1979–80 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1979–80 Winnipeg Jets season was the organization's eighth season since its inception in 1972, and its first season in the National Hockey League.

1979–80 Winnipeg Jets
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	10th Campbell
1979–80 record	20–49–11
Goals for	214 (21st)
Goals against	314 (19th)
Team information
General manager	John Ferguson
Coach	Tom McVie Bill Sutherland
Captain	Lars-Erik Sjoberg
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Winnipeg Arena
Average attendance	13,284
Team leaders
Goals	Morris Lukowich (35)
Assists	Morris Lukowich (39)
Points	Morris Lukowich (74)
Penalty minutes	Jimmy Mann (287)
Wins	Pierre Hamel (9)
Goals against average	Markus Mattsson (3.25)
← 1978–79 1980–81 →

Offseason

After spending seven seasons in the World Hockey Association, in which the team won three Avco Cup championships, the Winnipeg Jets joined the National Hockey League, as did the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, as the WHA disbanded.

On June 13, 1979, the Jets participated in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft to fill out their roster, while on June 28, 1979, Winnipeg made their first ever trade, as the Jets sent Jamie Hislop to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Barry Legge.

On August 8, 1979, the Jets selected Jimmy Mann of the Sherbrooke Castors of the QMJHL with their first ever draft pick at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. In the fifth round, the Jets selected Thomas Steen from Leksands IF of the SEL.

During the off-season, the club announced that Tom McVie would be retained as head coach. McVie became the Jets head coach late in the 1978-79 season, going 11-8-0 in nineteen games, followed by a record of 8-2 in the playoffs to lead Winnipeg to the Avco Cup. McVie had head coaching experience in the NHL, as he coached the Washington Capitals to a 49-122-33 record from 1975 to 1978.

Lars-Erik Sjoberg was named captain of the team, as former captain Barry Long joined the Detroit Red Wings for the 1979-80 season. Sjoberg captained Winnipeg from 1975 to 1978 in the WHA.

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
Vancouver Canucks	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.

Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records^[2] 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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

^[3]

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
1	L	October 10, 1979	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	0–1–0	8,752
2	L	October 11, 1979	0–4	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	0–2–0	10,613
3	W	October 14, 1979	4–2	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	1–2–0	12,648
4	L	October 17, 1979	1–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	1–3–0	12,145
5	W	October 19, 1979	3–2	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	2–3–0	11,035
6	L	October 20, 1979	1–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	2–4–0	7,758
7	L	October 24, 1979	0–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	2–5–0	9,726
8	W	October 26, 1979	3–2	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	3–5–0	13,699
9	T	October 28, 1979	2–2	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	3–5–1	11,763
10	W	October 31, 1979	5–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	4–5–1	10,430
11	T	November 2, 1979	1–1	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	4–5–2	11,512
12	T	November 4, 1979	4–4	New York Islanders (1979–80)	4–5–3	12,478
13	L	November 6, 1979	0–8	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	4–6–3	7,296
14	L	November 7, 1979	3–6	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	4–7–3	6,308
15	L	November 10, 1979	4–8	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	4–8–3	14,347
16	W	November 14, 1979	3–2	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	5–8–3	12,736
17	L	November 16, 1979	2–3	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	5–9–3	12,401
18	L	November 18, 1979	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	5–10–3	12,668
19	W	November 21, 1979	6–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	6–10–3	17,406
20	L	November 22, 1979	0–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	6–11–3	16,921
21	W	November 24, 1979	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–11–3	13,110
22	L	November 27, 1979	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	7–12–3	7,914
23	L	November 28, 1979	2–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–13–3	12,584
24	T	December 1, 1979	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	7–13–4	12,763
25	L	December 2, 1979	0–4	New York Islanders (1979–80)	7–14–4	14,041
26	W	December 4, 1979	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	8–14–4	8,383
27	L	December 5, 1979	4–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	8–15–4	12,278
28	W	December 7, 1979	8–3	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	9–15–4	11,772
29	L	December 9, 1979	4–5	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	9–16–4	12,579
30	L	December 12, 1979	0–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	9–17–4	10,326
31	W	December 15, 1979	6–2	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	10–17–4	15,723
32	W	December 16, 1979	4–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	11–17–4	15,423
33	L	December 19, 1979	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	11–18–4	12,696
34	W	December 21, 1979	4–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	12–18–4	13,406
35	L	December 26, 1979	0–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	12–19–4	15,623
36	L	December 28, 1979	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	12–20–4	16,038
37	L	December 29, 1979	1–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	12–21–4	16,485
38	L	December 31, 1979	2–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	12–22–4	16,433
39	L	January 4, 1980	1–2	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	12–23–4	15,040
40	T	January 6, 1980	4–4	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	12–23–5	12,250
41	L	January 8, 1980	0–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	12–24–5	6,138
42	L	January 10, 1980	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	12–25–5	17,077
43	L	January 12, 1980	0–3	New York Rangers (1979–80)	12–26–5	13,848
44	W	January 13, 1980	5–3	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	13–26–5	13,598
45	L	January 15, 1980	2–5	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	13–27–5	14,256
46	L	January 16, 1980	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	13–28–5	17,416
47	L	January 18, 1980	0–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	13–29–5	12,708
48	L	January 21, 1980	2–7	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	13–30–5	7,627
49	L	January 22, 1980	4–5	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	13–31–5	7,028
50	L	January 25, 1980	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	13–32–5	15,122
51	T	January 27, 1980	6–6	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	13–32–6	12,938
52	W	January 29, 1980	7–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	14–32–6	7,165
53	L	February 1, 1980	2–9	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	14–33–6	15,423
54	T	February 2, 1980	2–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	14–33–7	13,308
55	L	February 8, 1980	3–6	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	14–34–7	11,917
56	T	February 10, 1980	2–2	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	14–34–8	11,588
57	T	February 12, 1980	0–0	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	14–34–9	13,898
58	L	February 14, 1980	1–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	14–35–9	17,077
59	L	February 15, 1980	4–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	14–36–9	10,136
60	W	February 17, 1980	6–5	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	15–36–9	12,328
61	L	February 20, 1980	3–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	15–37–9	16,433
62	L	February 21, 1980	0–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	15–38–9	15,799
63	L	February 23, 1980	3–9	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	15–39–9	15,171
64	L	February 27, 1980	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	15–40–9	8,977
65	T	February 29, 1980	3–3	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	15–40–10	13,667
66	L	March 2, 1980	2–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	15–41–10	13,669
67	L	March 4, 1980	1–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	15–42–10	15,085
68	L	March 9, 1980	2–5	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	15–43–10	12,412
69	T	March 12, 1980	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	15–43–11	14,299
70	L	March 14, 1980	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	15–44–11	N/A
71	W	March 16, 1980	6–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	16–44–11	12,014
72	L	March 19, 1980	1–9	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	16–45–11	16,485
73	W	March 21, 1980	4–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	17–45–11	15,170
74	L	March 23, 1980	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	17–46–11	12,377
75	W	March 26, 1980	7–0	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	18–46–11	13,151
76	L	March 28, 1980	1–2	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	18–47–11	13,100
77	L	March 30, 1980	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	18–48–11	11,686
78	W	April 2, 1980	5–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	19–48–11	9,374
79	L	April 5, 1980	0–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	19–49–11	13,261
80	W	April 6, 1980	3–2	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	20–49–11	14,236

