1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season

1979–80 Montreal Canadiens
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
Conference2nd Wales
1979–80 record47–20–13
Home record30–7–3
Road record17–13–10
Goals for328
Goals against240
Team information
General managerIrving Grundman
CoachBernie Geoffrion (Oct–Dec)
Claude Ruel (Dec–Apr)
CaptainSerge Savard
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMontreal Forum
Team leaders
GoalsGuy Lafleur and Pierre Larouche (50)
AssistsGuy Lafleur (75)
PointsGuy Lafleur (125)
Penalty minutesGilles Lupien (109)
Plus/minusLarry Robinson (+38)
WinsDenis Herron (25)
Goals against averageDenis Herron (2.51)

The 1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 71st season. The Canadiens ended the season with a twenty-game unbeaten streak at the Montreal Forum. By season's end, the franchise was third overall in NHL standings.[1] The season involved being eliminated in the NHL quarter-finals vs the Minnesota North Stars 4 games to 3.

Offseason

  • Al MacNeil left his position as head coach of the Canadiens farm club, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, to become head coach of the Atlanta Flames.[2]
  • Jacques Lemaire retired to become a playing coach in Switzerland. In addition, Ken Dryden and captain Yvan Cournoyer also retired from the team.
  • Scotty Bowman, upset over the appointment of Irving Grundman as general manager in 1978, left the club to become head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
  • Boom Boom Geoffrion was hired as head coach in September 1979. In his previous coaching stint, Geoffrion lasted half a season with the 1968–69 New York Rangers. He had to leave the position due to ulcers.[3]
  • Veteran defenceman Serge Savard is named team captain.
  • The Canadiens did not have a first-round pick in the amateur draft. The club picked Mats Naslund with its second-round choice, 37th overall. The team picked Guy Carbonneau in the third-round, 44th overall.

Regular season

Despite a record of fifteen wins, nine losses and six ties, Geoffrion stepped down as head coach.[4]

Final standings

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
80 47 20 13 328 240 107
Los Angeles Kings 80 30 36 14 290 313 74
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 30 37 13 251 303 73
Hartford Whalers 80 27 34 19 303 312 73
Detroit Red Wings 80 26 43 11 268 306 63

[5]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[6]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
2 y – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 47 17 16 318 201 110
3 x – NRS 80 47 20 13 328 240 107
4 Boston Bruins ADM 80 46 21 13 310 234 105
5 New York Islanders PTK 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
6 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 36 28 16 311 253 88
7 x – Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 34 27 19 241 250 87
8 New York Rangers PTK 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
9 Atlanta Flames PTK 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
10 St. Louis Blues SMY 80 34 34 12 266 278 80
11 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 35 40 5 304 327 75
12 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 30 36 14 290 313 74
13 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 251 303 73
14 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 27 34 19 303 312 73
15 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 27 37 16 256 281 70
16 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 28 39 13 301 322 69
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 27 40 13 261 293 67
18 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 26 43 11 268 306 63
19 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 25 44 11 248 313 61
20 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 20 49 11 214 314 51
21 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 19 48 13 234 308 51

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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season[8]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1979 3–1 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 1–0–0
2 W October 13, 1979 3–1 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 2–0–0
3 L October 17, 1979 2–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 2–1–0
4 W October 20, 1979 5–4 New York Rangers (1979–80) 3–1–0
5 T October 21, 1979 6–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 3–1–1
6 W October 23, 1979 5–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 4–1–1
7 W October 25, 1979 8–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 5–1–1
8 W October 27, 1979 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 6–1–1
9 L October 28, 1979 4–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 6–2–1
10 T October 30, 1979 2–2 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 6–2–2
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
11 W November 1, 1979 5–1 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 7–2–2
12 L November 3, 1979 3–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 7–3–2
13 W November 5, 1979 2–0 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 8–3–2
14 T November 7, 1979 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 8–3–3
15 L November 10, 1979 3–5 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 8–4–3
16 W November 13, 1979 5–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 9–4–3
17 W November 15, 1979 4–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 10–4–3
18 W November 17, 1979 3–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 11–4–3
19 L November 18, 1979 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 11–5–3
20 W November 22, 1979 7–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 12–5–3
21 W November 24, 1979 3–1 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 13–5–3
22 L November 25, 1979 2–4 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 13–6–3
23 T November 27, 1979 5–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 13–6–4
24 W November 29, 1979 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 14–6–4
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
25 T December 1, 1979 4–4 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 14–6–5
26 T December 3, 1979 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 14–6–6
27 L December 5, 1979 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 14–7–6
28 W December 7, 1979 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 15–7–6
29 L December 9, 1979 5–7 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 15–8–6
30 L December 11, 1979 1–4 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 15–9–6
31 L December 14, 1979 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 15–10–6
32 L December 15, 1979 2–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 15–11–6
33 L December 18, 1979 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 15–12–6
34 L December 19, 1979 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 15–13–6
35 W December 22, 1979 4–2 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 16–13–6
36 W December 23, 1979 8–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 17–13–6
37 L December 27, 1979 3–7 New York Islanders (1979–80) 17–14–6
38 W December 29, 1979 6–3 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 18–14–6
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
39 L January 2, 1980 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 18–15–6
40 L January 5, 1980 3–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 18–16–6
41 W January 7, 1980 4–3 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 19–16–6
42 W January 9, 1980 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 20–16–6
43 W January 12, 1980 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 21–16–6
44 W January 14, 1980 3–2 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 22–16–6
45 W January 16, 1980 6–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 23–16–6
46 W January 19, 1980 7–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 24–16–6
47 L January 22, 1980 1–2 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 24–17–6
48 W January 24, 1980 7–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 25–17–6
49 L January 26, 1980 2–7 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 25–18–6
50 W January 29, 1980 4–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 26–18–6
51 W January 30, 1980 3–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 27–18–6
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
52 W February 2, 1980 5–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 28–18–6
53 W February 7, 1980 4–3 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 29–18–6
54 L February 9, 1980 3–4 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 29–19–6
55 W February 10, 1980 3–2 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 30–19–6
56 W February 14, 1980 5–1 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 31–19–6
57 W February 16, 1980 8–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 32–19–6
58 T February 17, 1980 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 32–19–7
59 L February 19, 1980 1–3 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 32–20–7
60 W February 21, 1980 3–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 33–20–7
61 W February 23, 1980 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 34–20–7
62 T February 26, 1980 3–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 34–20–8
63 W February 28, 1980 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 35–20–8
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
64 W March 1, 1980 6–3 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 36–20–8
65 W March 2, 1980 5–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 37–20–8
66 W March 6, 1980 5–4 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 38–20–8
67 W March 8, 1980 5–2 New York Rangers (1979–80) 39–20–8
68 W March 10, 1980 6–3 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 40–20–8
69 W March 12, 1980 4–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 41–20–8
70 W March 14, 1980 4–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 42–20–8
71 W March 15, 1980 7–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 43–20–8
72 T March 19, 1980 5–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 43–20–9
73 T March 22, 1980 5–5 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 43–20–10
74 W March 23, 1980 6–1 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 44–20–10
75 W March 25, 1980 8–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 45–20–10
76 T March 28, 1980 2–2 New York Islanders (1979–80) 45–20–11
77 T March 30, 1980 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 45–20–12
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
78 W April 2, 1980 7–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 46–20–12
79 W April 5, 1980 6–1 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 47–20–12
80 T April 6, 1980 4–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 47–20–13

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

Playoffs

The Canadiens swept the Hartford Whalers in the preliminary round 3–0 in games. The Canadiens then faced the Minnesota North Stars in the quarter-final and lost a seven-game series four games to three.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Guy Lafleur RW 74 50 75 125 12 40 15 0 7
Pierre Larouche C 73 50 41 91 16 36 12 0 7
Steve Shutt LW 77 47 42 89 34 45 17 0 4
Larry Robinson D 72 14 61 75 39 38 6 0 3
Pierre Mondou C 75 30 36 66 12 26 8 0 3
Yvon Lambert LW 77 21 32 53 23 3 7 0 7
Mark Napier RW 76 16 33 49 7 11 4 0 1
Rejean Houle W 60 18 27 45 68 3 2 0 3
Mario Tremblay RW 77 16 26 42 105 6 0 0 2
Rod Langway D 77 7 29 36 81 36 0 0 1
Bob Gainey LW 64 14 19 33 32 -2 4 1 3
Guy Lapointe D 45 6 20 26 29 -2 0 0 0
Doug Jarvis C 80 13 11 24 28 -5 0 1 3
Brian Engblom D 70 3 20 23 43 22 0 0 0
Doug Risebrough C 44 8 10 18 81 -2 0 0 0
Serge Savard D 46 5 8 13 18 -2 0 0 1
Rick Chartraw D/RW 66 5 7 12 35 6 0 0 0
Gaston Gingras D 34 3 7 10 18 11 2 0 1
Gilles Lupien D 56 1 7 8 109 13 0 0 1
Danny Geoffrion RW 32 0 6 6 12 1 0 0 0
Norm Dupont LW 35 1 3 4 4 2 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 39 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
Chris Nilan RW 15 0 2 2 50 -1 0 0 0
Keith Acton C 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Denis Herron G 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rick Meagher C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Moe Robinson D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Richard Sevigny G 11 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Denis Herron 1909 34 25 3 3 80 2.51 0
Michel Larocque 2259 39 17 13 8 125 3.32 3
Richard Sevigny 632 11 5 4 2 31 2.94 0
Team: 4800 80 47 20 13 236 2.95 3

Playoffs

Scoring

Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Yvon Lambert LW 10 8 4 12 4 1 0 1
Mario Tremblay RW 10 0 11 11 14 0 0 0
Steve Shutt LW 10 6 3 9 6 2 0 2
Rejean Houle W 10 4 5 9 12 1 0 0
Doug Jarvis C 10 4 4 8 2 0 1 0
Mark Napier RW 10 2 6 8 0 1 0 0
Pierre Larouche C 9 1 7 8 2 0 0 0
Gaston Gingras D 10 1 6 7 8 0 0 0
Rod Langway D 10 3 3 6 2 1 0 0
Brian Engblom D 10 2 4 6 6 1 0 1
Pierre Mondou C 4 1 4 5 4 0 0 0
Guy Lafleur RW 3 3 1 4 0 0 0 0
Rick Chartraw D/RW 10 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
Larry Robinson D 10 0 4 4 2 0 0 0
Norm Dupont LW 8 1 1 2 0 0 0 1
Bob Gainey LW 10 1 1 2 4 0 0 1
Danny Geoffrion RW 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
Denis Herron G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yvan Joly RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Guy Lapointe D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Michel Larocque G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gilles Lupien D 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Chris Nilan RW 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Serge Savard D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Michel Larocque 300 5 4 1 11 2.20 1
Denis Herron 300 5 2 3 15 3.00 0
Team: 600 10 6 4 26 2.60 1

[9]

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

Larry Robinson, Norris Trophy[10]

Transactions

Draft picks

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (League)
2 27 Gaston Gingras Defence  Canada Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2 37 Mats Naslund Left wing  Sweden Brynäs IF (Sweden)
3 43 Craig Levie Defence  Canada Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
3 44 Guy Carbonneau Centre  Canada Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
3 58 Rick Wamsley Goaltender  Canada Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
4 79 Dave Orleski Left wing  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
5 100 Yvan Joly Right wing  Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
6 121 Greg Moffett Goaltender  United States University of New Hampshire (ECAC)

[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.240, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
  2. ^ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.236, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
  3. ^ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.237, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
  4. ^ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.239, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
  5. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  6. ^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  7. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "1979-80 Montreal Canadiens Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  9. ^ "1979-80 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  10. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
  11. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 234, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
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