The 1979–80 season was the first season that the Red Wings played at their at the time newly built arena, the Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second year in a row for the first time since the 1975–76 season and the 1976–77 season.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||T||October 10, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||0–0–1

|2||L||October 12, 1979||1–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||0–1–1

|3||T||October 13, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||0–1–2

|4||W||October 17, 1979||5–1 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||1–1–2

|5||L||October 20, 1979||3–7 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||1–2–2

|6||W||October 25, 1979||4–0 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||2–2–2

|7||L||October 27, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||2–3–2

|8||L||October 28, 1979||4–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||2–4–2

|9||L||October 31, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||2–5–2

|10||W||November 3, 1979||2–0 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) ||3–5–2

|11||L||November 4, 1979||1–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||3–6–2

|12||W||November 7, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||4–6–2

|13||L||November 10, 1979||1–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||4–7–2

|14||L||November 14, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1979–80) ||4–8–2

|15||W||November 16, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||5–8–2

|16||W||November 17, 1979||5–4 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1979–80) ||6–8–2

|17||L||November 21, 1979||1–4 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||6–9–2

|18||L||November 23, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||6–10–2

|19||T||November 24, 1979||3–3 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||6–10–3

|20||T||November 27, 1979||5–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||6–10–4

|21||W||December 1, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||7–10–4

|22||T||December 2, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||7–10–5

|23||W||December 5, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||8–10–5

|24||W||December 8, 1979||5–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||9–10–5

|25||L||December 10, 1979||0–4 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||9–11–5

|26||L||December 11, 1979||1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1979–80) ||9–12–5

|27||T||December 13, 1979||6–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||9–12–6

|28||T||December 15, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||9–12–7

|29||L||December 16, 1979||3–7 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) ||9–13–7

|30||W||December 19, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||10–13–7

|31||L||December 22, 1979||1–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||10–14–7

|32||L||December 26, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||10–15–7

|33||L||December 27, 1979||2–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||10–16–7

|34||W||December 30, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1979–80) ||11–16–7

|35||L||December 31, 1979||3–5 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||11–17–7

|36||L||January 2, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||11–18–7

|37||W||January 4, 1980||6–3 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||12–18–7

|38||W||January 6, 1980||2–1 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||13–18–7

|39||W||January 9, 1980||4–0 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1979–80) ||14–18–7

|40||L||January 12, 1980||4–6 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||14–19–7

|41||L||January 13, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) ||14–20–7

|42||W||January 16, 1980||5–1 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||15–20–7

|43||W||January 18, 1980||5–0 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||16–20–7

|44||W||January 19, 1980||5–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||17–20–7

|45||L||January 23, 1980||3–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1979–80) ||17–21–7

|46||L||January 26, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||17–22–7

|47||W||January 27, 1980||7–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||18–22–7

|48||L||January 30, 1980||4–6 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||18–23–7

|49||W||January 31, 1980||4–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||19–23–7

|50||W||February 2, 1980||3–0 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||20–23–7

|51||L||February 3, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||20–24–7

|52||T||February 6, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||20–24–8

|53||L||February 9, 1980||5–6 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) ||20–25–8

|54||L||February 10, 1980||1–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||20–26–8

|55||T||February 13, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1979–80) ||20–26–9

|56||L||February 16, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||20–27–9

|57||L||February 18, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||20–28–9

|58||L||February 20, 1980||5–7 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||20–29–9

|59||L||February 23, 1980||1–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||20–30–9

|60||W||February 24, 1980||7–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) ||21–30–9

|61||W||February 28, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||22–30–9

|62||W||March 1, 1980||4–3 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1979–80) ||23–30–9

|63||L||March 2, 1980||3–6 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) ||23–31–9

|64||L||March 5, 1980||3–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||23–32–9

|65||T||March 8, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) ||23–32–10

|66||W||March 9, 1980||6–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) ||24–32–10

|67||T||March 12, 1980||4–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||24–32–11

|68||L||March 13, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) ||24–33–11

|69||L||March 15, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) ||24–34–11

|70||L||March 16, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) ||24–35–11

|71||L||March 19, 1980||3–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) ||24–36–11

|72||W||March 21, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) ||25–36–11

|73||L||March 22, 1980||1–5 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) ||25–37–11

|74||L||March 26, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) ||25–38–11

|75||L||March 27, 1980||1–10 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) ||25–39–11

|76||W||March 29, 1980||9–7 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) ||26–39–11

|77||L||March 31, 1980||5–7 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1979–80) ||26–40–11

|78||L||April 2, 1980||2–7 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) ||26–41–11

|79||L||April 5, 1980||1–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) ||26–42–11

|80||L||April 6, 1980||3–5 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) ||26–43–11

Legend:

Game 28 would be the last game ever played in the Detroit Olympia. Game 33 would be the first ice hockey game ever played in the Joe Louis Arena. As a result, the Red Wings were forced on a four-game road trip from December 16 to 26.

Player statistics

Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 80 30 51 81 121723 RW 79 35 39 74 13-51105 RW 80 36 35 71 109-2900 D 80 22 44 66 101-7702 C 80 16 50 66 693301 LW 76 30 27 57 85605 LW 77 34 14 48 22-10823 D 76 17 23 40 164-26422 LW 41 8 24 32 8-4301 LW 79 6 20 26 24-19000 D/LW 63 5 13 18 108-4101 D 80 0 17 17 38-28000 C 42 3 12 15 10-8001 D 59 3 10 13 45-2000 LW 27 7 4 11 2-2002 LW 44 6 5 11 19-14200 C 33 4 6 10 0-11000 C/RW 66 2 8 10 127-15000 D 28 1 5 6 454000 D 49 1 4 5 43-2000 LW 50 1 2 3 43-21000 C 18 1 2 3 2-1000 D 16 0 3 3 41-4000 G 59 0 3 3 20000 RW 4 0 2 2 00000 D 3 0 1 1 02000 D 15 0 0 0 11-2000 G 23 0 0 0 240000 RW 2 0 0 0 4-2000 D 8 0 0 0 2-11000 RW 1 0 0 0 00000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO 3474 59 20 30 8 209 3.61 4 1326 23 6 13 3 92 4.16 1 Team: 4800 80 26 43 11 301 3.76 5

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;       MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Draft picks Detroit's draft picks at the 1979 NHL entry draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)13Mike Foligno Sudbury Wolves (OHL)345Jody Gage Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)346Boris Fistric New Westminster Bruins (WHL)466John Ogrodnick New Westminster Bruins (WHL)587Joe Paterson London Knights (OMJHL)6108Carmine Cirella Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)

See also 1979–80 NHL season 1980 in Michigan

References