Playoffs

The Jets failed to qualify for the playoffs, as their record of 20-49-11 earned them 51 points, good for fifth in the Smythe Division, 18 points behind the fourth place Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff position.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Morris Lukowich	LW	78	35	39	74	77	-16	13	1	2
Peter Sullivan	C	79	24	35	59	20	-45	5	0	3
Ron Wilson	C	79	21	36	57	28	-12	6	0	3
Willy Lindstrom	RW	79	23	26	49	20	-19	5	0	4
Craig Norwich	D	70	10	35	45	36	-11	7	0	0
Peter Marsh	RW	57	18	20	38	59	-38	9	0	0
Lars-Erik Sjoberg	D	79	7	27	34	48	-35	3	1	0
Jude Drouin	C	78	8	16	24	50	-38	1	2	1
Scott Campbell	D	63	3	17	20	136	-39	0	0	2
Lyle Moffat	LW	74	10	9	19	38	-24	0	0	1
Dave Christian	RW	15	8	10	18	2	-5	3	0	0
John Markell	LW	38	10	7	17	21	-12	2	0	1
Lorne Stamler	LW	62	8	7	15	12	-29	0	0	0
Al Cameron	D	63	3	11	14	72	-26	0	0	0
Ross Cory	D	46	2	9	11	32	-16	1	0	0
Kris Manery	C/RW	16	6	4	10	6	-8	4	0	0
Bobby Hull	LW	18	4	6	10	0	-7	1	0	0
Barry Melrose	D	74	4	6	10	124	-41	0	0	1
Jimmy Mann	RW	72	3	5	8	287	-20	1	0	1
Hilliard Graves	RW	35	1	5	6	15	-13	0	0	0
Bill Riley	RW	14	3	2	5	7	0	2	0	1
Gord McTavish	C	10	1	3	4	2	4	0	0	0
Dave Hoyda	LW	15	1	1	2	35	-4	0	0	0
John Bethel	LW	17	0	2	2	4	-3	0	0	0
Pierre Hamel	G	35	0	2	2	10	0	0	0	0
Pat Daley	LW	5	1	0	1	4	-2	0	0	0
Bob Guindon	LW	6	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
Bill Lesuk	LW	49	0	1	1	43	-15	0	0	0
Mike Amodeo	D	19	0	0	0	2	-15	0	0	0
Wayne Dillon	C	13	0	0	0	2	-6	0	0	0
Larry Hopkins	LW	5	0	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0
Don MacIver	D	6	0	0	0	2	-5	0	0	0
Markus Mattsson	G	21	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Lindsay Middlebrook	G	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gerry Rioux	RW	8	0	0	0	6	-2	0	0	0
Gary Smith	G	20	0	0	0	25	0	0	0	0
Gord Smith	D	13	0	0	0	8	-5	0	0	0
Glenn Tomalty	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Pierre Hamel	1947	35	9	19	3	130	4.01	0
Markus Mattsson	1200	21	5	11	4	65	3.25	2
Gary Smith	1073	20	4	11	4	73	4.08	0
Lindsay Middlebrook	580	10	2	8	0	40	4.14	0
Team:	4800	80	20	49	11	308	3.85	2

