1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes season

1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes
Division	2nd Pacific
Conference	4th Western
1998–99 record	39–31–12
Home record	23–13–5
Road record	16–18–7
Goals for	205
Goals against	197
Team information
General manager	Bobby Smith
Coach	Jim Schoenfeld
Captain	Keith Tkachuk
Arena	America West Arena
Average attendance	15,547
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Falcons Las Vegas Thunder Mississippi Sea Wolves
Team leaders
Goals	Keith Tkachuk (36)
Assists	Jeremy Roenick (48)
Points	Jeremy Roenick (72)
Penalty minutes	Jim Cummins (190)
Plus/minus	Keith Tkachuk (+22)
Wins	Nikolai Khabibulin (32)
Goals against average	Nikolai Khabibulin (2.13)

The 1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes season was the Coyotes' third season in Phoenix, the franchise's 20th season in the NHL and 27th overall. The Coyotes qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, but they were upset in the Western Conference Quarterfinals by the St. Louis Blues, losing in seven games after being up three games to one. It was the third time in the decade that the Jets/Coyotes had blown a three games to one series lead. The first coming in 1990 and the other coming in 1992.

Regular season

Final standings

Pacific Division

R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	4	Phoenix Coyotes	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
3	6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
4	7	San Jose Sharks	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
5	11	Los Angeles Kings	82	32	45	5	189	222	69

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	28	10	239	205	98
3	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	43	32	7	245	202	93
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	37	32	13	237	209	87
6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
7	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
8	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	33	37	12	230	226	78
9	Calgary Flames	NW	82	30	40	12	211	234	72
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	41	12	202	248	70
11	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	32	45	5	189	222	69
12	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	47	7	190	261	63
13	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	23	47	12	192	258	58

