> 00:07:48.259 Huge year for him. During the regular season, 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:50.740 Messier won both the Hart Memorial Trophy as 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:53.220 a league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award, 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:55.579 which is the outstanding player award voted on 00:07:55.579 --> 00:07:59.120 by his own peers. He put up 129 points. Messier 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.199 proved that the Oilers' success wasn't solely 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.639 dependent on one singular transcendent player. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.300 You know, the system itself was elite. Yeah. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.079 And their goaltender, Bill Ranford, further proved 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:11.319 that point by winning the Conn Smythe Trophy 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.300 as the most valuable player of the playoffs. 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:16.519 Edmonton possessed a complete championship caliber. 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.120 ecosystem from the crease to the captain. But 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.259 while Edmonton was dominating the finals, the 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:23.800 geography of the earlier playoff rounds featured 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.399 a pretty fascinating anomaly. Here's where it 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.540 gets really interesting for anyone who follows 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:31.480 regional sports markets. The New York thing. 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:33.460 Yeah, let's look at the geographic layout of 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:35.980 the playoffs that spring. All three New York 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:38.139 City area teams qualified for the postseason. 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:40.820 The New York Rangers, the New York Islanders, 00:08:40.820 --> 00:08:44.220 and the New Jersey Devils. It is remarkably difficult 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:47.600 for three teams in such close geographic proximity, 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.720 constantly cannibalizing points off each other 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:53.700 in divisional play, to all secure playoff berths 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:56.629 in the exact same season. The source explicitly 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:59.470 notes just how rare this is. This tri -state 00:08:59.470 --> 00:09:01.649 area hat trick has only been repeated three times 00:09:01.649 --> 00:09:06.309 since. In the 1993 -94 season, the 2006 -07 season, 00:09:06.529 --> 00:09:10.129 and the 2022 -23 season. Wow. You can only imagine 00:09:10.129 --> 00:09:12.450 the local sports radio atmosphere in the spring 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:15.049 of 1990. Oh, it must have been a while. The rivalries 00:09:15.049 --> 00:09:16.909 must have been absolutely electric, completely 00:09:16.909 --> 00:09:19.549 saturating the regional media. And that kind 00:09:19.549 --> 00:09:22.879 of localized intensity. is fantastic for the 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.759 business of the league. But that level of regional 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:29.000 rivalry only truly captivates an audience if 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.200 the on -ice product is spectacular. Right. And 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:34.179 when you look at the individual stat sheets from 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:37.279 that year, spectacular almost feels like an understatement. 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:41.240 The offense across the league was operating at 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:43.779 a historic fever pitch. We already mentioned 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:47.879 Gretzky's 142 points and Messier's 129 points. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.820 But right behind them, Steve Wiseman of the Detroit 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:54.519 Red Wings put up 127 points, including a staggering 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.220 62 goals. Massive numbers. And then there is 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:59.610 the Mario Lemieux statistic. Lemieux, playing 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:02.210 for the Pittsburgh Penguins, scored 123 points 00:10:02.210 --> 00:10:05.169 in just 59 games played. We really need to pause 00:10:05.169 --> 00:10:07.049 on that Lemieux stat because the math is almost 00:10:07.049 --> 00:10:10.250 unbelievable. It is. Scoring 123 points in 59 00:10:10.250 --> 00:10:13.129 games means he was generating well over two points 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:15.490 per game. Yeah. He was entirely uncontainable 00:10:15.490 --> 00:10:18.149 by opposing defenses. It highlights how heavily 00:10:18.149 --> 00:10:20.210 the rules, the equipment, and the coaching strategies 00:10:20.210 --> 00:10:23.009 of the era were tilted in favor of the goal scorers. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:25.639 And even among all these stratospheric point 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:28.080 totals, the source singles out the phenomenon 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.259 that was Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues. Hull 00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:34.580 scored an incredible 72 goals that season. 72. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.279 Just wrap your head around 72 pucks in the back 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.940 of the net from one player. But the kicker is 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:42.100 that on top of being this relentless offensive 00:10:42.100 --> 00:10:46.399 powerhouse, he also won the Lady Bing Memorial 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:49.840 Trophy. Which is an award that recognizes sportsmanship 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.750 and gentlemanly conduct. Combined with a high 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.009 standard of playing ability. Right. It is an 00:10:55.009 --> 00:10:58.049 incredibly difficult balance to strike. Hull 00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:00.750 is aggressively dismantling opposing defenses 00:11:00.750 --> 00:11:03.750 and scoring at will, yet he is doing it while 00:11:03.750 --> 00:11:06.049 playing a perfectly disciplined, polite game 00:11:06.049 --> 00:11:08.350 that keeps him out of the penalty box. You look 00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:12.009 at these numbers, 142 points, 123 points in 59 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:15.149 games, 72 goals. You ever wonder how anyone survived 00:11:15.149 --> 00:11:17.250 playing defense, let alone playing in the net? 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:19.710 Goalies were basically target practice. We connect 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:21.809 this to the bigger picture. Yeah. It makes the 00:11:21.809 --> 00:11:23.769 goaltending counter -narrative of this season 00:11:23.769 --> 00:11:26.450 truly extraordinary. In a league that is absolutely 00:11:26.450 --> 00:11:29.230 exploding with generational offensive talent, 00:11:29.409 --> 00:11:31.909 you have Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:35.309 quietly building a fortress. Roy won the Vizina 00:11:35.309 --> 00:11:37.769 Trophy as the league's best goaltender, and he 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:41.110 did it by posting a 2 .53 goals against average 00:11:41.110 --> 00:11:45.049 and a .912 save percentage. And just to put that 00:11:45.049 --> 00:11:47.950 2 .53 goals against average in perspective for 00:11:47.950 --> 00:11:51.309 you, in an era where teams were routinely lighting 00:11:51.309 --> 00:11:53.450 up the scoreboard for four or five or six goals 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:55.909 a night, Roy was essentially limiting opponents 00:11:55.909 --> 00:11:58.549 to just two and a half goals. Incredible. And 00:11:58.549 --> 00:12:01.389 a .912 save percentage meant he was stopping 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:04.330 over 91 % of the rubber thrown at him, while 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:06.090 other goalies across the league were getting 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:08.350 completely shelled. It was a true testament to 00:12:08.350 --> 00:12:10.730 his revolutionary butterfly style of play. He 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:13.690 wasn't just relying on reflexes. He was applying... 00:12:13.710 --> 00:12:16.009 a mathematical geometry to the crease, taking 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:18.250 away the lower half of the net and forcing these 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:20.250 elite scorers to beat him perfectly up high. 00:12:20.409 --> 00:12:22.169 And he wasn't the only goaltender weathering 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:24.129 the storm either. Kirk McLean of the Vancouver 00:12:24.129 --> 00:12:26.610 Canucks played a league -leading 63 games. That's 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:29.759 a huge workload. And John Casey of the Minnesota 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.799 North Stars secured 31 wins. The physical exhaustion 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.240 of facing that caliber of offense night after 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.820 night for 60 plus games a season is immense. 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:41.279 Oh yeah. The goal scorers absolutely get the 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:44.240 glory, but a team's survival in 1989 completely 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.639 depended on their goaltender's ability to maintain 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.679 focus through an unprecedented nightly offensive 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:52.399 barrage. It was a league defined by these extreme 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.620 opposing forces. But as much as these established 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:58.480 stars define the present reality of the 1989 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.779 -90 season, the league was simultaneously experiencing 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:05.059 a massive influx of new talent that would secure 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:08.000 its future. Which brings us to the NHL entry 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:11.740 draft on June 17th, 1989. This was held at the 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:14.340 Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Quebec 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:16.419 Nordiques held the number one overall pick and 00:13:16.419 --> 00:13:18.740 they selected Matt Sundin. First European -born 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.139 player to go number one. Exactly, which signaled 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:23.840 a massive shift in scouting all on its own. But 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.759 the source notes it wasn't just the draft that 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:27.940 infused the league with talent. The list of player 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:30.340 debuts from that season is just staggering. It 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:33.019 really reads like a future Hockey Hall of Fame 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:36.779 induction roster. You have Mike Medano, Rob Blake, 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:40.639 Curtis Joseph, Ty Domi, and Alexander Mogulny 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:43.019 all stepping onto NHL ice for the first time. 