# 1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 71st season. The Canadiens ended the season with a twenty-game unbeaten streak at the Montreal Forum. By season's end, the franchise was third overall in NHL standings. The season involved being eliminated in the NHL quarter-finals vs the Minnesota North Stars 4 games to 3.

## Offseason

* Al MacNeil left his position as head coach of the Canadiens farm club, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, to become head coach of the Atlanta Flames.
* Jacques Lemaire retired to become a playing coach in Switzerland. In addition, Ken Dryden and captain Yvan Cournoyer also retired from the team.
* Scotty Bowman, upset over the appointment of Irving Grundman as general manager in 1978, left the club to become head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
* Boom Boom Geoffrion was hired as head coach in September 1979. In his previous coaching stint, Geoffrion lasted half a season with the 1968–69 New York Rangers. He had to leave the position due to ulcers.
* Veteran defenceman Serge Savard is named team captain.
* The Canadiens did not have a first-round pick in the amateur draft. The club picked Mats Naslund with its second-round choice, 37th overall. The team picked Guy Carbonneau in the third-round, 44th overall.

## Regular season

Despite a record of fifteen wins, nine losses and six ties, Geoffrion stepped down as head coach.

### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 47 | 20 | 13 | 328 | 240 | 107 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 30 | 36 | 14 | 290 | 313 | 74 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 251 | 303 | 73 |
| Hartford Whalers | 80 | 27 | 34 | 19 | 303 | 312 | 73 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 43 | 11 | 268 | 306 | 63 |
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

