1979–80 Hartford Whalers season

The 1979–80 Hartford Whalers season was the Whalers' first season in the National Hockey League. The Whalers finished 4th in the Norris Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 0.
==Off-season==
Along with the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets, the Whalers were one of four World Hockey Association franchises that joined the NHL.
===Draft Picks===
Pick	Player 	Nationality	NHL Team 	College/junior/club team
18. 	Ray Allison (RW)	 	Hartford Whalers	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
===NHL Expansion Draft===
====Reclaimed Players====
Reclaiming of players: The 17 existing NHL teams were allowed to reclaim any rights to former WHA players they held. The four incoming franchises, however, were allowed to protect up to two goaltenders and two skaters, voiding their NHL rights. These players were considered "priority selections" in the expansion draft. Gordie Howe was one of two special cases (the other being Wayne Gretzky), as a gentlemen's agreement between the Hartford Whalers and the Detroit Red Wings, which held his rights, led to the Wings declining to reclaim Howe.
These are Hartford players whose NHL rights were reclaimed when the WHA merged with the NHL. This list is incomplete.
# 	Player 	Reclaimed From 	Reclaimed By
2. 	Alan Hangsleben (D)	Hartford Whalers	Montreal Canadiens
7. 	Rick Ley (D) 	Hartford Whalers	Toronto Maple Leafs
9. 	George Lyle (LW) 	Hartford Whalers	Detroit Red Wings
10.	Warren Miller (RW) 	Hartford Whalers	New York Rangers
====Whalers Selections====
# 	Player 	Drafted From 	Drafted By
1. 	Rick Ley (D) 	Toronto Maple Leafs	Hartford Whalers
2. 	Nick Fotiu (LW) 	New York Rangers 	Hartford Whalers
3. 	Al Sims (D) 	Boston Bruins 	Hartford Whalers
4. 	Bernie Johnston (C/LW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Hartford Whalers
5. 	Brian Hill (RW) 	Atlanta Flames 	Hartford Whalers
6. 	M. F. Schurman (LW) 	Philadelphia Flyers	Hartford Whalers
7. 	Rick Hodgson (D) 	Atlanta Flames 	Hartford Whalers
8. 	Kevin Kemp (D) 	Toronto Maple Leafs	Hartford Whalers
9. 	Jean Savard (C) 	Chicago Black Hawks	Hartford Whalers
10.	Alan Hangsleben (D) 	Montreal Canadiens 	Hartford Whalers
11.	Ralph Klassen (F) 	Colorado Rockies 	Hartford Whalers
12.	Bill Bennett (LW) 	Boston Bruins 	Hartford Whalers
13.	Dave Given (F) 	Buffalo Sabres 	Hartford Whalers
14.	Nick Beverley (D) 	Colorado Rockies 	Hartford Whalers
15.	Norm Lapointe G 	Vancouver Canucks 	Hartford Whalers
16.	Don Kozak (?) 	Vancouver Canucks 	Hartford Whalers
==Regular Season==
===Gordie Howe===
When the WHA folded in 1979, the Hartford Whalers joined the NHL and the 51-year-old Howe signed on for one final season playing in all 80 games of the schedule, helping his team to make the playoffs with fifteen goals. One particular honor was when Howe, Phil Esposito, and Jean Ratelle were selected to the mid-season all-star game by coach Scotty Bowman, as a nod to their storied careers before they retired. Howe had played in five decades of all-star games and he would skate alongside the second-youngest to ever play in the game, 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky. The Joe Louis Arena crowd gave him a standing ovation twice, lasting so long, he had to skate to the bench to stop people from cheering. He had one assist in his side's 6–3 win.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
No.	R	Date 	Score	Opponent 	Record
1 	L	October 11, 1979 	1–4 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	0–1–0
2 	T	October 13, 1979 	3–3 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	0–1–1
3 	T	October 14, 1979 	3–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	0–1–2
4 	L	October 17, 1979 	1–3 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	0–2–2
5 	W	October 19, 1979 	6–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	1–2–2
6 	L	October 20, 1979 	1–6 	@ New York Islanders (1979–80) 	1–3–2
7 	T	October 24, 1979 	2–2 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	1–3–3
8 	L	October 26, 1979 	1–2 	New York Islanders (1979–80) 	1–4–3
9 	T	October 28, 1979 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1979–80) 	1–4–4
10 	W	October 31, 1979 	4–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	2–4–4
11 	W	November 2, 1979 	5–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	3–4–4
12 	W	November 6, 1979 	7–2 	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	4–4–4
13 	L	November 9, 1979 	2–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	4–5–4
14 	T	November 11, 1979	5–5 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	4–5–5
15 	L	November 14, 1979	2–3 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	4–6–5
16 	W	November 17, 1979	4–0 	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	5–6–5
17 	L	November 18, 1979	4–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	5–7–5
18 	W	November 21, 1979	5–3 	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	6–7–5
19 	T	November 24, 1979	4–4 	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	6–7–6
20 	W	November 25, 1979	4–2 	Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	7–7–6
21 	L	November 27, 1979	2–6 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	7–8–6
22 	W	November 30, 1979	7–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	8–8–6
23 	T	December 1, 1979 	4–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	8–8–7
24 	T	December 4, 1979 	3–3 	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	8–8–8
25 	L	December 7, 1979 	4–7 	New York Rangers (1979–80) 	8–9–8
26 	L	December 9, 1979 	0–3 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	8–10–8
