1980–81 New York Rangers season

NHL hockey team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1980–81 1980 New York Rangers Campbell T-7th Patrick 4th 30–36–14 17–13–10 13–23–4 312 317 Fred SheroCraig Patrick Fred SheroCraig Patrick Walt Tkaczuk None Madison Square Garden 17,293 Ed Johnstone/Anders Hedberg (30) Ron Greschner (41) Anders Hedberg (70) Barry Beck (231) Doug Soetaert (16) Steve Weeks (2.00) The 1980–81 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 55th season. In the regular season, the Rangers finished in fourth place in the Patrick Division with 74 points and earned a berth in the playoffs. New York won series with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues to reach the NHL semi-finals, where the team was defeated by the New York Islanders in a four-game sweep.1980–81 New York Rangers Roster and Statistics Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1981.html 2010-11-13 2 Regular season Fred Shero, citing a drinking problem, chose to resign as coach. Craig Patrick, the Rangers' director of operations, replaced him. Craig Patrick became the third generation of the Patrick family to coach the Rangers, after Lester Patrick, Lynn Patrick and Muzz Patrick.McFarlane, p. 204 Halfway through the season, veteran Phil Esposito decided to retire. He retired after 18 seasons, the last six with the Rangers. He finished his career with 717 goals and 1,590 points.McFarlane, p. 205 Final standings NYR NYR Record vs. opponents NYR Schedule and results background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 5px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 5px solid; 1980–81 regular season1980–81 New York Rangers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/NYR/1981_games.html Hockey-Reference March 31, 2025 y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; October: 3–7–1 (home: 2–3–0; road: 1–4–1) Game October Opponent Score Record |- | 1 || 9 || @ Boston Bruins || 7–2 || 0–1–0 |- | 2 || 11 || @ Toronto Maple Leafs || 8–3 || 1–1–0 |- | 3 || 12 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–3 || 1–2–0 |- | 4 || 15 || St. Louis Blues || 2–1 || 1–3–0 |- | 5 || 18 || @ Washington Capitals || 8–2 || 1–4–0 |- | 6 || 19 || Edmonton Oilers || 4–2 || 1–5–0 |- | 7 || 22 || Vancouver Canucks || 3–2 || 2–5–0 |- | 8 || 25 || @ Detroit Red Wings || 4–2 || 2–6–0 |- | 9 || 26 || Detroit Red Wings || 7–6 || 3–6–0 |- | 10 || 28 || @ St. Louis Blues || 5–4 || 3–7–0 |- | 11 || 30 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 3–3 || 3–7–1 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; November: 3–7–3 (home: 2–2–2; road: 1–5–1) Game November Opponent Score Record |- | 12 || 1 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 7–4 || 3–8–1 |- | 13 || 2 || Los Angeles Kings || 6–3 || 3–9–1 |- | 14 || 5 || @ Chicago Black Hawks || 3–3 || 3–9–2 |- | 15 || 8 || @ Vancouver Canucks || 6–4 || 3–10–2 |- | 16 || 10 || @ Los Angeles Kings || 4–1 || 3–11–2 |- | 17 || 11 || @ Calgary Flames || 7–3 || 3–12–2 |- | 18 || 14 || Pittsburgh Penguins || 3–3 || 3–12–3 |- | 19 || 16 || Hartford Whalers || 7–3 || 4–12–3 |- | 20 || 19 || Philadelphia Flyers || 5–1 || 4–13–3 |- | 21 || 22 || @ New York Islanders || 6–4 || 4–14–3 |- | 22 || 23 || Vancouver Canucks || 2–2 || 4–14–4 |- | 23 || 26 || Boston Bruins || 6–4 || 5–14–4 |- | 24 || 29 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 4–2 || 6–14–4 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; December: 7–6–1 (home: 3–4–0; road: 4–2–1) Game December Opponent Score Record |- | 25 || 1 || Minnesota North Stars || 5–3 || 6–15–4 |- | 26 || 3 || @ Winnipeg Jets || 4–3 || 7–15–4 |- | 27 || 5 || @ Edmonton Oilers || 5–1 || 8–15–4 |- | 28 || 7 || Chicago Black Hawks || 5–4 || 9–15–4 |- | 29 || 10 || Washington Capitals || 6–2 || 10–15–4 |- | 30 || 12 || @ Colorado Rockies || 4–3 || 11–15–4 |- | 31 || 14 || @ Chicago Black Hawks || 2–1 || 11–16–4 |- | 32 || 17 || Winnipeg Jets || 8–2 || 12–16–4 |- | 33 || 20 || @ Minnesota North Stars || 3–3 || 12–16–5 |- | 34 || 22 || Calgary Flames || 3–2 || 12–17–5 |- | 35 || 26 || @ Washington Capitals || 7–3 || 12–18–5 |- | 36 || 28 || Montreal Canadiens || 5–2 || 12–19–5 |- | 37 || 30 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 6–3 || 13–19–5 |- | 38 || 31 || Colorado Rockies || 6–4 || 13–20–5 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; January: 6–4–3 (home: 2–1–2; road: 4–3–1) Game January Opponent Score Record |- | 39 || 2 || New York Islanders || 3–1 || 14–20–5 |- | 40 || 4 || Quebec Nordiques || 2–2 || 14–20–6 |- | 41 || 9 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–3 || 14–20–7 |- | 42 || 11 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 5–3 || 14–21–7 |- | 43 || 13 || @ Calgary Flames || 4–4 || 14–21–8 |- | 44 || 15 || @ Colorado Rockies || 4–3 || 14–22–8 |- | 45 || 18 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 4–0 || 14–23–8 |- | 46 || 19 || Calgary Flames || 6–3 || 15–23–8 |- | 47 || 21 || @ Winnipeg Jets || 5–1 || 15–24–8 |- | 48 || 23 || @ Edmonton Oilers || 7–4 || 16–24–8 |- | 49 || 24 || @ Vancouver Canucks || 7–5 || 17–24–8 |- | 50 || 28 || @ Los Angeles Kings || 6–2 || 18–24–8 |- | 51 || 31 || @ Minnesota North Stars || 7–3 || 19–24–8 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; February: 5–7–1 (home: 5–2–1; road: 0–5–0) Game February Opponent Score Record |- | 52 || 2 || Los Angeles Kings || 3–2 || 19–25–8 |- | 53 || 4 || New York Islanders || 9–3 || 20–25–8 |- | 54 || 5 || @ Boston Bruins || 6–3 || 20–26–8 |- | 55 || 8 || Minnesota North Stars || 3–3 || 20–26–9 |- | 56 || 12 || Winnipeg Jets || 8–6 || 21–26–9 |- | 57 || 14 || @ Toronto Maple Leafs || 6–3 || 21–27–9 |- | 58 || 15 || St. Louis Blues || 5–4 || 21–28–9 |- | 59 || 18 || Toronto Maple Leafs || 8–3 || 22–28–9 |- | 60 || 19 || @ Detroit Red Wings || 7–3 || 22–29–9 |- | 61 || 21 || Washington Capitals || 6–4 || 23–29–9 |- | 62 || 22 || @ Hartford Whalers || 6–5 || 23–30–9 |- | 63 || 25 || Buffalo Sabres || 6–3 || 24–30–9 |- | 64 || 28 || @ Pittsburgh Penguins || 6–4 || 24–31–9 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; March: 4–4–5 (home: 2–1–5; road: 2–2–0) Game March Opponent Score Record |- | 65 || 1 || Montreal Canadiens || 4–4 || 24–31–10 |- | 66 || 4 || Edmonton Oilers || 5–5 || 24–31–11 |- | 67 || 7 || @ St. Louis Blues || 7–2 || 24–32–11 |- | 68 || 8 || Detroit Red Wings || 4–4 || 24–32–12 |- | 69 || 10 || @ Quebec Nordiques || 6–4 || 24–33–12 |- | 70 || 11 || Colorado Rockies || 4–3 || 24–34–12 |- | 71 || 14 || Hartford Whalers || 6–2 || 25–34–12 |- | 72 || 18 || Boston Bruins || 3–2 || 26–34–12 |- | 73 || 21 || @ Hartford Whalers || 6–4 || 27–34–12 |- | 74 || 22 || Quebec Nordiques || 7–7 || 27–34–13 |- | 75 || 25 || @ Buffalo Sabres || 4–2 || 27–35–13 |- | 76 || 28 || @ Montreal Canadiens || 6–2 || 28–35–13 |- | 77 || 30 || Philadelphia Flyers || 0–0 || 28–35–14 |- y background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; April: 2–1–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Record |- | 78 || 2 || @ New York Islanders || 2–1 || 28–36–14 |- | 79 || 3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 3–1 || 29–36–14 |- | 80 || 5 || @ Philadelphia Flyers || 2–0 || 30–36–14 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 5px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 5px