# 1979–80 New York Islanders season

The 1979–80 New York Islanders season was the eighth season in the franchise's history. During the season, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, earning only 91 points.
Before the playoffs, Torrey made the difficult decision to trade longtime and popular veterans Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Los Angeles Kings for second line center Butch Goring. Goring is often called the "final piece of the puzzle": a strong two-way player, his presence on the second line ensured that opponents would no longer be able to focus their defensive efforts on the Isles' first line of Bossy, Trottier and Clark Gillies. Contributions from new teammates, such as wingers Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur and stay-at-home defensemen Gord Lane and Ken Morrow (the latter fresh off a gold medal win at the 1980 Olympics), also figured prominently in the Islanders' playoff success.

## Offseason

Clark Gillies resigns the team captaincy and is replaced by defenseman Denis Potvin.

## Regular season
### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 48 | 12 | 20 | 327 | 254 | 116 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 39 | 28 | 13 | 281 | 247 | 91 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 308 | 284 | 86 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 35 | 32 | 13 | 282 | 269 | 83 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 27 | 40 | 13 | 261 | 293 | 67 |
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 – Philadelphia Flyers | PTK | 80 | 48 | 12 | 20 | 327 | 254 | 116 |
| 2 | y – Buffalo Sabres | ADM | 80 | 47 | 17 | 16 | 318 | 201 | 110 |
| 3 | x – Montreal Canadiens | NRS | 80 | 47 | 20 | 13 | 328 | 240 | 107 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | ADM | 80 | 46 | 21 | 13 | 310 | 234 | 105 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | PTK | 80 | 39 | 28 | 13 | 281 | 247 | 91 |
| 6 | Minnesota North Stars | ADM | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 311 | 253 | 88 |
| 7 | x – Chicago Black Hawks | SMY | 80 | 34 | 27 | 19 | 241 | 250 | 87 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | PTK | 80 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 308 | 284 | 86 |
| 9 | Atlanta Flames | PTK | 80 | 35 | 32 | 13 | 282 | 269 | 83 |
| 10 | St. Louis Blues | SMY | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 266 | 278 | 80 |
| 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | ADM | 80 | 35 | 40 | 5 | 304 | 327 | 75 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Kings | NRS | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 290 | 313 | 74 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NRS | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 251 | 303 | 73 |
| 14 | Hartford Whalers | NRS | 80 | 27 | 34 | 19 | 303 | 312 | 73 |
| 15 | Vancouver Canucks | SMY | 80 | 27 | 37 | 16 | 256 | 281 | 70 |
| 16 | Edmonton Oilers | SMY | 80 | 28 | 39 | 13 | 301 | 322 | 69 |
| 17 | Washington Capitals | PTK | 80 | 27 | 40 | 13 | 261 | 293 | 67 |
| 18 | Detroit Red Wings | NRS | 80 | 26 | 43 | 11 | 268 | 306 | 63 |
| 19 | Quebec Nordiques | ADM | 80 | 25 | 44 | 11 | 248 | 313 | 61 |
| 20 | Winnipeg Jets | SMY | 80 | 20 | 49 | 11 | 214 | 314 | 51 |
| 21 | Colorado Rockies | SMY | 80 | 19 | 48 | 13 | 234 | 308 | 51 |
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
1979–80 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Atlanta
—1–33–0–12–23–0–19−5−2
N.Y. Islanders
3–1—2–22–22–29−7−0
N.Y. Rangers
0–3–12–2—1–2–12–25−9−2
Philadelphia
2–22–22–1–1—2–0–28−5−3
Washington
0–3–12–22–20–2–2—4−9−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Atlanta
0−2−24−02−1−13−12−24−015−6−3
N.Y. Islanders
2−1−13−11−2−13−11−2−12−0−212−7−5
N.Y. Rangers
1−2−11−1−23−14−04−02−215−6−3
Philadelphia
2–0–22–1–13–0−12−0−23−14−016−2−6
Washington
2−21−1−21−32−23−13−0−112−9−3
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Atlanta
0–40–3–11–1–23–0–11–35–11–4
N.Y. Islanders
1–31–2–10–2–24–03–19–8–3
N.Y. Rangers
2–21–2–11–2–12–1–12–28–9–3
Philadelphia
1–1–23–0–13–13–0–11–1–211–3–6
Washington
1–2–10–40–3–11–1–21–33–13–4
Vs. Norris Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Atlanta
2–1–11–32–1–10–3–11–2–16–10–4
N.Y. Islanders
1–33–12–1–13–0–10–1–39–6–5
N.Y. Rangers
3–12–1–13–10–3–12–210–8–2
Philadelphia
3–0–12–0–24–01–2–13–0–113–2–5
Washington
1–2–12–1–13–11–2–11–38–9–3 :

