1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts

1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts
General information
Date(s) May 30, 1991
Expansion team(s) San Jose Sharks
NHL Expansion and Dispersal Drafts
 < 1979 1992 > 

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 (to re-stock the North Stars' roster and to fill out the Sharks' roster).

Background

Though the San Jose Sharks were technically founded in 1991, their lineage goes back further. In the 1970s, the Gund brothers, George and Gordon Gund, held minority ownership of the California Golden Seals, the NHL team representing the San Francisco Bay Area. The Seals had long-standing attendance problems, and the Gunds were instrumental in a move to Cleveland in 1976, where the team became the Barons. The move did not cure the franchise's financial struggles, and in 1978 the Gunds acquired the Minnesota North Stars, another failing team and were permitted to merge the two teams, which would continue under the "Minnesota North Stars" banner.

In 1990, as a result of slipping attendance and an increasingly inadequate arena, the Gunds petitioned the NHL for permission to relocate the North Stars to the Bay Area. The NHL, however, wishing to maintain a presence in Minnesota, denied their request. 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. This effectively undid the 1978 merger between the North Stars and the Cleveland Barons, previously the California Golden Seals, the Bay Area NHL team.

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.

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 (but excluding 1990 draft picks), 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[1]

The Sharks selected 24 players from the North Stars.

# Player 1990-91 team League
1. Shane Churla (RW) Minnesota NHL
2. Brian Hayward (G) Minnesota NHL
3. Neil Wilkinson (D) Minnesota NHL
4. Rob Zettler (D) Minnesota NHL
5. Ed Courtenay (RW) Kalamazoo IHL
6. Kevin Evans (LW) Kalamazoo IHL
7. Link Gaetz (D) Kalamazoo IHL
8. Dan Keczmer (D) Kalamazoo IHL
9. Dean Kolstad (D) Kalamazoo IHL
10. Peter Lappin (RW) Kalamazoo IHL
11. Pat MacLeod (D) Kalamazoo IHL
12. Mike McHugh (LW) Kalamazoo IHL
13. Jarmo Myllys (G) Kalamazoo IHL
14. J. F. Quintin (LW) Kalamazoo IHL
15. Scott Cashman (G) Boston University H.E.
16. Murray Garbutt (C) Spokane WHL
17. Rob Gaudreau (RW) Providence College H.E.
18. Arturs Irbe (G) Dynamo Riga Soviet Championship League
19. Shaun Kane (D) Providence College H.E.
20. Larry Olimb (D) University of Minnesota WCHA
21. Tom Pederson (D) University of Minnesota WCHA
22. Bryan Schoen (G) Denver University WCHA
23. John Weisbrod (C) Harvard ECAC
24. Doug Zmolek (D) University of Minnesota WCHA

Expansion Draft results[1]

# Player Drafted from Drafted by
1. Jeff Hackett (G) New York Islanders San Jose Sharks
2. Rob Ramage (D) Toronto Maple Leafs Minnesota North Stars
3. Jayson More (D) Montreal Canadiens San Jose Sharks
4. Dave Babych (D) Hartford Whalers Minnesota North Stars
5. Rick Lessard (D) Calgary Flames San Jose Sharks
6. Allen Pedersen (D) Boston Bruins Minnesota North Stars
7. Bob McGill (D) Chicago Blackhawks San Jose Sharks
8. Charlie Huddy (D) Edmonton Oilers Minnesota North Stars
9. Tim Kerr (F) Philadelphia Flyers San Jose Sharks
10. Kelly Kisio (F) New York Rangers Minnesota North Stars
11. Jeff Madill (RW) New Jersey Devils San Jose Sharks
12. Randy Gilhen (C) Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars
13. David Bruce (LW) St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks
14. Rob Murray (C) Washington Capitals Minnesota North Stars
15. Greg Paslawski (RW) Buffalo Sabres San Jose Sharks
16. Tyler Larter (F) Winnipeg Jets Minnesota North Stars
17. Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (F) Detroit Red Wings San Jose Sharks
18. Jim Thomson (RW) Los Angeles Kings Minnesota North Stars
19. Craig Coxe (C) Vancouver Canucks San Jose Sharks
20. Guy Lafleur (RW) Quebec Nordiques Minnesota 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:

As with most other Expansion Drafts, 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.

See also

Citations

  1. 1 2 Official Guide and Record Book p. 168

References

External links

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