1980–81 NHL season
1980–81 NHL season
1980–81 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 9, 1980 – May 21, 1981 |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 21 |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Doug Wickenheiser |
Picked by | Montreal Canadiens |
Regular season | |
Season champions | New York Islanders |
Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Butch Goring (Islanders) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | New York Islanders |
Runners-up | Minnesota North Stars |
The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
1980–81 NHL season | |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | October 9, 1980 – May 21, 1981 |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 21 |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Doug Wickenheiser |
Picked by | Montreal Canadiens |
Regular season | |
Season champions | New York Islanders |
Season MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Top scorer | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
Playoffs | |
Playoffs MVP | Butch Goring (Islanders) |
Stanley Cup | |
Champions | New York Islanders |
Runners-up | Minnesota North Stars |
League business
This was the first season that the Calgary Flames played in Calgary, Alberta. Previously, they were the Atlanta Flames and played in Atlanta, Georgia.
Regular season
The season featured notable individual scoring milestones.
Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers broke Bobby Orr's single season assist record, scoring 109 assists, and Phil Esposito's point record, scoring 164 points. He won his second of an unmatched eight straight Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player
Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders became only the second man in NHL history to score 50 goals in his first 50 games. In the 50th game, played at his home rink, he had 48 goals going into the 3rd and final period (before the advent of overtime games). Bossy admitted being so embarrassed and upset that he contemplated not going out on the ice for the final period. However, Bossy got his 49th goal with 5:15 left to go in the game and the 50th with 1:50 remaining, sending the Nassau Coliseum into a delirium. Maurice Richard, the only other man to accomplish this feat, was on hand to congratulate Bossy.
Bossy's Islanders finished as regular season champions with 110 points with the St. Louis Blues finishing a close second at 107 points.
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 39 | 20 | 21 | 327 | 250 | 1194 | 99 |
Boston Bruins | 80 | 37 | 30 | 13 | 316 | 272 | 1836 | 87 |
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 35 | 28 | 17 | 291 | 263 | 1624 | 87 |
Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 30 | 32 | 18 | 314 | 318 | 1524 | 78 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 28 | 37 | 15 | 322 | 367 | 1830 | 71 |
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 332 | 232 | 103 |
Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 43 | 24 | 13 | 337 | 290 | 99 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 302 | 345 | 73 |
Hartford Whalers | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 292 | 372 | 60 |
Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 19 | 43 | 18 | 252 | 339 | 56 |
Clarence Campbell Conference
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York Islanders | 80 | 48 | 18 | 14 | 355 | 260 | 110 |
Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 41 | 24 | 15 | 313 | 249 | 97 |
Calgary Flames | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 329 | 298 | 92 |
New York Rangers | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 312 | 317 | 74 |
Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 286 | 317 | 70 |
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Blues | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 352 | 281 | 107 |
Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 304 | 315 | 78 |
Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 289 | 301 | 76 |
Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 29 | 35 | 16 | 328 | 327 | 74 |
Colorado Rockies | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 258 | 344 | 57 |
Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 9 | 57 | 14 | 246 | 400 | 32 |
Playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs would see the New York Islanders dominate on their way to winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Notably, in the first round against the Maple Leafs, the Isles swept a three-game series, outscoring Toronto 20-4. The Islanders would go on to defeat Edmonton in six games in the quarter-finals, and in the semi-finals, the Islanders swept the Rangers and outscored them 22-8.
In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series, Wayne Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.[2] Another distinction was in the Minnesota North Stars' sweep of the Boston Bruins; the two games the North Stars won in Boston Garden were the first games that the team had won in Boston, either regular season or playoff, since the team had joined the NHL in 1967.
