The 1980–81

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 ...

season was the Oilers'

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

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 ...

in the

NHL 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 ...

, and they finished with 74 points, a 5-point improvement from their 1st season.

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 ...

ran away with the

Art Ross Trophy The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...

, awarded to the leading scorer, as he finished with 164 points, 29 points ahead of runner-up

Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel Dionn ...

of the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. Gretzky also won his second consecutive

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

, awarded to the MVP of the NHL. His 164 points were an NHL record, previously held by

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 ...

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 ...

in the

1970–71 NHL season The 1970–71 NHL season was the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Divisio ...

when he scored 152 points. Youngsters

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 one ...

and

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

have very good offensive seasons, finishing 2nd and 3rd on the Oilers scoring list.

Eddie Mio Edward Dario Mio (born January 31, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Indianapolis Racers and Edmonton Oilers between 1977 and 1979, and in the National Hockey Le ...

got the majority of action in the Oilers goal, playing in a team high 43 games and having 16 wins, which set a franchise record. In the playoffs, the Oilers faced the heavily favoured

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the first round, and they shocked the hockey world by sweeping Montreal in 3 games. In the quarter-finals, the Oilers played the defending Stanley Cup Champion and heavily favored

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 ( ...

and took them to 6 games before being eliminated.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

In Game One of the series versus Montreal,

had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.243, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ]

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

Awards and records

Records

*164: A NHL record for most points in a single season by

. ::*153: A new NHL record for most points in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on March 29, 1981. *109: A NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky. ::*103: A new NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on April 1, 1981.

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

''*Played only one game before becoming a free agent''

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the

1980 NHL Entry Draft The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was the 18th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum. This was the first time that an NHL arena hosted the draft.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.241, Published in Canada by Doubleda ...

References

*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 Edmonton Oilers Season Edmonton Oilers season, 1980-81 Edmon Edmonton Oilers seasons