1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the Penguins finish in second place in the Patrick Division with a record of 40 wins, 33 losses, and 7 ties for 87 points. They swept the New York Rangers in the Division Semi-finals before losing the Division Finals in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.

1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	4th Wales
1988–89 record	40–33–7
Home record	24–13–3
Road record	16–20–4
Goals for	347
Goals against	349
Team information
General manager	Tony Esposito
Coach	Gene Ubriaco
Captain	Mario Lemieux
Alternate captains	Paul Coffey Randy Cunneyworth
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Mario Lemieux (85)
Assists	Mario Lemieux (114)
Points	Mario Lemieux (199)
Penalty minutes	Jay Caufield (285)
Wins	Tom Barrasso (18)
Goals against average	Tom Barrasso and Frank Pietrangelo (4.04)
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Offseason

Regular season

This was Mario Lemieux's best season offensively. He led the league in goals (85), assists (114, tied with Wayne Gretzky), points (199), power-play goals (31) and shorthanded goals (13).

The Penguins finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against, with 482, the most power-play opportunities, with 491, and the most power-play goals scored, with 119.^[1]

Highlights

• December 31, 1988 – Mario Lemieux scores five goals in an 8–6 win over the New Jersey Devils. Lemieux scores the five goals in five different ways: even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, and empty net.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Washington Capitals	80	41	29	10	305	259	92
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	40	33	7	347	349	87
New York Rangers	80	37	35	8	310	307	82
Philadelphia Flyers	80	36	36	8	307	285	80
New Jersey Devils	80	27	41	12	281	325	66
New York Islanders	80	28	47	5	265	325	61

^[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division 1988–89 NHL records[3] Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total New Jersey — 1–4–2 4–3 2–5 1–4–2 4–3 12–19–4 N.Y. Islanders 4–1–2 — 2–5 1–5–1 2–4–1 3–4 12–19–4 N.Y. Rangers 3–4 5–2 — 3–3–1 3–3–1 3–2–2 17–14–4 Philadelphia 5–2 5–1–1 3–3–1 — 3–4 3–4 19–14–2 Pittsburgh 4–1–2 4–2–1 3–3–1 4–3 — 4–3 19–12–4 Washington 3–4 4–3 2–3–2 4–3 3–4 — 16–17–2

Vs. Adams Division 1988–89 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total New Jersey 0–2–1 1–2 1–2 0–3 1–2 3–11–1 N.Y. Islanders 1–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 2–1 6–9–0 N.Y. Rangers 0–1–2 0–3 1–2 0–3 2–1 3–10–2 Philadelphia 1–2 2–1 1–1–1 0–1–2 2–1 6–6–3 Pittsburgh 1–1–1 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 5–9–1 Washington 1–1–1 3–0 3–0 1–1–1 2–0–1 10–2–3

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division 1988–89 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total New Jersey 2–1 2–0–1 1–1–1 2–1 2–1 9–4–2 N.Y. Islanders 0–3 0–3 2–1 1–2 1–2 4–11–0 N.Y. Rangers 2–0–1 0–3 2–1 3–0 1–1–1 8–5–2 Philadelphia 3–0 1–2 2–1 0–3 2–1 8–7–0 Pittsburgh 3–0 2–0–1 1–2 1–1–1 2–1 9–4–2 Washington 2–1 1–1–1 1–1–1 2–0–1 2–1 8–4–3

Vs. Smythe Division 1988–89 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total New Jersey 0–3 2–1 0–1–2 1–1–1 0–1–2 3–7–5 N.Y. Islanders 0–2–1 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 6–8–1 N.Y. Rangers 1–2 1–2 2–1 3–0 2–1 9–6–0 Philadelphia 0–3 0–1–2 1–2 0–3 2–0–1 3–9–3 Pittsburgh 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 7–8–0 Washington 0–2–1 2–1 1–1–1 2–1 2–1 7–6–2

Schedule and results

On January 4, 1989, the Penguins defeated the Red Army team 4–2 at the Civic Arena in an exhibition.