Playoff bracket
Preliminary Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Islanders | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
16 | Toronto | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
8 | Edmonton | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | St. Louis | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
15 | Pittsburgh | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | NY Rangers | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Montreal | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
14 | Edmonton | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | St. Louis | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
7 | NY Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | Los Angeles | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
13 | NY Rangers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | NY Islanders | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second rounds.) | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Minnesota | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | Buffalo | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
12 | Vancouver | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Buffalo | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Minnesota | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
11 | Quebec | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | Calgary | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Minnesota | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
7 | Calgary | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
10 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | Calgary | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
8 | Boston | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
9 | Minnesota | 3 |
Stanley Cup Finals
The Islanders easily defeated the Minnesota North Stars in the finals in five games. The Islanders were defeated three times during the playoffs.
New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars
New York won series 4–1 |
Awards
1981 NHL awards | |
---|---|
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens |
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference regular season champion) | New York Islanders |
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Blake Dunlop, St. Louis Blues |
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) | Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques |
Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) | Butch Goring, New York Islanders |
Frank J. Selke Trophy: (Top defensive forward) | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens |
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) | Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers |
Jack Adams Award: (Best coach) | Gordon "Red" Berenson, St. Louis Blues |
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) | Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins |
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) | Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh Penguins |
Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) | Mike Liut, St. Louis Blues |
NHL Plus/Minus Award: (Player with best plus/minus record) | Brian Engblom, Montreal Canadiens |
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) | Denis Herron, Michel Larocque, & Richard Sevigny, Montreal Canadiens |
Lester Patrick Trophy: (Service to hockey in the U.S.) | Charles M. Schulz |
All-Star teams
First Team | Position | Second Team |
---|---|---|
Mike Liut, St. Louis Blues | G | Mario Lessard, Los Angeles Kings |
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders | D | Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens |
Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins | D | Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins |
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers | C | Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings |
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders | RW | Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings |
Charlie Simmer, Los Angeles Kings | LW | Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 55 | 109 | 164 | 28 |
Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 58 | 77 | 135 | 70 |
Kent Nilsson | Calgary Flames | 80 | 49 | 82 | 131 | 26 |
Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 79 | 68 | 51 | 119 | 32 |
Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 72 | 47 | 65 | 112 | 130 |
Peter Stastny | Quebec Nordiques | 77 | 39 | 70 | 109 | 37 |
Charlie Simmer | Los Angeles Kings | 65 | 56 | 49 | 105 | 62 |
Mike Rogers | Hartford Whalers | 80 | 40 | 65 | 105 | 32 |
Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 31 | 73 | 104 | 47 |
Jacques Richard | Quebec Nordiques | 78 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 39 |
Rick Middleton | Boston Bruins | 80 | 44 | 59 | 103 | 16 |
Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 73 | 31 | 72 | 103 | 74 |
