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1980–81 Calgary Flames season
NHL team season (first season in Calgary)
NHL team season (first season in Calgary)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| League | NHL |
| Season | 1980–81 |
| year | 1980 |
| Team | Calgary Flames |
| Conference | Campbell |
| ConferenceRank | 4th |
| Division | Patrick |
| DivisionRank | 3rd |
| Record | 39–27–14 |
| HomeRecord | 25–5–10 |
| RoadRecord | 14–22–4 |
| GoalsFor | 329 |
| GoalsAgainst | 298 |
| GeneralManager | Cliff Fletcher |
| Coach | Al MacNeil |
| Captain | Brad Marsh |
| AltCaptain | None |
| Arena | Stampede Corral |
| Attendance | 7,217 |
| GoalsLeader | Kent Nilsson (49) |
| AssistsLeader | Kent Nilsson (82) |
| PointsLeader | Kent Nilsson (131) |
| PIMLeader | Willi Plett (239) |
| WinsLeader | Pat Riggin (21) |
| GAALeader | Rejean Lemelin (3.83) |
| prev_season | [1979–80 (Atlanta)](1979-80-atlanta-flames-season) |
The 1980–81 Calgary Flames season was the first season in Calgary and ninth for the Flames in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flames moved to southern Alberta from Atlanta, where the franchise was known as the Atlanta Flames for the first eight years of its existence. The Flames became the third major-league team to represent the city of Calgary after the Calgary Tigers of the 1920s, and the Calgary Cowboys, which had folded in 1977.
The Flames were purchased for $16 million USD by Nelson Skalbania in the spring of 1980. Before the sale was even announced, he had already sold 50% of the franchise to a group of Calgary-based investors including Harley Hotchkiss and Normie Kwong. On May 21, 1980, it was announced that the franchise was moving to Calgary. While the Cowboys could not manage 2,000 season tickets three years previous, the Flames sold 10,000 full and half-season ticket packages in 1980, selling out the Stampede Corral for every game played there.
Despite the move west, the Flames remained in the East-coast-centered Patrick Division. For practical purposes however, the anomaly was academic. At the time, the league played a balanced schedule and used a league-wide playoff format. This arrangement would only last one more season before the league re-aligned to reflect its geography.
Calgary's first NHL game was played October 9, ending as a 5–5 tie to the Quebec Nordiques. The Flames finished third in their division and qualified for the playoffs. The franchise, which had won just two playoff games in Atlanta, won two playoff series in their first year in Calgary. After sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks, Calgary then downed the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games before falling to the Minnesota North Stars in the league semi-final.
Kent Nilsson led the Flames in scoring, and his 82 assists and 131 points remain franchise records to this day. Nilsson was also the Flames lone representative at the 1981 All-Star Game.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|- | 1 || October 9 || Quebec || 5 – 5 || Calgary || OT || 0–0–1 || 1 || 7,243 |- | 2 || October 11 || Calgary || 2 – 6 || Colorado || || 0–1–1 || 1 || 7,564 |- | 3 || October 12 || Calgary || 3 – 3 || Chicago || OT || 0–1–2 || 2 || 10,923 |- | 4 || October 14 || Los Angeles || 2 – 4 || Calgary || || 1–1–2 || 4 || 7,126 |- | 5 || October 16 || Boston || 1 – 2 || Calgary || || 2–1–2 || 6 || 7,229 |- | 6 || October 18 || Minnesota || 2 – 6 || Calgary || || 3–1–2 || 8 || 7,139 |- | 7 || October 22 || Calgary || 3 – 5 || Edmonton || || 3–2–2 || 8 || 17,396 |- | 8 || October 23 || Toronto || 5 – 4 || Calgary || || 3–3–2 || 8 || 7,243 |- | 9 || October 25 || Calgary || 8 – 2 || Pittsburgh || || 4–3–2 || 10 || 9,363 |- | 10 || October 28 || Calgary || 0 – 8 || Philadelphia || || 4–4–2 || 10 || 17,077 |- | 11 || October 30 || Calgary || 3 – 1 || Boston || || 5–4–2 || 12 || 8,774
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Playoffs
|- | 1 || April 8 || Chicago || 3 – 4 || Calgary || || Calgary leads 1–0 || 7,226 |- | 2 || April 9 || Chicago || 2 – 6 || Calgary || || Calgary leads 2–0 || 7,226 |- | 3 || April 11 || Calgary || 5 – 4 || Chicago || 2OT || Calgary wins 3–0 || 12,482
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Player statistics
Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Regular season | Playoffs | Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent Nilsson | 14 | 80 | 49 | **82** | **131** | 26 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 4 | |||||
| Guy Chouinard | 16 | 52 | 31 | 52 | 83 | 24 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 4 | |||||
| Willi Plett | 25 | 78 | 38 | 30 | 68 | 239 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 89 | |||||
| Paul Reinhart | 23 | 74 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 52 | 16 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||||
| Eric Vail | 27 | 64 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Bob MacMillan | 11 | 77 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 47 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 7 | |||||
| Don Lever | 12 | 62 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 56 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | |||||
| Pekka Rautakallio | 4 | 76 | 11 | 45 | 56 | 64 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | |||||