1988–89 regular season[4]
October: 7–4–0 (home: 5–0–0; road: 2–4–0), 14 points # Oct Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 1 Oct 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 1–0–0 2 2 Oct 11 Washington Capitals 7–8 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 2–0–0 4 3 Oct 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 2–1–0 4 4 Oct 15 St. Louis Blues 2–9 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 3–1–0 6 5 Oct 18 Philadelphia Flyers 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 4–1–0 8 6 Oct 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena 4–2–0 8 7 Oct 22 Chicago Blackhawks 4–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 5–2–0 10 8 Oct 25 Calgary Flames 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 6–2–0 12 9 Oct 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena 6–3–0 12 10 Oct 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum 7–3–0 14 11 Oct 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–9 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 7–4–0 14
November: 7–6–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–0), 14 points # Nov Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 12 Nov 1 Vancouver Canucks 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 8–4–0 16 13 Nov 3 Quebec Nordiques 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 8–5–0 16 14 Nov 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 8–6–0 16 15 Nov 8 Edmonton Oilers 7–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 8–7–0 16 16 Nov 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 9–7–0 18 17 Nov 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–7 Los Angeles Kings The Forum 9–8–0 18 18 Nov 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum 10–8–0 20 19 Nov 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–8 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens 10–9–0 20 20 Nov 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10–10–0 20 21 Nov 23 New York Rangers 2–8 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 11–10–0 22 22 Nov 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 12–10–0 24 23 Nov 26 Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 13–10–0 26 24 Nov 30 Washington Capitals 4–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 14–10–0 28
December: 9–2–3 (home: 6–1–1; road: 3–1–2), 21 points # Dec Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 25 Dec 3 New York Islanders 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 15–10–0 30 26 Dec 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 OT Boston Bruins Boston Garden 15–10–1 31 27 Dec 6 Chicago Blackhawks 6–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 16–10–1 33 28 Dec 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 16–11–1 33 29 Dec 10 New Jersey Devils 4–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 16–11–2 34 30 Dec 14 Los Angeles Kings 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 17–11–2 36 31 Dec 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–2 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 18–11–2 38 32 Dec 17 Detroit Red Wings 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 19–11–2 40 33 Dec 20 New York Islanders 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 20–11–2 42 34 Dec 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens 21–11–2 44 35 Dec 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 OT New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena 21–11–3 45 36 Dec 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 OT Hartford Whalers Hartford Civic Center 22–11–3 47 37 Dec 29 Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 22–12–3 47 38 Dec 31 New Jersey Devils 6–8 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 23–12–3 49
January: 5–6–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–4–0), 11 points # Jan Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 39 Jan 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–8 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 23–13–3 49 40 Jan 7 Vancouver Canucks 7–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 23–14–3 49 41 Jan 10 New York Islanders 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 24–14–3 51 42 Jan 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 9–2 Minnesota North Stars Met Center 25–14–3 53 43 Jan 14 New York Rangers 4–4 OT Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 25–14–4 54 44 Jan 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 25–15–4 54 45 Jan 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 25–16–4 54 46 Jan 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena 25–17–4 54 47 Jan 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–4 Edmonton Oilers Northlands Coliseum 26–17–4 56 48 Jan 25 Winnipeg Jets 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 27–17–4 58 49 Jan 28 Detroit Red Wings 5–10 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 28–17–4 60 50 Jan 31 Montreal Canadiens 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 28–18–4 60
February: 4–7–3 (home: 2–2–1; road: 2–3–2), 11 points # Feb Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 51 Feb 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 29–18–4 62 52 Feb 3 St. Louis Blues 3–3 OT Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 29–18–5 63 53 Feb 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden 30–18–5 65 54 Feb 9 Quebec Nordiques 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 31–18–5 67 55 Feb 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–8 Quebec Nordiques Colisée de Québec 31–19–5 67 56 Feb 12 Calgary Flames 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 31–20–5 67 57 Feb 14 Buffalo Sabres 3–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 32–20–5 69 58 Feb 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 32–21–5 69 59 Feb 18 New York Rangers 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 32–22–5 69 60 Feb 21 Minnesota North Stars 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 32–23–5 69 61 Feb 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–6 OT Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 32–23–6 70 62 Feb 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–5 OT New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 32–23–7 71 63 Feb 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–8 Hartford Whalers Hartford Civic Center 32–24–7 71
March: 6–9–0 (home: 2–5–0; road: 4–4–0), 12 points # Mar Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 64 Mar 1 New Jersey Devils 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 33–24–7 73 65 Mar 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Washington Capitals Capital Centre 33–25–7 73 66 Mar 5 Edmonton Oilers 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 33–26–7 73 67 Mar 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 OT Los Angeles Kings Great Western Forum 33–27–7 73 68 Mar 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–10 Calgary Flames Olympic Saddledome 33–28–7 73 69 Mar 10 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–1 Winnipeg Jets Winnipeg Arena 34–28–7 75 70 Mar 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–5 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Stadium 35–28–7 77 71 Mar 14 Boston Bruins 8–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 35–29–7 77 72 Mar 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–1 New Jersey Devils Brendan Byrne Arena 36–29–7 79 73 Mar 18 Montreal Canadiens 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 36–30–7 79 74 Mar 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–7 Minnesota North Stars Met Center 36–31–7 79 75 Mar 22 Washington Capitals 5–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 36–32–7 79 76 Mar 25 New Jersey Devils 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 37–32–7 81 77 Mar 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) 38–32–7 83 78 Mar 30 Hartford Whalers 9–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 38–33–7 83
April: 2–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–0), 4 points # Apr Time (ET) Visitor Score Home Location Record Points 79 Apr 1 New York Rangers 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena 39–33–7 85 80 Apr 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–5 OT Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum 40–33–7 87
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs

After six frustrating and disappointing seasons, the Penguins finally managed to get into the playoffs for the first time since the 1981–82 season. They swept New York Rangers in the Semifinals, but lost to their rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games.

Playoff log

1989 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Patrick Division semifinals vs No. 3 New York Rangers: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT PIT goals NYR goals Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 5 N.Y. Rangers 1–3 Pittsburgh Coffey (2), Quinn Sandstrom Barrasso (1–0) 16,025 1–0 2 April 6 N.Y. Rangers 4–7 Pittsburgh Stevens, Brown, Callander, Bourque, Cunneyworth, Zalapski, Lemieux (en) Lafleur, Leetch, Ogrodnick, Wilson Barrasso (2–0) 16,025 2–0 3 April 8 Pittsburgh 5–3 N.Y. Rangers Lemeiux, Cullen, Stevens, Quinn (2) Granato, Ogrodnick, Sandstrom Barrasso (3–0) 17,498 3–0 4 April 9 Pittsburgh 4–3 N.Y. Rangers Lemieux, Bourque, Brown Sandstrom, Leetch (2) Barrasso (4–0) 17,403 4–0
Patrick Division finals vs No. 4 Philadelphia Flyers: 3–4 (home: 2–2; road: 1–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT PIT goals PHI goals Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 17 Philadelphia 3–4 Pittsburgh Lemieux, Quinn, Cullen, Brown Poulin, Kerr, Propp Barrasso (5–0) 16,025 1–0 2 April 19 Philadelphia 4–2 Pittsburgh Quinn, Lemieux Kerr (3), Propp Barrasso (5–1) 16,025 1–1 3 April 21 Pittsburgh 4–3 Philadelphia 12:08 Lemieux, Quinn, Callander, Bourque Poulin, Acton, Propp Barrasso (6–1) 17,423 2–1 4 April 23 Pittsburgh 1–4 Philadelphia Cullen Poulin, Kerr (2), Carkner Barrasso (6–2) 17,423 2–2 5 April 25 Philadelphia 7–10 Pittsburgh Lemieux (3), Errey, Lemieux, Loney, Stevens, Brown (2), Lemieux (en) Bullard, Eklund, Propp, Smith, Kerr, Eklund, Kerr Barrasso (7–2) 16,025 3–2 6 April 27 Pittsburgh 2–6 Philadelphia Cunneyworth (2) Kerr (2), Smith, Sutter, Smith, Propp Barrasso (7–3) 17,423 3–3 7 April 29 Philadelphia 4–1 Pittsburgh Lemieux Propp, Poulin, Bullard, Mellanby (en) Barrasso (7–4) 16,025 3–4
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season[5] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Mario Lemieux 76 85 114 199 41 100 Rob Brown 68 49 66 115 27 118 Paul Coffey 75 30 83 113 –10 195 Dan Quinn 79 34 60 94 –37 102 Bob Errey 76 26 32 58 40 124 John Cullen 79 12 37 49 –25 112 Zarley Zalapski 58 12 33 45 9 57 Randy Cunneyworth 70 25 19 44 –22 156 Phil Bourque 80 17 26 43 –22 97 Dave Hannan 72 10 20 30 –12 157 Randy Hillier 68 1 23 24 –4 141 Troy Loney 69 10 6 16 –5 165 Jim Johnson 76 2 14 16 7 163 Kevin Stevens 24 12 3 15 –8 19 Jock Callander 30 6 5 11 –3 20 Steve Dykstra 65 1 6 7 –12 126 Dan Frawley 46 3 4 7 –1 66 Rod Buskas 52 1 5 6 –2 105 Chris Dahlquist 43 1 5 6 –8 42 Jay Caufield 58 1 4 5 –4 285 Doug Bodger‡ 10 1 4 5 6 7 Scott Bjugstad 24 3 0 3 –12 4 Gord Dineen† 38 1 2 3 –5 44 Dave McLlwain 24 1 2 3 –11 4 Mark Recchi 15 1 1 2 –2 0 Mark Kachowski 12 1 1 2 1 43 Ville Sirén‡ 12 1 0 1 0 14 Perry Ganchar 3 0 0 0 –3 0 Richard Zemlak† 31 0 0 0 –4 135 Total 347 575 922 — 2,601

