# 1980–81 Calgary Flames season

The 1980–81 Calgary Flames season was the first season in Calgary and ninth for the Flames in the National Hockey League. The Flames moved to southern Alberta from Atlanta, where the franchise was known as the Atlanta Flames for the first eight years of its existence. The Flames became the third major-league team to represent the city of Calgary after the Calgary Tigers of the 1920s, and the Calgary Cowboys, which had folded in 1977.
The Flames were purchased for $16 million USD by Nelson Skalbania in the spring of 1980. Before the sale was even announced, he had already sold 50% of the franchise to a group of Calgary-based investors including Harley Hotchkiss and Normie Kwong. On May 21, 1980, it was announced that the franchise was moving to Calgary. While the Cowboys could not manage 2,000 season tickets three years previous, the Flames sold 10,000 full and half-season ticket packages in 1980, selling out the Stampede Corral for every game played there.
Despite the move west, the Flames remained in the East-coast-centered Patrick Division. For practical purposes however, the anomaly was academic. At the time, the league played a balanced schedule and used a league-wide playoff format. This arrangement would only last one more season before the league re-aligned to reflect its geography.
Calgary's first NHL game was played October 9, ending as a 5–5 tie to the Quebec Nordiques. The Flames finished third in their division and qualified for the playoffs. The franchise, which had won just two playoff games in Atlanta, won two playoff series in their first year in Calgary. After sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks, Calgary then downed the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games before falling to the Minnesota North Stars in the league semi-final.
Kent Nilsson led the Flames in scoring, and his 82 assists and 131 points remain franchise records to this day. Nilsson was also the Flames lone representative at the 1981 All-Star Game.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 48 | 18 | 14 | 355 | 260 | 110 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 41 | 24 | 15 | 313 | 249 | 97 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 329 | 298 | 92 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 312 | 317 | 74 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 286 | 317 | 70 |
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

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CGY
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Calgary
—1−1−22−1−12−23−18−5−3
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−2—2−21−2−14−08−5−3
N.Y. Rangers
1−2−12−2—1−1−22−26−7−3
Philadelphia
2−22−1−11−1−2—2−27−6−3
Washington
1−30−42−22−2—5−11−0
Vs. Smythe Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Calgary
0−1−31−32−1−12−23−13−0−111−8−5
N.Y. Islanders
4−03−12−0−22−0−23−13−0−117−2−5
N.Y. Rangers
2−1−11−32−1−10−42−1−13−110−11−3
Philadelphia
1−1−24−02−23−0−11−2−13−114−6−4
Washington
1−1−23−0−12−1−10−2−21−1−23−0−110−5−9
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Calgary
3−11−2−12−21−1−22−29−8−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−22−22−0−23−13−112−6−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−21−2−11−1−21−1−22−27−8−5
Philadelphia
2−20−2−22−1−11−2−10−2−25−9−6
Washington
1−2−10−2−20−3−10−43−14−12−4
Vs. Norris Division
1980–81 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Calgary
2−1−13−13−11−2−12−1−111−6−3
N.Y. Islanders
4−02−0−22−22−1−11−2−111−5−4
N.Y. Rangers
1−2−13−11−31−2−11−2−17−10−3
Philadelphia
3−13−0−14−01−2−14−015−3−2
Washington
2−1−13−11−2−10−2−21−2−17−8−5 :

## Schedule and results

1980–81 Game Log :

## Playoffs

1981 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Kent Nilsson | 14 | 80 | 49 | 82 | 131 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 4 |
| Guy Chouinard | 16 | 52 | 31 | 52 | 83 | 24 | 16 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 4 |
| Willi Plett | 25 | 78 | 38 | 30 | 68 | 239 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 89 |
| Paul Reinhart | 23 | 74 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 52 | 16 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Eric Vail | 27 | 64 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob MacMillan | 11 | 77 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 47 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 7 |
| Don Lever | 12 | 62 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 56 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 |
| Pekka Rautakallio | 4 | 76 | 11 | 45 | 56 | 64 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Jim Peplinski | 24 | 80 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 108 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Kevin LaVallee | 15 | 77 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Bill Clement | 10 | 78 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 33 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Ken Houston | 6 | 42 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 93 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 |
| Phil Russell | 5 | 80 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 104 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 29 |
| Bob Murdoch | 20 | 74 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 54 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 36 |
| Dan Labraaten$^†$ | 21 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Jamie Hislop$^†$ | 17 | 29 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Brad Marsh | 22 | 80 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 87 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| Bert Wilson | 8 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Smith | 18 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 65 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Alex McKendry | 26 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 19 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Earl Ingarfield$^‡$ | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Denis Cyr | 9 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Randy Holt | 7 | 48 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 165 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 52 |
| Dan Bouchard$^‡$ | 30 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Dave Hindmarch | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Greg Meredith | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Dwyer | 29 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gord Wappel | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rejean Lemelin | 1 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Riggin | 31 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Curtale | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Bobby Gould | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Steve Konroyd | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Bold denotes franchise record.

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Player | # | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | SO | GAA | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | GAA |
| Rejean Lemelin | 1 | 29 | 1629 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 88 | 2 | 3.24 | 6 | 366 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 3.61 |
| Pat Riggin | 31 | 42 | 2411 | 21 | 16 | 4 | 154 | 0 | 3.83 | 11 | 629 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 3.53 |
| Dan Bouchard | 30 | 14 | 760 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 51 | 0 | 4.06 | – | – | – | – | – | – | –.-- |

## Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.

### Trades

| June 2, 1980 | To Calgary Flames 2nd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft (Steve Konroyd) 2nd round pick in 1981 Entry Draft (Mike Vernon) | To Boston Bruins Jim Craig |
| June 8, 1980 | To Calgary Flames Randy Holt Bert Wilson | To Los Angeles Kings Garry Unger |
| June 10, 1980 | To Calgary Flames 2nd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft (Kevin LaVallee) | To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Shand 3rd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft (traded to Washington Capitals; Capitals selected Torrie Robertson) |
| July 1, 1980 | To Calgary Flames Cash | To Washington Capitals Jean Pronovost |
| October 9, 1980 | To Calgary Flames Alex McKendry | To New York Islanders 3rd round pick in 1981 Entry Draft (Ron Handy) |
| January 30, 1981 | To Calgary Flames Jamie Hislop | To Quebec Nordiques Dan Bouchard |
| February 3, 1981 | To Calgary Flames Dan Labraaten | To Detroit Red Wings Earl Ingarfield |
| February 24, 1981 | To Calgary Flames Future Considerations | To Detroit Red Wings Brad Smith |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| LW Mike Dwyer | Colorado Rockies |
| C Bob Francis | University of New Hampshire (NCAA) |
| D Charlie Bourgeois | Université de Moncton (CIAU) |
| Player | New team |

## Draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, held in Montreal.
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics | NHL statistics |
| Rnd | Pick | Player | Nationality | Position | Team (league) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1 | 13 | Denis Cyr | Canada | RW | Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) | 193 | 41 | 43 | 84 | 36 |
| 2 | 31 | Tony Curtale | United States | D | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 32 | Kevin LaVallee | Canada | F | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | 366 | 110 | 125 | 235 | 85 |
| 2 | 39 | Steve Konroyd | Canada | D | Oshawa Generals (OHA) | 895 | 41 | 195 | 236 | 863 |
| 4 | 76 | Marc Roy | Canada | RW | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) | | | | | |
| 5 | 97 | Randy Turnbull | Canada | D | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 118 | John Multan | Canada | RW | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) | | | | | |
| 7 | 139 | Dave Newsom | Canada | LW | Brantford Alexanders (OHA) | | | | | |
| 8 | 160 | Claude Drouin | Canada | C | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) | | | | | |
| 9 | 181 | Håkan Loob | Sweden | F | Färjestad BK (SEL) | 450 | 193 | 236 | 429 | 189 |
| 10 | 202 | Steven Fletcher | Canada | LW | Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |