1980–81 Winnipeg Jets season

Offseason

The Jets named Morris Lukowich as team captain during the off-season, as former captain Lars-Erik Sjoberg announced his retirement at the end of the 1979–80 season. Lukowich had been with Winnipeg since their final season in the WHA, helping the club win the Avco Cup in 1979.

On June 11, 1980, Winnipeg selected defenseman Dave Babych with the second overall pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft. Babych was a high scoring defenseman with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, recording 22 goals and 82 points in 50 games with Portland. With their second pick, the Jets selected Moe Mantha from the Toronto Marlboros of the OMJHL, and in the seventh round, the team selected Brian Mullen from the United States national ice hockey team.

Winnipeg made a few small trades during the off-season, most notably acquiring Rick Bowness from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Craig Norwich. The Jets also acquired Norm Dupont from the Montreal Canadiens for the Jets second round pick in the 1982 NHL entry draft. Dupont was selected by the Canadiens in the first round of the 1977 NHL amateur draft, however, he picked up only a goal and four points in 35 games with Montreal in the 1979–80 season.

Regular season

For the second straight season, the Jets failed to qualify for the playoffs, as they had an NHL worst record of 9–57–14, earning 32 points, 39 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff position.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- |1||L||October 10, 1980||1–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||0–1–0 ||12,984 |- |2||L||October 11, 1980||4–5 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||0–2–0 ||9,240 |- |3||W||October 17, 1980||6–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||1–2–0 ||12,236 |- |4||T||October 19, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||1–2–1 ||12,728 |- |5||L||October 22, 1980||4–7 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||1–3–1 ||16,433 |- |6||L||October 25, 1980||1–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||1–4–1 ||15,383 |- |7||T||October 26, 1980||7–7 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||1–4–2 ||15,198 |- |8||L||October 29, 1980||4–8 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||1–5–2 ||8,136 |- |9||L||October 31, 1980||5–6 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||1–6–2 ||11,536

| Legend:

Player statistics

Regular season

;Scoring

;Goaltending

Transactions

Trades

Waivers

Free agents

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Draft picks

Winnipeg selected the following players at the 1980 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal on June 11, 1980.

NHL amateur draft

References

References

1. "1980-81 Winnipeg Jets Schedule".
2. "1980-81 Winnipeg Jets Results and Schedule".
3. "1980-81 Winnipeg Jets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
4. "1980 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.