1990–91 Hartford Whalers season
The 1990–91 Hartford Whalers season was the franchise's 19th season, 12th in the NHL. The Whalers placed fourth in the Adams Division to qualify for the playoffs. The Whalers were eliminated in the first round by their New England rival Boston Bruins.
Offseason
Regular season
The Whalers had the most power-play opportunities during the regular season, with 403.Final standings
Schedule and results
Playoffs
;Adams Division Semi-finals| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Series |
| 1 | W | April 3, 1991 | 5–2 | @ Boston Bruins | HAR leads 1–0 |
| 2 | L | April 5, 1991 | 3–4 | @ Boston Bruins | Series tied 1–1 |
| 3 | L | April 7, 1991 | 3–6 | Boston Bruins | BOS leads 2–1 |
| 4 | W | April 9, 1991 | 4–3 | Boston Bruins | Series tied 2–2 |
| 5 | L | April 11, 1991 | 1–6 | @ Boston Bruins | BOS leads 3–2 |
| 6 | L | April 13, 1991 | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | BOS wins 4–2 |
Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| RW | 80 | 43 | 39 | 82 | 246 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 5 | |
| C | 67 | 21 | 55 | 76 | 51 | -2 | 10 | 1 | 6 | |
| RW | 61 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 104 | -15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| C | 78 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 113 | -3 | 8 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 44 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 101 | -7 | 10 | 0 | 2 | |
| D | 72 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 29 | -10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 72 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 95 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| C | 75 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 170 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 70 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 107 | -8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| C | 45 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 16 | -14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 41 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 19 | -13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 62 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 174 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 73 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 17 | -17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 13 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 18 | -6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| C/LW | 64 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 55 | -9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| RW | 34 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | -9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| LW | 32 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 49 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 41 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 42 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 63 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 41 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 108 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | -7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 44 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 82 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| W | 45 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 211 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 67 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 118 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 52 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 41 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| D | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 2953 | 52 | 21 | 22 | 7 | 164 | 3.33 | 1 | 1284 | 1120 | .872 | |
| 1010 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 53 | 3.15 | 1 | 479 | 426 | .889 | |
| 850 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 52 | 3.67 | 0 | 379 | 327 | .863 | |
| 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5.14 | 0 | 15 | 12 | .800 | |
| Team: | 4848 | 80 | 31 | 38 | 11 | 272 | 3.37 | 2 | 2157 | 1885 | .874 |
Playoffs
;Scoring| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C/LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| 359 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 4.01 | 0 | 174 | 150 | .862 | |
| Team: | 359 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 4.01 | 0 | 174 | 150 | .862 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;
Awards and records
Transactions
The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1990–91 season.Trades
Free agents
Roster
Draft picks
Hartford's draft picks at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft held at the BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 15 | Mark Greig | Lethbridge Hurricanes | |
| 2 | 36 | Geoff Sanderson | Swift Current Broncos | |
| 3 | 57 | Mike Lenarduzzi | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | |
| 4 | 78 | Chris Bright | Moose Jaw Warriors | |
| 6 | 120 | Cory Keenan | Kitchener Rangers | |
| 7 | 141 | Jergus Baca | VSZ Košice | |
| 8 | 162 | Martin D'Orsonnens | Clarkson University | |
| 9 | 183 | Corey Osmark | Nipawin Hawks | |
| 10 | 204 | Espen Knutsen | Vålerenga IF | |
| 11 | 225 | Tommie Eriksen | Prince Albert Raiders | |
| 12 | 246 | Denis Chalifoux | Laval Titan | |
| S | 19 | Jim Crozier | Cornell University |