# 1980–81 New York Rangers season

The 1980–81 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 55th season. In the regular season, the Rangers finished in fourth place in the Patrick Division with 74 points and earned a berth in the playoffs. New York won series with the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues to reach the NHL semi-finals, where the team was defeated by the New York Islanders in a four-game sweep.

## Regular season

Fred Shero, citing a drinking problem, chose to resign as coach. Craig Patrick, the Rangers' director of operations, replaced him. Craig Patrick became the third generation of the Patrick family to coach the Rangers, after Lester Patrick, Lynn Patrick and Muzz Patrick.
Halfway through the season, veteran Phil Esposito decided to retire. He retired after 18 seasons, the last six with the Rangers. He finished his career with 717 goals and 1,590 points.

### Final 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 :
October: 3–7–1 (Home: 2–3–0; Road: 1–4–1)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreRecord
19@ Boston Bruins7–20–1–0
211@ Toronto Maple Leafs8–31–1–0
312Pittsburgh Penguins6–31–2–0
415St. Louis Blues2–11–3–0
518@ Washington Capitals8–21–4–0
619Edmonton Oilers4–21–5–0
722Vancouver Canucks3–22–5–0
825@ Detroit Red Wings4–22–6–0
926Detroit Red Wings7–63–6–0
1028@ St. Louis Blues5–43–7–0
1130@ Philadelphia Flyers3–33–7–1 :
November: 3–7–3 (Home: 2–2–2; Road: 1–5–1)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
121@ Montreal Canadiens7–43–8–1
132Los Angeles Kings6–33–9–1
145@ Chicago Black Hawks3–33–9–2
158@ Vancouver Canucks6–43–10–2
1610@ Los Angeles Kings4–13–11–2
1711@ Calgary Flames7–33–12–2
1814Pittsburgh Penguins3–33–12–3
1916Hartford Whalers7–34–12–3
2019Philadelphia Flyers5–14–13–3
2122@ New York Islanders6–44–14–3
2223Vancouver Canucks2–24–14–4
2326Boston Bruins6–45–14–4
2429@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–26–14–4 :
December: 7–6–1 (Home: 3–4–0; Road: 4–2–1)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
251Minnesota North Stars5–36–15–4
263@ Winnipeg Jets4–37–15–4
275@ Edmonton Oilers5–18–15–4
287Chicago Black Hawks5–49–15–4
2910Washington Capitals6–210–15–4
3012@ Colorado Rockies4–311–15–4
3114@ Chicago Black Hawks2–111–16–4
3217Winnipeg Jets8–212–16–4
3320@ Minnesota North Stars3–312–16–5
3422Calgary Flames3–212–17–5
3526@ Washington Capitals7–312–18–5
3628Montreal Canadiens5–212–19–5
3730@ Quebec Nordiques6–313–19–5
3831Colorado Rockies6–413–20–5 :
January: 6–4–3 (Home: 2–1–2; Road: 4–3–1)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
392New York Islanders3–114–20–5
404Quebec Nordiques2–214–20–6
419Buffalo Sabres3–314–20–7
4211Toronto Maple Leafs5–314–21–7
4313@ Calgary Flames4–414–21–8
4415@ Colorado Rockies4–314–22–8
4518@ Buffalo Sabres4–014–23–8
4619Calgary Flames6–315–23–8
4721@ Winnipeg Jets5–115–24–8
4823@ Edmonton Oilers7–416–24–8
4924@ Vancouver Canucks7–517–24–8
5028@ Los Angeles Kings6–218–24–8
5131@ Minnesota North Stars7–319–24–8 :
February: 5–7–1 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 0–5–0)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
522Los Angeles Kings3–219–25–8
534New York Islanders9–320–25–8
545@ Boston Bruins6–320–26–8
558Minnesota North Stars3–320–26–9
5612Winnipeg Jets8–621–26–9
5714@ Toronto Maple Leafs6–321–27–9
5815St. Louis Blues5–421–28–9
5918Toronto Maple Leafs8–322–28–9
6019@ Detroit Red Wings7–322–29–9
6121Washington Capitals6–423–29–9
6222@ Hartford Whalers6–523–30–9
6325Buffalo Sabres6–324–30–9
6428@ Pittsburgh Penguins6–424–31–9 :
March: 4–4–5 (Home: 2–1–5; Road: 2–2–0)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
651Montreal Canadiens4–424–31–10
664Edmonton Oilers5–524–31–11
677@ St. Louis Blues7–224–32–11
688Detroit Red Wings4–424–32–12
6910@ Quebec Nordiques6–424–33–12
7011Colorado Rockies4–324–34–12
7114Hartford Whalers6–225–34–12
7218Boston Bruins3–226–34–12
7321@ Hartford Whalers6–427–34–12
7422Quebec Nordiques7–727–34–13
7525@ Buffalo Sabres4–227–35–13
7628@ Montreal Canadiens6–228–35–13
7730Philadelphia Flyers0–028–35–14 :
April: 2–1–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 1–1–0)
GameAprilOpponentScoreRecord
782@ New York Islanders2–128–36–14
793Chicago Black Hawks3–129–36–14
805@ Philadelphia Flyers2–030–36–14 :