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Playoffs

The series started in Phoenix. Game 1 was won by St. Louis by a score of 3–1. In Game 2, the Coyotes won 4–3 in overtime. In St. Louis, Phoenix won both Games 3 and 4 — Game 3 was won by a score of 5–4 and Game 4 was won by a score of 2–1. Game 5 shifted back to Phoenix, where St. Louis won 2–1 in overtime. Game 6 went back to St. Louis, where the Blues won 5–3. In Game 7, St. Louis won 1–0 in overtime in Phoenix, winning the series 4–3.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1998–99 regular season
October: 4–2–1 (home: 2–1–0; road: 2–1–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 L October 11, 1998 1–4 Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 0–1–0 Recap 2 W October 15, 1998 5–2 Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 1–1–0 Recap 3 W October 19, 1998 3–1 Boston Bruins (1998–99) 2–1–0 Recap 4 L October 22, 1998 1–2 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 2–2–0 Recap 5 T October 25, 1998 2–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 2–2–1 Recap 6 W October 26, 1998 5–1 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 3–2–1 Recap 7 W October 28, 1998 4–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 4–2–1 Recap
November: 10–0–1 (home: 6–0–1; road: 4–0–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 8 W November 1, 1998 3–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 5–2–1 Recap 9 W November 6, 1998 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 6–2–1 Recap 10 T November 10, 1998 1–1 OT Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 6–2–2 Recap 11 W November 11, 1998 2–0 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 7–2–2 Recap 12 W November 14, 1998 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 8–2–2 Recap 13 W November 18, 1998 4–2 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 9–2–2 Recap 14 W November 20, 1998 2–1 OT @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 10–2–2 Recap 15 W November 21, 1998 3–2 OT Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 11–2–2 Recap 16 W November 24, 1998 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 12–2–2 Recap 17 W November 26, 1998 3–2 New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 13–2–2 Recap 18 W November 28, 1998 4–0 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 14–2–2 Recap
December: 7–5–2 (home: 3–1–0; road: 4–4–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 19 L December 2, 1998 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 14–3–2 Recap 20 W December 5, 1998 3–2 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 15–3–2 Recap 21 T December 6, 1998 3–3 OT @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 15–3–3 Recap 22 W December 9, 1998 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 16–3–3 Recap 23 W December 12, 1998 2–0 @ Ottawa Senators (1998–99) 17–3–3 Recap 24 T December 14, 1998 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99) 17–3–4 Recap 25 L December 16, 1998 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99) 17–4–4 Recap 26 L December 17, 1998 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 17–5–4 Recap 27 W December 20, 1998 4–2 New York Islanders (1998–99) 18–5–4 Recap 28 W December 22, 1998 6–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 19–5–4 Recap 29 L December 23, 1998 3–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 19–6–4 Recap 30 W December 26, 1998 2–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 20–6–4 Recap 31 L December 28, 1998 2–4 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 20–7–4 Recap 32 W December 30, 1998 3–1 New York Rangers (1998–99) 21–7–4 Recap
January: 4–5–5 (home: 3–2–2; road: 1–3–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 33 L January 1, 1999 1–2 OT Dallas Stars (1998–99) 21–8–4 Recap 34 T January 5, 1999 2–2 OT Florida Panthers (1998–99) 21–8–5 Recap 35 L January 7, 1999 1–7 Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 21–9–5 Recap 36 L January 8, 1999 1–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 21–10–5 Recap 37 W January 11, 1999 1–0 Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 22–10–5 Recap 38 W January 13, 1999 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 23–10–5 Recap 39 L January 15, 1999 0–2 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 23–11–5 Recap 40 T January 17, 1999 1–1 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 23–11–6 Recap 41 W January 19, 1999 4–2 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 24–11–6 Recap 42 T January 21, 1999 3–3 OT Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 24–11–7 Recap 43 T January 26, 1999 1–1 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99) 24–11–8 Recap 44 L January 28, 1999 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 24–12–8 Recap 45 T January 29, 1999 4–4 OT @ New York Islanders (1998–99) 24–12–9 Recap 46 W January 31, 1999 5–1 @ Nashville Predators (1998–99) 25–12–9 Recap
February: 5–8–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 2–5–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 47 T February 2, 1999 2–2 OT Calgary Flames (1998–99) 25–12–10 Recap 48 W February 4, 1999 3–1 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 26–12–10 Recap 49 W February 6, 1999 3–0 Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99) 27–12–10 Recap 50 L February 8, 1999 0–3 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 27–13–10 Recap 51 W February 10, 1999 3–0 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 28–13–10 Recap 52 W February 13, 1999 4–1 @ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99) 29–13–10 Recap 53 L February 14, 1999 1–5 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 29–14–10 Recap 54 L February 16, 1999 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99) 29–15–10 Recap 55 L February 19, 1999 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99) 29–16–10 Recap 56 L February 20, 1999 1–7 @ Florida Panthers (1998–99) 29–17–10 Recap 57 L February 22, 1999 1–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99) 29–18–10 Recap 58 W February 24, 1999 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1998–99) 30–18–10 Recap 59 L February 26, 1999 0–3 @ New York Rangers (1998–99) 30–19–10 Recap 60 L February 28, 1999 1–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1998–99) 30–20–10 Recap