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:45.700 And Alexander Mogulny isn't just a debut. It 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:48.990 is a monumental geopolitical event. Very true. 00:13:49.129 --> 00:13:51.830 He was the first Soviet player to officially 00:13:51.830 --> 00:13:55.149 defect to North America to play in the NHL. It 00:13:55.149 --> 00:13:57.409 completely opened the floodgates for international 00:13:57.409 --> 00:13:59.789 talent. Exactly. You start seeing the walls come 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:02.610 down. The influx of international veterans making 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:06.029 their NHL debuts that season included legendary 00:14:06.029 --> 00:14:10.129 Soviet names like Vyacheslav Fedosov, Igor Larionov, 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:12.570 and Sergei Makarov. Right. These were players 00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:14.669 who had already enjoyed long, deeply established 00:14:14.669 --> 00:14:17.769 careers in the Soviet Union. And Sergei Makarov's 00:14:17.769 --> 00:14:20.110 debut actually forced the NHL to confront its 00:14:20.110 --> 00:14:22.070 own rulebook. Because Makarov ended up winning 00:14:22.070 --> 00:14:24.529 the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best 00:14:24.529 --> 00:14:27.210 first -year player. He was playing for the Calgary 00:14:27.210 --> 00:14:29.690 Flames and beat out incredibly talented traditional 00:14:29.690 --> 00:14:32.029 rookies like Mike Madano and Jeremy Roenick. 00:14:32.210 --> 00:14:34.210 The controversy, of course, was that Makarov 00:14:34.210 --> 00:14:36.590 was 31 years old at the time. He was a fully 00:14:36.590 --> 00:14:39.110 developed, world -class professional playing 00:14:39.110 --> 00:14:42.120 against 19 -year -old kids. His victory actually 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:43.980 prompted the league to later change the rules 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.240 regarding the age limit for rookie of the year 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:49.179 eligibility. But for this specific season, the 00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:52.279 31 -year -old Soviet veteran took home the hardware. 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:55.779 Proving that the talent pool was rapidly globalizing, 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:58.700 you have this incredible melting pot of a league. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:01.639 You have established North American legends breaking 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.860 all -time records, a dynasty in Edmonton refusing 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.639 to fade, a scoring boom that defies all defensive 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:12.340 logic, and a historic influx of Soviet defectors 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.559 and international stars. It is an incredibly 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:16.639 compelling product. Which raises an important 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.840 question. With all of this transcendent star 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:20.919 power and all of these incredible dramatic narratives 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:23.399 unfolding on the ice, How is the NHL actually 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:25.919 packaging this for the public? Yeah. The product 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:27.440 is phenomenal, but how are they broadcasting 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.679 it? That is where the source reveals a pretty 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:32.019 stark contrast in the league's media footprint. 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.639 In Canada, the broadcasting infrastructure was 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.809 incredibly robust. It was the second season of 00:15:38.809 --> 00:15:40.529 the league's national broadcast rights deals 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:43.649 with TSN and the culturally foundational Hockey 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:46.129 Night in Canada on the CBC. It's an institution. 00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:49.129 Yeah. They had primetime Saturday night games 00:15:49.129 --> 00:15:52.769 locked down on CBC while TSN handled the weeknight 00:15:52.769 --> 00:15:55.730 broadcasts. So the Canadian market is completely 00:15:55.730 --> 00:15:59.009 saturated. The fans have reliable national access 00:15:59.009 --> 00:16:02.350 to the stars. But in the United States, the media 00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:04.769 landscape paints a picture of a league desperately 00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:07.279 struggling for mainstream traction. In the U 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:09.120 .S., the national broadcast rights were held 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.500 by Sports Channel America. They were airing up 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:13.700 to three regular season games a week, plus some 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:16.220 playoff coverage. But the real insight into the 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:18.279 NHL's media struggles comes from their interaction 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:21.159 with NBC. This is very telling. The source notes 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.980 that NBC agreed to televise an NHL game, but 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:26.700 only the All -Star game, and the explicitly reported 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:29.879 reason. NBC wanted to test the appeal of hockey. 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:32.759 Test the appeal. That phrase tells you everything 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.100 you need to know about the NHL standing in the 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:37.259 American sports hierarchy at that time. Yeah. 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:40.679 You have Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:43.279 and Brett Hull performing at the absolute peak 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.500 of their athletic prime. The on ice product has 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.860 never been faster or more skilled. Right. Yet 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:53.620 a major American television network is treating 00:16:53.620 --> 00:16:56.230 the sport like an unproven pilot episode. It 00:16:56.230 --> 00:16:58.429 is a profound disconnect between the quality 00:16:58.429 --> 00:17:00.190 of the sport and the marketing of the sport. 