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1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season

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1980–81 Minnesota North Stars
Division3rd Adams
Conference5th Wales
1980–81 record35–28–17
Goals for291
Goals against263
Team information
General managerLou Nanne
CoachGlen Sonmor
CaptainPaul Shmyr
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMet Center
Average attendance14,175
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Payne (30)
AssistsBobby Smith (64)
PointsBobby Smith (93)
Penalty minutesGreg Smith (126)
Plus/minusSteve Payne (+14)
WinsDon Beaupre (18)
Goals against averageDon Beaupre (3.20)

The 1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 14th season. Although the North Stars finished the season with one less win and one less point than the previous season, they made a surprise appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Islanders, which they lost 4 games to 1.

Offseason

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NHL Draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 16 Brad Palmer (F)  Canada Victoria Cougars (WHL)
2 37 Don Beaupre (G)  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
4 79 Mark Huglen (D)  United States Roseau High School (USHS-MN)
5 100 David Jensen (D)  United States University of Minnesota (WCHA)
6 121 Danny Zavarise (D)  Canada Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
7 142 Bill Stewart (RW)  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
8 163 Jeff Walters (RW)  Canada Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
9 184 Bob Lakso (LW)  United States Aurora-Hoyt Lakes High School (USHS-MN)
10 205 Dave Richter (D)  Canada University of Michigan (WCHA)

Regular season

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Season standings

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Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Buffalo Sabres 80 39 20 21 327 250 99
Boston Bruins 80 37 30 13 316 272 87
Minnesota North Stars 80 35 28 17 291 263 87
Quebec Nordiques 80 30 32 18 314 318 78
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 28 37 15 322 367 71

[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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Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

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Vs. Campbell Conference

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1980 9–3 Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 1–0–0
2 W October 15, 1980 3–2 Boston Bruins (1980–81) 2–0–0
3 T October 17, 1980 5–5 @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 2–0–1
4 L October 18, 1980 2–6 @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 2–1–1
5 W October 22, 1980 4–2 Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 3–1–1
6 W October 24, 1980 4–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 4–1–1
7 W October 25, 1980 4–1 Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 5–1–1
8 T October 29, 1980 2–2 St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 5–1–2
9 W November 1, 1980 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 6–1–2
10 W November 2, 1980 8–3 Calgary Flames (1980–81) 7–1–2
11 L November 7, 1980 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 7–2–2
12 W November 9, 1980 7–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 8–2–2
13 T November 11, 1980 6–6 @ New York Islanders (1980–81) 8–2–3
14 W November 12, 1980 5–1 @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 9–2–3
15 W November 15, 1980 5–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 10–2–3
16 L November 17, 1980 1–2 New York Islanders (1980–81) 10–3–3
17 W November 19, 1980 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 11–3–3
18 T November 20, 1980 1–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 11–3–4
19 L November 22, 1980 2–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 11–4–4
20 L November 26, 1980 2–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 11–5–4
21 W November 29, 1980 4–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 12–5–4
22 W December 1, 1980 5–3 @ New York Rangers (1980–81) 13–5–4
23 T December 3, 1980 3–3 @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 13–5–5
24 T December 6, 1980 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 13–5–6
25 T December 7, 1980 1–1 Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 13–5–7
26 L December 9, 1980 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 13–6–7
27 L December 10, 1980 2–7 Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 13–7–7
28 W December 13, 1980 4–3 Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 14–7–7
29 L December 15, 1980 3–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 14–8–7
30 L December 17, 1980 2–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 14–9–7
31 T December 20, 1980 3–3 New York Rangers (1980–81) 14–9–8
32 W December 23, 1980 6–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 15–9–8
33 W December 26, 1980 5–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 16–9–8
34 W December 27, 1980 6–4 Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 17–9–8
35 W December 30, 1980 6–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 18–9–8
36 W January 3, 1981 3–0 Washington Capitals (1980–81) 19–9–8
37 T January 4, 1981 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 19–9–9
38 T January 7, 1981 1–1 Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 19–9–10
39 L January 9, 1981 2–4 @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 19–10–10
40 W January 10, 1981 3–2 Washington Capitals (1980–81) 20–10–10
41 L January 12, 1981 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 20–11–10
42 T January 14, 1981 1–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 20–11–11
43 W January 17, 1981 7–1 Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 21–11–11
44 W January 19, 1981 6–3 Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 22–11–11
45 W January 21, 1981 2–1 @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) 23–11–11
46 L January 22, 1981 4–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 23–12–11
47 W January 24, 1981 6–1 Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 24–12–11
48 W January 26, 1981 3–2 Calgary Flames (1980–81) 25–12–11
49 L January 28, 1981 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 25–13–11
50 T January 29, 1981 3–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 25–13–12
51 L January 31, 1981 3–7 New York Rangers (1980–81) 25–14–12
52 L February 4, 1981 2–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) 25–15–12
53 L February 5, 1981 0–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 25–16–12
54 T February 7, 1981 5–5 @ New York Islanders (1980–81) 25–16–13
55 T February 8, 1981 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1980–81) 25–16–14
56 L February 12, 1981 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 25–17–14
57 W February 14, 1981 7–4 Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 26–17–14
58 W February 15, 1981 7–2 Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 27–17–14
59 W February 18, 1981 6–2 Colorado Rockies (1980–81) 28–17–14
60 W February 20, 1981 5–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) 29–17–14
61 L February 21, 1981 3–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) 29–18–14
62 L February 23, 1981 1–4 New York Islanders (1980–81) 29–19–14
63 L February 25, 1981 2–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) 29–20–14
64 L February 26, 1981 1–5 @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) 29–21–14
65 L February 28, 1981 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) 29–22–14
66 T March 4, 1981 3–3 Boston Bruins (1980–81) 29–22–15
67 W March 7, 1981 8–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) 30–22–15
68 T March 9, 1981 1–1 Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) 30–22–16
69 W March 11, 1981 3–1 Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) 31–22–16
70 L March 12, 1981 3–6 @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) 31–23–16
71 L March 14, 1981 4–10 @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 31–24–16
72 L March 18, 1981 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 31–25–16
73 T March 20, 1981 1–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) 31–25–17
74 W March 22, 1981 9–3 Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) 32–25–17
75 L March 24, 1981 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 32–26–17
76 L March 28, 1981 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) 32–27–17
77 W March 29, 1981 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) 33–27–17
78 W March 31, 1981 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 34–27–17
79 W April 4, 1981 5–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) 35–27–17
80 L April 5, 1981 4–8 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) 35–28–17