Source: NHL.[3]
Leading goaltenders
Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Sevigny | Montreal | 33 | 1777 | 71 | 2 | 2.40 |
Rick St. Croix | Philadelphia | 27 | 1567 | 65 | 2 | 2.49 |
Don Edwards | Buffalo | 45 | 2700 | 133 | 3 | 2.96 |
Pete Peeters | Philadelphia | 40 | 2333 | 115 | 2 | 2.96 |
Bob Sauve | Buffalo | 35 | 2100 | 111 | 2 | 3.17 |
Don Beaupre | Minnesota | 44 | 2585 | 138 | 0 | 3.20 |
Glenn Resch | New York Islanders/Colorado | 40 | 2266 | 121 | 3 | 3.20 |
Reggie Lemelin | Calgary | 29 | 1629 | 88 | 2 | 3.24 |
Gilles Meloche | Minnesota | 38 | 2215 | 120 | 2 | 3.25 |
Mario Lessard | Los Angeles | 64 | 3746 | 203 | 2 | 3.25 |
Coaches
Patrick Division
Calgary Flames: Al MacNeil
New York Islanders: Al Arbour
New York Rangers: Craig Patrick
Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn
Washington Capitals: Gary Green
Adams Division
Boston Bruins: Gerry Cheevers
Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman
Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
Quebec Nordiques: Maurice Filion and Michel Bergeron
Toronto Maple Leafs: Joe Crozier
Norris Division
Detroit Red Wings: Wayne Maxner
Hartford Whalers: Don Blackburn
Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry
Montreal Canadiens: Claude Ruel
Pittsburgh Penguins: Eddie Johnston
Smythe Division
Chicago Black Hawks: Keith Magnuson
Colorado Rockies: Don Cherry
Edmonton Oilers: Bryan Watson
St. Louis Blues: Red Berenson
Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale
Winnipeg Jets: Mike Smith and Tom Watt
Milestones
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1980–81 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins
Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins
Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks
Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks
Andy Moog, Edmonton Oilers
Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers
Glenn Anderson, Edmonton Oilers
Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
Larry Murphy, Los Angeles Kings
Dino Ciccarelli, Minnesota North Stars
Don Beaupre, Minnesota North Stars
Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars
Doug Wickenheiser, Montreal Canadiens
Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Rick Wamsley, Montreal Canadiens
Brent Sutter, New York Islanders
Rollie Melanson, New York Islanders
Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
Mike Bullard, Pittsburgh Penguins
Anton Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
Dale Hunter, Quebec Nordiques
Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues
Dave Babych, Winnipeg Jets
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1980–81 (listed with their last team):
Jean Ratelle, Boston Bruins
Terry Harper, Colorado Rockies
Pete Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings
Tom Bladon, Detroit Red Wings
Phil Esposito, New York Rangers
Walt Tkaczuk, New York Rangers
Ron Ellis, Toronto Maple Leafs
Dennis Kearns, Vancouver Canucks
Bobby Schmautz, Vancouver Canucks
Dennis Ververgaert, Washington Capitals
Guy Charron, Washington Capitals
Wayne Stephenson, Washington Capitals
Jude Drouin, Winnipeg Jets
1981 Trading Deadline
Trading Deadline: MARCH 10, 1981 [5]
March 8, 1981: Doug Halward traded from Los Angeles to Vancouver for Vancouver's fifth round choice in 1982 Entry Draft (
Ulf Isaksson).
March 10, 1981: Bill Baker traded from Montreal to Colorado for Colorado's third round choice in 1983 Entry Draft.
March 10, 1981: Ken Berry and Garry Lariviere traded from Vancouver to Edmonton for Blair MacDonald and Lars-Gunnar Petersson.
March 10, 1981: Pat Hughes traded from Pittsburgh to Edmonton for Pat Price.
March 10, 1981: Jari Kaarela and Mike McEwen traded from Colorado to NY Islanders for Glenn Resch and Steve Tambellini.
March 10, 1981: Michel Larocque traded from Montreal to Toronto for Robert Picard.
March 10, 1981: Don Luce traded from Buffalo to Los Angeles for Los Angeles' sixth round choice in 1982 Entry Draft (Jeff Parker).
March 10, 1981: Ray Markham traded from NY Rangers to Edmonton for John Hughes.
March 10, 1981: Mario Marois traded from Vancouver to Quebec for Garry Lariviere.
March 10, 1981: Rick Martin traded from Buffalo to Los Angeles for Los Angeles' third round choice in 1981 Entry Draft (Colin Chisholm) and Los Angeles' first round choice in 1983 Entry Draft (Tom Barrasso).
March 10, 1981: Jim Rutherford traded from Toronto to Los Angeles for Los Angeles' fifth round choice in 1981 Entry Draft (Barry Brigley).
March 10, 1981: Garry Unger traded from Los Angeles to Edmonton for Edmonton's seventh round choice in 1981 Entry Draft (Craig Hurley).
March 10, 1981: Ron Zanussi and Minnesota's third round choice in 1981 Entry Draft traded from Minnesota to Toronto for Toronto's second round choice in 1981 Entry Draft(Ernie Godden).
See also
33rd National Hockey League All-Star Game
1980 NHL Entry Draft
1980 in sports
1981 in sports
List of Stanley Cup champions
National Hockey League All-Star Game