1979–80 Chicago Black Hawks season

National Hockey League team season May 2009 March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1979–80 1979 Chicago Black Hawks 34–27–19 21–12–7 13–15–12 Campbell 3rd Smythe 1st 241 250 Bob Pulford Eddie Johnston Keith Magnuson (Oct)Terry Ruskowski (Oct-Apr) None Chicago Stadium 11,700 (70.2%) Grant Mulvey (39) Terry Ruskowski (55) Terry Ruskowski (70) Rich Preston (+15) Terry Ruskowski (252) Tony Esposito (31) Tony Esposito (2.98) Yes The 1979–80 Chicago Black Hawks season was the 54th season of operation of the Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League (NHL). The club was coming off a first-place finish in the Smythe Division in the 1978–79, despite finishing with a 29–36–15 record. In the 1979 playoffs, the Black Hawks were swept by the Buffalo Sabres in the quarter-finals. Off-season During the off-season, the Black Hawks named Eddie Johnston as their new head coach, as Bob Pulford stepped down to focus on his general manager duties. Johnston was previously the head coach of the New Brunswick Hawks, Chicago's AHL affiliate, in 1978–79, leading the team to a 41–29–10 record. Johnston was also a former goaltender, playing in the NHL from 1962 to 1978, earning a 234–257–80 record with a 3.25 GAA in 592 career games while playing for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Black Hawks. Johnston won two Stanley Cup championships with the Bruins in 1970 and 1972. With the NHL expanding to 21 teams, as the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets joined the league from the WHA, the Hawks remained in the Smythe Division, with the Oilers and Jets joining Chicago, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks to form the only six team division in the league. At the 1979 NHL expansion draft, Chicago made a deal with the Quebec Nordiques, as the Hawks agreed to not reclaim Real Cloutier from the Nordiques in exchange for Quebec's first-round draft pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft. Prior to the draft, the Hawks reclaimed Bobby Hull and Terry Ruskowski from the Winnipeg Jets and John Garrett from the Hartford Whalers. During the draft, Chicago lost Hull to Winnipeg, Garrett and Jean Savard to the Whalers, Doug Hicks and Reg Thomas to the Edmonton Oilers. The Hawks added Rich Preston from the Jets at the draft. Regular season Keith Magnuson retired three games into the season, and was replaced by Terry Ruskowski as team captain. On October 10, 1979, Chicago beat Edmonton 4–2. This was also the debut of future Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky. The Black Hawks had a poor start to the season, as they club had a record of 3-6-3 in their first 12 games. The club continued to struggle, as Chicago won only eight of their first 29 games, going 8–11–10, however, the Hawks were in second place in the Smythe Division, five points behind the first place Vancouver Canucks. The Hawks then went 9-3-2 in their next 14 games, improving their overall record to 17–14–12, charging into first place, five points ahead of the second place St. Louis Blues. Chicago would hold on to first place for the rest of the season, finishing with a 34–27–19 record, earning 87 points, for their third consecutive division title, and eighth in the last eleven seasons. Offensively, the club was led by Terry Ruskowski, who joined the Black Hawks after being reclaimed in the 1979 NHL expansion draft by the team from the Winnipeg Jets, as he had a team high 70 points, scoring 15 goals and 55 assists. He also led the club with 252 penalty minutes. Tom Lysiak finished second in team scoring with 26 goals and 69 points, while Grant Mulvey had a team high 39 goals, while adding 26 assists for 65 points. Rich Preston also broke the 30 goal plateau, as he had 31 goals and 61 points and had a team best +16 rating. On defence, Doug Wilson led the way with 12 goals and 61 points, while Bob Murray had another excellent season, scoring 16 goals and 50 points. In goal, Tony Esposito saw the majority of playing time, going 31-22-16 with a 2.97 GAA in 69 games. Final standings CHI CHI Record vs. opponents CHI Playoffs The Black Hawks opened the playoffs with a best-of-five preliminary series against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues finished the season with a 34–34–12 record, earning 80 points and second place in the Smythe Division, seven points behind Chicago. The series opened with two games at Chicago Stadium. The first game would be decided in overtime, after the clubs played to a 2–2 tie after regulation time. In the extra period, the Hawks Doug Lecuyer scored and ended the Black Hawks 16 game playoff game losing streak, as Chicago took the series opener by a 3–2 score. It marked the first time since 1975 that Chicago had won a playoff game. In the second game, the Hawks, led by Doug Wilson and his two goals, easily defeated the Blues 5–1 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series shifted to The Checkerdome in St. Louis, Missouri for the third game, and the Hawks, led by Doug Lecuyer and his two goals, as well as 23 saves by goaltender Tony Esposito, completed the series sweep. In the NHL quarter-finals, the Black Hawks faced the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo finished the season with a 47–17–16 record, earning 110 points and first place in the Adams Division. The Sabres then defeated the Vancouver Canucks three games to one in the first round of the playoffs. The series opened with two games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, as the Sabres easily defeated the Black Hawks 5–0 in the series opener, limiting Chicago to only one shot in the first period, and 17 overall. In the second game, the Sabres took an early 2–0 lead in the first period, however, two straight goals by Tom Lysiak tied the game early in the second period. The Sabres then struck for three straight goals before Chicago could answer with one of their own to take a 5–3 lead into the third period. The Black Hawks cut the Sabres lead to 5-4 when Darryl Sutter scored early in the third, however, the Sabres shut down the Hawks, and won the game 6–4 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series moved to Chicago Stadium for the next two games, and in the third game, the Sabres once again scored two early goals in the first period to take a 2–0 lead. Darryl Sutter cut the Sabres lead in half in the second period, as the Hawks made the score 2–1, however, Sabres goaltender Don Edwards made 38 saves, as Buffalo held on for a 2–1 victory, and taking a 3–0 series lead. In the fourth game, the Black Hawks took their first lead in the series when Bob Murray scored midway through the first period to give Chicago a 1–0 lead. Tom Lysiak made it 2-0 Chicago in the second period, however, the Sabres John Van Boxmeer cut the Hawks lead to 2–1 with a goal late in the second period. Buffalo completed the comeback with two unanswered goals in the third period, one by Rick Martin and one by Gilbert Perreault, as the Sabres won the game 3–2, and swept the series. Schedule and results Regular season background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 5px solid; border-bottom:#000000 5px solid; 1979–80 regular season1979-80 Chicago Black Hawks Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1980_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 28, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||W||October 10, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||1–0–0 |- |2||L||October 13, 1979||1–5 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||1–1–0 |- |3||T||October 14, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||1–1–1 |- |4||W||October 17, 1979||3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||2–1–1 |- |5||T||October 20, 1979||2–2 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||2–1–2 |- |6||L||October 21, 1979||0–3 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||2–2–2 |- |7||W||October 24, 1979||4–0 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||3–2–2 |- |8||L||October 27, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1979–80) ||3–3–2 |- |9||L||October 28, 1979||1–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||3–4–2 |- |10||T||October 31, 1979||0–0 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||3–4–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |11||L||November 3, 1979||0–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) ||3–5–3 |- |12||L||November 4, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||3–6–3 |- |13||T||November 8, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||3–6–4 |- |14||W||November 9, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||4–6–4 |- |15||T||November 11, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||4–6–5 |- |16||L||November 14, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||4–7–5 |- |17||W||November 17, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||5–7–5 |- |18||T||November 18, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||5–7–6 |- |19||W||November 21, 1979||4–0 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||6–7–6 |- |20||W||November 24, 1979||2–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||7–7–6 |- |21||W||November 25, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||8–7–6 |- |22||L||November 28, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||8–8–6 |- |23||T||November 30, 1979||1–1 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||8–8–7 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |24||L||December 1, 1979||0–7 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||8–9–7 |- |25||T||December 5, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1979–80) ||8–9–8 |- |26||T||December 8, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||8–9–9 |- |27||T||December 9, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||8–9–10 |- |28||L||December 12, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1979–80) ||8–10–10 |- |29||L||December 13, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||8–11–10 |- |30||W||December 15, 1979||2–1 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||9–11–10 |- |31||W||December 16, 1979||7–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) ||10–11–10 |- |32||T||December 19, 1979||0–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||10–11–11 |- |33||L||December 21, 1979||1–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||10–12–11 |- |34||W||December 23, 1979||8–0 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1979–80) ||11–12–11 |- |35||T||December 26, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||11–12–12 |- |36||L||December 28, 1979||2–6 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||11–13–12 |- |37||W||December 30, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||12–13–12 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |38||W||January 2, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||13–13–12 |- |39||W||January 5, 1980||4–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||14–13–12 |- |40||W||January 6, 1980||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||15–13–12 |- |41||L||January 9, 1980||1–6 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||15–14–12 |- |42||W||January 12, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||16–14–12 |- |43||W||January 13, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) ||17–14–12 |- |44||L||January 16, 1980||1–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||17–15–12 |- |45||L||January 17, 1980||1–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||17–16–12 |- |46||L||January 19, 1980||3–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||17–17–12 |- |47||W||January 20, 1980||2–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1979–80) ||18–17–12 |- |48||L||January 23, 1980||1–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||18–18–12 |- |49||T||January 25, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||18–18–13 |- |50||W||January 27, 1980||3–0 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||19–18–13 |- |51||W||January 30, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||20–18–13 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |52||W||February 2, 1980||5–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||21–18–13 |- |53||W||February 3, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||22–18–13 |- |54||T||February 6, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||22–18–14 |- |55||L||February 9, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||22–19–14 |- |56||W||February 10, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||23–19–14 |- |57||W||February 13, 1980||3–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1979–80) ||24–19–14 |- |58||W||February 17, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||25–19–14 |- |59||W||February 20, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||26–19–14 |- |60||L||February 23, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||26–20–14 |- |61||W||February 24, 1980||3–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||27–20–14 |- |62||L||February 27, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||27–21–14 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |63||W||March 1, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||28–21–14 |- |64||W||March 2, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||29–21–14 |- |65||T||March 5, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||29–21–15 |- |66||W||March 7, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||30–21–15 |- |67||T||March 8, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||30–21–16 |- |68||T||March 12, 1980||6–6 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||30–21–17 |- |69||L||March 14, 1980||4–6 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||30–22–17 |- |70||L||March 16, 1980||1–6 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1979–80) ||30–23–17 |- |71||W||March 19, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||31–23–17 |- |72||T||March 22, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1979–80) ||31–23–18 |- |73||W||March 23, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||32–23–18 |- |74||L||March 25, 1980||4–8 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||32–24–18 |- |75||W||March 26, 1980||7–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||33–24–18 |- |76||T||March 30, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||33–24–19 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |77||L||April 1, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||33–25–19 |- |78||L||April 2, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||33–26–19 |- |79||W||April 5, 1980||3–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) ||34–26–19 |- |80||L||April 6, 1980||4–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||34–27–19 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 5px solid; border-bottom:#000000 5px solid; 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; Preliminary round vs. (10) St. Louis Blues – Blues win 3–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 8 || St. Louis Blues || 2–3 || Chicago Black Hawks || 1–0 |- | 2 || April 9 || St. Louis Blues || 1–5 || Chicago Black Hawks || 2–0 |- | 3 || April 11 || Chicago Black Hawks || 4–1 || St. Louis Blues || 3–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#CE1126 2px solid; border-bottom:#000000 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series |- | 1 || April 16 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–5 || Buffalo Sabres || 0–1 |- | 2 || April 17 || Chicago Black Hawks || 4–6 || Buffalo Sabres || 0–2 |- | 3 || April 19 || Buffalo Sabres || 2–1 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–3 |- | 4 || April 20 || Buffalo Sabres || 3–2 || Chicago Black Hawks || 0–4 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Terry Ruskowski C 74 15 55 70 2527613 Tom Lysiak C 77 26 43 69 31-71007 Grant Mulvey RW 80 39 26 65 12231407 Rich Preston RW 80 31 30 61 70161225 Doug Wilson Doug Wilson (ice hockey) D 73 12 49 61 70-5311 Bob Murray Robert Frederick Murray D 74 16 34 50 60-16801 Ted Bulley LW 66 14 17 31 136-12101 Mike O'Connell D 78 8 22 30 52-2202 Tim Higgins Tim Higgins (ice hockey) RW 74 13 12 25 50-15200 Ron Sedlbauer LW 45 13 10 23 141100 J. P. Bordeleau RW 45 7 14 21 283100 John Marks John Marks (ice hockey) LW 74 6 15 21 51-16101 Keith Brown Keith Brown (ice hockey) D 76 2 18 20 277002 Reg Kerr LW 49 9 8 17 17-10110 Alain Daigle RW 66 7 9 16 22-6010 Tim Trimper LW 30 6 10 16 10-7201 Greg Fox Greg Fox (ice hockey) D 71 4 11 15 73-13001 Doug Lecuyer LW 53 3 10 13 59-7001 Cliff Koroll RW 47 3 4 7 6-10000 Stan Mikita C/RW 17 2 5 7 122000 Dave Logan Dave Logan (ice hockey) D 12 2 3 5 345001 Dave Hutchison Dave Hutchison (ice hockey) D 38 0 5 5 730000 Pat Ribble D 23 1 2 3 14-8000 Darryl Sutter LW 8 2 0 2 21000 Rick Paterson C 11 0 2 2 00000 Tony Esposito G 69 0 1 1 20000 Keith Magnuson D 3 0 0 0 40000 Harold Phillipoff LW 9 0 0 0 20-3000 Mike Veisor G 11 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO Tony Esposito 4140 69 31 22 16 205 2.97 6 Mike Veisor 660 11 3 5 3 37 3.36 0 Team: 4800 80 34 27 19 242 3.02 6 Playoffs Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Doug Wilson Doug Wilson (ice hockey) D 7 2 8 10 6000 Tom Lysiak C 7 4 4 8 0400 Bob Murray Robert Frederick Murray D 7 2 4 6 6000 Ted Bulley LW 7 2 3 5 10000 Doug Lecuyer LW 7 4 0 4 15001 Darryl Sutter LW 7 3 1 4 2201 Tim Higgins Tim Higgins (ice hockey) RW 7 0 3 3 10000 Rich Preston RW 7 0 3 3 2000 Grant Mulvey RW 7 1 1 2 8000 Ron Sedlbauer LW 7 1 1 2 6101 Mike O'Connell D 7 0 1 1 0000 J. P. Bordeleau RW 1 0 0 0 0000 Keith Brown Keith Brown (ice hockey) D 6 0 0 0 4000 Alain Daigle RW 2 0 0 0 0000 Tony Esposito G 6 0 0 0 0000 Greg Fox Greg Fox (ice hockey) D 7 0 0 0 8000 Dave Hutchison Dave Hutchison (ice hockey) D 6 0 0 0 12000 Cliff Koroll RW 2 0 0 0 2000 John Marks John Marks (ice hockey) LW 4 0 0 0 0000 Rick Paterson C 7 0 0 0 5000 Terry Ruskowski C 4 0 0 0 22000 Tim Trimper LW 1 0 0 0 2000 Mike Veisor G 1 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO Tony Esposito 373 6 3 3 14 2.25 0 Mike Veisor 60 1 0 1 6 6.00 0 Team: 433 7 3 4 20 2.77 0 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-16 1979-80 Chicago Black Hawks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1980.html Note: Pos = Position; 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; Draft picks Chicago's draft picks at the 1979 NHL entry draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)17Keith Brown Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)228Tim Trimper Canada Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)349Bill Gardner Canada Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)470Louis Begin Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)591Lowell Loveday Canada Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)6112Doug Crossman Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) See also 1979–80 NHL season References Category:Chicago Blackhawks seasons Chicago Blackhawks Category:Smythe Division champion seasons Category:1979 in sports in Illinois Chicago Category:1979 in Chicago Category:1980 in Chicago