Player statistics

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Skaters

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

Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
Bobby Smith 78 29 64 93 +1 73
Tim Young 74 25 41 66 +6 40
Al MacAdam 78 21 39 60 -6 94
Steve Payne 76 30 28 58 +14 88
Tom McCarthy 62 23 25 48 +3 62
Craig Hartsburg 74 13 30 43 -9 124
Kent-Erik Andersson 77 17 24 41 +8 22
Steve Christoff 56 26 13 39 -9 58
Gordie Roberts 50 6 31 37 +2 94
Mike Eaves 48 10 24 34 +1 18
Dino Ciccarelli 32 18 12 30 +2 29
Curt Giles 67 5 22 27 +8 56
Greg Smith 74 5 21 26 +7 126
Glen Sharpley 28 12 12 24 -4 18
Mike Fidler 20 5 12 17 +5 6
Ron Zanussi 41 6 11 17 +3 89
Brad Maxwell 27 3 13 16 -1 98
Mike Polich 74 8 5 13 -3 19
Fred Barrett 62 4 8 12 E 72
Gary Sargent 23 4 7 11 -1 36
Tom Younghans 74 4 6 10 -10 79
Paul Shmyr 61 1 9 10 +4 79
Jack Carlson 43 7 2 9 -5 108
Brad Palmer 23 4 4 8 -5 22
Kevin Maxwell 6 0 3 3 -1 7
Don Jackson 10 0 3 3 +3 19

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Goaltending

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Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Player GP W L T SO GAA

Playoffs

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Stanley Cup Finals

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New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 12 Minnesota 3 New York 6
May 14 Minnesota 3 New York 6
May 17 New York 7 Minnesota 5
May 19 New York 2 Minnesota 4
May 21 Minnesota 1 New York 5

New York wins the series 4–1.

Awards and records

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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 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics".
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