March: 7–6–2 (home: 5–3–1; road: 2–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 61 L March 2, 1999 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (1998–99) 30–21–10 Recap 62 L March 5, 1999 2–7 Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 30–22–10 Recap 63 W March 7, 1999 4–3 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 31–22–10 Recap 64 L March 9, 1999 2–4 @ San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 31–23–10 Recap 65 L March 11, 1999 0–3 Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 31–24–10 Recap 66 W March 13, 1999 1–0 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 32–24–10 Recap 67 T March 15, 1999 5–5 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99) 32–24–11 Recap 68 W March 17, 1999 4–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99) 33–24–11 Recap 69 T March 18, 1999 2–2 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 33–24–12 Recap 70 W March 21, 1999 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1998–99) 34–24–12 Recap 71 L March 23, 1999 2–3 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 34–25–12 Recap 72 W March 25, 1999 4–2 Washington Capitals (1998–99) 35–25–12 Recap 73 W March 27, 1999 2–1 Calgary Flames (1998–99) 36–25–12 Recap 74 L March 29, 1999 0–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99) 36–26–12 Recap 75 W March 30, 1999 7–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99) 37–26–12 Recap
April: 2–5–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 1–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 76 W April 1, 1999 4–1 @ Calgary Flames (1998–99) 38–26–12 Recap 77 L April 6, 1999 0–1 San Jose Sharks (1998–99) 38–27–12 Recap 78 L April 9, 1999 3–4 Nashville Predators (1998–99) 38–28–12 Recap 79 L April 11, 1999 0–3 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99) 38–29–12 Recap 80 L April 14, 1999 2–4 @ Dallas Stars (1998–99) 38–30–12 Recap 81 L April 15, 1999 4–6 St. Louis Blues (1998–99) 38–31–12 Recap 82 W April 17, 1999 2–0 Dallas Stars (1998–99) 39–31–12 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (5) St. Louis Blues – Blues win 4–3 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 L April 22, 1999 1–3 St. Louis Blues Blues lead 1–0 Recap 2 W April 24, 1999 4–3 OT St. Louis Blues Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 W April 25, 1999 5–4 @ St. Louis Blues Coyotes lead 2–1 Recap 4 W April 27, 1999 2–1 @ St. Louis Blues Coyotes lead 3–1 Recap 5 L April 30, 1999 1–2 OT St. Louis Blues Coyotes lead 3–2 Recap 6 L May 2, 1999 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues Series tied 3–3 Recap 7 L May 4, 1999 0–1 OT St. Louis Blues Blues win 4–3 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
97	Jeremy Roenick	C	78	24	48	72	7	130	1	0	0	0	−1	0
7	Keith Tkachuk	LW	68	36	32	68	22	151	7	1	3	4	−4	13
22	Rick Tocchet	RW	81	26	30	56	5	147	7	0	3	3	−3	8
17	Greg Adams	LW	75	19	24	43	−1	26	3	1	0	1	1	0
27	Teppo Numminen	D	82	10	30	40	3	30	7	2	1	3	−5	4
11	Dallas Drake	RW	53	9	22	31	17	65	7	4	3	7	3	4
20	Jyrki Lumme	D	60	7	21	28	5	34	7	0	1	1	−2	6
10	Oleg Tverdovsky	D	82	7	18	25	11	32	6	0	2	2	3	6
36	Juha Ylonen	C	59	6	17	23	18	20	2	0	2	2	2	2
8	Daniel Briere	C	64	8	14	22	−3	30	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Shane Doan	RW	79	6	16	22	−5	54	7	2	2	4	4	6
21	Bob Corkum	C	77	9	10	19	−9	17	7	0	1	1	1	4
14	Mike Stapleton	C	76	9	9	18	−7	34	7	1	0	1	−1	0
3	Keith Carney	D	82	2	14	16	15	62	7	1	2	3	5	10
16	Robert Reichel†	C	13	7	6	13	2	4	7	1	3	4	−2	2
5	Deron Quint	D	60	5	8	13	−10	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
16	Brad Isbister‡	LW	32	4	4	8	1	46	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Jim Cummins	RW	55	1	7	8	3	190	3	0	1	1	1	0
77	Cliff Ronning‡	C	7	2	5	7	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	J. J. Daigneault†	D	35	0	7	7	−8	32	6	0	0	0	−1	8
26	Mike Sullivan	C	63	2	4	6	−11	24	5	0	0	0	0	2
50	Trevor Letowski	RW	14	2	2	4	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
47	Tavis Hansen	RW	20	2	1	3	−4	12	2	0	0	0	1	0
12	Rob Murray	C	13	1	2	3	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Steve Leach†	RW	22	1	1	2	−6	37	7	1	1	2	0	2
4	Gerald Diduck	D	44	0	2	2	9	72	3	0	0	0	−1	2
55	Jason Doig‡	D	9	0	1	1	2	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Jamie Huscroft†	D	11	0	1	1	−1	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
24	Stan Neckar†	D	11	0	1	1	3	10	6	0	1	1	3	4
29	Louie DeBrusk	LW	15	0	0	0	−2	34	6	2	0	2	−1	6
49	Joe Dziedzic	LW	2	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Robert Esche	G	3	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Sean Gagnon	D	2	0	0	0	−2	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Bryan Helmer‡	D	11	0	0	0	2	23	—	—	—	—	—	—
46	Jean-Francois Jomphe‡	C	1	0	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Nikolai Khabibulin	G	63	0	0	0		8	7	0	0	0		2
31	Scott Langkow	G	1	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Brian Noonan†	RW	7	0	0	0	−3	0	5	0	2	2	2	4
30	Mikhail Shtalenkov†	G	4	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Brad Tiley	D	8	0	0	0	−1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
44	Andrei Vasilyev	LW	1	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Jimmy Waite	G	16	0	0	0		2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Nikolai Khabibulin	63	32	23	7	1681	130	2.13	.923	8	3657	7	3	4	236	18	2.41	.924	0	449
28	Jimmy Waite	16	6	5	4	390	41	2.74	.895	1	898	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Mikhail Shtalenkov†	4	1	2	1	104	9	2.22	.913	0	243	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Robert Esche	3	0	1	0	50	7	3.23	.860	0	130	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Scott Langkow	1	0	0	0	17	3	5.14	.824	0	35	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Nikolai Khabibulin
		Teppo Numminen
		Jeremy Roenick
		Jim Schoenfeld (coach)
		Keith Tkachuk
	NHL Player of the Week	Jimmy Waite (November 16)
Team	Hardest Working Player Award	Rick Tocchet
	Leading Scorer Award	Jeremy Roenick
	Man of the Year Award	Jeremy Roenick
	Team MVP Award	Nikolai Khabibulin
	Three-Star Award	Keith Tkachuk

