1980–81 Edmonton Oilers season

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 first season.

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)

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 the 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 pickup truck. Ashby was critically injured in the accident and died afterward from massive internal injuries in the hospital in Kelowna, British Columbia.[1]

Season standings

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
St. Louis Blues80451817352281107
Chicago Black Hawks8031331630431578
Vancouver Canucks8028322028930176
Edmonton Oilers8029351632832774
Colorado Rockies8022451325834457
Winnipeg Jets809571424640032

[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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference

Schedule and results

1980–81 Game Log

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

Playoffs

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

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky805510916428
Jari Kurri7532437540
Mark Messier72234063102
Brett Callighen5525356032
Glenn Anderson5830235324

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Gary Edwards157295344403.62
Andy Moog73133302003.83
Eddie Mio4323931615915503.89
Ron Low24126051339304.43
Pete LoPresti2105010804.57

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky9714214
Glenn Anderson9571212
Jari Kurri957124
Brett Callighen94486
Paul Coffey943722

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Andy Moog9526543203.65
Gary Edwards12000206.00

Awards and records

Records

  • 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

Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Glenn Anderson1st NHL GameOctober 10, 1980
Paul Coffey
Jari Kurri1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Glenn Anderson1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 12, 1980
Jari Kurri1st NHL GoalOctober 18, 1980
Paul Coffey1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 19, 1980
Blair MacDonald100th NHL Point
Dave Semenko1st NHL Hat-trick
Paul Coffey1st NHL GoalOctober 22, 1980
Doug Hicks300th NHL PIM
Matti Hagman100th NHL GameNovember 3, 1980
Wayne Gretzky100th NHL AssistNovember 7, 1980
Charlie Huddy1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
November 15, 1980
Paul Coffey1st NHL Gordie Howe hat trickNovember 16, 1980
Charlie Huddy1st NHL Goal
Don Murdoch100th NHL Assist
Dave Lumley100th NHL GameNovember 25, 1980
Blair MacDonald
Wayne Gretzky100th NHL GameNovember 26, 1980
Dave Hunter
Jari Kurri1st NHL Hat-trick
John Hughes200th NHL PIMNovember 28, 1980
Kevin Lowe100th NHL PIMDecember 7, 1980
Mark Messier100th NHL GameDecember 10, 1980
Tom Roulston1st NHL Game
Curt Brackenbury100th NHL PIMDecember 16, 1980
Don Murdoch100th NHL Assist
Tom Roulston1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Lee Fogolin100th NHL PointDecember 20, 1980
Wayne Gretzky3rd NHL Hat-trickDecember 23, 1980
Andy Moog1st NHL Game
Andy Moog1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 28, 1980
Lee Fogolin600th NHL PIMDecember 30, 1980
Dave Semenko100th NHL Game
Kevin Lowe100th NHL GameJanuary 2, 1981
Risto Siltanen
Andy Moog1st NHL Win
Pat Price100th NHL Point
Wayne Gretzky200th NHL PointJanuary 7, 1981
Jari Kurri2nd NHL Hat-trickJanuary 11, 1981
Doug Hicks100th NHL AssistJanuary 17, 1981
Stan Weir500th NHL GameJanuary 23, 1981
Jari Kurri3rd NHL Hat-trickJanuary 28, 1981
Roy Sommer1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Pat Price300th NHL GameJanuary 30, 1981
Curt Brackenbury100th NHL GameFebruary 1, 1981
Wayne Gretzky4th NHL Hat-trick
2nd NHL Natural Hat-trick
February 6, 1981
Wayne Gretzky5th NHL Hat-trick
3rd NHL Natural Hat-trick
1st Five-Goal NHL Game
February 18, 1981
Glenn Anderson1st NHL Hat-trick
1st NHL Natural Hat-trick
February 21, 1981
Mark Messier200th NHL PIMFebruary 25, 1981
Curt Brackenbury200th NHL PIMFebruary 27, 1981
Dave Lumley200th NHL PIMFebruary 28, 1981
Brett Callighen100th NHL PointMarch 3, 1981
Mark Messier1st NHL Gordie Howe Hat-trickMarch 4, 1981
Tom Roulston1st NHL Assist
Brett Callighen100th NHL GameMarch 7, 1981
Wayne Gretzky100th NHL Goal
6th NHL Hat-trick
1st Four-Goal NHL Game
Wayne Gretzky50th Goal in 69 GamesMarch 15, 1981
Brett Callighen100th NHL PIMMarch 16, 1981
Mark Messier1st NHL Hat-trick
Glenn Anderson2nd NHL Hat-trickMarch 25, 1981
Dave Hunter200th NHL PIMMarch 29, 1981
Dave Semenko
Wayne Gretzky300th NHL PointApril 4, 1981
Risto Siltanen1st NHL Hat-trick
Playoffs
PlayerMilestoneReached
Glenn Anderson1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
April 8, 1981
Paul Coffey
Jari Kurri1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Garry Lariviere1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Andy Moog1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win
Risto Siltanen1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
April 9, 1981
Glenn Anderson1st NHL AssistApril 11, 1981
Paul Coffey
Wayne Gretzky1st NHL Hat-trick
Matti Hagman1st NHL Goal
Wayne Gretzky2nd NHL Hat-trickApril 19, 1981
Doug Hicks1st NHL AssistApril 20, 1981
Curt Brackenbury1st NHL GameApril 22, 1981

Transactions

Trades

DateDetails
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

DatePlayerTeam
July 2, 1980 (1980-07-02)Ron Carterto Buffalo Sabres
October 10, 1980 (1980-10-10)Curt Brackenburyfrom Quebec Nordiques
Colin Campbellto Vancouver Canucks
October 13, 1980 (1980-10-13)John Hughesfrom Vancouver Canucks

Signings

DatePlayerTerm
Andy Moog
August 6, 1980 (1980-08-06)Paul Coffey4-year
Jari Kurri2-year
Pat Price2-year
August 18, 1980 (1980-08-18)Shawn Babcock
August 20, 1980 (1980-08-20)Ron Low2-year
September 9, 1980 (1980-09-09)Glenn Anderson3-year
September 15, 1980 (1980-09-15)Tom Bladon1-year
Blair MacDonald1-year
September 29, 1980 (1980-09-29)Walt Poddubny

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
16Paul Coffey CanadaKitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
348Shawn Babcock CanadaWindsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
469Jari Kurri FinlandJokerit (SM-liiga)
590Walt Poddubny CanadaKingston Canadians (OMJHL)
6111Mike Winther CanadaBrandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
7132Andy Moog CanadaBillings Bighorns (WHL)
8153Rob Polman-Tuin CanadaMichigan Tech Huskies (WCHA)
9174Lars-Gunnar Pettersson SwedenIF Björklöven (Elitserien)

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