1980–81 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1980–81 Winnipeg Jets season was the Winnipeg Jets' second season in the National Hockey League. In the 1980–81 season they finished fifth (and last) in the NHL's Smythe Division. The team scored 246 goals and conceded 400 goals. The Jets won 9 games, lost 57 games and tied 14 games. They scored 32 points. The team also endured a 30-game winless streak (23 losses and 7 ties) which included the entire month of November and most of December.

1980–81 Winnipeg Jets
Division5th Smythe
ConferenceCampbell
1980–81 record9–57–14
Goals for246
Goals against400
Team information
General managerJohn Ferguson
CoachTom McVie
CaptainMorris Lukowich
Alternate captainsNone

The Jets were coached by Tom McVie (1 win, 20 losses and 7 ties), Bill Sutherland (6 wins, 20 losses and 3 ties), and Mike Smith (2 wins, 17 losses and 4 ties).

Offseason

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The Jets named Morris Lukowich as team captain during the off-season, as former captain Lars-Erik Sjöberg announced his retirement at the end of the 1979–80 season. Lukowich had been with Winnipeg since their final season in the WHA, helping the club win the Avco Cup in 1979.

On June 11, 1980, Winnipeg selected defenseman Dave Babych with the second overall pick in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Babych was a high scoring defenseman with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, recording 22 goals and 82 points in 50 games with Portland. With their second pick, the Jets selected Moe Mantha from the Toronto Marlboros of the OMJHL, and in the seventh round, the team selected Brian Mullen from the United States national ice hockey team.

Winnipeg made a few small trades during the off-season, most notably acquiring Rick Bowness from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Craig Norwich. The Jets also acquired Norm Dupont from the Montreal Canadiens for the Jets second round pick in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. Dupont was selected by the Canadiens in the first round of the 1977 NHL amateur draft, however, he picked up only a goal and four points in 35 games with Montreal in the 1979–80 season.

Regular season

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Final standings

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Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
St. Louis Blues 80 45 18 17 352 281 107
Chicago Black Hawks 80 31 33 16 304 315 78
Vancouver Canucks 80 28 32 20 289 301 76
Edmonton Oilers 80 29 35 16 328 327 74
Colorado Rockies 80 22 45 13 258 344 57
Winnipeg Jets 80 9 57 14 246 400 32

[1]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[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – New York Islanders PTK 80 48 18 14 355 260 110
2 x – St. Louis Blues SMY 80 45 18 17 352 281 107
3 y – Montreal Canadiens NRS 80 45 22 13 332 232 103
4 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 43 24 13 337 290 99
5 x – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 39 20 21 327 250 99
6 Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 41 24 15 313 249 97
7 Calgary Flames PTK 80 39 27 14 329 298 92
8 Boston Bruins ADM 80 37 30 13 316 272 87
9 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 35 28 17 291 263 87
10 Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 31 33 16 304 315 78
11 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 30 32 18 314 318 78
12 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 28 32 20 289 301 76
13 New York Rangers PTK 80 30 36 14 312 317 74
14 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 29 35 16 328 327 74
15 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 302 345 73
16 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 28 37 15 322 367 71
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 26 36 18 286 317 70
18 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 21 41 18 292 372 60
19 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 22 45 13 258 344 57
20 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 19 43 18 252 339 56
21 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 9 57 14 246 400 32

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

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Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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[4]