## Playoffs

After easily disposing of the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins in the first two rounds, the Isles faced the Buffalo Sabres in the semi-finals, who had finished second overall in the NHL standings. The Isles won the first two games in Buffalo, including a 3–2 victory in Game 2 on Bob Nystrom's goal in double overtime. They went on to win the series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games (25–0–10) during the regular season. In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the Isles won 4–3 on Denis Potvin's power-play goal in overtime. Leading the series 3–2, they went home to Long Island for Game 6. In that game, Bob Nystrom continued his overtime heroics, scoring at 7:11 of the extra frame, on assists by John Tonelli and Lorne Henning, to bring Long Island its first Stanley Cup. It was the Isles' sixth overtime victory of the playoffs. Bryan Trottier won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Torrey's strategy of building through the draft turned out very well; nearly all of the major contributors on the 1980 champions were home-grown Islanders or had spent most of their NHL careers in the Islanders organization. The Islanders would become the first NHL team to win a Stanley Cup with Europeans (Stefan Persson, Anders Kallur, Bob Nystrom) on its roster.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1979–80 regular season :
October: 4–3–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1LOctober 11, 19792–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)0–1–0Recap
2LOctober 13, 19792–5Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)0–2–0Recap
3WOctober 16, 19795–1Atlanta Flames (1979–80)1–2–0Recap
4LOctober 18, 19792–3@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)1–3–0Recap
5WOctober 20, 19796–1Hartford Whalers (1979–80)2–3–0Recap
6TOctober 23, 19793–3Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)2–3–1Recap
7WOctober 26, 19792–1@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)3–3–1Recap
8WOctober 27, 19796–4Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)4–3–1Recap
9TOctober 31, 19792–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)4–3–2Recap :
November: 2–8–2 (home: 2–2–0; road: 0–5–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10LNovember 2, 19795–7@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)4–4–2Recap
11TNovember 4, 19794–4@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)4–4–3Recap
12WNovember 6, 19794–1Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)5–4–3Recap
13LNovember 9, 19792–5@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)5–5–3Recap
14LNovember 10, 19792–5Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)5–6–3Recap
15WNovember 13, 197910–5New York Rangers (1979–80)6–6–3Recap
16LNovember 17, 19794–5Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)6–7–3Recap
17LNovember 20, 19793–6@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)6–8–3Recap
18LNovember 21, 19791–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)6–9–3Recap
19TNovember 24, 19794–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)6–9–4Recap
20LNovember 28, 19794–7@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)6–10–4Recap
21LNovember 30, 19793–5@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)6–11–4Recap :
December: 7–4–2 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
22WDecember 2, 19794–0@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)7–11–4Recap
23LDecember 4, 19791–5Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)7–12–4Recap
24WDecember 6, 19794–3Boston Bruins (1979–80)8–12–4Recap
25WDecember 8, 19796–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)9–12–4Recap
26LDecember 9, 19794–5@ New York Rangers (1979–80)9–13–4Recap
27WDecember 11, 19794–1Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)10–13–4Recap
28TDecember 12, 19793–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)10–13–5Recap
29TDecember 15, 19793–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)10–13–6Recap
30WDecember 18, 19793–2Colorado Rockies (1979–80)11–13–6Recap
31WDecember 22, 19792–1Washington Capitals (1979–80)12–13–6Recap
32LDecember 23, 19790–8@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)12–14–6Recap
33WDecember 27, 19797–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)13–14–6Recap
34LDecember 30, 19792–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)13–15–6Recap :
January: 10–4–1 (home: 8–2–1; road: 2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
35WJanuary 2, 19803–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)14–15–6Recap
36LJanuary 3, 19803–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)14–16–6Recap
37WJanuary 5, 19803–1St. Louis Blues (1979–80)15–16–6Recap
38WJanuary 8, 19803–0Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)16–16–6Recap
39LJanuary 9, 19802–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)16–17–6Recap
40WJanuary 12, 19805–2Washington Capitals (1979–80)17–17–6Recap
41WJanuary 15, 19805–2Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)18–17–6Recap
42WJanuary 17, 19809–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)19–17–6Recap
43WJanuary 19, 19803–1Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)20–17–6Recap
44WJanuary 22, 19802–1Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)21–17–6Recap
45WJanuary 23, 19805–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)22–17–6Recap
46WJanuary 26, 19803–2Hartford Whalers (1979–80)23–17–6Recap
47LJanuary 27, 19801–7@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)23–18–6Recap