solid; 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; Preliminary round vs. (4) Los Angeles Kings – Rangers win 3–1 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 8 || New York Rangers || 3–1 || Los Angeles Kings || || New York Rangers lead series 1–0 |- | 2 || April 9 || New York Rangers || 4–5 || Los Angeles Kings || || Series tied 1–1 |- | 3 || April 11 || Los Angeles Kings || 3–10 || New York Rangers || || New York Rangers lead series 2–1 |- | 4 || April 12 || Los Angeles Kings || 3–6 || New York Rangers || || New York Rangers win series 3–1 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (2) St. Louis Blues – Rangers win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 16 || New York Rangers || 3–6 || St. Louis Blues || || St. Louis leads series 1–0 |- | 2 || April 17 || New York Rangers || 6–4 || St. Louis Blues || || Series tied 1–1 |- | 3 || April 19 || St. Louis Blues || 3–6 || New York Rangers || || New York Rangers lead series 2–1 |- | 4 || April 20 || St. Louis Blues || 1–4 || New York Rangers || || New York Rangers lead series 3–1 |- | 5 || April 22 || New York Rangers || 3–4 || St. Louis Blues || || New York Rangers lead series 3–2 |- | 6 || April 24 || St. Louis Blues || 4–7 || New York Rangers || || New York Rangers win series 4–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#0161AB 2px solid; border-bottom:#E6393F 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (1) New York Islanders – Islanders win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series |- | 1 || April 28 || New York Rangers || 2–5 || New York Islanders || || New York Islanders lead series 1–0 |- | 2 || April 30 || New York Rangers || 3–7 || New York Islanders || || New York Islanders lead series 2–0 |- | 3 || May 2 || New York Islanders || 5–1 || New York Rangers || || New York Islanders lead series 3–0 |- | 4 || May 5 || New York Islanders || 5–2 || New York Rangers || || New York Islanders win series 4–0 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Skaters Regular season Player GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points +/- Plus/minus PIM Penalty minutes Anders Hedberg 80 30 40 70 0 52 Ed Johnstone 80 30 38 68 15 100 Ron Greschner 74 27 41 68 0 112 Mike Allison 75 26 38 64 12 83 Steve Vickers Steve Vickers (ice hockey) 73 19 39 58 7 40 Don Maloney 61 29 23 52 17 99 Dave Maloney 79 11 36 47 24 132 Ulf Nilsson Ulf Nilsson (ice hockey) 51 14 25 39 −3 42 Ron Duguay 50 17 21 38 2 83 Barry Beck 75 11 23 34 9 231 Dean Talafous 50 13 17 30 2 28 Tom Laidlaw 80 6 23 29 0 100 Walt Tkaczuk 43 6 22 28 13 28 Dave Silk 59 14 12 26 −24 58 Lance Nethery 33 11 12 23 0 12 Carol Vadnais 74 3 20 23 19 91 Jere Gillis† 35 10 10 20 6 4 Phil Esposito 41 7 13 20 −13 20 Ed Hospodar 61 5 14 19 10 214 Chris Kotsopoulos 54 4 12 16 −10 153 Nick Fotiu† 27 5 6 11 −6 91 Peter Wallin 12 1 5 6 −1 2 Doug Sulliman 32 4 1 5 −9 32 Dan McCarthy Dan McCarthy (ice hockey) 5 4 0 4 3 4 Gary Burns Gary Burns (ice hockey) 11 2 2 4 −9 18 Andre Dore 15 1 3 4 −1 15 Cam Connor 15 1 3 4 6 44 Mario Marois‡ 8 1 2 3 −5 46 Jeff Bandura 2 0 1 1 −3 0 Tim Bothwell 3 0 1 1 0 0 Mike McDougall 2 0 0 0 1 0 Playoffs Player GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points PIM Penalty minutes Ron Duguay 14 8 9 17 16 Ulf Nilsson Ulf Nilsson (ice hockey) 14 8 8 16 23 Anders Hedberg 14 8 8 16 6 Barry Beck 14 5 8 13 32 Ron Greschner 14 4 8 12 17 Steve Vickers Steve Vickers (ice hockey) 12 4 7 11 14 Peter Wallin 14 2 6 8 6 Lance Nethery 14 5 3 8 9 Dean Talafous 14 3 5 8 2 Jere Gillis 14 2 5 7 9 Don Maloney 13 1 6 7 13 Tom Laidlaw 14 1 4 5 18 Carol Vadnais 14 1 3 4 26 Mike Allison 14 3 1 4 20 Ed Johnstone 8 2 