Playoffs[6] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Mario Lemieux 11 12 7 19 –1 16 Paul Coffey 11 2 13 15 –7 31 Kevin Stevens 11 3 7 10 –1 16 Dan Quinn 11 6 3 9 –6 10 Zarley Zalapski 11 1 8 9 –2 13 John Cullen 11 3 6 9 4 28 Rob Brown 11 5 3 8 –2 22 Randy Cunneyworth 11 3 5 8 –1 26 Jock Callander 10 2 5 7 6 10 Phil Bourque 11 4 1 5 2 66 Jim Johnson 11 0 5 5 7 44 Troy Loney 11 1 3 4 3 24 Bob Errey 11 1 2 3 1 12 Gord Dineen 11 0 2 2 8 8 Dave Hannan 8 0 1 1 0 4 Dave McLlwain 3 0 1 1 0 0 Randy Hillier 9 0 1 1 –1 49 Jay Caufield 9 0 0 0 –2 28 Rod Buskas 10 0 0 0 –1 23 Richard Zemlak 1 0 0 0 0 10 Steve Dykstra 1 0 0 0 0 2 Chris Dahlquist 2 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 73 116 — 442

Goaltenders

Regular Season^[7]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tom Barrasso†	44	2406:21	18	15	7	162	4.04	1441	0.888	0	0	5	49
Wendell Young	22	1150:18	12	9	0	92	4.80	673	0.863	0	0	2	4
Steve Guenette	11	573:53	5	6	0	41	4.29	308	0.867	0	0	1	0
Frank Pietrangelo	15	669:20	5	3	0	45	4.03	408	0.890	0	0	0	2
Rick Tabaracci	1	33:05	0	0	0	4	7.25	21	0.810	0	0	0	2
Total		4832:57	40	33	7	344	4.27	2851	0.879	0	0	8	57

Playoffs^[8]

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tom Barrasso	11	631:10	7	4	0	40	3.80	388	0.897	0	0	1	8
Wendell Young	1	38:38	0	0	0	1	1.55	11	0.909	0	0	0	0
Total		669:48	7	4	0	41	3.68	399	0.897	0	0	1	8

