# 1981 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1981 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Minnesota North Stars, making their first Finals appearance, and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their second Finals appearance. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup championship. This would be the last all-American Finals until 1991, when the North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Butch Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs.

## Paths to the Finals

Minnesota defeated the Boston Bruins 3–0, the Buffalo Sabres 4–1 and the Calgary Flames 4–2 to advance to the Final.
New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0, the Edmonton Oilers 4–2, and the New York Rangers 4–0 to reach the Final.

## Game summaries

Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score |
| May 12 | Minnesota | 3 | New York | 6 |
| May 14 | Minnesota | 3 | New York | 6 |
| May 17 | New York | 7 | Minnesota | 5 |
| May 19 | New York | 2 | Minnesota | 4 |
| May 21 | Minnesota | 1 | New York | 5 |
New York wins the series 4–1.

## Broadcasting

The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage. However, USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York metro and Minnesota area due to the local rights to their respective teams in that markets. In the New York area, SportsChannel New York aired three games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and WOR televised two games in Bloomington, Minnesota while KMSP aired every game of the series in the Minnesota area.

## Team rosters
### Minnesota North Stars

| No. | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
| 2 | Curt Giles | D | L | 22 | 1978 | The Pas, Manitoba |
| 3 | Fred Barrett | D | L | 31 | 1970 | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 4 | Craig Hartsburg | D | L | 21 | 1979 | Stratford, Ontario |
| 5 | Brad Maxwell | D | R | 23 | 1977 | Brandon, Manitoba |
| 6 | Paul Shmyr (C) | D | L | 35 | 1979 | Cudworth, Saskatchewan |
| 7 | Neal Broten | C | L | 21 | 1979 | Roseau, Minnesota |
| 8 | Kent-Erik Andersson | RW | R | 29 | 1977 | Örebro, Sweden |
| 9 | Kevin Maxwell | C | R | 21 | 1979 | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 10 | Gordie Roberts | D | L | 23 | 1980 | Detroit, Michigan |
| 11 | Tom McCarthy | LW | L | 20 | 1979 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 14 | Brad Palmer | LW | L | 19 | 1980 | Duncan, British Columbia |
| 15 | Bobby Smith | C | L | 23 | 1978 | North Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| 16 | Mike Polich | LW | L | 28 | 1978 | Hibbing, Minnesota |
| 17 | Tim Young | C | R | 26 | 1975 | Scarborough, Ontario |
| 20 | Dino Ciccarelli | RW | R | 21 | 1980 | Sarnia, Ontario |
| 21 | Jack Carlson | LW | L | 26 | 1979 | Virginia, Minnesota |
| 23 | Greg Smith | D | L | 25 | 1978 | Ponoka, Alberta |
| 25 | Al MacAdam | RW | L | 29 | 1978 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |
| 26 | Steve Payne | LW | L | 22 | 1978 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 27 | Gilles Meloche | G | L | 30 | 1978 | Montreal, Quebec |
| 28 | Steve Christoff | C | R | 23 | 1978 | Springfield, Illinois |
| 29 | Tom Younghans | RW | R | 28 | 1976 | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| 31 | Ken Solheim | LW | L | 20 | 1981 | Hythe, Alberta |
| 33 | Don Beaupre | G | L | 19 | 1980 | Waterloo, Ontario |

### New York Islanders

| No. | Player | Pos | S/G | Age | Acquired | Birthplace |
| 1 | Roland Melanson | G | L | 20 | 1979 | Moncton, New Brunswick |
| 3 | Jean Potvin | D | L | 32 | 1979 | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 4 | Bob Lorimer | D | L | 27 | 1973 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 5 | Denis Potvin (C) | D | L | 27 | 1973 | Vanier, Ontario |
| 6 | Ken Morrow | D | R | 24 | 1976 | Davison, Michigan |
| 7 | Stefan Persson | D | L | 26 | 1974 | Bjurholm, Sweden |
| 8 | Garry Howatt | LW | L | 28 | 1972 | Grand Centre, Alberta |
| 9 | Clark Gillies | LW | L | 27 | 1974 | Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan |
| 11 | Wayne Merrick | C | L | 29 | 1977 | Sarnia, Ontario |
| 12 | Duane Sutter | RW | R | 21 | 1979 | Viking, Alberta |
| 14 | Bob Bourne | LW | L | 26 | 1974 | Kindersley, Saskatchewan |
| 16 | Mike McEwen | D | L | 24 | 1981 | Hornepayne, Ontario |
| 19 | Bryan Trottier | C | L | 24 | 1974 | Val Marie, Saskatchewan |
| 22 | Mike Bossy | RW | R | 24 | 1977 | Montreal, Quebec |
| 23 | Bob Nystrom | RW | R | 28 | 1972 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 24 | Gord Lane | D | L | 28 | 1979 | Brandon, Manitoba |
| 25 | Billy Carroll | C | L | 22 | 1979 | Toronto, Ontario |
| 26 | Dave Langevin | D | L | 26 | 1974 | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| 27 | John Tonelli | LW | L | 24 | 1977 | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 28 | Anders Kallur | RW | L | 28 | 1979 | Ludvika, Sweden |
| 29 | Hector Marini | RW | R | 24 | 1977 | Timmins, Ontario |
| 31 | Billy Smith | G | L | 30 | 1972 | Perth, Ontario |
| 91 | Butch Goring | C | L | 31 | 1980 | St. Boniface, Manitoba |

## Stanley Cup engraving

The 1981 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL President John Ziegler following the Islanders 5–1 win over the North Stars in game five.
The following Islanders players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1980–81 New York Islanders

### Players
#### Centres

* 14 Bob Bourne
* 19 Bryan Trottier
* 25 Billy Carroll
* 91 Butch Goring
* 11 Wayne Merrick

#### Wingers

* 8 Garry Howatt
* 9 Clark Gillies
* 12 Duane Sutter
* 22 Mike Bossy
* 23 Bob Nystrom
* 27 John Tonelli
* 28 Anders Kallur
* 29 Hector Marini

#### Defencemen

* 5 Denis Potvin (Captain)
* 3 Jean Potvin††
* 4 Bob Lorimer
* 6 Ken Morrow
* 7 Stefan Persson
* 16 Mike McEwen
* 24 Gord Lane
* 26 Dave Langevin

#### Goaltenders

* 31 Billy Smith
* 1 Roland Melanson

### Coaching and administrative staff

* John Pickett (Chairman/Owner)
* Bill Torrey (President/General Manager)
* Al Arbour (Head Coach), †10 Lorne Henning (playing-Ass't Coach)
* Jim Devellano (Chief Scout), Gerry Ehman (Western Scout)
* Harry Boyd (Scout), Mario Saraceno (Scout)
* Ron Waske (Trainer), Jim Pickard (Asst. Trainer)

### Stanley Cup engraving

* † Lorne Henning (Center) played nine regular season and one playoff game. He was the last playing-coach to win the Stanley Cup.
* †† Jean Potvin 18 games regular season games and did not dress in the playoffs. He spent the rest of year as a broadcaster. Potvin's name was put on the cup in 1981, even though he did not officially qualify.
* A new ring was created in 1993 for the winners from 1979 to 1991. New York Islanders was misspelled. NEW YORK ILANDERS missing the first "S". Name was spelled correctly on the Replica Cup also created in 1993.

## Aftermath

The Islanders successfully returned to the Finals the following year. This time, they played the Vancouver Canucks and swept them to capture their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
The North Stars, however, lost in the first round to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3–1. The North Stars would not return to the Stanley Cup Finals again until 1991, when they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, in six games.