The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. The

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

by defeating the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in five games.

League business

This was the first season that the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

played in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

. Previously, they were the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

and played in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Regular season

The season featured notable individual scoring milestones.

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

broke

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

's single season assist record, scoring 109 assists, and

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...

'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

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 Bossy. Bossy's Islanders finished as regular season champions with 110 points with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

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''

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

The Stanley Cup playoffs would see the

dominate on their way to winning their second consecutive

. Notably, in the first round against the Maple Leafs, the Isles swept a three-game series, outscoring Toronto 20–4. The Islanders would go on to defeat Edmonton in six games in the quarter-finals, and in the semi-finals, the Islanders swept the Rangers and outscored them 22–8. In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series,

had five assists. This was a single game playoff record. Another distinction was in the

' sweep of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

; the two games the North Stars won in

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...

were the first games that the team had won in Boston, either regular season or playoff, since the team had joined the NHL in 1967.

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

The Islanders defeated the

in the finals in five games. The Islanders were defeated only three times during the entire four round playoff run.

New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points'' Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

Coaches

Patrick Division

*Calgary Flames: Al MacNeil *New York Islanders:

Al Arbour Alger Joseph Arbour (November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He is third to Joel Quenneville for games coached in National Hockey League history and fifth all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowm ...

*New York Rangers:

Craig Patrick Craig Patrick (born May 20, 1946) is an American former hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick. During the 1980 Winter Olympics, Patrick was the Assistant General Manager and Assist ...

*Philadelphia Flyers: Pat Quinn *Washington Capitals: Gary Green

Adams Division

*Boston Bruins:

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

*Buffalo Sabres:

Scotty Bowman William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...

*Minnesota North Stars:

Glen Sonmor Glen Robert Sonmor (April 22, 1929 – December 14, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, scout and coach. He played 28 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1953 to 1955, though most of his career was ...

*Quebec Nordiques: Maurice Filion and Michel Bergeron *Toronto Maple Leafs:

Joe Crozier Joseph Richard Crozier (February 19, 1929 – October 11, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and head coach who played and coached primarily in the minor leagues. After playing the better part of 12 seasons in the minor lea ...

Norris Division

*Detroit Red Wings:

Wayne Maxner Wayne Douglas Maxner (born September 27, 1942 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian former hockey player for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He led the Ontario Hockey Association junior A league in scoring in 1962–63 as ...

*Hartford Whalers: Don Blackburn *Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry *Montreal Canadiens:

Claude Ruel Claude Ruel (September 12, 1938 – February 9, 2015) was a professional ice hockey Coach (ice hockey), coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ruel grew up playing hockey in Sherbrooke. He was considered to be ...

*Pittsburgh Penguins:

Eddie Johnston Edward Joseph Johnston (born November 24, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former coach and general manager in the National Hockey League. His professional career spanned fifty-three years (twenty-two as a player ...

Smythe Division

*Chicago Black Hawks:

Keith Magnuson Keith Arlen Magnuson (April 27, 1947 – December 15, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman from Wadena, Saskatchewan who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1969 and 1979. Magnuson played 589 career NHL games, a ...

*Colorado Rockies:

Bill MacMillan William Stewart MacMillan (born March 7, 1943) is a Canadian former hockey coach and player. MacMillan played and later coached in the National Hockey League (NHL). After several years with the Canadian national team, including playing at two Wo ...

*Edmonton Oilers: Bryan Watson *St. Louis Blues:

Red Berenson Gordon Arthur "Red, The Red Baron" Berenson (born December 8, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team from 1984 to 2017. Berenson was inducted into Canada's Sports ...

*Vancouver Canucks:

Harry Neale Harold Watson Neale (born March 9, 1937) is a Canadian retired NCAA, NHL and WHA coach and general manager, and ice hockey broadcaster. Coaching career Following his playing career, Neale got his head coaching start at Hill Park Secondary Schoo ...

*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 Barry Alan Pederson (born March 13, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League between 1980 and 1992. He finished second in NHL Awards Voting for Rookie of the Year in 1982 ...

, Boston Bruins *

Steve Kasper Stephen Neil Kasper (born September 28, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Light ...

, Boston Bruins *

Denis Savard Denis Joseph Savard (born February 4, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1997, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2017 Savard was named one of ...

, Chicago Black Hawks * Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks *

Andy Moog Donald Andrew Moog (; born February 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moog played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and also for the C ...

, Edmonton Oilers * Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers *

Glenn Anderson Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...

, Edmonton Oilers *

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named on ...

, Edmonton Oilers *

Paul Coffey Paul Douglas Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League. Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time among ...

, Edmonton Oilers * Larry Murphy, Los Angeles Kings *

Dino Ciccarelli Dino Ciccarelli (born February 8, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, primarily with the Minnesota North Stars, but also notably with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he h ...

, Minnesota North Stars *

Don Beaupre Donald William Beaupre (born September 19, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 17 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, and Toro ...

, Minnesota North Stars *

Neal Broten Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959) is an American former professional ice hockey player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in ...

, Minnesota North Stars *

Doug Wickenheiser Douglas Peter Wickenheiser (March 30, 1961 – January 12, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey player, who was drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Career Wickenheiser was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. A supe ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Guy Carbonneau Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Rick Wamsley Richard James Wamsley (born May 25, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was the goaltending ...

, Montreal Canadiens *

Brent Sutter Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Sut ...

, New York Islanders * Rollie Melanson, New York Islanders *

Tim Kerr Timothy E. Kerr (born January 5, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and Hartford Whalers. Known for his goal-sco ...

, Philadelphia Flyers * Mike Bullard, Pittsburgh Penguins *

Anton Stastny Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

, Quebec Nordiques *

Peter Stastny Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, Quebec Nordiques *

Dale Hunter Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights ...

, Quebec Nordiques * Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues *

Dave Babych David Michael Babych (born May 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant director of player personnel with the Vancouver Canucks. He p ...

, 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 Joseph Gilbert Yvon Jean Ratelle (born October 3, 1940) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. In twenty-one seasons he averaged almost a point a game and won the Lady Byng Trophy twice in re ...

, Boston Bruins *

Terry Harper Terrance Victor Harper (born January 27, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Harper played in the National Hockey League from 1962 to 1981. During this time, he played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroi ...

, Colorado Rockies *

Pete Mahovlich Peter Joseph Mahovlich (born October 10, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. Known in his playing years as "Little M", as his older brother Frank was the "Big M", Mahovlich played in the National Hockey ...

, Detroit Red Wings * Tom Bladon, Detroit Red Wings *

, New York Rangers *

Walt Tkaczuk Walter Robert Bogdan Tkaczuk (born September 29, 1947) is a Canadian former ice hockey centre who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers between 1967 and 1981. Tkaczuk's family, originally from Ukraine, move ...

, New York Rangers *

Ron Ellis Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, Toronto Maple Leafs * Dennis Kearns, Vancouver Canucks *

Bobby Schmautz Robert James Schmautz (March 28, 1945March 28, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oil ...

, Vancouver Canucks *

Dennis Ververgaert Dennis Andrew Ververgaert (born March 30, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League from 1973 until 1981. He featured in the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals with the Flyers. Ververgaert is be ...

, Washington Capitals *

Guy Charron Guy Joseph Jean Charron (born January 24, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the NHL from 1969–1981. He previously served as the head coach of the WHL's Kamloops Blazers. Guy is currently the Commissioner ...

, Washington Capitals *

Wayne Stephenson Wayne Frederick Stephenson (January 29, 1945 – June 22, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Fort William, Ontario. Playing career Stephenson played primarily with the Canadian National Team early in ...

, Washington Capitals *

Jude Drouin Joseph Jude Drouin (born October 28, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Early life Drouin was born in Murdochville, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1961 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with Murdochv ...

, Winnipeg Jets

References

* * * * * ;Notes

External links

Hockey DatabaseNHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 NHL season 1980–81 in Canadian ice hockey by league 1980–81 in American ice hockey by league

League business

Regular season

Final standings

Prince of Wales Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup Finals

New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars

Awards

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Coaches

Patrick Division

Adams Division

Norris Division

Smythe Division

Milestones

Debuts

Last games

See also

References

External links