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1980–81 Montreal Canadiens season
NHL hockey team season
NHL hockey team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Team | Montreal Canadiens |
| League | NHL |
| Season | 1980–81 |
| year | 1980 |
| Conference | Wales |
| ConferenceRank | 1st |
| Division | Norris |
| DivisionRank | 1st |
| Record | 45–22–13 |
| HomeRecord | 31–7–2 |
| RoadRecord | 14–15–11 |
| GoalsFor | 332 |
| GoalsAgainst | 232 |
| GeneralManager | Irving Grundman |
| Coach | Claude Ruel |
| Captain | Serge Savard |
| AltCaptain | None |
| Arena | Montreal Forum |
| Attendance | 16,699 |
| GoalsLeader | Steve Shutt |
| Mark Napier (35) | |
| AssistsLeader | Guy Lafleur (43) |
| PointsLeader | Steve Shutt (73) |
| PlusMinusLeader | Brian Engblom (+63) |
| PIMLeader | Chris Nilan (262) |
| WinsLeader | Richard Sevigny (20) |
| GAALeader | Rick Wamsley (1.90) |
| ConferenceWin | Yes |
| DivisionWin | Yes |
Mark Napier (35)
Regular season
- Guy Lafleur, as a result of recovery from a car accident, appeared in only 51 games and scored 27 goals. It was the first time since the 1973–74 season that he failed to score 50 goals or more in a season.
Final standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|- |1||L||October 11, 1980||4–5 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||0–1–0 |- |2||L||October 12, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||0–2–0 |- |3||T||October 15, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||0–2–1 |- |4||W||October 18, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||1–2–1 |- |5||L||October 19, 1980||1–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||1–3–1 |- |6||L||October 21, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||1–4–1 |- |7||W||October 23, 1980||7–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||2–4–1 |- |8||L||October 25, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||2–5–1 |- |9||L||October 28, 1980||4–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||2–6–1 |- |10||W||October 30, 1980||8–2 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||3–6–1
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| Legend:
Playoffs
The Canadiens were swept in three games by the Edmonton Oilers. In Game One of the series, Wayne Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.
Player statistics
Regular season
Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LW | 77 | 35 | 38 | 73 | 51 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 3 | |
| RW | 79 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 24 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| RW | 51 | 27 | 43 | 70 | 29 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| RW | 77 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 123 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |
| W | 77 | 27 | 31 | 58 | 83 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| LW | 73 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 39 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| C | 61 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | |
| D | 65 | 12 | 38 | 50 | 37 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 2 | |
| LW | 78 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 36 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 3 | |
| D | 80 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 120 | 53 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |
| C | 57 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 16 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 2 | |
| C | 61 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 74 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| C | 80 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 34 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| C | 48 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 93 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 80 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 96 | 63 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 55 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 77 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 57 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 262 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| C | 41 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 33 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 79 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D/RW | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1777 | 33 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 2.40 | 2 | |
| 1623 | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 82 | 3.03 | 1 | |
| 1147 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 67 | 3.50 | 1 | |
| 253 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1.90 | 1 | |
| **Team:** | 4800 | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 228 | 2.85 | 5 |
Playoffs
Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LW | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 4.33 | 0 | |
| **Team:** | 180 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 4.33 | 0 |
Transactions
The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.
Trades
| March 10, 1981 | To Montreal CanadiensRobert Picard |
|---|---|
| 8th round pick in [1982](1982-nhl-entry-draft) – Steve Smith | To Toronto Maple LeafsMichel Larocque |
Free agent signings
| March 9, 1981 | From Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)Dan Daoust |
|---|
Draft picks
The 1980 NHL entry draft was hosted at the Montreal Forum. It would mark the first time that an NHL arena hosted the event.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Doug Wickenheiser | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 2 | 27 | Ric Nattress | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) |
| 2 | 40 | John Chabot | Canada | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 45 | John Newberry | Canada | Nanaimo Clippers (BCJHL) |
| 3 | 61 | Craig Ludwig | United States | University of North Dakota (NCAA) |
| 4 | 82 | Jeff Teal | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 5 | 103 | Remi Gagne | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 124 | Mike McPhee | Canada | Rennssaeler Polytechnic Institute (ECAC) |
| 7 | 145 | Bill Norton | United States | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 8 | 166 | Steve Penney | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 187 | John Schmidt | United States | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 10 | 208 | Scott Robinson | Canada | University of Denver (WCHA) |
References
References
- Jenish, D'Arcy. (2009). "The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory". Doubleday.
- Faris, Nick. (May 14, 2021). "The playoff upset that rattled a dynasty and put Gretzky's Oilers 'on the map'". TheScore.com.
- Jenish, D'Arcy. (2009). "The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory". Doubleday.
- "1980-81 Montreal Canadiens Schedule".
- "1980-81 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
- "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
- Jenish, D'Arcy. (2009). "The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory". Doubleday.
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