No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1 L October 10, 1980 1–4 @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 0–1–0 12,984
2 L October 11, 1980 4–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 0–2–0 9,240
3 W October 17, 1980 6–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 1–2–0 12,236
4 T October 19, 1980 4–4 Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 1–2–1 12,728
5 L October 22, 1980 4–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 1–3–1 16,433
6 L October 25, 1980 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 1–4–1 15,383
7 T October 26, 1980 7–7 Boston Bruins (1980–81) 1–4–2 15,198
8 L October 29, 1980 4–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 1–5–2 8,136
9 L October 31, 1980 5–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 1–6–2 11,536
10 T November 2, 1980 4–4 Washington Capitals (1980–81) 1–6–3 12,095
11 T November 5, 1980 5–5 Calgary Flames (1980–81) 1–6–4 10,500
12 L November 7, 1980 2–4 Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 1–7–4 12,744
13 L November 9, 1980 4–7 Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 1–8–4 15,743
14 L November 12, 1980 1–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 1–9–4 N/A
15 T November 13, 1980 5–5 @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 1–9–5 8,089
16 L November 16, 1980 1–5 Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 1–10–5 15,744
17 L November 18, 1980 1–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 1–11–5 12,176
18 L November 19, 1980 2–7 @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 1–12–5 7,572
19 L November 21, 1980 2–4 Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 1–13–5 12,837
20 L November 23, 1980 1–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 1–14–5 17,077
21 T November 25, 1980 4–4 @ New York Islanders (1980–81) 1–14–6 14,087
22 L November 26, 1980 4–8 @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 1–15–6 10,741
23 T November 28, 1980 1–1 St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 1–15–7 11,200
24 L November 30, 1980 1–4 Calgary Flames (1980–81) 1–16–7 12,867
25 L December 3, 1980 3–4 New York Rangers (1980–81) 1–17–7 13,380
26 L December 4, 1980 1–3 @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 1–18–7 7,077
27 L December 6, 1980 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 1–19–7 14,546
28 L December 10, 1980 5–8 Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 1–20–7 11,623
29 L December 13, 1980 3–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 1–21–7 12,371
30 L December 14, 1980 4–5 New York Islanders (1980–81) 1–22–7 14,549
31 L December 16, 1980 2–6 @ New York Islanders (1980–81) 1–23–7 14,106
32 L December 17, 1980 2–8 @ New York Rangers (1980–81) 1–24–7 17,361
33 L December 20, 1980 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 1–25–7 11,115
34 W December 23, 1980 5–4 Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 2–25–7 11,587
35 L December 26, 1980 3–5 Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 2–26–7 15,776
36 L December 28, 1980 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 2–27–7 14,040
37 L December 31, 1980 3–5 Washington Capitals (1980–81) 2–28–7 14,167
38 W January 2, 1981 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 3–28–7 15,481
39 L January 5, 1981 1–4 Boston Bruins (1980–81) 3–29–7 13,405
40 W January 7, 1981 8–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 4–29–7 16,485
41 T January 9, 1981 4–4 Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 4–29–8 13,239
42 L January 10, 1981 3–5 Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 4–30–8 11,233
43 T January 13, 1981 3–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 4–30–9 9,425
44 L January 15, 1981 3–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 4–31–9 15,386
45 L January 17, 1981 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 4–32–9 7,243
46 L January 18, 1981 4–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 4–33–9 15,286
47 W January 21, 1981 5–1 New York Rangers (1980–81) 5–33–9 12,010
48 T January 23, 1981 2–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 5–33–10 8,048
49 L January 27, 1981 3–4 @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 5–34–10 7,440
50 L January 29, 1981 6–7 @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 5–35–10 8,023
51 W January 31, 1981 2–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 6–35–10 16,485
52 L February 1, 1981 0–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 6–36–10 16,370
53 L February 4, 1981 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 6–37–10 11,968
54 L February 6, 1981 4–10 @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 6–38–10 17,455
55 L February 8, 1981 1–9 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 6–39–10 12,329
56 L February 12, 1981 6–8 @ New York Rangers (1980–81) 6–40–10 17,343
57 W February 15, 1981 4–3 Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 7–40–10 13,352
58 L February 17, 1981 4–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 7–41–10 10,235
59 T February 18, 1981 3–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 7–41–11 14,096
60 L February 20, 1981 3–5 Minnesota North Stars (1980–81) 7–42–11 13,498
61 L February 21, 1981 1–5 Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 7–43–11 14,873
62 L February 25, 1981 3–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 7–44–11 6,655
63 L February 27, 1981 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 7–45–11 14,302
64 T March 1, 1981 4–4 Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 7–45–12 12,815
65 L March 4, 1981 3–9 @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 7–46–12 16,790
66 L March 5, 1981 1–10 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 7–47–12 17,077
67 W March 7, 1981 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 8–47–12 15,648
68 L March 8, 1981 1–4 Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 8–48–12 13,992
69 L March 11, 1981 3–6 New York Islanders (1980–81) 8–49–12 12,035
70 L March 13, 1981 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 8–50–12 12,936
71 L March 15, 1981 2–8 Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 8–51–12 11,913
72 W March 18, 1981 4–3 Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 9–51–12 10,936
73 L March 21, 1981 4–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 9–52–12 12,232
74 L March 22, 1981 5–7 Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 9–53–12 12,849
75 L March 27, 1981 2–10 Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 9–54–12 14,022
76 L March 29, 1981 1–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 9–55–12 7,875
77 L March 31, 1981 3–7 @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 9–56–12 9,748
78 T April 1, 1981 4–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 9–56–13 12,209
79 L April 4, 1981 2–7 @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 9–57–13 17,490
80 T April 5, 1981 5–5 St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 9–57–14 14,173

Playoffs

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For the second straight season, the Jets failed to qualify for the playoffs, as they had an NHL worst record of 9–57–14, earning 32 points, 39 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff position.

