1980–81 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1980–81 Montreal Canadiens season was the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens' 72nd season of play. The Canadiens lost just once in their last twenty-seven home games. The Canadiens earned at least 100 regular season points for the seventh consecutive season. Montreal qualified for the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs and were eliminated in the NHL's preliminary round by the Edmonton Oilers three games to none, in what was considered a major upset. Four days after the Canadiens were eliminated, head coach Claude Ruel resigned.

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

|11||W||November 1, 1980||7–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||4–6–1

|12||W||November 4, 1980||5–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||5–6–1

|13||L||November 6, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||5–7–1

|14||W||November 8, 1980||3–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||6–7–1

|15||W||November 11, 1980||8–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||7–7–1

|16||W||November 12, 1980||8–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||8–7–1

|17||T||November 14, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||8–7–2

|18||W||November 16, 1980||5–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||9–7–2

|19||W||November 19, 1980||5–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||10–7–2

|20||W||November 20, 1980||7–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||11–7–2

|21||W||November 22, 1980||7–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||12–7–2

|22||L||November 25, 1980||4–5 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||12–8–2

|23||L||November 27, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||12–9–2

|24||L||November 29, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||12–10–2

|25||W||December 3, 1980||6–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||13–10–2

|26||L||December 4, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||13–11–2

|27||W||December 6, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||14–11–2

|28||L||December 10, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||14–12–2

|29||W||December 11, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||15–12–2

|30||W||December 13, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||16–12–2

|31||T||December 17, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||16–12–3

|32||W||December 18, 1980||4–0 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||17–12–3

|33||L||December 20, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||17–13–3

|34||T||December 23, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||17–13–4

|35||W||December 27, 1980||7–4 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||18–13–4

|36||W||December 28, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||19–13–4

|37||W||December 30, 1980||4–0 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||20–13–4

|38||W||January 2, 1981||3–1 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||21–13–4

|39||W||January 3, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||22–13–4

|40||W||January 6, 1981||6–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||23–13–4

|41||W||January 8, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||24–13–4

|42||T||January 10, 1981||5–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||24–13–5

|43||W||January 12, 1981||5–0 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||25–13–5

|44||W||January 15, 1981||7–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||26–13–5

|45||L||January 17, 1981||5–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||26–14–5

|46||L||January 19, 1981||3–6 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||26–15–5

|47||L||January 21, 1981||2–4 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||26–16–5

|48||W||January 24, 1981||6–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||27–16–5

|49||L||January 28, 1981||1–9 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||27–17–5

|50||T||January 29, 1981||4–4 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||27–17–6

|51||L||January 31, 1981||1–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||27–18–6

|52||W||February 3, 1981||5–2 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||28–18–6

|53||W||February 5, 1981||7–0 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||29–18–6

|54||W||February 7, 1981||6–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||30–18–6

|55||T||February 12, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||30–18–7

|56||W||February 14, 1981||6–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||31–18–7

|57||T||February 15, 1981||5–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||31–18–8

|58||W||February 19, 1981||5–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||32–18–8

|59||W||February 21, 1981||4–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||33–18–8

|60||W||February 22, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||34–18–8

|61||T||February 24, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||34–18–9

|62||W||February 26, 1981||6–0 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||35–18–9

|63||W||February 28, 1981||5–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||36–18–9

|64||T||March 1, 1981||4–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||36–18–10

|65||W||March 4, 1981||9–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||37–18–10

|66||L||March 7, 1981||2–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||37–19–10

|67||T||March 9, 1981||1–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) ||37–19–11

|68||W||March 11, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||38–19–11

|69||W||March 12, 1981||4–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||39–19–11

|70||W||March 14, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||40–19–11

|71||T||March 17, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||40–19–12

|72||L||March 18, 1981||3–9 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||40–20–12

|73||W||March 21, 1981||5–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||41–20–12

|74||T||March 22, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||41–20–13

|75||W||March 26, 1981||8–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||42–20–13

|76||L||March 28, 1981||2–6 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||42–21–13

|77||L||March 29, 1981||0–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||42–22–13