2 4 4 Chris Kotsopoulos 14 0 3 3 63 Ed Hospodar 12 2 0 2 93 Dave Maloney 2 0 2 2 9 John Hughes John Hughes (ice hockey b. 1954) 3 0 1 1 6 Doug Sulliman 3 1 0 1 0 Gary Burns Gary Burns (ice hockey) 1 0 0 0 2 Nick Fotiu 2 0 0 0 4 Goaltenders Regular season Player GP Games played TOI Time on ice W Win L Loss T Tie GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SO Shutouts Doug Soetaert 39 2320 16 16 7 152 3.93 0 Steve Baker Steve Baker (ice hockey) 21 1260 10 6 5 73 3.48 2 John Davidson John Davidson (ice hockey) 10 560 1 7 1 48 5.14 0 Wayne Thomas Wayne Thomas (ice hockey) 10 600 3 6 1 34 3.40 0 Steve Weeks 1 60 0 1 0 2 2.00 0 Playoffs Player GP Games played TOI Time on ice W Win L Loss GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SO Shutouts Steve Baker Steve Baker (ice hockey) 14 826 7 7 55 4.00 0 Steve Weeks 1 14 0 0 1 4.29 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. ‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. hockeydb.com 2010-08-08 1980–81 New York Rangers http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481981.html https://web.archive.org/web/20100825093839/http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000481981.html 25 August 2010 live Transactions The Rangers were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.https://www.prosportstransactions.com/hockey/Search/SearchResults.php?Player=&Team=Rangers&BeginDate=1980-05-01&EndDate=1981-09-01&PlayerMovementChkBx=yes&submit=Search&start=0 Search Results Pro Sports Transactions May 30, 2025 Trades August 6, 1980To New York RangersGord SmithTo Winnipeg JetsCash November 11, 1980To New York RangersJeff Bandura Jere GillisTo Vancouver CanucksMario Marois Jim Mayer November 18, 1980To New York RangersDale LewisTo Calgary FlamesFrank Beaton January 15, 1981To New York RangersNick FotiuTo Hartford Whalers5th-round pick in 1981 – Bill Maguire March 10, 1981To New York RangersJohn HughesTo Edmonton OilersRay Markham Waivers August 7, 1980To Hartford WhalersWarren Miller Free agent signings July 10, 1980From New Haven Nighthawks (AHL)Dan Poulin September 16, 1980From Boston BruinsGary Burns December 12, 1980From New Haven Nighthawks (AHL)Gerry McDonald March 8, 1981From Djurgårdens IF (Sweden)Peter Wallin Draft picks New York's picks at the 1980 NHL entry draft in Montreal, Canada at the Montreal Forum.1980 NHL Entry Draft Hockey-Reference https://www.hockey-reference.com/draft/NHL_1980_entry.html 2012-04-28NHL Draft History National Hockey League http://www.nhl.com/futures/drafthistory.html 2012-04-28 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20010128131400/http://nhl.com/futures/drafthistory.html 2001-01-28 Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 14 Jim Malone F Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA) 2 35 Mike Allison RW Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA) 4 77 Kurt Kleinendorst C United States Providence College (NCAA) 5 98 Scot Kleinendorst D United States Providence College (NCAA) 6 119 Reijo Ruotsalainen D Finland Karpat (SM-liiga) 7 140 Bob Scurfield C Canada Western Michigan University (NCAA) 8 161 Bart Wilson D Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA) 9 182 Chris Wray RW United States Boston College (NCAA) 10 203 Anders Backstrom D Sweden Brynas (Elitserien) References Bibliography One hundred years of hockey McFarlane Brian Deneau Publishers Toronto, Ontario 1989 0-88879-216-6 registration https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearso0000mcfa 1980-81 Category:1980–81 NHL season by team Category:1980 in sports in New York City Category:1981 in sports in New York City 1980-81 New York Rangers season