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
DET
HFD
LAK
MTL
PIT
Total
Detroit
—1–2–10–3–10–3–12–23–10–3
Hartford
2–1–1—2–1–10–1–32–1–16–4–6
Los Angeles
3–0–11–2–1—0–41–1–25–7–4
Montreal
3–0–11–0–34–0—2–1–110–1–5
Pittsburgh
2–21–2–11–1–21–2–1—5–7–4
Vs. Adams Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
QUE
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–2–11–32–1–12–1–10–46–11–3
Hartford
1–2–11–30–41–1–22–25–12–3
Los Angeles
1–2–10–3–12–0–23–13–0–19–6–5
Montreal
3–11–1–23–12–1–13–112–5–3
Pittsburgh
2–20–41–32–22–27–13–0
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
WSH
Total
Detroit
1–2–13–11–30–3–12–1–17–10–3
Hartford
3–11–31–2–10–2–21–2–16–10–4
Los Angeles
1–2–11–2–11–30–41–34–14–2
Montreal
3–0–10–3–13–0–12–1–12–1–110–5–5
Pittsburgh
2–1–11–0–32–20–3–13–18–7–5
Vs. Smythe Division
1979–80 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
EDM
STL
VAN
WIN
Total
Detroit
1−31−32−1–11−2−12−23−110−12−2
Hartford
1–1–22−1−12–1–12–21−1−22−210−8−6
Los Angeles
3−0−14−01−2−11−32−21−2−112−9−3
Montreal
2−23−13−12−22−23−115−9−0
Pittsburgh
0−2–22−21−31−2–12−1–14−010−10−4 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season results :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1979 | 3–1 | Atlanta Flames (1979–80) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 13, 1979 | 3–1 | Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | L | October 17, 1979 | 2–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 20, 1979 | 5–4 | New York Rangers (1979–80) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | T | October 21, 1979 | 6–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | W | October 23, 1979 | 5–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | W | October 25, 1979 | 8–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | W | October 27, 1979 | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | L | October 28, 1979 | 4–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) | 6–2–1 |
| 10 | T | October 30, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) | 6–2–2 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1979 | 5–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | L | November 3, 1979 | 3–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) | 7–3–2 |
| 13 | W | November 5, 1979 | 2–0 | Washington Capitals (1979–80) | 8–3–2 |
| 14 | T | November 7, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) | 8–3–3 |
| 15 | L | November 10, 1979 | 3–5 | St. Louis Blues (1979–80) | 8–4–3 |
| 16 | W | November 13, 1979 | 5–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) | 9–4–3 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1979 | 4–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) | 10–4–3 |
| 18 | W | November 17, 1979 | 3–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) | 11–4–3 |
| 19 | L | November 18, 1979 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) | 11–5–3 |
| 20 | W | November 22, 1979 | 7–0 | Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) | 12–5–3 |
| 21 | W | November 24, 1979 | 3–1 | Boston Bruins (1979–80) | 13–5–3 |
| 22 | L | November 25, 1979 | 2–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) | 13–6–3 |
| 23 | T | November 27, 1979 | 5–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) | 13–6–4 |
| 24 | W | November 29, 1979 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1979–80) | 14–6–4 |
| 25 | T | December 1, 1979 | 4–4 | Hartford Whalers (1979–80) | 14–6–5 |
| 26 | T | December 3, 1979 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1979–80) | 14–6–6 |
| 27 | L | December 5, 1979 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) | 14–7–6 |
| 28 | W | December 7, 1979 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) | 15–7–6 |
| 29 | L | December 9, 1979 | 5–7 | Colorado Rockies (1979–80) | 15–8–6 |
| 30 | L | December 11, 1979 | 1–4 | @ New York Islanders (1979–80) | 15–9–6 |
| 31 | L | December 14, 1979 | 3–5 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) | 15–10–6 |
| 32 | L | December 15, 1979 | 2–6 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) | 15–11–6 |
| 33 | L | December 18, 1979 | 3–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) | 15–12–6 |
| 34 | L | December 19, 1979 | 2–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) | 15–13–6 |
| 35 | W | December 22, 1979 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) | 16–13–6 |
| 36 | W | December 23, 1979 | 8–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) | 17–13–6 |
| 37 | L | December 27, 1979 | 3–7 | New York Islanders (1979–80) | 17–14–6 |
| 38 | W | December 29, 1979 | 6–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) | 18–14–6 |
| 39 | L | January 2, 1980 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) | 18–15–6 |
| 40 | L | January 5, 1980 | 3–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) | 18–16–6 |
| 41 | W | January 7, 1980 | 4–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) | 19–16–6 |
| 42 | W | January 9, 1980 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) | 20–16–6 |
| 43 | W | January 12, 1980 | 4–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) | 21–16–6 |
| 44 | W | January 14, 1980 | 3–2 | Atlanta Flames (1979–80) | 22–16–6 |
| 45 | W | January 16, 1980 | 6–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) | 23–16–6 |
| 46 | W | January 19, 1980 | 7–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) | 24–16–6 |
| 47 | L | January 22, 1980 | 1–2 | @ New York Islanders (1979–80) | 24–17–6 |
| 48 | W | January 24, 1980 | 7–2 | @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) | 25–17–6 |
| 49 | L | January 26, 1980 | 2–7 | Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) | 25–18–6 |
| 50 | W | January 29, 1980 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) | 26–18–6 |
| 51 | W | January 30, 1980 | 3–2 | @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) | 27–18–6 |
| 52 | W | February 2, 1980 | 5–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) | 28–18–6 |
| 53 | W | February 7, 1980 | 4–3 | Colorado Rockies (1979–80) | 29–18–6 |
| 54 | L | February 9, 1980 | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) | 29–19–6 |
| 55 | W | February 10, 1980 | 3–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) | 30–19–6 |
| 56 | W | February 14, 1980 | 5–1 | Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) | 31–19–6 |
| 57 | W | February 16, 1980 | 8–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) | 32–19–6 |
| 58 | T | February 17, 1980 | 2–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) | 32–19–7 |
| 59 | L | February 19, 1980 | 1–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) | 32–20–7 |
| 60 | W | February 21, 1980 | 3–0 | Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) | 33–20–7 |
| 61 | W | February 23, 1980 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) | 34–20–7 |
| 62 | T | February 26, 1980 | 3–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) | 34–20–8 |
| 63 | W | February 28, 1980 | 6–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) | 35–20–8 |
| 64 | W | March 1, 1980 | 6–3 | Washington Capitals (1979–80) | 36–20–8 |
| 65 | W | March 2, 1980 | 5–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) | 37–20–8 |
| 66 | W | March 6, 1980 | 5–4 | Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) | 38–20–8 |
| 67 | W | March 8, 1980 | 5–2 | New York Rangers (1979–80) | 39–20–8 |
| 68 | W | March 10, 1980 | 6–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) | 40–20–8 |
| 69 | W | March 12, 1980 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) | 41–20–8 |
| 70 | W | March 14, 1980 | 4–3 | @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) | 42–20–8 |
| 71 | W | March 15, 1980 | 7–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) | 43–20–8 |
| 72 | T | March 19, 1980 | 5–5 | @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) | 43–20–9 |
| 73 | T | March 22, 1980 | 5–5 | Hartford Whalers (1979–80) | 43–20–10 |
| 74 | W | March 23, 1980 | 6–1 | @ New York Rangers (1979–80) | 44–20–10 |
| 75 | W | March 25, 1980 | 8–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) | 45–20–10 |
| 76 | T | March 28, 1980 | 2–2 | New York Islanders (1979–80) | 45–20–11 |
| 77 | T | March 30, 1980 | 1–1 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) | 45–20–12 |
| 78 | W | April 2, 1980 | 7–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) | 46–20–12 |
| 79 | W | April 5, 1980 | 6–1 | Boston Bruins (1979–80) | 47–20–12 |
| 80 | T | April 6, 1980 | 4–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) | 47–20–13 |