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

• Paul Coffey, Defence, NHL First All-Star Team
• Mario Lemieux, Center, NHL First All-Star Team
• Mario Lemieux, Art Ross Trophy
• Mario Lemieux, Center, NHL First All-Star Team
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 100 assists in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–8 loss to Hartford on February 26.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 170 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–3 loss to Los Angeles on March 7.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 180 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–8 loss to Boston on March 14.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 110 assists in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–7 loss to Minnesota on March 20.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 190 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–4 win over New York on March 27.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 80 goals in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–9 loss to Hartford on March 30.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 400 assists for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–8 loss to Hartford on February 26.
• Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 700 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–5 loss to Washington on March 22.
• Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for goals (85), assists (114) and points (199) in a season. He had set all three records the previous season.
• Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for assists (415) and points (715). He broke the previous records of 349 assists (Syl Apps Jr.) and 636 points (Rick Kehoe)
• Paul Coffey established a new franchise record for goals (30), assists (83) and points (113) in a season by a defenseman. He broke the records of 16 goals, 67 assists and 83 points all set by Randy Carlyle in 1981.
• Rod Buskas established a new franchise record for penalty minutes (946). He broke the previous records of 871 PIM held by Bryan Watson.
• Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for highest plus-minus in a season (+41). He broke the previous high of +36 set by Lowell MacDonald in 1973.
• Mario Lemieux, NHL Record, Most Shorthanded Goals, One Season (13) ^[9]

Transactions

Trades

September 1, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers 1990 3rd round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Wendell Young 1990 7th round pick
October 3, 1988	To Buffalo Sabres Wayne Van Dorp	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1990 7th round pick
November 1, 1988	To Minnesota North Stars rights to Rob Gaudreau	To Pittsburgh Penguins Richard Zemlak
November 12, 1988	To Buffalo Sabres Doug Bodger Darrin Shannon	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Barrasso 1990 3rd round pick
December 17, 1988	To Minnesota North Stars Steve Gotaas Ville Siren	To Pittsburgh Penguins Scott Bjugstad Gord Dineen
January 9, 1989	To Calgary Flames Steve Guenette	To Pittsburgh Penguins 1989 6th round pick
March 6, 1989	To Los Angeles Kings Pat Mayer	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tim Tookey

Free agents lost Date Player New team October 4, 1988 Carl Mokosak Boston Bruins

Waiver draft Date Player Former team October 3, 1988 Jay Caufield Minnesota North Stars October 3, 1988 Steve Dykstra Dave Hannan Edmonton Oilers

Player signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
John Cullen	June 21, 1988	Unknown
Mark Recchi	August 17, 1988	Multi-year contract
Steve Guenette	August 29, 1988	Multi-year contract
Darrin Shannon	September 7, 1988	Multi-year contract
Bruce Racine	September 21, 1988	Multi-year contract
Mario Lemieux	November 1, 1988	1 year/$1.6 million
Dan Quinn	November 5, 1988	Multi-year contract
Jamie Leach	March 22, 1989	Multi-year contract
Dave Michayluk	May 24, 1989	Unknown

Other

Player	Date	Details
Pierre Creamer	June 14, 1988	Replaced as head coach
Gene Ubriaco	June 28, 1988	Hired as head coach
Dave Hunter	October 3, 1988	Sent to Oilers as compensation for claiming Dave Hannan in waiver draft

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1988 NHL entry draft.^[10]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	4	Darrin Shannon	L	Canada	Windsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)
2	25	Mark Major	L	Canada	North Bay Centennials (OHL)
3	62[a]	Daniel Gauthier	L	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
4	67	Mark Recchi	R	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
5	88	Greg Andrusak	D	Canada	U. of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)
7	130	Troy Mick	L	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8	151	Jeffrey Blaeser	L	United States	St. John's Prep (Mass H.S.)
9	172	Robert Gaudreau	C	United States	Bishop Hendricken H.S. (RI)
10	193	Donald Pancoe	L	Canada	Hamilton Steelhawks (OHL)
11	214	Cory Laylin	L	United States	St. Cloud Apollo H.S. (Minn.)
12	235	Darren Stolk	D	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
S	4	Paul Polillo	C	Canada	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
S	9	Shawn Lillie	C	Canada	Colgate University (ECAC)

Draft notes^[11]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins' third-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a December 17, 1987, trade that sent Perry Ganchar and future considerations (1988 third-round pick (#62-Daniel Gauthier)) to the Penguins in exchange for a future considerations (this pick).
• ^a The Montreal Canadiens' third-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a December 17, 1987, trade that sent future considerations (1988 third-round pick (#46-Neil Carnes)) to the Canadiens in exchange for Perry Ganchar and future considerations (this pick).
• The Pittsburgh Penguins' sixth-round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a February 4, 1988, trade that sent Bryan Erickson to the Penguins in exchange for Chris Kontos and future considerations (this pick).