1980–81 NHL season

Regular season
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold
Prince of Wales Conference
 Adams Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Buffalo Sabres 80 39 20 21  99 327 250 1194 Boston Bruins  80  37 30 13  87 316 272 1836 Minnesota North Stars 8035 28 17  87 291 263 1624 Quebec Nordiques  80 30 32 18  78 314 318 1524 Toronto Maple Leafs 80 28 37 15  71 322 367 1830

 Norris Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Montreal Canadiens 80 45 22 13  103 332 232 1398 Los Angeles Kings 80 43 24 13  99 337 290 1627 Chicago Black Hawks 8031 33 16  78 304 315 1660 Pittsburgh Penguins 8030 37 13  73 302 345 1807 Hartford Whalers  80 21 41 18  60 292 372 1584 Detroit Red Wings  80 19 43 18  56 252 339 1687

Clarence Campbell Conference
 Patrick Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM New York Islanders 8048 18 14  110 355 260 1442 Philadelphia Flyers 80 41 24 15  97 313 249 2621 Calgary Flames  80 39 27 14  92 329 298 1450 New York Rangers  80 30 36 14  74 312 317 1981 Washington Capitals 80 26 36 18  70 286 317 1872

 Smythe Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM St. Louis Blues 80 45 18 17  107 352 281 1657 Vancouver Canucks  80  28 32 20  76 289 301 1892 Edmonton Oilers  80 29 35 16  74 328 327 1544 Colorado Rockies  80 22 45 13  57 258 344 1418 Winnipeg Jets  80 9 57 14  32 246 400 1191

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
 Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Wayne Gretzky  Edmonton Oilers  80  55  109  164  28 Marcel Dionne  Los Angeles Kings  80  58  77  135  70 Kent Nilsson  Calgary Flames  80  49  82  131  26 Mike Bossy  New York Islanders  79  68  51  119  32 Dave Taylor  Los Angeles Kings  72  47  65  112  130 Peter Stastny  Quebec Nordiques  77  39  70  109  37 Charlie Simmer  Los Angeles Kings  65  56  49  105  62 Mike Rogers  Hartford Whalers  80  40  65  105  32 Bernie Federko  St. Louis Blues  78  31  73  104  47 Jacques Richard  Quebec Nordiques  78  52  51  103  39

Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket

Finals
New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars

 Date Visitors Score Home ScoreMay 12  Minnesota 3New York 6May 14  Minnesota 3 New York 6May 17  New York7 Minnesota 5May 19  New York2 Minnesota 4May 21  Minnesota 1 New York 5

New York wins the series 4–1.

NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy:  Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:  New York IslandersArt Ross Memorial Trophy:  Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton OilersBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:  Blake Dunlop, St. Louis BluesCalder Memorial Trophy:  Peter Stastny, Quebec NordiquesConn Smythe Trophy:  Butch Goring, New York IslandersFrank J. Selke Trophy:  Bob Gainey, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:  Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton OilersJack Adams Award:  Gordon "Red" Berenson, St. Louis BluesJames Norris Memorial Trophy:  Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh PenguinsLady Byng Memorial Trophy:  Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh PenguinsLester B. Pearson Award:  Mike Liut, St. Louis BluesNHL Plus/Minus Award:  Brian Engblom, Montreal CanadiensVezina Trophy:  Denis Herron, Michel Larocque, & Richard Sevigny, Montreal CanadiensLester Patrick Trophy:  Charles M. Schulz

All-Star teams
 First Team    Position    Second TeamMike Liut, St. Louis Blues GMario Lessard, Los Angeles KingsDenis Potvin, New York Islanders DLarry Robinson, Montreal CanadiensRandy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins DRay Bourque, Boston BruinsWayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers CMarcel Dionne, Los Angeles KingsMike Bossy, New York Islanders RWDave Taylor, Los Angeles KingsCharlie Simmer, Los Angeles Kings LWBill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers

First games
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1980–81 (listed with their first team, star(*) marks debut in playoffs):
 Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins
 Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins
 Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks
 Steve Larmer, Chicago Black Hawks
 Andy Moog, Edmonton Oilers
 Charlie Huddy, Edmonton Oilers
 Glenn Anderson, Edmonton Oilers
 Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
 Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
 Larry Murphy, Los Angeles Kings
 Dino Ciccarelli, Minnesota North Stars
 Don Beaupre, Minnesota North Stars
 Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars
 Doug Wickenheiser, Montreal Canadiens
 Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
 Rick Wamsley, Montreal Canadiens
 Brent Sutter, New York Islanders
 Rollie Melanson, New York Islanders
 Tim Kerr, Philadelphia Flyers
 Mike Bullard, Pittsburgh Penguins
 Anton Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
 Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
 Dale Hunter, Quebec Nordiques
 Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues
 Dave Babych, Winnipeg Jets

Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1980–81 (listed with their last team):
 Jean Ratelle, Boston Bruins
 Terry Harper, Colorado Rockies
 Pete Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings
 Tom Bladon, Detroit Red Wings
 Jean Potvin, New York Islanders
 Phil Esposito, New York Rangers
 Walt Tkaczuk, New York Rangers
 Ron Ellis, Toronto Maple Leafs
 Dennis Kearns, Vancouver Canucks
 Bobby Schmautz, Vancouver Canucks
 Dennis Ververgaert, Washington Capitals
 Guy Charron, Washington Capitals
 Wayne Stephenson, Washington Capitals
 Jude Drouin, Winnipeg Jets

Related pages
 List of Stanley Cup champions
 1980 NHL Entry Draft
 33rd National Hockey League All-Star Game
 National Hockey League All-Star Game
 1980 in sports
 1981 in sports

References
 Hockey Database
 NHL.com

Category:1980 in the United States
Category:1981 in the United States
Category:National Hockey League seasons