## Playoffs

The Canadiens swept the Hartford Whalers in the preliminary round 3–0 in games. The Canadiens then faced the Minnesota North Stars in the quarter-final and lost a seven-game series four games to three.

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 74 | 50 | 75 | 125 | 12 | 40 | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Pierre Larouche | C | 73 | 50 | 41 | 91 | 16 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 77 | 47 | 42 | 89 | 34 | 45 | 17 | 0 | 4 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 72 | 14 | 61 | 75 | 39 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 75 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 12 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 77 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 76 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 60 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 68 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 77 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 105 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rod Langway | D | 77 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 81 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 64 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 32 | -2 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 45 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 29 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 80 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 28 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Brian Engblom | D | 70 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Risebrough | C | 44 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 81 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Savard | D | 46 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 18 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 66 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 34 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilles Lupien | D | 56 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 109 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Danny Geoffrion | RW | 32 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Dupont | LW | 35 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | G | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 50 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Acton | C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Herron | G | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Meagher | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moe Robinson | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Sevigny | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Denis Herron | 1909 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 80 | 2.51 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | 2259 | 39 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 125 | 3.32 | 3 |
| Richard Sevigny | 632 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 2.94 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 47 | 20 | 13 | 236 | 2.95 | 3 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 10 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 10 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rejean Houle | W | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Napier | RW | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Larouche | C | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gaston Gingras | D | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Langway | D | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Engblom | D | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Mondou | C | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Dupont | LW | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Danny Geoffrion | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denis Herron | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yvan Joly | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Lupien | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Nilan | RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serge Savard | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Michel Larocque | 300 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2.20 | 1 |
| Denis Herron | 300 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 600 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 2.60 | 1 |
    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;

## Awards and records

Larry Robinson, Norris Trophy

## Draft picks

| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (League) |
| 2 | 27 | Gaston Gingras | Defence | Canada | Birmingham Bulls (WHA) |
| 2 | 37 | Mats Naslund | Left wing | Sweden | Brynäs IF (Sweden) |
| 3 | 43 | Craig Levie | Defence | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) |
| 3 | 44 | Guy Carbonneau | Centre | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Rick Wamsley | Goaltender | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL) |
| 4 | 79 | Dave Orleski | Left wing | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WHL) |
| 5 | 100 | Yvan Joly | Right wing | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 121 | Greg Moffett | Goaltender | United States | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |