1980–81 Edmonton Oilers season

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1980–81 Edmonton Oilers
Division4th Smythe
Conference8th Campbell
1980–81 record29–35–16
Home record17–13–10
Road record12–22–6
Goals for328 (6th)
Goals against327 (15th)
Team information
General managerGlen Sather
CoachBryan Watson (Oct-Nov)
Glen Sather (Nov-Apr)
CaptainBlair MacDonald (Oct-Mar)
Lee Fogolin (Mar-Apr)
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaNorthlands Coliseum
Average attendance17,423 (99.7%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Wichita Wind (CHL)
Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)
Team leaders
GoalsWayne Gretzky (55)
AssistsWayne Gretzky (109)
PointsWayne Gretzky (164)
Penalty minutesPat Price (193)
Plus/minusWayne Gretzky (+41)
WinsEddie Mio (16)
Goals against averageGary Edwards (3.62)

The 1980–81 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' second season in the NHL, and they finished with 74 points, a 5-point improvement from their 1st season.

Wayne Gretzky ran away with the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the leading scorer, as he finished with 164 points, 29 points ahead of runner-up Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky also won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the NHL. His 164 points were an NHL record, previously held by Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins in the 1970–71 NHL season when he scored 152 points. Youngsters Jari Kurri and Mark Messier have very good offensive seasons, finishing 2nd and 3rd on the Oilers scoring list.

Eddie Mio got the majority of action in the Oilers goal, playing in a team high 43 games and having 16 wins, which set a franchise record.

In the playoffs, the Oilers faced the heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens in the first round, and they shocked the hockey world by sweeping Montreal in 3 games. In the quarter-finals, the Oilers played the defending Stanley Cup champion and heavily favored New York Islanders and took them to 6 games before being eliminated.

The season also saw one of their roster players, Don Ashby died in a car accident in the Okanagan Valley. The vehicle that he was driving was hit head-on by a pick up truck. Ashby was critically injured in the accident and died afterwards from massive internal injuries in the hospital in Kelowna, British Columbia.[1]

Season standings[edit]

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

[2]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.

Record vs. opponents[edit]

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference[edit]

Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results[edit]

1980–81 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs[edit]

In Game One of the series versus Montreal, Wayne Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.[84]

1981 Stanley Cup playoffs

Season stats[edit]

Scoring leaders[edit]

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky 80 55 109 164 28
Jari Kurri 75 32 43 75 40
Mark Messier 72 23 40 63 102
Brett Callighen 55 25 35 60 32
Glenn Anderson 58 30 23 53 24

Goaltending[edit]

Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA
Gary Edwards 15 729 5 3 4 44 0 3.62
Andy Moog 7 313 3 3 0 20 0 3.83
Eddie Mio 43 2393 16 15 9 155 0 3.89
Ron Low 24 1260 5 13 3 93 0 4.43
Pete LoPresti 2 105 0 1 0 8 0 4.57

Playoff stats[edit]

Scoring leaders[edit]

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky 9 7 14 21 4
Glenn Anderson 9 5 7 12 12
Jari Kurri 9 5 7 12 4
Brett Callighen 9 4 4 8 6
Paul Coffey 9 4 3 7 22

Goaltending[edit]

Player GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Andy Moog 9 526 5 4 32 0 3.65
Gary Edwards 1 20 0 0 2 0 6.00

Awards and records[edit]

Records[edit]

  • 164: an NHL record for most points in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • 153: A new NHL record for most points in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on March 29, 1981.
  • 109: an NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • 103: A new NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky on April 1, 1981.

Milestones[edit]