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Bryan Helmer	October 11, 1998
	Trevor Letowski	January 1, 1999
	Robert Esche	February 20, 1999
400th goal scored	Rick Tocchet	January 28, 1999

Transactions

Trades

June 30, 1998	To Nashville Predators Seventh-round pick in 1999 (Kyle Kettles)	To Phoenix Coyotes Mike Sullivan
October 31, 1998	To Nashville Predators Cliff Ronning Richard Lintner	To Phoenix Coyotes Future Considerations
January 13, 1999	To Nashville Predators Future considerations	To Phoenix Coyotes J. J. Daigneault
March 8, 1999	To Vancouver Canucks Future considerations	To Phoenix Coyotes Jamie Huscroft
March 11, 1999	To Edmonton Oilers Fifth-round pick in 2000 (Matt Koalska)	To Phoenix Coyotes Mikhail Shtalenkov
March 20, 1999	To New York Islanders Brad Isbister Third-round pick in 1999 (Brian Collins)	To Phoenix Coyotes Robert Reichel Third-round pick in 1999 (Jason Jaspers) Fourth-round pick in 1999 (Preston Mizzi)
March 23, 1999	To Montreal Canadiens Jean-Francois Jomphe	To Phoenix Coyotes Cash
March 23, 1999	To New York Rangers Jason Doig Sixth-round pick in 1999 (Jay Dardis)	To Phoenix Coyotes Stan Neckar
June 25, 1999	To Atlanta Thrashers Scott Langkow	To Phoenix Coyotes Future considerations
June 26, 1999	To Montreal Canadiens Jim Cummins	To Phoenix Coyotes Sixth-round pick in 1999 (Erik Lewerstrom)
June 26, 1999	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Oleg Tverdovsky	To Phoenix Coyotes Travis Green First-round pick in 1999 (Scott Kelman)

Waivers

December 19, 1998

To St. Louis Blues Bryan Helmer

Free agents

Player	Former Team
Jyrki Lumme	Vancouver Canucks
Bryan Helmer	New Jersey Devils
Andrei Vasilyev	New York Islanders
Mike Martone	Buffalo Sabres
Joe Dziedzic	Pittsburgh Penguins
Greg Adams	Dallas Stars
Stephen Leach	Ottawa Senators
Brian Noonan	Vancouver Canucks
David Cullen	Undrafted free agent

Player	New Team
Mark Janssens	Chicago Blackhawks
Murray Baron	Vancouver Canucks
Ted Crowley	Colorado Avalanche
Scott Levins	Carolina Hurricanes
Kevin Dahl	Calgary Flames
Igor Korolev	Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft picks

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	14	Patrick DesRochers	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2	43	Ossi Vaananen	Finland	Jokerit (Finland)
3	73	Pat O'Leary	United States	Robbinsdale High School (USHS-MN)
4	100	Ryan Van Buskirk	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
5	115	Jay Leach	United States	Providence College (Hockey East)
5	116	Josh Blackburn	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)
5	129	Robert Schnabel	Czech Republic	Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
6	160	Rickard Wallin	Sweden	Farjestad BK Jr. (Sweden)
7	187	Erik Westrum	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
8	214	Justin Hansen	Canada	Prince George Cougars (WHL)

See also

• 1998–99 NHL season

References

• "Phoenix Coyotes 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
• "1998-99 Phoenix Coyotes Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
• Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1894801225.