1979–80 QMJHL season

The 1979–80 QMJHL season was the 11th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Ten teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Sherbrooke Castors finished first overall in the regular season, winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy. The Cornwall Royals, led by rookie Dale Hawerchuk won the President's Cup, defeating the Sherbrooke Castors in the finals. Cornwall went on to win the 1980 Memorial Cup, winning their second Memorial Cup championship.
==Team changes==
* The Laval National were renamed the Laval Voisins.
* The Verdun Éperviers returned to Sorel, Quebec, mid-season.
==Final standings==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against 
Dilio Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
Sherbrooke Castors 	72	45	20	7	97 	435	314
Chicoutimi Saguenéens 	72	42	27	3	87 	442	347
Québec Remparts 	72	38	29	5	81 	348	331
Trois-Rivières Draveurs	72	36	27	9	81 	426	327
Shawinigan Cataractes 	72	28	35	9	65 	314	339
Lebel Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
Cornwall Royals 	72	41	25	6 	88 	388	333
Montreal Juniors 	72	39	30	3 	81 	406	387
Hull Olympiques 	72	25	35	12	62 	336	378
Verdun/Sorel Éperviers	72	20	47	5 	45 	321	426
Laval Voisins 	72	13	52	7 	33 	265	499
==Scoring leaders==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
J. F. Sauve 	Trois-Rivières Draveurs 	72	63	124	187	31
Guy Carbonneau	Chicoutimi Saguenéens 	72	72	110	182	66
Denis Savard 	Montreal Juniors 	72	63	118	181	93
Normand Aubin 	Verdun/Sorel/Sherbrooke 	63	91	89 	180	66
Gilles Hamel 	Trois-Rivières/Chicoutimi	70	86	70 	156	95
Alain Bouchard	Verdun/Sorel/Montreal 	70	53	94 	147	27
Pierre Aubry 	Trois-Rivières Draveurs 	72	85	62 	147	82
Denis Cyr 	Montreal Juniors 	70	70	76 	146	61
Alain Lemieux 	Chicoutimi Saguenéens 	72	47	95 	142	36
Louis Begin 	Sherbrooke Castors 	70	60	73 	133	54
==Playoffs==
Dale Hawerchuk was the leading scorer of the playoffs with 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists).
;Quarterfinals
* Sherbrooke Castors defeated Hull Olympiques 4 games to 0.
* Cornwall Royals defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 3.
* Chicoutimi Saguenéens defeated Trois-Rivières Draveurs 4 games to 3.
* Montreal Juniors defeated Québec Remparts 4 games to 1.
;Semifinals
* Sherbrooke Castors defeated Montreal Juniors 4 games to 1.
* Cornwall Royals defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 1.
;Finals
* Cornwall Royals defeated Sherbrooke Castors 4 games to 2.
==All-star teams==
;First team
* Goalkeeper - Paul Pageau, Shawinigan Cataractes 
* Left defence - Fred Arthur, Cornwall Royals
* Right defence - Gaston Therrien, Québec Remparts
* Left winger - Gilles Hamel, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
* Centreman - J. F. Sauve, Trois-Rivières Draveurs & Denis Savard, Montreal Juniors
* Right winger - Denis Cyr, Montreal Juniors 
* Coach - Doug Carpenter, Cornwall Royals
;Second team
* Goalkeeper - Corrado Micalef, Sherbrooke Castors 
* Left defence - Normand Rochefort, Trois-Rivières Draveurs
* Right defence - Dave Ezard, Cornwall Royals 
* Left winger - Pierre Aubry, Trois-Rivières Draveurs & Louis Begin, Sherbrooke Castors 
* Centreman - Guy Carbonneau, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
* Right winger - Brian Johnson, Sherbrooke Castors
* Coach - Ghislain Delage, Sherbrooke Castors & Gaston Drapeau, Québec Remparts
* List of First/Second/Rookie team all-stars.
==Trophies and awards==
;Team
*President's Cup - Playoff Champions, Cornwall Royals.
*Jean Rougeau Trophy - Regular Season Champions, Sherbrooke Castors.
*Robert Lebel Trophy - Team with best GAA, Sherbrooke Castors.
;Player
*Michel Brière Memorial Trophy - Most Valuable Player, Denis Savard, Montreal Juniors.
*Jean Béliveau Trophy - Top Scorer, J. F. Sauve, Trois-Rivières Draveurs.
*Guy Lafleur Trophy - Playoff MVP, Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall Royals.
*Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy - Best GAA, Corrado Micalef, Sherbrooke Castors.
*Emile Bouchard Trophy - Defenceman of the Year, Gaston Therrien, Québec Remparts.
*Michel Bergeron Trophy - Rookie of the Year, Dale Hawerchuk, Cornwall Royals .
*Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy - Most sportsmanlike player, J. F. Sauve, Trois-Rivières Draveurs.
==References==
* Official QMJHL Website
* www.hockeydb.com/
QMJHL
Category:Quebec Major Junior Hockey League seasons