48TJanuary 29, 19802–2Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)23–18–7Recap
49LJanuary 31, 19802–4@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)23–19–7Recap :
February: 6–6–1 (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
50WFebruary 2, 19803–2Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)24–19–7Recap
51LFebruary 3, 19803–5@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)24–20–7Recap
52WFebruary 7, 19804–1Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)25–20–7Recap
53WFebruary 9, 19805–0Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)26–20–7Recap
54TFebruary 12, 19800–0Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)26–20–8Recap
55WFebruary 14, 19805–3@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)27–20–8Recap
56LFebruary 16, 19802–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)27–21–8Recap
57LFebruary 17, 19802–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)27–22–8Recap
58LFebruary 19, 19804–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)27–23–8Recap
59LFebruary 21, 19802–5Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)27–24–8Recap
60WFebruary 23, 19803–2@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)28–24–8Recap
61LFebruary 24, 19802–8@ New York Rangers (1979–80)28–25–8Recap
62WFebruary 27, 19805–3@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)29–25–8Recap :
March: 8–3–4 (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–2–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
63LMarch 1, 19803–4Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)29–26–8Recap
64TMarch 2, 19800–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)29–26–9Recap
65WMarch 4, 19806–4Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)30–26–9Recap
66WMarch 6, 19805–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)31–26–9Recap
67LMarch 8, 19803–5Boston Bruins (1979–80)31–27–9Recap
68LMarch 9, 19801–3@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)31–28–9Recap
69WMarch 11, 19804–1Colorado Rockies (1979–80)32–28–9Recap
70WMarch 15, 19806–2St. Louis Blues (1979–80)33–28–9Recap
71WMarch 16, 19806–1@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)34–28–9Recap
72WMarch 18, 19806–3Atlanta Flames (1979–80)35–28–9Recap
73TMarch 22, 19804–4Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)35–28–10Recap
74TMarch 23, 19801–1@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)35–28–11Recap
75WMarch 25, 19805–2Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)36–28–11Recap
76TMarch 28, 19802–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)36–28–12Recap
77WMarch 30, 19809–6@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)37–28–12Recap :
April: 2–0–1 (home: 1–0–0; road: 1–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
78TApril 1, 19801–1@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)37–28–13Recap
79WApril 4, 19807–3@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)38–28–13Recap
80WApril 5, 19802–1New York Rangers (1979–80)39–28–13Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1980 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Preliminary Round vs. (12) Los Angeles Kings – Islanders win 3–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 8, 1980Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)8–1Smith (W)13,8621–0Recap
2April 9, 1980Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)3–6Resch (L)14,0471–1Recap
3April 11, 1980@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)4–3OT 6:55Smith (W)11,6902–1Recap
4April 12, 1980@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)6–0Smith (W)11,0893–1Recap :
Quarterfinals vs. (4) Boston Bruins – Islanders win 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 16, 1980@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)2–1OT 1:02Smith (W)10,9101–0Recap
2April 17, 1980@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)5–4OT 1:24Smith (W)13,1342–0Recap
3April 19, 1980Boston Bruins (1979–80)5–3Smith (W)14,9953–0Recap
4April 21, 1980Boston Bruins (1979–80)3–4OT 17:13Smith (L)14,9953–1Recap
5April 22, 1980@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)4–2Smith (W)14,6734–0Recap :
Semifinals vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Islanders win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 29, 1980@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)4–1Smith (W)16,4331–0Recap
2May 1, 1980@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)2–12OT 21:20Smith (W)16,4332–0Recap
3May 3, 1980Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)7–4Smith (W)14,9953–0Recap
4May 6, 1980Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)4–7Smith (L)14,9953–1Recap
5May 8, 1980@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)0–2Resch (L)16,4333–2Recap
6May 10, 1980Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)5–2Smith (W)14,9954–2Recap :
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (1) Philadelphia Flyers – Islanders win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 13, 1980@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)4–3OT 4:07Smith (W)17,0771–0Recap
2May 15, 1980@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)3–8Smith (L)17,0771–1Recap
3May 17, 1980Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)6–2Smith (W)14,9952–1Recap
4May 19, 1980Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)5–2Smith (W)14,9953–1Recap
5May 22, 1980@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)3–6Smith (L)17,0773–2Recap
6May 24, 1980Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)5–4OT 7:11Smith (W)14,9954–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

Regular season :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 78 | 42 | 62 | 104 | 68 | 31 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 75 | 51 | 41 | 92 | 12 | 28 | 16 | 0 | 8 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 73 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 49 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| Anders Kallur | RW | 76 | 22 | 30 | 52 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| John Tonelli | LW | 77 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 49 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 31 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 44 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 73 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 52 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 67 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 94 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Stefan Persson | D | 73 | 4 | 35 | 39 | 76 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Merrick | C | 70 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Billy Harris | RW | 67 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 56 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 55 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Lewis | D | 62 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 54 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 77 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 219 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Lorimer | D | 74 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 53 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Langevin | D | 76 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 109 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 55 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 152 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jean Potvin | D | 32 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 26 | -12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Tambellini | C | 45 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Goring | C | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 39 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kaszycki | C | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvon Vautour | RW | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 24 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 45 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Brodeur | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Hordy | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Johnston | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garth MacGuigan | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex McKendry | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Chico Resch | 2606 | 45 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 132 | 3.04 | 3 |
| Billy Smith | 2114 | 38 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 104 | 2.95 | 2 |
| Richard Brodeur | 80 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 39 | 28 | 13 | 242 | 3.02 | 5 |
Playoffs :
Scoring :
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bryan Trottier | C | 21 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Bossy | RW | 16 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Bourne | C | 21 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Butch Goring | C | 21 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Potvin | D | 21 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Nystrom | RW | 20 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| John Tonelli | LW | 21 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clark Gillies | LW | 21 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 63 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Stefan Persson | D | 21 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Duane Sutter | RW | 21 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lorne Henning | C | 21 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Wayne Merrick | C | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Garry Howatt | LW | 21 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 84 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alex McKendry | W | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Lane | D | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Lorimer | D | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ken Morrow | D | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Langevin | D | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chico Resch | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Smith | G | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending :
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Billy Smith | 1198 | 20 | 15 | 4 | 56 | 2.80 | 1 |
| Chico Resch | 120 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.50 | 0 |
| Team: | 1318 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 65 | 2.96 | 1 |
Note: Pos = Position; 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;

## Awards and records

* Bryan Trottier, Conn Smythe Trophy

## Transactions
### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 17 | Duane Sutter (RW) | Canada | Lethbridge Broncos (WHL) |
| 2 | 25 | Tomas Jonsson (D) | Sweden | Modo Hockey (Sweden) |
| 2 | 38 | Billy Carroll (C) | Canada | London Knights (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 59 | Roland Melanson (G) | Canada | Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 80 | Tim Lockridge (D) | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 5 | 101 | Glen Duncan (LW) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 122 | John Gibb (D) | Canada | Bowling Green University (CCHA) |