1980–81 NHL season

National Hockey League season August 2023 1980–81 NHL season National Hockey League Ice hockey October 9, 1980 – May 21, 1981 Draft 1980 NHL Draft List of first overall NHL draft picks Doug Wickenheiser Montreal Canadiens Regular season New York Islanders 21 80 CBC, SRC (Canada) USA, ESPN (United States) Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) Hart Memorial Trophy Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) Art Ross Trophy Playoffs 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup 1981 Stanley Cup Final New York Islanders Minnesota North Stars Butch Goring (Islanders) Conn Smythe Trophy 1981–82 1979–80 NHL The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. The Flames relocated from Atlanta to Calgary. The New York Islanders were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in five games. Entry draft The 1980 NHL entry draft was held on June 11, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. This was the first draft opened to the public. Doug Wickenheiser was selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Arena changes The Flames relocated from the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia to the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta. 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 third 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 him. 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 start Prince of Wales Conference break Clarence Campbell Conference end Playoffs 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs Bracket The top 16 teams in the league made the playoffs, and were seeded 1–16, regardless of division or conference. The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed played against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed faced the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. In the preliminary round, teams competed in a best-of-five series. In the other three rounds, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series). Playoff bracket Awards 1981 NHL awardsPrince of Wales Trophy:(Wales Conference regular season champion) Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:(Campbell Conference regular season champion) New York IslandersArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer, regular season) Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton OilersBill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Blake Dunlop, St. Louis BluesCalder Memorial Trophy:(Top first-year player) Peter Stastny, Quebec NordiquesConn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) Butch Goring, New York IslandersFrank J. Selke Trophy:(Top defensive forward) Bob Gainey, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:(Most valuable player, regular season) Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton OilersJack Adams Award:(Best coach) Gordon "Red" Berenson, St. Louis BluesJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh PenguinsLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh PenguinsLester B. Pearson Award:(Outstanding player, regular season) Mike Liut, St. Louis BluesVezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) Denis Herron, Michel Larocque, & Richard Sevigny, Montreal Canadiens All-Star teams First Team   Position   Second TeamMike Liut, St. Louis Blues GMario Lessard, Los Angeles KingsDenis Potvin, New York Islanders DLarry Robinson, Montreal CanadiensRandy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins DRay Bourque, Boston BruinsWayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers CMarcel Dionne, Los Angeles KingsMike Bossy, New York Islanders RWDave Taylor, Los Angeles KingsCharlie Simmer, Los Angeles Kings LWBill 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.Dinger 2011 152 Leading goaltenders Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA SV% Richard Sevigny Montreal 33 1777 71 2 2.40 .908 Rick St. Croix Philadelphia 27 1567 65 2 2.49 .913 Don Edwards Buffalo 45 2700 133 3 2.96 .898 Pete Peeters Philadelphia 40 2333 115 2 2.96 .897 Bob Sauve Buffalo 35 2100 111 2 3.17 .880 Don Beaupre Minnesota 44 2585 138 0 3.20 .889 Glenn Resch New York/Colorado 40 2266 121 3 3.20 .891 Reggie Lemelin Calgary 29 1629 88 2 3.24 .902 Gilles Meloche Minnesota 38 2215 120 2 3.25 .889 Mario Lessard Los Angeles 64 3746 203 2 3.25 .893 https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1981_leaders.html 1980-81 NHL Leaders Coaches Patrick Division Calgary Flames: Al MacNeil New York Islanders: Al Arbour New York Rangers: Fred Shero and 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 and Mike Nykoluk 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: Bill MacMillan 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 Broadcasting Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. This was the first season that U.S. national broadcasts were only on cable television. ESPN and USA continued to carry slates of regular season and playoff games for the second consecutive season. See also 33rd National Hockey League All-Star Game 1980 NHL entry draft 1980–81 NHL transactions 1980 in sports 1981 in sports List of Stanley Cup champions National Hockey League All-Star Game References Total Hockey Diamond, Dan Total Sports 2000 Kingston, New York 1-892129-85-X Dinger Ralph 2011 The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 Dan Diamond & Associates 978-1-894801-22-5 Toronto, ON registration https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 Dryden Steve Century of hockey McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Toronto, ON 2000 0-7710-4179-9 Fischler Stan Fischler Shirley Hughes Morgan Romain Joseph Duplacey James 2003 The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League Publications International Inc. 0-7853-9624-1 Lincolnwood, Illinois Fischler 2003 1980-81 NHL Playoff Results hockeyDB.com http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php?league=nhl1927&season=1981&leaguenm=NHL Notes External links Hockey Database NHL.com 1980 Category:1980–81 in Canadian ice hockey by league Category:1980–81 in American ice hockey by league