|78||W||March 31, 1981||3–1 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||43–22–13

|79||W||April 3, 1981||6–1 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||44–22–13

|80||W||April 5, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||45–22–13

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 5130703 RW 79 35 36 71 2434506 RW 51 27 43 70 2924707 RW 77 25 38 63 12316414 W 77 27 31 58 8320613 LW 73 22 32 54 397403 C 61 25 28 53 2813502 D 65 12 38 50 3746702 LW 78 23 24 47 3613533 D 80 11 34 45 12053512 C 57 17 24 41 1624502 C 61 15 24 39 745302 C 80 16 22 38 3412021 C 48 13 21 34 937101 D 80 3 25 28 9663100 D 55 5 16 21 225301 D 77 4 13 17 3012001 RW 57 7 8 15 2627001 C 41 7 8 15 205200 D 33 1 9 10 79-6101 D 8 2 2 4 6-1100 G 25 0 2 2 00000 C 2 0 1 1 00000 G 28 0 1 1 20000 D 11 0 0 0 32-1000 D/RW 14 0 0 0 4-5000 RW 1 0 0 0 00000 LW 1 0 0 0 00000 G 33 0 0 0 300000 G 5 0 0 0 00000

Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LTGAGAA 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 4000 C 2 0 2 2 0000 D 3 1 0 1 4000 D 1 1 0 1 0100 W 3 1 0 1 6000 C 3 1 0 1 0100 RW 3 0 1 1 2000 C 3 0 1 1 0000 D 3 0 1 1 2000 C 2 0 0 0 6000 LW 3 0 0 0 2000 C 3 0 0 0 0000 LW 3 0 0 0 2000 D 3 0 0 0 6000 D 1 0 0 0 17000 RW 3 0 0 0 2000 RW 2 0 0 0 0000 D 1 0 0 0 0000 D 3 0 0 0 0000 G 3 0 0 0 0000 RW 3 0 0 0 9000

Goaltending PlayerMINGPW LGAGAA 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 June 5, 1980To Montreal Canadiens3rd round pick in 1981 – Dieter Hegen 5th round pick in 1981 – Steve RooneyTo Hartford WhalersRick Meagher 3rd round pick in 1981 – Paul MacDermid 5th round pick in 1981 – Dan Bourbonnais September 1, 1980To Montreal CanadiensDave GormanTo Calgary FlamesTim Burke September 1, 1980To Montreal CanadiensFuture considerationsTo Minnesota North StarsBill Nyrop September 26, 1980To Montreal Canadiens2nd round pick in 1982 – David MaleyTo Winnipeg JetsNorm Dupont September 26, 1980To Montreal Canadiens3rd round pick in 1983 – Peter TaglianettiTo Pittsburgh PenguinsGilles Lupien 3rd round pick in 1983 – Mike Rowe February 17, 1981To Montreal Canadiens2nd round pick in 1983 – Claude LemieuxTo Los Angeles KingsRick Chartraw March 10, 1981To Montreal Canadiens3rd round pick in 1983 – Daniel Letendre 4th round pick in 1984 – Lee BrodeurTo Colorado RockiesBill Baker 4th round pick in 1984 – Paul Ysebaert March 10, 1981To Montreal CanadiensRobert Picard 8th round pick in 1982 – Steve SmithTo Toronto Maple LeafsMichel Larocque

Free agent signings March 9, 1981From 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 team11Doug WickenheiserRegina Pats (WHL)227Ric NattressBrantford Alexanders (OHA)240John ChabotHull Olympiques (QMJHL)345John NewberryNanaimo Clippers (BCJHL)361Craig LudwigUniversity of North Dakota (NCAA)482Jeff TealUniversity of Minnesota (WCHA)5103Remi GagneChicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)6124Mike McPheeRennssaeler Polytechnic Institute (ECAC)7145Bill NortonClarkson University (ECAC)8166Steve PenneyShawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)9187John SchmidtUniversity of Notre Dame (WCHA)10208Scott RobinsonUniversity of Denver (WCHA)

See also 1980–81 NHL season

References