## Playoffs

Key: Win Loss
1981 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Anders Hedberg | 80 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 0 | 52 |
| Ed Johnstone | 80 | 30 | 38 | 68 | 15 | 100 |
| Ron Greschner | 74 | 27 | 41 | 68 | 0 | 112 |
| Mike Allison | 75 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 12 | 83 |
| Steve Vickers | 73 | 19 | 39 | 58 | 7 | 40 |
| Don Maloney | 61 | 29 | 23 | 52 | 17 | 99 |
| Dave Maloney | 79 | 11 | 36 | 47 | 24 | 132 |
| Ulf Nilsson | 51 | 14 | 25 | 39 | −3 | 42 |
| Ron Duguay | 50 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 2 | 83 |
| Barry Beck | 75 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 9 | 231 |
| Dean Talafous | 50 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 2 | 28 |
| Tom Laidlaw | 80 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 0 | 100 |
| Walt Tkaczuk | 43 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 13 | 28 |
| Dave Silk | 59 | 14 | 12 | 26 | −24 | 58 |
| Lance Nethery | 33 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 12 |
| Carol Vadnais | 74 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 19 | 91 |
| Jere Gillis$^†$ | 35 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 6 | 4 |
| Phil Esposito | 41 | 7 | 13 | 20 | −13 | 20 |
| Ed Hospodar | 61 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 10 | 214 |
| Chris Kotsopoulos | 54 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −10 | 153 |
| Nick Fotiu$^†$ | 27 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −6 | 91 |
| Peter Wallin | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 |
| Doug Sulliman | 32 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −9 | 32 |
| Dan McCarthy | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Gary Burns | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −9 | 18 |
| Andre Dore | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 15 |
| Cam Connor | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 44 |
| Mario Marois$^‡$ | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −5 | 46 |
| Jeff Bandura | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| Tim Bothwell | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike McDougall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Ron Duguay | 14 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 16 |
| Ulf Nilsson | 14 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 23 |
| Anders Hedberg | 14 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 6 |
| Barry Beck | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 32 |
| Ron Greschner | 14 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 17 |
| Steve Vickers | 12 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| Peter Wallin | 14 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Lance Nethery | 14 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| Dean Talafous | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Jere Gillis | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 9 |
| Don Maloney | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Tom Laidlaw | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| Carol Vadnais | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 |
| Mike Allison | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 20 |
| Ed Johnstone | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Chris Kotsopoulos | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 63 |
| Ed Hospodar | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 93 |
| Dave Maloney | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| John Hughes | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Doug Sulliman | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gary Burns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nick Fotiu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Doug Soetaert | 39 | 2320 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 152 | 3.93 | 0 |
| Steve Baker | 21 | 1260 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 73 | 3.48 | 2 |
| John Davidson | 10 | 560 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 48 | 5.14 | 0 |
| Wayne Thomas | 10 | 600 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 34 | 3.40 | 0 |
| Steve Weeks | 1 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Steve Baker | 14 | 826 | 7 | 7 | 55 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Steve Weeks | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.29 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Canada at the Montreal Forum.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 14 | Jim Malone | F | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 2 | 35 | Mike Allison | RW | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OHA) |
| 4 | 77 | Kurt Kleinendorst | C | United States | Providence College (NCAA) |
| 5 | 98 | Scot Kleinendorst | D | United States | Providence College (NCAA) |
| 6 | 119 | Reijo Ruotsalainen | D | Finland | Karpat (SM-liiga) |
| 7 | 140 | Bob Scurfield | C | Canada | Western Michigan University (NCAA) |
| 8 | 161 | Bart Wilson | D | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 9 | 182 | Chris Wray | RW | United States | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 10 | 203 | Anders Backstrom | D | Sweden | Brynas (Elitserien) |