1979–80 Vancouver Canucks season

1979–80 Vancouver Canucks
1979–80 Vancouver Canucks
Division	3rd Smythe
Conference	7th Campbell
1979–80 record	27–37–16
Home record	14–17–9
Road record	13–20–7
Goals for	256
Goals against	281
Team information
General manager	Jake Milford
Coach	Harry Neale
Captain	Kevin McCarthy
Alternate captains	Thomas Gradin; Dennis Kearns; Harold Snepsts; Tiger Williams; Stan Smyl
Arena	Pacific Coliseum
Average attendance	14,293
Team leaders
Goals	Stan Smyl (31)
Assists	Stan Smyl (47)
Points	Stan Smyl (78)
Penalty minutes	Stan Smyl (204)
Wins	Glen Hanlon (17)
Goals against average	Glen Hanlon (3.47)

The 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 10th in the NHL. Stan Smyl led the team in goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes, the last time one player has led his team in all four categories. On October 14, 1979, Wayne Gretzky scored his first NHL goal against Glen Hanlon.

Regular season

Final standings

Smythe Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Black Hawks	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
St. Louis Blues	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
Edmonton Oilers	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
Winnipeg Jets	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
Colorado Rockies	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

^[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 – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	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		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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records^[3]
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Chicago	—	3−0−1	1−3	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	8−8−4
Colorado	0−3−1	—	2−2	0−2−2	1−2−1	1−2−1	4−11−5
Edmonton	3−1	2−2	—	0−3−1	1−2−1	1−2−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−0−2	3−0−1	—	3−1	1−1−2	11−3−6
	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	1−3	—	2−1−1	8−7−5
Winnipeg	2−2	2−1−1	1−2−1	2−2	1−2−1	—	8−9−3

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Chicago	2−0−2	1−2−1	2−1−1	0−2−2	2−2	7−7−6
Colorado	0−4	1−3	1−1−2	1−2−1	1−1−2	4−11−5
Edmonton	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	0−3−1	3−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	1−3	1−3	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	4−14−2
	2−2	2−1−1	0−4	1−3	1−3	6−13−1
Winnipeg	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	0−4	0−3−1	2−15−3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Chicago	2−2	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	4−0	11−5−4
Colorado	1−2−1	1−3	1−3	1−3	0−3−1	4−14−2
Edmonton	0−4	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	2−1−1	6−10−4
St. Louis	1−1−2	2−2	1−3	2−2	2−2	8−10−2
	0−1−3	0−1−3	2−1−1	2−2	1−3	5−8−7
Winnipeg	1−3	0−3−1	1−2−1	2−2	0−4	4−14−2

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Chicago	3−1	1−1−2	0−3−1	2−2	2−0−2	8−7−5
Colorado	3−1	1−2−1	0−4	1−3	2−2	7−12−1
Edmonton	1−2−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	3−1	8−9−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−2	3−1	2−2	2−1−1	11−7−2
	2−2	1−1−2	2−2	2−2	1−2−1	8−9−3
Winnipeg	1−3	2−2	2−1−1	1−3	0−4	6−13−1

Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season^[4]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 9, 1979	2–5	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	0–1–0
2	W	October 12, 1979	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	1–1–0
3	T	October 14, 1979	4–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	1–1–1
4	W	October 17, 1979	5–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	2–1–1
5	L	October 18, 1979	3–6	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	2–2–1
6	L	October 20, 1979	0–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	2–3–1
7	T	October 21, 1979	3–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	2–3–2
8	W	October 24, 1979	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	3–3–2
9	W	October 27, 1979	5–3	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	4–3–2
10	T	October 31, 1979	2–2	New York Islanders (1979–80)	4–3–3

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
11	T	November 2, 1979	3–3	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	4–3–4
12	L	November 4, 1979	2–4	New York Rangers (1979–80)	4–4–4
13	T	November 6, 1979	7–7	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	4–4–5
14	W	November 10, 1979	2–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	5–4–5
15	L	November 11, 1979	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	5–5–5
16	W	November 13, 1979	5–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	6–5–5
17	W	November 14, 1979	5–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	7–5–5
18	W	November 16, 1979	5–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	8–5–5
19	W	November 18, 1979	5–2	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	9–5–5
20	L	November 20, 1979	1–5	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	9–6–5
21	L	November 23, 1979	2–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	9–7–5
22	L	November 24, 1979	3–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	9–8–5
23	W	November 28, 1979	4–2	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	10–8–5
24	T	November 30, 1979	1–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	10–8–6

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
25	L	December 2, 1979	1–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	10–9–6
26	W	December 4, 1979	5–1	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	11–9–6
27	T	December 5, 1979	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	11–9–7
28	L	December 8, 1979	1–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	11–10–7
29	L	December 9, 1979	3–5	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	11–11–7
30	W	December 11, 1979	5–3	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	12–11–7
31	W	December 14, 1979	5–3	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	13–11–7
32	L	December 15, 1979	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	13–12–7
33	L	December 19, 1979	3–5	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	13–13–7
34	L	December 21, 1979	1–2	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	13–14–7
35	L	December 22, 1979	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	13–15–7
36	L	December 28, 1979	3–5	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	13–16–7
37	W	December 29, 1979	6–2	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	14–16–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
38	L	January 3, 1980	2–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	14–17–7
39	W	January 4, 1980	4–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	15–17–7
40	L	January 6, 1980	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	15–18–7
41	L	January 8, 1980	0–3	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	15–19–7
42	L	January 9, 1980	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	15–20–7
43	L	January 11, 1980	4–7	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	15–21–7
44	L	January 12, 1980	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	15–22–7
45	L	January 16, 1980	3–5	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	15–23–7
46	T	January 18, 1980	2–2	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	15–23–8
47	L	January 22, 1980	3–5	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	15–24–8
48	L	January 23, 1980	4–6	New York Rangers (1979–80)	15–25–8
49	L	January 27, 1980	2–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	15–26–8
50	L	January 29, 1980	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	15–27–8

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
51	W	February 2, 1980	5–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	16–27–8
52	L	February 3, 1980	0–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	16–28–8
53	W	February 7, 1980	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	17–28–8
54	W	February 9, 1980	4–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	18–28–8
55	T	February 12, 1980	5–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	18–28–9
56	L	February 16, 1980	3–5	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	18–29–9
57	W	February 17, 1980	4–2	New York Islanders (1979–80)	19–29–9
58	L	February 19, 1980	1–3	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	19–30–9
59	L	February 22, 1980	3–7	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	19–31–9
60	T	February 23, 1980	4–4	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	19–31–10
61	L	February 26, 1980	4–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	19–32–10
62	T	February 29, 1980	3–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	19–32–11

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
63	W	March 1, 1980	5–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	20–32–11
64	W	March 4, 1980	2–1	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	21–32–11
65	T	March 5, 1980	3–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	21–32–12
66	L	March 7, 1980	3–9	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	21–33–12
67	T	March 9, 1980	4–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	21–33–13
68	W	March 10, 1980	5–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	22–33–13
69	L	March 13, 1980	1–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	22–34–13
70	T	March 15, 1980	2–2	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	22–34–14
71	W	March 16, 1980	3–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	23–34–14
72	T	March 19, 1980	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	23–34–15
73	L	March 21, 1980	2–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	23–35–15
74	L	March 23, 1980	2–6	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	23–36–15
75	L	March 25, 1980	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	23–37–15
76	T	March 28, 1980	4–4	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	23–37–16
77	W	March 30, 1980	5–3	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	24–37–16

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	W	April 1, 1980	5–0	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	25–37–16
79	W	April 3, 1980	4–2	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	26–37–16
80	W	April 5, 1980	5–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	27–37–16

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

Playoffs

1980 Stanley Cup playoffs^[4]

Preliminary round vs. (2) Buffalo Sabres – Sabres win 3–1

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Series
1	April 8	Vancouver	1 – 2	Buffalo	Buffalo leads 1–0
2	April 9	Vancouver	0 – 6	Buffalo	Buffalo leads 2–0
3	April 11	Buffalo	4 – 5	Vancouver	Buffalo leads 2–1
4	April 12	Buffalo	3 – 1	Vancouver	Buffalo wins 3–1

Legend: Win Loss

Draft picks

Vancouver's picks at the 1979 NHL entry draft. The draft was held in August 1979 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	5	Rick Vaive (RW)	Canada	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2	26	Brent Ashton (C)	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
3	47	Ken Ellacott (G)	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
4	68	Art Rutland (F)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
5	89	Dirk Graham (RW)	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
6	110	Shane Swan	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHA)

References

http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/VAN/1980.html

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "1979-80 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[nhl-1980-2] "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-4] "1979-80 Vancouver Canucks Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Vancouver Canucks
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1979–80 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Quebec Toronto
Norris	Detroit Hartford Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh
Smythe	Chicago Colorado Edmonton St. Louis Winnipeg
See also	NHL–WHA merger Expansion draft Entry draft All-Star Game Playoffs Stanley Cup Final