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1980–81 Calgary Flames season

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1980–81 Calgary Flames
Division3rd Patrick
Conference4th Campbell
1980–81 record39–27–14
Home record25–5–10
Road record14–22–4
Goals for329 (5th)
Goals against298 (9th)
Team information
General managerCliff Fletcher
CoachAl MacNeil
CaptainBrad Marsh
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaStampede Corral
Average attendance7,217
Team leaders
GoalsKent Nilsson (49)
AssistsKent Nilsson (82)
PointsKent Nilsson (131)
Penalty minutesWilli Plett (239)
WinsPat Riggin (21)
Goals against averageRejean Lemelin (3.83)

The 1980–81 Calgary Flames season was the first season in Calgary and ninth for the Flames in the National Hockey League. The Flames moved to southern Alberta from Atlanta, where the franchise was known as the Atlanta Flames for the first eight years of its existence. The Flames became the third major-league team to represent the city of Calgary after the Calgary Tigers of the 1920s, and the Calgary Cowboys, which had folded in 1977.

The Flames were purchased for $16 million USD by Nelson Skalbania in the spring of 1980. Before the sale was even announced, he had already sold 50% of the franchise to a group of Calgary-based investors including Harley Hotchkiss and Normie Kwong. On May 21, 1980, it was announced that the franchise was moving to Calgary.[1] While the Cowboys could not manage 2,000 season tickets three years previous, the Flames sold 10,000 full and half-season ticket packages in 1980, selling out the Stampede Corral for every game played there.[2]

Despite the move west, the Flames remained in the East-coast-centered Patrick Division. For practical purposes however, the anomaly was academic. At the time, the league played a balanced schedule and used a league-wide playoff format. This arrangement would only last one more season before the league re-aligned to reflect its geography.

Calgary's first NHL game was played October 9, ending as a 5–5 tie to the Quebec Nordiques. The Flames finished third in their division and qualified for the playoffs. The franchise, which had won just two playoff games in Atlanta, won two playoff series in their first year in Calgary. After sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks, Calgary then downed the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games before falling to the Minnesota North Stars in the league semi-final.

Kent Nilsson led the Flames in scoring, and his 82 assists and 131 points remain franchise records to this day. Nilsson was also the Flames lone representative at the 1981 All-Star Game.[3]

Regular season

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Season standings

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Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
New York Islanders 80 48 18 14 355 260 110
Philadelphia Flyers 80 41 24 15 313 249 97
Calgary Flames 80 39 27 14 329 298 92
New York Rangers 80 30 36 14 312 317 74
Washington Capitals 80 26 36 18 286 317 70

[4]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[5]
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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Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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1980–81 Game Log

Playoffs

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1981 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Kent Nilsson 14 80 49 82 131 26 16 3 14 17 4
Guy Chouinard 16 52 31 52 83 24 16 3 14 17 4
Willi Plett 25 78 38 30 68 239 15 8 4 12 89
Paul Reinhart 23 74 18 49 67 52 16 1 14 15 16
Eric Vail 27 64 28 36 64 23 6 0 0 0 0
Bob MacMillan 11 77 28 35 63 47 16 8 6 14 7
Don Lever 12 62 26 31 57 56 16 4 7 11 20
Pekka Rautakallio 4 76 11 45 56 64 16 2 4 6 6
Jim Peplinski 24 80 13 25 38 108 16 2 3 5 11
Kevin LaVallee 15 77 15 20 35 16 8 2 3 5 4
Bill Clement 10 78 12 20 32 33 16 2 1 3 6
Ken Houston 6 42 15 15 30 93 16 7 8 15 30
Phil Russell 5 80 6 23 29 104 16 2 7 9 29
Bob Murdoch 20 74 3 19 22 54 16 1 4 5 36
Dan Labraaten 21 27 9 7 16 13 5 1 0 1 4
Jamie Hislop 17 29 6 9 15 11 16 3 0 3 5
Brad Marsh 22 80 1 12 13 87 16 0 5 5 8
Bert Wilson 8 50 5 7 12 94 1 0 0 0 0
Brad Smith 18 45 7 4 11 65
Alex McKendry 26 36 3 6 9 19
Earl Ingarfield 21 16 2 3 5 6
Denis Cyr 9 10 1 4 5 0
Randy Holt 7 48 0 5 5 165 13 2 2 4 52
Dan Bouchard 30 14 0 4 4 6
Dave Hindmarch 18 1 1 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 2
Greg Meredith 29 3 1 0 1 0
Mike Dwyer 29 4 0 1 1 4 1 1 0 1 0
Gord Wappel 2 7 0 1 1 4
Rejean Lemelin 1 29 0 1 1 2 6 0 0 0 0
Pat Riggin 31 42 0 1 1 7 11 0 0 0 0
Tony Curtale 3 2 0 0 0 0
Bobby Gould 19 3 0 0 0 0 11 3 1 4 4
Steve Konroyd 3 4 0 0 0 4