00:17:00.389 --> 00:17:02.990 While the NBA was riding the massive national 00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.289 television wave of the Magic Johnson and Larry 00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:08.309 Bird era, the NHL was still operating largely 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:11.150 as a regional gate driven business. Very much 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:14.710 so. That NBC test was a glaring indicator that 00:17:14.710 --> 00:17:16.789 the league needed to figure out how to sell its 00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:19.210 superstars to an American audience that didn't 00:17:19.210 --> 00:17:22.099 live in a snowy climate. It perfectly encapsulates 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:25.200 the entire theme of the season. The 1989 -90 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:27.880 NHL wasn't just transitioning its equipment and 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.339 its rosters. It was facing down the painful, 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:33.619 necessary transition from a niche regional attraction 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:37.039 to a global televised entertainment product. 00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:40.220 Okay, let's take a breath and look back at the 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.000 incredible journey we've just extracted from 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.009 these records. We've witnessed Wayne Gretzky 00:17:45.009 --> 00:17:47.910 officially dethrone Gordie Howe as the greatest 00:17:47.910 --> 00:17:50.470 point scorer in history. We saw the Oilers dynasty 00:17:50.470 --> 00:17:53.730 survive. Yeah, the Edmonton Oilers proving their 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:56.289 championship culture could thrive without their 00:17:56.289 --> 00:17:59.390 biggest star. We've watched the final dangerous 00:17:59.390 --> 00:18:02.390 fiberglass mask leave the ice for good, making 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:04.970 way for modern safety. And we've seen a league 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:07.869 grapple with its own explosive talent, bringing 00:18:07.869 --> 00:18:11.069 in Soviet legends while simultaneously begging 00:18:11.069 --> 00:18:13.640 American networks for airtime. It was a big year. 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:16.200 What does this all mean? It means that professional 00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:18.799 sports leagues are living, breathing organisms. 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.759 They are forced to constantly shed their old 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:24.640 skin. Sometimes that means shedding a 29 -year 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.779 ownership regime. Sometimes it means abandoning 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:30.440 antiquated analog equipment. And sometimes it 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:32.420 means recognizing that your current broadcast 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:34.839 reach simply isn't good enough for the talent 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:38.480 on your roster. The 1989 -90 season wasn't just 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:40.559 another year in the record books. It was the 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:43.220 essential high -friction bridge between the old 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:46.519 -school era of hockey and the modern global game 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:48.819 we recognize today. I want to leave you with 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:51.059 one final thought to mull over regarding the 00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:53.420 mechanics of building that future. We talked 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:55.920 earlier about the Quebec Nordiques drafting Matt 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.019 Sundin with the number one overall pick. Yeah, 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.460 amazing player. Sundin goes on to have a legendary 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:03.619 Hall of Fame career. But consider the mathematical 00:19:03.619 --> 00:19:06.519 reality of how Quebec got that draft pick. Okay. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.279 The Nordiques finished the season with the absolute 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:11.980 worst record in the league by a massive margin. 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:16.539 They managed only 12 wins. Ouch. That is 12 wins, 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:20.819 61 losses, and 7 ties over an 80 -game season. 00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:24.420 More shockingly, they allowed a staggering 407 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:27.190 goals against. Wow. That averages out to giving 00:19:27.190 --> 00:19:29.410 up over five goals every single night they took 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:31.569 the ice. It was a catastrophic year of hockey. 00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:33.589 It brings up a really heavy ethical question 00:19:33.589 --> 00:19:36.250 for sports fans. Just how deeply does a franchise 00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:38.710 have to hit rock bottom? And how much sheer on 00:19:38.710 --> 00:19:40.710 -ice humiliation must the paying fans endure 00:19:40.710 --> 00:19:43.289 before a single top draft pick can be justified? 00:19:44.230 --> 00:19:47.750 Exactly. Is the distant promise of a Matt Sundin 00:19:47.750 --> 00:19:50.769 always worth the acute nightly pain of the present? 00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:54.029 Can a front office justify a 12 -win season to 00:19:54.029 --> 00:19:56.829 a fan who paid for season tickets? It is something 00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:58.930 to seriously think about the next time you see 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:00.869 a team languishing at the very bottom of the 00:20:00.869 --> 00:20:03.150 standings, telling their fans to trust the process 00:20:03.150 --> 00:20:05.730 and wait for the draft. That is a phenomenal 00:20:05.730 --> 00:20:07.769 question to leave hanging in the air. Thank you 00:20:07.769 --> 00:20:09.869 so much for joining us on this deep dive into 00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:12.910 a truly defining era of sports history. We will 00:20:12.910 --> 00:20:13.490 see you next time.