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Dave Christian RW 80 28 43 71 22 -54 9 1 0
Morris Lukowich LW 80 33 34 67 90 -39 9 2 2
Norm Dupont LW 80 27 26 53 8 -57 8 0 1
Ron Wilson C 77 18 33 51 55 -34 4 1 0
Danny Geoffrion RW 78 20 26 46 82 -32 3 0 0
Dave Babych D 69 6 38 44 90 -61 3 0 0
Willy Lindstrom RW 72 22 13 35 45 -28 7 0 1
Tim Trimper LW 56 15 14 29 28 -31 1 0 1
Rick Bowness RW 45 8 17 25 45 -35 0 0 1
Moe Mantha D 58 2 23 25 35 -33 1 0 0
Doug Lecuyer LW 45 6 17 23 66 -27 0 0 1
Barry Long D 65 6 17 23 42 -47 0 0 0
Peter Sullivan C 47 4 19 23 20 -17 2 0 0
Kris Manery C/RW 47 13 9 22 24 -15 4 1 0
Don Spring D 80 1 18 19 18 -40 0 0 0
Doug Smail LW 30 10 8 18 45 -7 1 3 1
Anders Steen C 42 5 11 16 22 -22 3 0 1
Peter Marsh RW 24 6 7 13 9 -17 3 0 0
Rick Dudley LW 30 5 5 10 28 -12 0 0 0
Jimmy Mann RW 37 3 3 6 105 -18 0 0 0
Mark Plantery D 25 1 5 6 14 -10 0 0 0
Barry Legge D 38 0 6 6 69 -33 0 0 0
Scott Campbell D 14 1 4 5 55 3 0 0 0
Tom Bladon D 9 0 5 5 10 -10 0 0 0
John Markell LW 14 1 3 4 15 -11 1 0 0
Richard Mulhern D 19 0 4 4 14 -9 0 0 0
Al Cameron D 29 1 2 3 21 -19 0 0 0
Murray Eaves C 12 1 2 3 5 -7 1 0 0
Barry Melrose D 18 1 1 2 40 -12 0 0 0
Sandy Beadle LW 6 1 0 1 2 -2 0 0 0
Dave Hoyda LW 9 1 0 1 7 0 0 0 0
Ross Cory D 5 0 1 1 9 -8 0 0 0
Pierre Hamel G 29 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
Markus Mattsson G 31 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Dave Chartier C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pat Daley LW 7 0 0 0 9 -3 0 0 0
Michel Dion G 14 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Jude Drouin C 7 0 0 0 4 -2 0 0 0
Ron Loustel G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lindsay Middlebrook G 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bill Whelton D 2 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Michel Dion 757 14 3 6 3 61 4.83 0
Pierre Hamel 1623 29 3 20 4 128 4.73 0
Markus Mattsson 1707 31 3 21 4 128 4.50 1
Ron Loustel 60 1 0 1 0 10 10.00 0
Lindsay Middlebrook 653 14 0 9 3 65 5.97 0
Team: 4800 80 9 57 14 392 4.90 1

[5]

Note:
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

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Transactions

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Trades

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June 19, 1980 To St. Louis Blues
Craig Norwich
To Winnipeg Jets
Rick Bowness
August 6, 1980 To New York Rangers
Gord Smith
To Winnipeg Jets
Cash
September 26, 1980 To Montreal Canadiens
2nd round pick in 1982David Maley
To Winnipeg Jets
Norm Dupont
October 8, 1980 To Quebec Nordiques
Cash
To Winnipeg Jets
Danny Geoffrion
October 31, 1980 To Detroit Red Wings
Cash
To Winnipeg Jets
Barry Long
December 1, 1980 To Chicago Black Hawks
Peter Marsh
To Winnipeg Jets
Tim Trimper
Doug Lecuyer
December 2, 1980 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Cash
To Winnipeg Jets
Richard Mulhern
February 10, 1981 To Quebec Nordiques
Cash
To Winnipeg Jets
Michel Dion

Waivers

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January 12, 1981 From Buffalo Sabres
Rick Dudley

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Don Spring Undrafted Free Agent
Tom Bladon Edmonton Oilers
Player New Team
Tom Bladon Detroit Red Wings

Draft picks

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Winnipeg selected the following players at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal on June 11, 1980.[6]

NHL Amateur Draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 2 Dave Babych (D)   Canada Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
2 23 Moe Mantha (D)   Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
3 44 Murray Eaves (C)   Canada University of Michigan (NCAA)
4 65 Guy Fournier (F)   Canada Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
5 86 Glen Ostir (D)   Canada Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
6 107 Ron Loustel (G)   Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
7 128 Brian Mullen (LW)   United States US National Under-18 Team
7 135 Michel Lauen (RW)   United States Michigan Tech (NCAA)
8 149 Sandy Beadle (LW)   Canada Northeastern University (NCAA)
9 170 Ed Christian (F)   United States Warroad (MN) High School
10 191 Dave Chartier (C)   Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "1980–81 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1980-81 Winnipeg Jets Results and Schedule". HockeyDB. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. ^ "1980-81 Winnipeg Jets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  6. ^ "1980 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
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