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. Traded mid-season.
Bold denotes franchise record.

Goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Rejean Lemelin 1 29 1629 14 6 7 88 2 3.24 6 366 3 3 22 0 3.61
Pat Riggin 31 42 2411 21 16 4 154 0 3.83 11 629 6 3 37 0 3.53
Dan Bouchard 30 14 760 4 5 3 51 0 4.06 –.--

Transactions

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The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.

Trades

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June 2, 1980 To Calgary Flames
2nd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft
(Steve Konroyd)
2nd round pick in 1981 Entry Draft
(Mike Vernon)
To Boston Bruins
Jim Craig
June 8, 1980[7] To Calgary Flames
Randy Holt
Bert Wilson
To Los Angeles Kings
Garry Unger
June 10, 1980 To Calgary Flames
2nd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft
(Kevin LaVallee)
To Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Shand
3rd round pick in 1980 Entry Draft
(traded to Washington Capitals;
Capitals selected Torrie Robertson)
July 1, 1980 To Calgary Flames
Cash
To Washington Capitals
Jean Pronovost
October 9, 1980 To Calgary Flames
Alex McKendry
To New York Islanders
3rd round pick in 1981 Entry Draft
(Ron Handy)
January 30, 1981 To Calgary Flames
Jamie Hislop
To Quebec Nordiques
Dan Bouchard
February 3, 1981 To Calgary Flames
Dan Labraaten
To Detroit Red Wings
Earl Ingarfield
February 24, 1981 To Calgary Flames
Future Considerations
To Detroit Red Wings
Brad Smith

Free agents

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Player Former team
LW Mike Dwyer Colorado Rockies
C Bob Francis University of New Hampshire (NCAA)
D Charlie Bourgeois Université de Moncton (CIAU)
Player New team

Draft picks

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Calgary's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, held in Montreal.[8]

Rnd Pick Player Nationality Position Team (league) NHL statistics
GP G A Pts PIM
1 13 Denis Cyr  Canada RW Montreal Junior Canadiens (QMJHL) 193 41 43 84 36
2 31 Tony Curtale  United States D Brantford Alexanders (OHA) 2 0 0 0 0
2 32 Kevin LaVallee  Canada F Brantford Alexanders (OHA) 366 110 125 235 85
2 39 Steve Konroyd  Canada D Oshawa Generals (OHA) 895 41 195 236 863
4 76 Marc Roy  Canada RW Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
5 97 Randy Turnbull  Canada D Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) 1 0 0 0 2
6 118 John Multan  Canada RW Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
7 139 Dave Newsom  Canada LW Brantford Alexanders (OHA)
8 160 Claude Drouin  Canada C Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
9 181 Håkan Loob  Sweden F Färjestad BK (SEL) 450 193 236 429 189
10 202 Steven Fletcher  Canada LW Hull Olympiques (QMJHL) 3 0 0 0 5

See also

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References

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  • Zeman, Gary (1986). Alberta on Ice. ISBN 0-9692320-0-4.
  • Player stats: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 131.
  • Game log: 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 141.
  • Team standings: 1980–81 NHL standings @hockeydb.com
  • Trades: Individual player pages at hockeydb.com
  1. ^ Zeman, p. 92.
  2. ^ Zeman, p. 94.
  3. ^ All-Star Selections, 2006–07 Calgary Flames Media Guide, p. 22.
  4. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ^ "1980–81 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  6. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Maki, Alan (June 11, 1980). "No Kings' ransom paid to land Unger". Calgary Herald. p. D1. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  8. ^ Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed October 8, 2007.