1988–89 Hartford Whalers season
The 1988-89 Hartford Whalers season saw the team finish in fourth place in the Adams Division with a record of 37 wins, 38 losses, and 5 ties for 79 points. They were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in four straight games in the Division Semi-finals.
Regular season
The Whalers finished the regular season with the fewest short-handed goals scored and the most short-handed goals allowed.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
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
Player statistics
Forwards
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Kevin Dineen | 79 | 45 | 44 | 89 | 167 |
| Ron Francis | 69 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 36 |
| Ray Ferraro | 80 | 41 | 35 | 76 | 86 |
| Scott Young | 76 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 27 |
| Paul MacDermid | 74 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 141 |
| Dave Tippett | 80 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 45 |
| John Anderson | 62 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 28 |
| Jody Hull | 60 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 10 |
| Sylvain Turgeon | 42 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 40 |
| Dean Evason | 67 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 60 |
| Brian Lawton | 35 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 28 |
| Carey Wilson | 34 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 14 |
| Brent Peterson | 66 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 61 |
| Don Maloney | 21 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 23 |
| Tom Martin | 38 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 113 |
| Torrie Robertson | 27 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 84 |
| Ed Kastelic | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Mark Reeds | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Dallas Gaume | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Terry Yake | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Thomson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Defensemen
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points| Player | GP | G | AST | PTS | PIM |
| Dave Babych | 70 | 6 | 41 | 47 | 54 |
| Ulf Samuelsson | 71 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 181 |
| Norm Maciver | 37 | 1 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Sylvain Côté | 78 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 49 |
| Grant Jennings | 55 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 159 |
| Joel Quenneville | 69 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 32 |
| Randy Ladouceur | 75 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 95 |
| Brad Shaw | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scot Kleinendorst | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| Al Tuer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| Adam Burt | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Jim Pavese | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Goaltending
Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against| Player | GP | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Peter Sidorkiewicz | 44 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 3.03 |
| Mike Liut | 35 | 13 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 4.25 |
| Kay Whitmore | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.33 |
Awards and records
- Peter Sidorkiewicz, Goaltender, NHL First All-Rookie Team
Transactions
Trades
Waivers
Free agents
Roster
Draft picks
Hartford's selections at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft:| Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 11 | Chris Govedaris | Left Wing | Canada | Toronto Marlboros |
| 32 | Barry Richter | Defense | United States | Culver Military Academy |
| 74 | Dean Dyer | Center | Canada | Lake Superior State University |
| 95 | Scott Morrow | Left Wing | United States | Northwood School |
| 116 | Corey Beaulieu | Left Wing | United States | Northwood School |
| 137 | Kerry Russell | Center | Canada | Michigan State University |
| 158 | Jim Burke | Defense | United States | University of Maine |
| 179 | Mark Hirth | Center | United States | Michigan State University |
| 200 | Wayde Bucsis | Left Wing | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders |
| 221 | Rob White | Defense | Canada | St. Lawrence University |
| 242 | Dan Slatalla | Center | United States | Deerfield Academy |
| S | Todd Krygier | Left Wing | United States | University of Connecticut |