1979–80 NHL season

1979–80 NHL season
1979–80 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 9, 1979 – May 24, 1980
Number of games	80
Number of teams	21
TV partner(s)	CBC, SRC (Canada); Hughes, ESPN, USA, CBS (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Rob Ramage
Picked by	Colorado Rockies
Regular season
Season champions	Philadelphia Flyers
Season MVP	Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Top scorer	Marcel Dionne (Kings)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Stanley Cup
Champions	New York Islanders
Runners-up	Philadelphia Flyers

The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers (later renamed "Hartford Whalers" at the insistence of the Boston Bruins), and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams (Birmingham Bulls and Cincinnati Stingers) were paid to fold.

The New York Islanders won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, in the finals.

The season also marked the eighth and final season for the Flames in Atlanta before the franchise relocated to Calgary. The NHL would return to the Georgia capital in 1999 with the Thrashers, but that team would ultimately relocate away from Atlanta as well becoming the second (and current) incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.

The collapse of the WHA also saw the much hyped super-star rookie Wayne Gretzky come to the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky would tie Marcel Dionne for the scoring lead with 137 points and capture the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player while Dionne took home the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer by virtue of having scored two more goals. Gretzky aside, many players made their debut in the NHL this season, both due to the WHA merger and to a change in the rules for the Entry Draft allowing eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds to be drafted for the first time; no fewer than seven Hall of Famers (Gretzky, Ray Bourque, Mark Messier, Mike Gartner, Michel Goulet, Mark Howe, and an undrafted Joe Mullen) debuted this season, along with numerous other perennial stars.

The big story of the regular season was the record-breaking undefeated streak compiled by the Philadelphia Flyers. After starting the season with a 5–2 win over the New York Islanders and a 9–2 loss to the Atlanta Flames, the Flyers did not lose again for nearly three months, earning at least one point in every game between a 4–3 win over Toronto on October 14, 1979, and a 4–2 win over Buffalo on January 6, 1980, earning a 35-game record of 25–0–10. This stands as the longest undefeated streak in North American professional sports history.

Regular season

With 21 teams in the league, the regular-season schedule was set without regard to divisional affiliation. Each team played each of the other 20 teams four times in the year, twice at home and twice on the road. As well, a new playoff structure was introduced with the four division winners plus the next 12 teams with the best records qualifying. Division winners were not granted any byes and the divisions were ignored for determining playoff match-up seeding. Thus the division grouping ensured that if the five worst teams were to be in the same five-team division, the winner of this division would have qualified for the playoffs despite having the fifth worst season record. Except for that unlikely possibility, the divisional affiliations were irrelevant and had no effect on playoff qualification or seeding. A few months into the season, the Detroit Red Wings started playing at Joe Louis Arena after having spent all but their first season at the Detroit Olympia.

For the four previous seasons, the Boston Bruins had owned first place in the Adams Division. This season saw the Buffalo Sabres dethrone the Bruins in the Adams. The New York Islanders finished first overall in the NHL the previous season with 116 points, but lost in the playoffs semifinals to the upstart New York Rangers. This season saw them fall considerably in the standings as they finished fifth overall with 91 points, a full 25 points below last year's finish. On the other hand, the Philadelphia Flyers improved by 21 points from the previous season. Their 35-game undefeated streak (25–0–10) propelled them to the best record in the NHL with 116 points.

All four expansion teams finished poorly with records below .500. The Hartford Whalers fared the best with 73 points and the Winnipeg Jets tied the Colorado Rockies for last overall with 51 points. Hartford (14th overall) and Edmonton (16th overall) qualified for the playoffs, but both teams were swept 3 games to 0 in their respective first-round playoff series.

Rule changes

In August 1979, John Ziegler, the NHL president, announced that protective helmets were made mandatory for all NHL players. "The introduction of the helmet rule will be an additional safety factor", he said. The only exception were for players who signed their pro contracts prior to June 1, 1979. Those players under the exception who chose not to wear a helmet also had to sign a waiver form, if they so desired. At the time of the rule change, about 70% of NHLers were wearing helmets already. The first player to wear protective headgear on a regular basis was George Owen of the Boston Bruins in the 1928–29 season. Prior to that, the only time protective headgear was worn was to temporarily protect injuries. Craig MacTavish, while playing for the St. Louis Blues, was the last helmetless player, retiring after the 1996–97 season.

