# 1980–81 Colorado Rockies season

The 1980–81 Colorado Rockies season was the Rockies' fifth season, and seventh season of the franchise. Bill MacMillan was hired to coach the team, replacing Don Cherry. Like five of the previous six seasons, the Rockies did not qualify for the playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| St. Louis Blues | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 352 | 281 | 107 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 304 | 315 | 78 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 289 | 301 | 76 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 29 | 35 | 16 | 328 | 327 | 74 |
| Colorado Rockies | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 258 | 344 | 57 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 9 | 57 | 14 | 246 | 400 | 32 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
League standings :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 48 | 18 | 14 | 355 | 260 | 110 |
| 2 | x – St. Louis Blues | SMY | 80 | 45 | 18 | 17 | 352 | 281 | 107 |
| 3 | y – Montreal Canadiens | NRS | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 332 | 232 | 103 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Kings | NRS | 80 | 43 | 24 | 13 | 337 | 290 | 99 |
| 5 | x – Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 39 | 20 | 21 | 327 | 250 | 99 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 41 | 24 | 15 | 313 | 249 | 97 |
| 7 | Calgary Flames | PTK | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 329 | 298 | 92 |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 37 | 30 | 13 | 316 | 272 | 87 |
| 9 | Minnesota North Stars | ADM | 80 | 35 | 28 | 17 | 291 | 263 | 87 |
| 10 | Chicago Black Hawks | SMY | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 304 | 315 | 78 |
| 11 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 30 | 32 | 18 | 314 | 318 | 78 |
| 12 | Vancouver Canucks | SMY | 80 | 28 | 32 | 20 | 289 | 301 | 76 |
| 13 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 312 | 317 | 74 |
| 14 | Edmonton Oilers | SMY | 80 | 29 | 35 | 16 | 328 | 327 | 74 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NRS | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 302 | 345 | 73 |
| 16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | ADM | 80 | 28 | 37 | 15 | 322 | 367 | 71 |
| 17 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 286 | 317 | 70 |
| 18 | Hartford Whalers | NRS | 80 | 21 | 41 | 18 | 292 | 372 | 60 |
| 19 | Colorado Rockies | SMY | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 258 | 344 | 57 |
| 20 | Detroit Red Wings | NRS | 80 | 19 | 43 | 18 | 252 | 339 | 56 |
| 21 | Winnipeg Jets | SMY | 80 | 9 | 57 | 14 | 246 | 400 | 32 |
Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe
bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference. x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

### Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Chicago
—2−21−31−2−12−23−19−10−1
Colorado
2−2—3−0−11−30−2−21−2−17−9−4
Edmonton
3−10−3−1—1−2−12−24−010−8−2
St. Louis
2−1−13−12−1−1—4−02−0−213−3−4
Vancouver
2−22−0−22−20−4—2−0−28−8−4
Winnipeg
1−32−1−10−40−2−20−2−2—3−12−5
Vs. Patrick Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CGY
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Chicago
1−0−30−41−2−11−1−21−1−24−8−8
Colorado
3−11−33−10−40−3−17−12−1
Edmonton
1−2−10−2−21−2−12−21−2−15−10−5
St. Louis
2−20−2−24−00−3−12−0−28−7−5
Vancouver
1−31−31−2−12−1−11−1−26−10−4
Winnipeg
0−3−10−3−11−31−30−3−12−15−3
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Chicago
1−32−22−23−0−11−2−19−9−2
Colorado
1−2−10−3−11−2−12−21−1−25−10−5
Edmonton
1−31−1−21−2−11−32−1−16−10−4
St. Louis
3−13−0−11−2−12−1−13−112−5−3
Vancouver
2−21−1−21−2−11−1−23−0−18−6−6
Winnipeg
0−2−20−40−41−1−22−23−13−4
Vs. Norris Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Chicago
1−1−23−0−10−2−22−23−19−6−5
Colorado
1−2−11−2−10−3−10−41−33−14−3
Edmonton
2−1−12−1−10−2−22−22−1−18−7−5
St. Louis
4−03−0−12−0−21−1−22−212−3−5
Vancouver
2−1−11−1−20−40−2−23−0−16−8−6
Winnipeg
0−3−10−3−10−41−30−41−17−2 :

## Schedule and results

1980–81 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Lanny McDonald | RW | 80 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 56 | -27 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| Merlin Malinowski | C | 69 | 25 | 37 | 62 | 61 | -24 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Rob Ramage | D | 79 | 20 | 42 | 62 | 193 | -46 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| Mike McEwen | D | 65 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 84 | -33 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Lucien DeBlois | C | 74 | 26 | 16 | 42 | 78 | -42 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul Gagne | LW | 61 | 25 | 16 | 41 | 12 | -24 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 53 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 18 | -7 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Yvon Vautour | RW | 74 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 143 | -20 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Quenneville | D | 71 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 86 | -24 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Randy Pierce | RW | 55 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 52 | -28 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ron Delorme | C | 65 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 70 | -11 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Rene Robert | RW | 28 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 30 | -13 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Gillis | LW | 51 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 54 | -21 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Steve Tambellini | C | 13 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Ed Cooper | LW | 47 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 46 | -6 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Craig Norwich | D | 11 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Berry | C | 46 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 9 | -15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Valiquette | C | 25 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 7 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Smith | C | 62 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kitchen | D | 75 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 100 | -38 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Hughes | D | 38 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 91 | -22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevor Johansen | D | 35 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 18 | -20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Miller | C | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 | -19 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Crawford | RW | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Sheehan | C | 41 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Attwell | RW | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Les Auge | D | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Baker | D | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Dillon | C | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 29 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Giallonardo | D | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Smith | G | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hardy Astrom | G | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Sturgeon | LW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Watson | LW | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Broten | LW/C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Christie | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jari Kaarela | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Myre | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dean Turner | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Ward | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Al Smith | 1909 | 37 | 9 | 18 | 4 | 151 | 4.75 | 0 |
| Hardy Astrom | 1642 | 30 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 103 | 3.76 | 0 |
| Phil Myre | 580 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 33 | 3.41 | 0 |
| Jari Kaarela | 220 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | 449 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 3.74 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 22 | 45 | 13 | 337 | 4.21 | 0 |
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

Colorado's draft picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 19 | Paul Gagne | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OHA) |
| 2 | 22 | Joe Ward | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WHL) |
| 4 | 64 | Rick LaFerriere | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 85 | Ed Cooper | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 6 | 106 | Aaron Broten | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |
| 7 | 127 | Dan Fascinato | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) |
| 8 | 148 | Andre Hidi | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
| 9 | 169 | Shawn MacKenzie | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) |
| 10 | 190 | Bob Jansch | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WHL) |