At meetings in Florida on December 6, 1990, the NHL Board of Governors awarded provisional franchises to groups from Ottawa and Tampa. The Ottawa franchise marked a return to one of the original cities of the NHL, while Tampa meant the first franchise in the sunbelt state of Florida. In a later book published by NHL president Gil Stein, Stein revealed that the two groups were the only ones of the applicants who agreed to the $50 million expansion fee without question.[1] The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning began play in the 1992–93 season.
Regular season
Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
The North Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers to become the first Norris Division team to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1981 realignment. At the time a record of 92 playoff games were played, and for the first time since the 1973 playoffs, no team was swept in a playoff series.
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1990–91 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
March 5, 1991: Allan Bester traded from Toronto to Detroit for Detroit's sixth round pick in 1991 Entry Draft.
March 5, 1991: Geoff Courtnall, Robert Dirk, Sergio Momesso, Cliff Ronning, and future considerations traded from St. Louis to Vancouver for Dan Quinn and Garth Butcher.
March 5, 1991: Mark Hunter traded from Calgary to Hartford for Carey Wilson.
March 5, 1991: Mark Pederson traded from Montreal to Philadelphia for Philadelphia's second round pick in 1991 Entry Draft and future considerations.
March 5, 1991: Keith Osborne traded from St. Louis to Toronto for Darren Veitch and future considerations.
March 5, 1991: Ken Priestlay traded from Buffalo to Pittsburgh for Tony Tanti.
March 5, 1991: Dana Murzyn traded from Calgary to Vancouver for Ron Stern, Kevan Guy and future considerations.
March 5, 1991: Kim Issel traded from Edmonton to Pittsburgh for Brad Aitken.
March 5, 1991: Steve Weeks traded from Vancouver to Buffalo for future considerations.
March 5, 1991: Marc Bureau traded from Calgary to Minnesota for Minnesota's third round choice in 1991 Entry Draft.
March 5, 1991: Joey Kocur and Per Djoos traded from Detroit to NY Rangers for Kevin Miller, Jim Cummins, and Dennis Vial.
March 5, 1991: Bobby Reynolds traded from Toronto to Washington for Robert Mendel.
March 5, 1991: Mike McNeill and Ryan McGill traded from Chicago to Quebec for Paul Gillis and Daniel Vincelette.
March 5, 1991: Ilkka Sinisalo traded from Minnesota to Los Angeles for Los Angeles' eighth round choice in 1991 Entry Draft.
Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
Notes
^Stein, Gil (1997). Power Play: An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League. Birch Lane Press.
^ abcdeDinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)