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

Adams Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Buffalo Sabres	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
Boston Bruins	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
Minnesota North Stars	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
Quebec Nordiques	80	25	44	11	248	313	61

^[1]

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records^[2]
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Boston	—	2–1–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	12–3–1
Buffalo	1–2–1	—	2–1–1	3–1	4–0	10–4–2
Minnesota	2–2	1–2–1	—	2–1–1	2–2	7–7–2
Quebec	0–4	1–3	1–2–1	—	3–1	5–10–1
Toronto	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	—	3–13–0

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Boston	2–1–1	2–1–1	2–1–1	1–3	2–2	9–8–3
Buffalo	3–1	3–1	3–0–1	1–1–2	4–0	14–3–3
Minnesota	1–2–1	4–0	0–2–2	1–3	3–1	9–8–3
Quebec	1–2–1	1–1–2	1–3	1–2–1	2–2	6–10–4
Toronto	4–0	2–2	0–3–1	1–3	2–2	9–10–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Boston	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–1–2	2–1–1	12–5–3
Buffalo	3–0–1	2–1–1	2–1–1	0–3–1	4–0	11–5–4
Minnesota	1–1–2	2–0–2	2–1–1	1–3	3–0–1	9–5–6
Quebec	0–3–1	0–4	1–2–1	0–3–1	1–1–2	2–13–5
Toronto	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–1–2	3–1	10–8–2

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Boston	2−2	2−1−1	4−0	1−1−2	1−0−3	3−1	13−5−6
Buffalo	1−1−2	3−1	2−1−1	2−2	1−0−3	3−0−1	12−5−7
Minnesota	1−2−1	3−1	1−1−2	3−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	11−8−5
Quebec	1−2−1	3−1	2−2	2−2	2−2	2−2	12−11−1
Toronto	0−4	3−0−1	1−2−1	2−2	3−1	4−0	13−9−2

Norris Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
Hartford Whalers	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
Detroit Red Wings	80	26	43	11	268	306	63

^[1]

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records^[3]
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Detroit	—	1–2–1	0–3–1	0–3–1	2–2	3–10–3
Hartford	2–1–1	—	2–1–1	0–1–3	2–1–1	6–4–6
Los Angeles	3–0–1	1–2–1	—	0–4	1–1–2	5–7–4
Montreal	3–0–1	1–0–3	4–0	—	2–1–1	10–1–5
Pittsburgh	2–2	1–2–1	1–1–2	1–2–1	—	5–7–4

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Detroit	1–2–1	1–3	2–1–1	2–1–1	0–4	6–11–3
Hartford	1–2–1	1–3	0–4	1–1–2	2–2	5–12–3
Los Angeles	1–2–1	0–3–1	2–0–2	3–1	3–0–1	9–6–5
Montreal	3–1	1–1–2	3–1	2–1–1	3–1	12–5–3
Pittsburgh	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–2	7–13–0

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Detroit	1–2–1	3–1	1–3	0–3–1	2–1–1	7–10–3
Hartford	3–1	1–3	1–2–1	0–2–2	1–2–1	6–10–4
Los Angeles	1–2–1	1–2–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	4–14–2
Montreal	3–0–1	0–3–1	3–0–1	2–1–1	2–1–1	10–5–5
Pittsburgh	2–1–1	1–0–3	2–2	0–3–1	3–1	8–7–5

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Detroit	1−3	1−3	2−1–1	1−2−1	2−2	3−1	10−12−2
Hartford	1–1–2	2−1−1	2–1–1	2–2	1−1−2	2−2	10−8−6
Los Angeles	3−0−1	4−0	1−2−1	1−3	2−2	1−2−1	12−9−3
Montreal	2−2	3−1	3−1	2−2	2−2	3−1	15−9−0
Pittsburgh	0−2–2	2−2	1−3	1−2–1	2−1–1	4−0	10−10−4

Clarence Campbell Conference

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
New York Islanders	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
New York Rangers	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
Atlanta Flames	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
Washington Capitals	80	27	40	13	261	293	67

^[1]

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records^[4]
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Atlanta	—	1–3	3–0–1	2–2	3–0–1	9−5−2
N.Y. Islanders	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	9−7−0
N.Y. Rangers	0–3–1	2–2	—	1–2–1	2–2	5−9−2
Philadelphia	2–2	2–2	2–1–1	—	2–0–2	8−5−3
Washington	0–3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2–2	—	4−9−3