^[4]

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;

Transactions

Trades

June 28, 1979	To Quebec Nordiques Jamie Hislop	To Winnipeg Jets Barry Legge
July 25, 1979	To New York Rangers Future Considerations	To Winnipeg Jets Wayne Dillon
August 1, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Paul Terbenche	To Winnipeg Jets Future Considerations
October 4, 1979	To Montreal Canadiens Cash	To Winnipeg Jets Ron Wilson
October 15, 1979	To New York Rangers Cash Future Considerations	To Winnipeg Jets Bud Stefanski
February 27, 1980	To Hartford Whalers Bobby Hull	To Winnipeg Jets Future Considerations

Waivers

February 27, 1980

From Vancouver Canucks Kris Manery

Free agents

Player Former Team Willy Lindstrom Winnipeg Jets (WHA) Larry Hopkins Toronto Maple Leafs John Bethel Undrafted Free Agent Benoit Gosselin New York Rangers Gerry Rioux Undrafted Free Agent Glenn Tomalty Undrafted Free Agent Ross Cory Undrafted Free Agent Jude Drouin New York Islanders Mark Plantery Undrafted Free Agent Don MacIver Undrafted Free Agent Anders Steen Undrafted Free Agent

Draft picks

NHL Amateur Draft

Winnipeg's picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec on August 9, 1979.^[5]

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	19	Jimmy Mann (RW)	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
2	40	Dave Christian (RW)	United States	University of North Dakota (NCAA)
3	61	Bill Whelton (D)	United States	Boston University (NCAA)
4	82	Pat Daley (LW)	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
5	103	Thomas Steen (C)	Sweden	Farjestads BK Karlstad (SEL)
6	124	Tim Watters (D)	Canada	Michigan Tech (NCAA)

Expansion Draft

Reclaimed Players

Reclaiming of Players: The 17 existing NHL teams were allowed to reclaim any rights to former WHA players they held. The four incoming franchises, however, were allowed to protect up to two goaltenders and two skaters, voiding their NHL rights. These players were considered "priority selections" in the expansion draft. Gordie Howe was one of two special cases (the other being Wayne Gretzky), as a gentlemen's agreement between the Hartford Whalers and the Detroit Red Wings, which held his rights, led to the Wings declining to reclaim Howe.

These are Winnipeg players whose NHL rights were reclaimed when the WHA merged with the NHL. This list is incomplete.

#	Player	Reclaimed From	Reclaimed By
4.	Bobby Hull (LW)	Winnipeg Jets	Chicago Blackhawks

Jets selections

#	Player	Drafted From	Drafted By
1.	Peter Marsh (LW)	Pittsburgh Penguins	Winnipeg Jets
2.	Lindsay Middlebrook (G)	New York Rangers	Winnipeg Jets
3.	Bobby Hull (LW)	Chicago Black Hawks	Winnipeg Jets
4.	Al Cameron (D)	Detroit Red Wings	Winnipeg Jets
5.	Dave Hoyda (LW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Winnipeg Jets
6.	Jim Roberts (LW)	Minnesota North Stars	Winnipeg Jets
7.	Lorne Stamler (LW)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Winnipeg Jets
8.	Mark Heaslip (RW)	Los Angeles Kings	Winnipeg Jets
9.	Pierre Hamel (G)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Winnipeg Jets
10.	Gord McTavish (F)	St. Louis Blues	Winnipeg Jets
11.	Gord Smith (D)	Washington Capitals	Winnipeg Jets
12.	Clark Hamilton (C)	Detroit Red Wings	Winnipeg Jets
13.	Jim Cunningham (LW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Winnipeg Jets
14.	Dennis Abgrall (RW)	Los Angeles Kings	Winnipeg Jets
15.	Bill Riley (W)	Washington Capitals	Winnipeg Jets
16.	Gene Carr (C)	Atlanta Flames	Winnipeg Jets
17.	Hilliard Graves (RW)	Vancouver Canucks	Winnipeg Jets

References

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "1979-80 Winnipeg Jets Results and Schedule". HockeyDB. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
4. "1979-80 Winnipeg Jets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
5. "1979 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.

External links

• Jets on Hockey Database