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1980–81 NHL season

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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.

1980–81 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 9, 1980 – May 21, 1981
Number of games80
Number of teams21
TV partner(s)CBC, SRC (Canada)
USA, ESPN (United States)
Draft
Top draft pickDoug Wickenheiser
Picked byMontreal Canadiens
Regular season
Season championsNew York Islanders
Season MVPWayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Top scorerWayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPButch Goring (Islanders)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsNew York Islanders
  Runners-upMinnesota North Stars
NHL seasons

Entry draft

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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

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The Flames relocated from the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, Georgia to the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.

Regular season

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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 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

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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

League standings[1]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – New York Islanders PTK 80 48 18 14 355 260 110
2 x – St. Louis Blues SMY 80 45 18 17 352 281 107
3 y – Montreal Canadiens NRS 80 45 22 13 332 232 103
4 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 43 24 13 337 290 99
5 x – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 39 20 21 327 250 99
6 Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 41 24 15 313 249 97
7 Calgary Flames PTK 80 39 27 14 329 298 92
8 Boston Bruins ADM 80 37 30 13 316 272 87
9 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 35 28 17 291 263 87
10 Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 31 33 16 304 315 78
11 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 30 32 18 314 318 78
12 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 28 32 20 289 301 76
13 New York Rangers PTK 80 30 36 14 312 317 74
14 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 29 35 16 328 327 74
15 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 302 345 73
16 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 28 37 15 322 367 71
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 26 36 18 286 317 70
18 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 21 41 18 292 372 60
19 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 22 45 13 258 344 57
20 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 19 43 18 252 339 56
21 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 9 57 14 246 400 32

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Prince of Wales Conference

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Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Buffalo Sabres 80 39 20 21 327 250 99
Boston Bruins 80 37 30 13 316 272 87
Minnesota North Stars 80 35 28 17 291 263 87
Quebec Nordiques 80 30 32 18 314 318 78
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 28 37 15 322 367 71

[2]

Norris Division
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

[2]

Clarence Campbell Conference

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Patrick Division
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

[2]

Smythe Division
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

[2]

Playoffs

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Main article: 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs

Bracket

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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).

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
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

Awards

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1981 NHL awards
Stanley Cup: New York Islanders
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
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record)		 Denis Herron, Michel Larocque, & Richard Sevigny, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

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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

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Scoring leaders

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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

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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 Islanders/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

[4]

Coaches

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Patrick Division

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Adams Division

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Norris Division

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Smythe Division

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Milestones

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Debuts

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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):

Last games

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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):

Broadcasting

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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

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References

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  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
  • Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 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. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
  • "1980-81 NHL Playoff Results". hockeyDB.com.
Notes
  1. ^ "1980–81 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  2. ^ a b c d Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  3. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 152.
  4. ^ "1980-81 NHL Leaders".
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