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Atlanta	0−2−2	4−0	2−1−1	3−1	2−2	4−0	15−6−3
N.Y. Islanders	2−1−1	3−1	1−2−1	3−1	1−2−1	2−0−2	12−7−5
N.Y. Rangers	1−2−1	1−1−2	3−1	4−0	4−0	2−2	15−6−3
Philadelphia	2–0–2	2–1–1	3–0−1	2−0−2	3−1	4−0	16−2−6
Washington	2−2	1−1−2	1−3	2−2	3−1	3−0−1	12−9−3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Atlanta	0–4	0–3–1	1–1–2	3–0–1	1–3	5–11–4
N.Y. Islanders	1–3	1–2–1	0–2–2	4–0	3–1	9–8–3
N.Y. Rangers	2–2	1–2–1	1–2–1	2–1–1	2–2	8–9–3
Philadelphia	1–1–2	3–0–1	3–1	3–0–1	1–1–2	11–3–6
Washington	1–2–1	0–4	0–3–1	1–1–2	1–3	3–13–4

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Atlanta	2–1–1	1–3	2–1–1	0–3–1	1–2–1	6–10–4
N.Y. Islanders	1–3	3–1	2–1–1	3–0–1	0–1–3	9–6–5
N.Y. Rangers	3–1	2–1–1	3–1	0–3–1	2–2	10–8–2
Philadelphia	3–0–1	2–0–2	4–0	1–2–1	3–0–1	13–2–5
Washington	1–2–1	2–1–1	3–1	1–2–1	1–3	8–9–3

Smythe Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Black Hawks	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
St. Louis Blues	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
Vancouver Canucks	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
Edmonton Oilers	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
Winnipeg Jets	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
Colorado Rockies	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

^[1]

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records^[5]
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Chicago	—	3−0−1	1−3	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	8−8−4
Colorado	0−3−1	—	2−2	0−2−2	1−2−1	1−2−1	4−11−5
Edmonton	3−1	2−2	—	0−3−1	1−2−1	1−2−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−0−2	3−0−1	—	3−1	1−1−2	11−3−6
Vancouver	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	1−3	—	2−1−1	8−7−5
Winnipeg	2−2	2−1−1	1−2−1	2−2	1−2−1	—	8−9−3

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Chicago	2−0−2	1−2−1	2−1−1	0−2−2	2−2	7−7−6
Colorado	0−4	1−3	1−1−2	1−2−1	1−1−2	4−11−5
Edmonton	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	0−3−1	3−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	1−3	1−3	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	4−14−2
Vancouver	2−2	2−1−1	0−4	1−3	1−3	6−13−1
Winnipeg	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	0−4	0−3−1	2−15−3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Chicago	2−2	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	4−0	11−5−4
Colorado	1−2−1	1−3	1−3	1−3	0−3−1	4−14−2
Edmonton	0−4	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	2−1−1	6−10−4
St. Louis	1−1−2	2−2	1−3	2−2	2−2	8−10−2
Vancouver	0−1−3	0−1−3	2−1−1	2−2	1−3	5−8−7
Winnipeg	1−3	0−3−1	1−2−1	2−2	0−4	4−14−2

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Chicago	3−1	1−1−2	0−3−1	2−2	2−0−2	8−7−5
Colorado	3−1	1−2−1	0−4	1−3	2−2	7−12−1
Edmonton	1−2−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	3−1	8−9−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−2	3−1	2−2	2−1−1	11−7−2
Vancouver	2−2	1−1−2	2−2	2−2	1−2−1	8−9−3
Winnipeg	1−3	2−2	2−1−1	1−3	0−4	6−13−1

Playoffs

With the league expansion from 17 to 21 teams, the playoffs were also expanded, from a 12-team tournament to a 16-team tournament. The sixteen teams were composed of the four divisional champions plus the top 12 finishers of the remaining 17 teams. The 16 qualifying teams were then seeded based on regular season points, with divisional rankings ignored. Division leaders no longer received first round byes. The teams were seeded 1 through 16, with the top team playing the 16th team in the first round, and so on. In subsequent rounds, matchups were similarly arranged, with the top remaining seed against the lowest remaining seed, and so on. The preliminary round was a best-of-five set.^[6] The Atlanta Flames played their final playoff games in this postseason, and moved to Calgary soon after. The playoffs returned to Atlanta in 2007.

Playoff seeds

The sixteen teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–16 based on regular season points.

Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 116 points
Buffalo Sabres, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 110 points
Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions – 107 points
Boston Bruins – 105 points
New York Islanders – 91 points
Minnesota North Stars – 88 points
Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 87 points
New York Rangers – 86 points
Atlanta Flames – 83 points
St. Louis Blues – 80 points
Toronto Maple Leafs – 75 points
Los Angeles Kings – 74 points
Pittsburgh Penguins – 73 points (30 wins)
Hartford Whalers – 73 points (27 wins)
Vancouver Canucks – 70 points
Edmonton Oilers – 69 points

Playoff bracket

Preliminary round			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Stanley Cup Finals

1	Philadelphia	3

16	Edmonton	0
			1	Philadelphia	4

			8	NY Rangers	1
2	Buffalo	3

15	Vancouver	1
						1	Philadelphia	4

						4	Minnesota	1
3	Montreal	3

14	Hartford	0
			2	Buffalo	4

			7	Chicago	0
4	Boston	3

13	Pittsburgh	2
									1	Philadelphia	2

									3	NY Islanders	4
5	NY Islanders	3

12	Los Angeles	1
			3	Montreal	3

			6	Minnesota	4
6	Minnesota	3

11	Toronto	0
						2	Buffalo	2

						3	NY Islanders	4
7	Chicago	3

10	St. Louis	0
			4	Boston	1

			5	NY Islanders	4
8	NY Rangers	3

9	Atlanta	1

Stanley Cup Finals

The story of the playoffs was Mike Bossy and the New York Islanders. After a dismal start for their franchise in the early seventies, the Islanders built a contender for the Stanley Cup and won their first of four in a row by beating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime of game six of the final. Defenceman Denis Potvin scored a crucial overtime goal in game one and the Cup was won when Bobby Nystrom scored the Cup-winning goal from John Tonelli and Lorne Henning at 7:11 of the first overtime. Ken Morrow became the first hockey player in history to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same season. Hall of Fame announcer Dan Kelly was calling the play-by-play for CBS Sports on that day, May 24, 1980, which was the last NHL game to air on American network television for nearly ten years.^[7]

May 13	New York Islanders		4–3	OT	Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Mike Bossy (7) – pp – 12:02		First period			10:31 – Mel Bridgman (2)
Denis Potvin (2) – 02:20		Second period			17:08 – pp – Bobby Clarke (5)
Stefan Persson (3) – pp – 16:18		Third period			13:10 – Rick MacLeish (7)
Denis Potvin (3) – pp – 04:07		First overtime period			No scoring
Billy Smith 30 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 32 saves / 36 shots

May 15	New York Islanders		3–8	Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Butch Goring (5) – 03:23		First period		07:22 – pp – Paul Holmgren (7) 08:37 – Bob Kelly (1) 17:23 – Bobby Clarke (6)
Bryan Trottier (9) – pp – 03:28		Second period		01:06 – Bill Barber (12) 04:13 – pp – Paul Holmgren (8) 15:47 – pp – Brian Propp (3)
Butch Goring (6) – pp – 15:00		Third period		01:40 – Tom Gorence (3) 04:19 – Paul Holmgren (9)
Billy Smith 20 saves / 26 shots Chico Resch 3 saves / 5 shots		Goalie stats		Pete Peeters 20 saves / 23 shots

May 17	Philadelphia Flyers		2–6	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period		02:38 – sh – Lorne Henning (3) 07:43 – pp – Denis Potvin (4) 13:04 – pp – Bryan Trottier (10) 14:29 – pp – Mike Bossy (8)
No scoring		Second period		15:41 – pp – Clark Gillies (5) 17:25 – pp – Denis Potvin (5)
Bobby Clarke (7) – 09:48 Mike Busniuk (1) – 11:32		Third period		No scoring
Phil Myre 34 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats		Billy Smith 30 saves / 32 shots

May 19

Philadelphia Flyers

2–5

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

Recap

May 22

New York Islanders

3–6

Philadelphia Flyers

Spectrum

Recap

May 24

Philadelphia Flyers

4–5

OT

New York Islanders

Nassau Coliseum

Recap

New York won series 4–2

Awards

1980 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy (Wales Conference regular season champion)	Buffalo Sabres
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Campbell Conference regular season champion)	Philadelphia Flyers
Art Ross Trophy (Top scorer, regular season)	Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication)	Al MacAdam, Minnesota North Stars
Calder Memorial Trophy (Top first-year player)	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Conn Smythe Trophy (Most valuable player, playoffs)	Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward)	Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy (Most valuable player, regular season)	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award (Best coach)	Pat Quinn, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best defenceman)	Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Lester B. Pearson Award (Outstanding player, regular season)	Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Vezina Trophy (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record)	Don Edwards & Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres
Lester Patrick Trophy (Service to hockey in the U.S.)	Bobby Clarke, Edward M. Snider, Frederick A. Shero

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks	G	Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres
Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens	D	Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins	D	Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres
Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings	C	Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Danny Gare, Buffalo Sabres
Charlie Simmer, Los Angeles Kings	LW	Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Marcel Dionne	Los Angeles Kings	80	53	84	137	32
Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	79	51	86	137	21
Guy Lafleur	Montreal Canadiens	74	50	75	125	12
Gilbert Perreault	Buffalo Sabres	80	40	66	106	57
Mike Rogers	Hartford Whalers	80	44	61	105	10
Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	78	42	62	104	68
Charlie Simmer	Los Angeles Kings	64	56	45	101	65
Blaine Stoughton	Hartford Whalers	80	56	44	100	16
Darryl Sittler	Toronto Maple Leafs	73	40	57	97	62
Blair MacDonald	Edmonton Oilers	80	46	48	94	6
Bernie Federko	St. Louis Blues	79	38	56	94	24

Source: NHL.^[8]

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Bob Sauve	Buffalo Sabres	32	1880	74	2.36	20	8	4	4
Denis Herron	Montreal Canadiens	34	1909	80	2.51	25	3	3	0
Don Edwards	Buffalo Sabres	49	2920	125	2.57	27	9	12	2
Pete Peeters	Philadelphia Flyers	40	2373	108	2.73	29	5	5	1
Gilles Gilbert	Boston Bruins	33	1933	88	2.73	20	9	3	1
Gerry Cheevers	Boston Bruins	42	2479	116	2.81	24	11	7	4
Billy Smith	N.Y. Islanders	38	2114	104	2.95	15	14	7	2
Tony Esposito	Chicago Black Hawks	69	4140	205	2.97	31	22	16	6
Glenn Resch	N.Y. Islanders	45	2606	132	3.04	23	14	6	3
Gilles Meloche	Minnesota North Stars	54	3141	160	3.06	27	20	5	1

Other statistics

Plus-minus leader: Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres

Coaches

Patrick Division

Atlanta Flames: Al MacNeil
New York Islanders: Al Arbour
New York Rangers: Fred Shero
Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn
Washington Capitals: Gary Green

Adams Division

Boston Bruins: Fred Creighton and Harry Sinden
Buffalo Sabres: Scotty Bowman
Minnesota North Stars: Glen Sonmor
Quebec Nordiques: Jacques Demers
Toronto Maple Leafs: Floyd Smith, Dick Duff and Punch Imlach

Norris Division

Detroit Red Wings: Bobby Kromm and Ted Lindsay
Hartford Whalers: Don Blackburn
Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry
Montreal Canadiens: Bernie Geoffrion and Claude Ruel
Pittsburgh Penguins: Johnny Wilson

Smythe Division

Chicago Black Hawks: Eddie Johnston
Colorado Rockies: Don Cherry
Edmonton Oilers: Glen Sather
St. Louis Blues: Barclay Plager and Red Berenson
Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale
Winnipeg Jets: Tom McVie and Bill Sutherland