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Glenn Anderson 1st NHL Game October 10, 1980
Paul Coffey
Jari Kurri 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Glenn Anderson 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 12, 1980
Jari Kurri 1st NHL Goal October 18, 1980
Paul Coffey 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 19, 1980
Blair MacDonald 100th NHL Point
Dave Semenko 1st NHL Hat-trick
Paul Coffey 1st NHL Goal October 22, 1980
Doug Hicks 300th NHL PIM
Matti Hagman 100th NHL Game November 3, 1980
Wayne Gretzky 100th NHL Assist November 7, 1980
Charlie Huddy 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
November 15, 1980
Paul Coffey 1st NHL Gordie Howe hat trick November 16, 1980
Charlie Huddy 1st NHL Goal
Don Murdoch 100th NHL Assist
Dave Lumley 100th NHL Game November 25, 1980
Blair MacDonald
Wayne Gretzky 100th NHL Game November 26, 1980
Dave Hunter
Jari Kurri 1st NHL Hat-trick
John Hughes 200th NHL PIM November 28, 1980
Kevin Lowe 100th NHL PIM December 7, 1980
Mark Messier 100th NHL Game December 10, 1980
Tom Roulston 1st NHL Game
Curt Brackenbury 100th NHL PIM December 16, 1980
Don Murdoch 100th NHL Assist
Tom Roulston 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Lee Fogolin 100th NHL Point December 20, 1980
Wayne Gretzky 3rd NHL Hat-trick December 23, 1980
Andy Moog 1st NHL Game
Andy Moog 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 28, 1980
Lee Fogolin 600th NHL PIM December 30, 1980
Dave Semenko 100th NHL Game
Kevin Lowe 100th NHL Game January 2, 1981
Risto Siltanen
Andy Moog 1st NHL Win
Pat Price 100th NHL Point
Wayne Gretzky 200th NHL Point January 7, 1981
Jari Kurri 2nd NHL Hat-trick January 11, 1981
Doug Hicks 100th NHL Assist January 17, 1981
Stan Weir 500th NHL Game January 23, 1981
Jari Kurri 3rd NHL Hat-trick January 28, 1981
Roy Sommer 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Pat Price 300th NHL Game January 30, 1981
Curt Brackenbury 100th NHL Game February 1, 1981
Wayne Gretzky 4th NHL Hat-trick
2nd NHL Natural Hat-trick
February 6, 1981
Wayne Gretzky 5th NHL Hat-trick
3rd NHL Natural Hat-trick
1st Five-Goal NHL Game
February 18, 1981
Glenn Anderson 1st NHL Hat-trick
1st NHL Natural Hat-trick
February 21, 1981
Mark Messier 200th NHL PIM February 25, 1981
Curt Brackenbury 200th NHL PIM February 27, 1981
Dave Lumley 200th NHL PIM February 28, 1981
Brett Callighen 100th NHL Point March 3, 1981
Mark Messier 1st NHL Gordie Howe Hat-trick March 4, 1981
Tom Roulston 1st NHL Assist
Brett Callighen 100th NHL Game March 7, 1981
Wayne Gretzky 100th NHL Goal
6th NHL Hat-trick
1st Four-Goal NHL Game
Wayne Gretzky 50th Goal in 69 Games March 15, 1981
Brett Callighen 100th NHL PIM March 16, 1981
Mark Messier 1st NHL Hat-trick
Glenn Anderson 2nd NHL Hat-trick March 25, 1981
Dave Hunter 200th NHL PIM March 29, 1981
Dave Semenko
Wayne Gretzky 300th NHL Point April 4, 1981
Risto Siltanen 1st NHL Hat-trick
Playoffs
Player Milestone Reached
Glenn Anderson 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
April 8, 1981
Paul Coffey
Jari Kurri 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Garry Lariviere 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Andy Moog 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win
Risto Siltanen 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
April 9, 1981
Glenn Anderson 1st NHL Assist April 11, 1981
Paul Coffey
Wayne Gretzky 1st NHL Hat-trick
Matti Hagman 1st NHL Goal
Wayne Gretzky 2nd NHL Hat-trick April 19, 1981
Doug Hicks 1st NHL Assist April 20, 1981
Curt Brackenbury 1st NHL Game April 22, 1981

Transactions[edit]

Trades[edit]

Date Details
June 11, 1980 (1980-06-11) To Philadelphia Flyers
Ron Areshenkoff
10th round pick in 1980Bob O'Brien
To Edmonton Oilers
Barry Dean
June 20, 1980 (1980-06-20) To Minnesota North Stars
Cash
To Edmonton Oilers
Jim Corsi
July 10, 1980 (1980-07-10) To Pittsburgh Penguins
Future considerations
To Edmonton Oilers
Tom Bladon
February 2, 1981 (1981-02-02) To Minnesota North Stars
3rd round pick in 1982Wally Chapman
To Edmonton Oilers
Gary Edwards
March 10, 1981 (1981-03-10) To Los Angeles Kings
7th round pick in 1981Craig Hurley
To Edmonton Oilers
Garry Unger
March 10, 1981 (1981-03-10) To New York Rangers
John Hughes
To Edmonton Oilers
Ray Markham
March 10, 1981 (1981-03-10) To Pittsburgh Penguins
Pat Price
To Edmonton Oilers
Pat Hughes
March 10, 1981 (1981-03-10) To Vancouver Canucks
Blair MacDonald
Lars-Gunnar Pettersson
To Edmonton Oilers
Garry Lariviere
Ken Berry

Waivers[edit]

Date Player Team
July 2, 1980 (1980-07-02) Ron Carter to Buffalo Sabres
October 10, 1980 (1980-10-10) Curt Brackenbury from Quebec Nordiques
Colin Campbell to Vancouver Canucks
October 13, 1980 (1980-10-13) John Hughes from Vancouver Canucks

Signings[edit]

Date Player Term
Andy Moog
August 6, 1980 (1980-08-06) Paul Coffey 4-year
Jari Kurri 2-year
Pat Price 2-year
August 18, 1980 (1980-08-18) Shawn Babcock
August 20, 1980 (1980-08-20) Ron Low 2-year
September 9, 1980 (1980-09-09) Glenn Anderson 3-year
September 15, 1980 (1980-09-15) Tom Bladon 1-year
Blair MacDonald 1-year
September 29, 1980 (1980-09-29) Walt Poddubny

Draft picks[edit]

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 6 Paul Coffey  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
3 48 Shawn Babcock  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
4 69 Jari Kurri  Finland Jokerit (SM-liiga)
5 90 Walt Poddubny  Canada Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
6 111 Mike Winther  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
7 132 Andy Moog  Canada Billings Bighorns (WHL)
8 153 Rob Polman-Tuin  Canada Michigan Tech Huskies (WCHA)
9 174 Lars-Gunnar Pettersson  Sweden IF Björklöven (Elitserien)

References[edit]

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  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007