1980–81 AHL season

The 1980–81 AHL season was the 45th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hershey Bears finished first overall in the regular season. The Adirondack Red Wings won their first Calder Cup championship.
==Team changes==
* The Syracuse Firebirds cease operations.
* The Binghamton Dusters become the Binghamton Whalers.
* The Adirondack Red Wings switch divisions from North to South.
==Final standings==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against; PTS = Points; 
North 	GP	W 	L 	T 	PTS	GF 	GA
Maine Mariners 	80	45	28	7 	97 	319	292
New Brunswick Hawks 	80	37	33	10	84 	317	298
Nova Scotia Voyageurs	80	38	37	5 	81 	335	298
Springfield Indians 	80	34	41	5 	73 	312	343
South 	GP	W 	L 	T 	PTS	GF 	GA
Hershey Bears 	80	47	24	9 	103	357	299
Adirondack Red Wings	80	35	40	5 	75 	305	328
Binghamton Whalers 	80	32	42	6 	70 	296	336
New Haven Nighthawks	80	29	40	11	69 	295	321
Rochester Americans 	80	30	42	8 	68 	295	316
==Scoring leaders==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Mark Lofthouse 	Hershey Bears 	74	48	55	103	131
Dan Daoust 	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	80	38	60	98 	106
Tony Cassolato 	Hershey Bears 	74	48	46	94 	23
Dave Gorman 	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	78	43	47	90 	82
Normand Aubin 	New Brunswick Hawks 	79	43	46	89 	99
Guy Carbonneau 	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	78	35	53	88 	87
Jean-Francois Sauve	Rochester Americans 	56	29	54	83 	21
Craig Levie 	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	80	20	62	82 	162
Paul Evans 	Maine Mariners 	78	28	52	80 	49
Reg Thomas 	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	74	36	43	79 	90
* complete list
==Calder Cup playoffs==
See 1981 Calder Cup Playoffs
==Trophy and award winners==
;Team awards
Calder CupPlayoff champions: 	Adirondack Red Wings
F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular Season champions, North Division:	Maine Mariners
John D. Chick TrophyRegular Season champions, South Division: 	Hershey Bears
;Individual awards
Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: 	Pelle Lindbergh - Maine Mariners
John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: 	Mike Lofthouse - Hershey Bears
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: 	Pelle Lindbergh - Maine Mariners
Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: 	Craig Levie - Nova Scotia Voyageurs
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average:	Pelle Lindbergh & Robbie Moore - Maine Mariners
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: 	Bob McCammon - Maine Mariners
Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: 	Tony Cassolato - Hershey Bears
;Other awards
James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost outstanding executive: 	Ed Anderson
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage:	Rick Wheeler, Rochester, (newspaper)Russ Small, Hershey, (radio)Simeon Smith, Rochester, (television)
Ken McKenzie AwardOutstanding marketing executive: 	Brent Hancock, Hershey Bears
==Team Photos==
80-81SprInd.jpg|Springfield Indians
80-81NSVoy.jpg|Nova Scotia Voyageurs
==Game Ads==
80-81AHLMonctonGameAd.jpg|Moncton
==See also==
*List of AHL seasons
==References==
*AHL official site
*AHL Hall of Fame
*HockeyDB
Category:American Hockey League seasons
Category:1981 in hockey