| Jim Peplinski | 24 | 80 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 108 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | |||||
| Kevin LaVallee | 15 | 77 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |||||
| Bill Clement | 10 | 78 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 33 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| Ken Houston | 6 | 42 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 93 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 | |||||
| Phil Russell | 5 | 80 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 104 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 29 | |||||
| Bob Murdoch | 20 | 74 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 54 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 36 | |||||
| Dan Labraaten† | 21 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Jamie Hislop† | 17 | 29 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |||||
| Brad Marsh | 22 | 80 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 87 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | |||||
| Bert Wilson | 8 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Brad Smith | 18 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 65 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Alex McKendry | 26 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Earl Ingarfield‡ | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Denis Cyr | 9 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Randy Holt | 7 | 48 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 165 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 52 | |||||
| Dan Bouchard‡ | 30 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Dave Hindmarch | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| Greg Meredith | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Mike Dwyer | 29 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Gord Wappel | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Rejean Lemelin | 1 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Pat Riggin | 31 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Tony Curtale | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Bobby Gould | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Steve Konroyd | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. ‡Traded mid-season.
Bold denotes franchise record.
Goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Regular season | Playoffs | Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejean Lemelin | 1 | 29 | 1629 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 88 | 2 | 3.24 | 6 | 366 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 3.61 | |||||
| Pat Riggin | 31 | 42 | 2411 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 154 | 0 | 3.83 | 11 | 629 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 3.53 | |||||
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 14 | 760 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 0 | 4.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | –.-- |
Transactions
The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.
Trades
| February 24, 1981 | To Calgary Flames Future Considerations | To Detroit Red Wings Brad Smith |
|---|
Free agents
| D Charlie Bourgeois | Université de Moncton (CIAU) |
|---|
|}
Draft picks
Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks
Calgary's picks at the 1980 NHL entry draft, held in Montreal.
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Denis Cyr | Canada | RW | Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) | 193 | 41 | 43 | 84 | 36 | |
| 2 | 31 | Tony Curtale | United States | D | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 32 | Kevin LaVallee | Canada | F | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | 366 | 110 | 125 | 235 | 85 | |
| 2 | 39 | Steve Konroyd | Canada | D | Oshawa Generals (OHA) | 895 | 41 | 195 | 236 | 863 | |
| 4 | 76 | Marc Roy | Canada | RW | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | ||||||
| 5 | 97 | Randy Turnbull | Canada | D | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 6 | 118 | John Multan | Canada | RW | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | ||||||
| 7 | 139 | Dave Newsom | Canada | LW | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | ||||||
| 8 | 160 | Claude Drouin | Canada | C | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | ||||||
| 9 | 181 | Hakan Loob | Sweden | F | Färjestad BK (SEL) | 450 | 193 | 236 | 429 | 189 | |
| 10 | 202 | Steven Fletcher | Canada | LW | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
References
- Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 131.
- Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 141.
- Team standings: 1980–81 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
- Trades: Individual player pages at hockeydb.com
References
- Zeman, p. 92.
- Zeman, p. 94.
- All-Star Selections, ''2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide'', p. 22.
- "1980-81 Calgary Flames Schedule".
- Maki, Alan. (1980-06-11). "No Kings' ransom paid to land Unger". Calgary Herald.
- [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr000043.html Calgary Flames draft history], hockeydb.com, accessed October 8, 2007.
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