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1979–80 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Bob Gould, Atlanta Flames
Kent Nilsson §, Atlanta Flames
Paul Reinhart, Atlanta Flames
Pekka Rautakallio §, Atlanta Flames
Pat Riggin §, Atlanta Flames
Brad McCrimmon, Boston Bruins
Craig MacTavish, Boston Bruins
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Mike Ramsey, Buffalo Sabres
Rob McClanahan, Buffalo Sabres
Keith Brown, Chicago Black Hawks
Rich Preston §, Chicago Black Hawks
Terry Ruskowski §, Chicago Black Hawks
Darryl Sutter, Chicago Black Hawks
Rob Ramage §, Colorado Rockies
John Ogrodnick, Detroit Red Wings
Mike Foligno, Detroit Red Wings
Jim Korn, Detroit Red Wings
Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers
Mark Messier §, Edmonton Oilers
Wayne Gretzky §, Edmonton Oilers
John Garrett §, Hartford Whalers
Gordie Roberts §, Hartford Whalers
Mark Howe §, Hartford Whalers
Mike Rogers §, Hartford Whalers
Mark Hardy, Los Angeles Kings
Jay Wells, Los Angeles Kings
Curt Giles, Minnesota North Stars,
Craig Hartsburg §, Minnesota North Stars
Tom McCarthy, Minnesota North Stars
Chris Nilan, Montreal Canadiens
Keith Acton, Montreal Canadiens
Gaston Gingras §, Montreal Canadiens
Rick Meagher, Montreal Canadiens
Richard Brodeur §, New York Islanders
Ken Morrow, New York Islanders
Duane Sutter, New York Islanders
Brian Propp, Philadelphia Flyers
Michel Goulet §, Quebec Nordiques
Jamie Hislop §, Quebec Nordiques
Real Cloutier §, Quebec Nordiques
Mike Liut §, St. Louis Blues
Joe Mullen*, St. Louis Blues
Laurie Boschman, Toronto Maple Leafs
Rick Vaive §, Vancouver Canucks
Mike Gartner §, Washington Capitals
Dave Christian, Winnipeg Jets

Players marked with § previously started their major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1979–80 (listed with their last team):

Curt Bennett, Atlanta Flames
Paul Henderson, Atlanta Flames
Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins
Dave Schultz, Buffalo Sabres
Keith Magnuson, Chicago Black Hawks
Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks
Cliff Koroll, Chicago Black Hawks
Gary Croteau, Colorado Rockies
Tom Webster, Detroit Red Wings
Dave Dryden, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Flett, Edmonton Oilers
Al Hamilton, Edmonton Oilers
Gordie Howe, Hartford Whalers (The last player to be born in the 1920s and the last player to have played in the 1940s)
Bobby Hull, Hartford Whalers (The last player to be born in the 1930s)
Andre Lacroix, Hartford Whalers
Syl Apps Jr., Los Angeles Kings
Barry Gibbs, Los Angeles Kings
Randy Manery, Los Angeles Kings
Jocelyn Guevremont, New York Rangers
Dale Tallon, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pierre Plante, Quebec Nordiques
Carl Brewer, Toronto Maple Leafs
Dennis Hextall, Washington Capitals
Gary Smith, Winnipeg Jets

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.

In the U.S., the league dissolved the NHL Network, the national broadcast syndication package that aired games from the 1975–76 through the 1978–79 seasons. The fledgling cable networks ESPN and UA-Columbia (later known as the USA Network) each signed agreements to broadcast slates of regular season games. The Hughes Television Network, the NHL Network's former distributor, also signed a deal to syndicate a schedule of Thursday night regular season games, selected playoff games, and the first five games of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals. CBS then agreed to televise Game 6 of the Cup Finals. That would be the last NHL game to air on U.S. network television until NBC televised the 1990 All-Star Game, as the league remained on national cable television for the rest of the 1980s.

Notes

↑ CBS only televised Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

References

Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. 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.
McCarthy, Dave, ed. (2008). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2009. Dan Diamond Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.

Notes

1 2 3 4 Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
↑ McCarthy, p. 249
↑ Podnieks, Andrew; Szemberg, Szymon (2008). IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time. Bolton, Ontario, Canada: Fenn Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4.
↑ Dinger 2011, p. 152.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] CBS only televised Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

[nhl-gd-standings-2] 1 2 3 4 Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[4] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[5] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[6] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[mccarthy-249-7] McCarthy, p. 249

[8] Podnieks, Andrew; Szemberg, Szymon (2008). IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All Time. Bolton, Ontario, Canada: Fenn Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-55168-358-4.

[FOOTNOTEDinger2011152-9] Dinger 2011, p. 152.

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1979–80 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Quebec Toronto
Norris	Detroit Hartford Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh
Smythe	Chicago Colorado Edmonton St. Louis Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	NHL–WHA merger Expansion Draft Entry Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Stanley Cup Final

Regular season

Rule changes

Final standings

Prince of Wales Conference

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Playoffs

Playoff seeds

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Other statistics

Coaches

Patrick Division

Adams Division

Norris Division

Smythe Division

Milestones

Debuts

Last games

Broadcasting

See also

Notes

References

External links