27 	L	December 11, 1979	3–5 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	8–11–8
28 	L	December 12, 1979	4–7 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	8–12–8
29 	L	December 15, 1979	5–6 	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	8–13–8
30 	W	December 19, 1979	5–4 	Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	9–13–8
31 	L	December 22, 1979	2–4 	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	9–14–8
32 	L	December 23, 1979	2–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	9–15–8
33 	T	December 26, 1979	4–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	9–15–9
34 	L	December 29, 1979	0–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	9–16–9
35 	T	January 2, 1980 	3–3 	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	9–16–10
36 	L	January 4, 1980 	3–6 	Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	9–17–10
37 	L	January 6, 1980 	1–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	9–18–10
38 	L	January 7, 1980 	2–5 	@ New York Rangers (1979–80) 	9–19–10
39 	L	January 9, 1980 	2–6 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	9–20–10
40 	W	January 12, 1980 	6–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	10–20–10
41 	W	January 17, 1980 	7–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	11–20–10
42 	W	January 19, 1980 	5–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 	12–20–10
43 	W	January 21, 1980 	7–2 	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	13–20–10
44 	L	January 24, 1980 	2–7 	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	13–21–10
45 	L	January 26, 1980 	2–3 	@ New York Islanders (1979–80) 	13–22–10
46 	W	January 28, 1980 	6–1 	Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	14–22–10
47 	W	January 30, 1980 	8–2 	Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	15–22–10
48 	L	February 2, 1980 	3–5 	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	15–23–10
49 	W	February 3, 1980 	5–3 	New York Islanders (1979–80) 	16–23–10
50 	W	February 6, 1980 	7–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	17–23–10
51 	T	February 8, 1980 	4–4 	Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	17–23–11
52 	L	February 10, 1980	2–6 	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 	17–24–11
53 	T	February 12, 1980	5–5 	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	17–24–12
54 	W	February 15, 1980	5–4 	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	18–24–12
55 	L	February 16, 1980	3–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	18–25–12
56 	W	February 18, 1980	6–4 	New York Rangers (1979–80) 	19–25–12
57 	W	February 19, 1980	6–2 	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 	20–25–12
58 	W	February 23, 1980	6–5 	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 	21–25–12
59 	L	February 26, 1980	5–9 	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	21–26–12
60 	L	February 27, 1980	3–6 	Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	21–27–12
61 	W	February 29, 1980	3–0 	St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	22–27–12
62 	W	March 1, 1980 	6–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	23–27–12
63 	L	March 6, 1980 	3–4 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 	23–28–12
64 	L	March 8, 1980 	5–9 	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 	23–29–12
65 	T	March 9, 1980 	1–1 	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 	23–29–13
66 	T	March 12, 1980 	4–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	23–29–14
67 	W	March 13, 1980 	3–1 	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	24–29–14
68 	W	March 15, 1980 	4–1 	Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 	25–29–14
69 	L	March 16, 1980 	1–6 	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 	25–30–14
70 	T	March 19, 1980 	5–5 	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	25–30–15
71 	T	March 21, 1980 	5–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 	25–30–16
72 	T	March 22, 1980 	5–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 	25–30–17
73 	L	March 24, 1980 	5–7 	St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 	25–31–17
74 	L	March 26, 1980 	0–7 	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 	25–32–17
75 	T	March 28, 1980 	4–4 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 	25–32–18
76 	T	March 29, 1980 	2–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 	25–32–19
77 	L	April 1, 1980 	4–5 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 	25–33–19
78 	L	April 2, 1980 	4–6 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 	25–34–19
79 	W	April 4, 1980 	9–2 	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 	26–34–19
80 	W	April 6, 1980 	5–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 	27–34–19
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 3, Hartford Whalers 0===
*In the first round of the playoffs, 14th seeded Hartford played the 3rd seeded Montreal Canadiens.
==Player Stats==
===Skaters===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	+/-	PIM
Mike Rogers 	80	44	61	105	 	10
Blaine Stoughton	80	56	44	100	 	16
Mark Howe 	74	24	56	80 	 	20
Dave Keon 	76	10	52	62 	 	10
Jordy Douglas 	77	33	24	57 	 	39
Pat Boutette 	47	13	31	44 	 	75
Gordie Howe 	80	15	26	41 	 	42
Al Sims 	76	10	31	41 	 	30
Gordie Roberts 	80	8 	28	36 	 	89
1979-80 Hartford Whalers [NHL] player statistics at hockeydb.com
===Goaltending===
Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	GP	W 	L 	T 	SO	GAA
Al Smith 	30	11	10	8 	2 	3.66
John Garrett	52	16	24	11	0 	3.98
==Awards and Records==
*NHL Goal Scoring Leader: Blaine Stoughton (tied)
==References==
* Whalers on Hockey Database
1979–80
Category:1979 in hockey
Category:1980 in hockey