1987–88 Minnesota North Stars season

1987–88 Minnesota North Stars
1987–88 Minnesota North Stars
Division	5th Norris
Conference	10th Campbell
1987–88 record	19–48–13
Goals for	242
Goals against	349
Team information
General manager	Lou Nanne (Oct-Jan) ; Jack Ferreira (Jan-Apr)
Coach	Herb Brooks
Captain	Craig Hartsburg
Arena	Met Center
Team leaders
Goals	Dino Ciccarelli (41)
Assists	Dino Ciccarelli (45)
Points	Dino Ciccarelli (86)
Penalty minutes	Basil McRae (382)
Plus/minus	Scott Bjugstad and Pat Micheletti (+2)
Wins	Don Beaupre (10)
Goals against average	Jon Casey (3.71)
	← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 21st season. It saw the North Stars finish fifth in the Norris Division with a record of 19 wins, 48 losses, and 13 ties for 51 points — the worst record in the league. They failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season. Despite finishing with the third-lowest winning percentage (at .319) and second-fewest wins in franchise history, they were still in contention for a playoff spot going into the last game of the season due to playing in an extremely weak Norris Division; the division champion Detroit Red Wings were the only team with a winning record. The Stars lost to the Calgary Flames on the season's final day and finished last in scoring (242 goals in favor) and penalty-killing percentage (75.23%).^[1] The day before, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were trailing the Stars for the fourth spot in the Norris as the day began, beat the Red Wings. This not only eliminated the Stars out of the playoffs but also assured them of the worst record in the league.^[2]^[3]^[4]

The leading scorer for the North Stars in 1987–88 was Dino Ciccarelli. However, he became involved in controversy when, on January 6, 1988, he struck Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Richardson with his stick in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Ciccarelli was arrested and charged with assault; he was eventually fined $1000 and sentenced to one day in jail.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	6	Dave Archibald (RW)	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
2	35	Scott McCrady (D)	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
3	48	Kevin Kaminski (C)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
4	73	John Weisbrod (C)	United States	Choate Rosemary Hall (USHS-CT)
5	88	Teppo Kivela (C)	Finland	HPK (Finland)
6	109	Darcy Norton (LW)	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
7	130	Timo Kulonen (D)	Finland	KalPa (Finland)
8	151	Don Schmidt (D)	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
9	172	Jarmo Myllys (G)	Finland	Lukko (Finland)
10	193	Larry Olimb (C)	United States	Warroad High School (USHS-MN)
11	214	Marc Felicio (G)	United States	Northwood School (USHS-NY)
12	235	Dave Shields (C)	Canada	University of Denver (WCHA)
S1	4	Shawn Chambers (D)	United States	University of Alaska Fairbanks (CCHA)
S2	8	Rick Boh (C)	Canada	Colorado College (WCHA)

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Detroit Red Wings	80	41	28	11	322	269	93
St. Louis Blues	80	34	38	8	278	294	76
Chicago Blackhawks	80	30	41	9	284	328	69
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	21	49	10	273	345	52
Minnesota North Stars	80	19	48	13	242	349	51

^[5]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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1987–88 NHL records^[6]
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
Chicago	—	3–5	5–2–1	3–4–1	5–3	16–14–2
Detroit	5–3	—	4–3–1	4–1–3	3–3–2	16–10–6
Minnesota	2–5–1	3–4–1	—	2–5–1	4–1–3	11–15–6
St. Louis	4–3–1	1–4–3	5–2–1	—	6–1–1	16–10–6
Toronto	3–5	3–3–2	1–4–3	1–6–1	—	8–18–6

Vs. Smythe Division

1987–88 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
Chicago	0–2–1	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–1–1	6–7–2
Detroit	1–1–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–0–1	9–4–2
Minnesota	0–2–1	0–2–1	0–3	1–2	0–2–1	1–11–3
St. Louis	1–2	0–3	1–2	2–1	1–2	5–10–0
Toronto	0–3	0–2–1	1–1–1	1–1–1	1–2	3–9–3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1987–88 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
Chicago	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–2–1	0–2–1	2–11–2
Detroit	2–1	2–1	1–2	1–2	0–3	6–9–0
Minnesota	0–3	1–1–1	0–3	1–1–1	1–2	3–10–2
St. Louis	2–1	0–3	2–1	1–2	2–1	7–8–0
Toronto	1–2	0–3	0–3	0–3	0–3	1–14–0

Vs. Patrick Division

1987–88 NHL records
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
Chicago	0–3	1–0–2	0–2–1	3–0	1–2	1–2	6–9–3
Detroit	3–0	2–1	1–1–1	0–2–1	2–1	2–0–1	10–5–3
Minnesota	0–3	1–1–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–2–1	4–12–2
St. Louis	0–3	0–2–1	0–3	1–2	3–0	2–0–1	6–10–2
Toronto	1–2	3–0	1–2	2–1	1–2	1–1–1	9–8–1

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 8, 1987	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	0–0–1
2	L	October 10, 1987	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	0–1–1
3	L	October 12, 1987	2–4	@ New York Rangers (1987–88)	0–2–1
4	W	October 14, 1987	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	1–2–1
5	L	October 17, 1987	2–5	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	1–3–1
6	L	October 19, 1987	1–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	1–4–1
7	W	October 22, 1987	5–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	2–4–1
8	W	October 24, 1987	7–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	3–4–1
9	W	October 27, 1987	5–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	4–4–1
10	L	October 29, 1987	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	4–5–1
11	T	October 31, 1987	3–3 OT	Washington Capitals (1987–88)	4–5–2
12	T	November 3, 1987	2–2 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	4–5–3
13	W	November 4, 1987	7–4	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	5–5–3
14	L	November 7, 1987	1–4	Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	5–6–3
15	L	November 8, 1987	5–8	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	5–7–3
16	L	November 11, 1987	3–4	Calgary Flames (1987–88)	5–8–3
17	W	November 13, 1987	5–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	6–8–3
18	L	November 14, 1987	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (1987–88)	6–9–3
19	L	November 18, 1987	2–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	6–10–3
20	W	November 19, 1987	4–3	New York Rangers (1987–88)	7–10–3
21	L	November 21, 1987	5–7	Boston Bruins (1987–88)	7–11–3
22	L	November 25, 1987	3–4 OT	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	7–12–3
23	W	November 27, 1987	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	8–12–3
24	W	November 28, 1987	6–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	9–12–3
25	W	December 1, 1987	3–2 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	10–12–3
26	T	December 5, 1987	4–4 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	10–12–4
27	L	December 6, 1987	4–10	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	10–13–4
28	W	December 8, 1987	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	11–13–4
29	L	December 10, 1987	4–5	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	11–14–4
30	L	December 12, 1987	0–5	Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	11–15–4
31	L	December 16, 1987	2–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	11–16–4
32	L	December 18, 1987	3–8	@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	11–17–4
33	L	December 19, 1987	1–3	New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	11–18–4
34	T	December 21, 1987	0–0 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	11–18–5
35	L	December 23, 1987	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	11–19–5
36	L	December 26, 1987	4–5 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	11–20–5
37	W	December 27, 1987	5–4	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	12–20–5
38	W	December 30, 1987	6–4	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	13–20–5
39	L	December 31, 1987	1–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	13–21–5
40	L	January 2, 1988	3–5	New York Rangers (1987–88)	13–22–5
41	T	January 5, 1988	3–3 OT	@ New York Islanders (1987–88)	13–22–6
42	T	January 6, 1988	5–5 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	13–22–7
43	L	January 9, 1988	3–4	New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	13–23–7
44	L	January 11, 1988	4–5	Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)	13–24–7
45	T	January 13, 1988	3–3 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	13–24–8
46	L	January 15, 1988	1–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	13–25–8
47	W	January 16, 1988	4–2	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	14–25–8
48	L	January 19, 1988	3–6	Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	14–26–8
49	L	January 21, 1988	1–6	@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)	14–27–8
50	L	January 23, 1988	0–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	14–28–8
51	W	January 24, 1988	5–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1987–88)	15–28–8
52	W	January 27, 1988	2–1	New York Islanders (1987–88)	16–28–8
53	L	January 28, 1988	1–9	@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	16–29–8
54	L	January 30, 1988	0–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)	16–30–8
55	L	February 3, 1988	0–2	St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	16–31–8
56	L	February 4, 1988	0–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	16–32–8
57	T	February 6, 1988	8–8 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1987–88)	16–32–9
58	L	February 13, 1988	3–7	Quebec Nordiques (1987–88)	16–33–9
59	L	February 17, 1988	4–5	Los Angeles Kings (1987–88)	16–34–9
60	L	February 20, 1988	0–3	Washington Capitals (1987–88)	16–35–9
61	W	February 22, 1988	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	17–35–9
62	L	February 24, 1988	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1987–88)	17–36–9
63	L	February 27, 1988	4–7	@ Boston Bruins (1987–88)	17–37–9
64	L	February 28, 1988	6–8	@ New Jersey Devils (1987–88)	17–38–9
65	L	March 1, 1988	3–8	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	17–39–9
66	L	March 3, 1988	3–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	17–40–9
67	L	March 5, 1988	2–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	17–41–9
68	L	March 9, 1988	2–6	Buffalo Sabres (1987–88)	17–42–9
69	W	March 12, 1988	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1987–88)	18–42–9
70	T	March 14, 1988	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1987–88)	18–42–10
71	L	March 16, 1988	1–2	Detroit Red Wings (1987–88)	18–43–10
72	T	March 17, 1988	2–2 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1987–88)	18–43–11
73	T	March 20, 1988	5–5 OT	Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	18–43–12
74	L	March 21, 1988	1–5	New York Islanders (1987–88)	18–44–12
75	W	March 23, 1988	5–4	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	19–44–12
76	L	March 26, 1988	1–8	@ Hartford Whalers (1987–88)	19–45–12
77	T	March 28, 1988	7–7 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1987–88)	19–45–13
78	L	March 30, 1988	3–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1987–88)	19–46–13
79	L	April 1, 1988	1–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (1987–88)	19–47–13
80	L	April 3, 1988	1–4	@ Calgary Flames (1987–88)	19–48–13

Player statistics

Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Dino Ciccarelli	67	41	45	86	79
Brian Bellows	77	40	41	81	81
Brian MacLellan	75	16	32	48	74
Brian Lawton	74	17	24	41	71
Neal Broten	54	9	30	39	32
Dave Archibald	78	13	20	33	26
Bob Brooke	77	5	20	25	108
Scott Bjugstad	33	10	12	22	15
Dave Gagner	51	8	11	19	55

Defencemen