The 1980–81 WHL season was the 15th season of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL), featuring thirteen teams and a 72-game regular season. The Victoria Cougars won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for topping the regular season standings—setting a league record with 60 wins—and the President's Cup as league champions, defeating the Calgary Wranglers in the playoff finals. The season was the first for both the Spokane Flyers, who reactivated the dormant Great Falls Americans franchise, and the expansion Winnipeg Warriors.

Team changes

*The Great Falls Americans are reactivated and relocated to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, becoming the Spokane Flyers. *The Winnipeg Warriors join the WHL as an expansion team.

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes''

1981 WHL Playoffs

First round

*Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 1 *Calgary defeated Billings 4 games to 1 *Lethbridge defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1 *Spokane defeated New Westminster in 4th place tiebreaker game

Division semi-finals

*Regina earned a bye *Calgary defeated Lethbridge 3 games to 1 *Victoria defeated Spokane 4 games to 0 *Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 1

Division finals

* Calgary defeated Regina 4 games to 2 * Victoria defeated Portland 4 games to 0

WHL Championship

*Victoria defeated Calgary 4 games to 3

All-Star game

On January 20, the WHL All-Stars defeated the Victoria Cougars 8–3 at

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

before a crowd of 3,520.

WHL awards

All-Star Teams

References

* 2005–06 WHL Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 Whl Season Western Hockey League seasons WCHL WHL