1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1979–80 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 71st season. The Canadiens ended the season with a twenty-game unbeaten streak at the Montreal Forum. By season's end, the franchise was third overall in NHL standings.^[1] The season involved being eliminated in the NHL Quarter-finals vs the Minnesota North Stars 4 games to 3.

1979–80 Montreal Canadiens
Norris Division champions
Division	1st Norris
Conference	2nd Wales
1979–80 record	47–20–13
Home record	30–7–3
Road record	17–13–10
Goals for	328
Goals against	240
Team information
General manager	Irving Grundman
Coach	Bernie Geoffrion (Oct–Dec) Claude Ruel (Dec–Apr)
Captain	Serge Savard
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Montreal Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Guy Lafleur and Pierre Larouche (50)
Assists	Guy Lafleur (75)
Points	Guy Lafleur (125)
Penalty minutes	Gilles Lupien (109)
Plus/minus	Larry Robinson (+38)
Wins	Denis Herron (25)
Goals against average	Denis Herron (2.51)
← 1978–79 1980–81 →

Offseason

• Al MacNeil left his position as head coach of the Canadiens farm club, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, to become head coach of the Atlanta Flames.^[2]
• Jacques Lemaire retired to become a playing coach in Switzerland. In addition, Ken Dryden and captain Yvan Cournoyer also retired from the team.
• Scotty Bowman, upset over the appointment of Irving Grundman as general manager in 1978, left the club to become head coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
• Boom Boom Geoffrion was hired as head coach in September 1979. In his previous coaching stint, Geoffrion lasted half a season with the 1968–69 New York Rangers. He had to leave the position due to ulcers.^[3]
• Veteran defenceman Serge Savard is named team captain.
• The Canadiens did not have a first-round pick in the Amateur Draft. The club picked Mats Naslund with its second-round choice, 37th overall. The team picked Guy Carbonneau in the third-round, 44th overall.

Regular season

Despite a record of fifteen wins, nine losses and six ties, Geoffrion stepped down as head coach.^[4]

Final standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
Los Angeles Kings	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
Hartford Whalers	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
Detroit Red Wings	80	26	43	11	268	306	63

^[5]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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Norris Division 1979–80 NHL records^[6] Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Detroit — 1–2–1 0–3–1 0–3–1 2–2 3–10–3 Hartford 2–1–1 — 2–1–1 0–1–3 2–1–1 6–4–6 Los Angeles 3–0–1 1–2–1 — 0–4 1–1–2 5–7–4 Montreal 3–0–1 1–0–3 4–0 — 2–1–1 10–1–5 Pittsburgh 2–2 1–2–1 1–1–2 1–2–1 — 5–7–4 Vs. Adams Division 1979–80 NHL records Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Detroit 1–2–1 1–3 2–1–1 2–1–1 0–4 6–11–3 Hartford 1–2–1 1–3 0–4 1–1–2 2–2 5–12–3 Los Angeles 1–2–1 0–3–1 2–0–2 3–1 3–0–1 9–6–5 Montreal 3–1 1–1–2 3–1 2–1–1 3–1 12–5–3 Pittsburgh 2–2 0–4 1–3 2–2 2–2 7–13–0 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1979–80 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Detroit 1–2–1 3–1 1–3 0–3–1 2–1–1 7–10–3 Hartford 3–1 1–3 1–2–1 0–2–2 1–2–1 6–10–4 Los Angeles 1–2–1 1–2–1 1–3 0–4 1–3 4–14–2 Montreal 3–0–1 0–3–1 3–0–1 2–1–1 2–1–1 10–5–5 Pittsburgh 2–1–1 1–0–3 2–2 0–3–1 3–1 8–7–5 Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Detroit 1−3 1−3 2−1–1 1−2−1 2−2 3−1 10−12−2 Hartford 1–1–2 2−1−1 2–1–1 2–2 1−1−2 2−2 10−8−6 Los Angeles 3−0−1 4−0 1−2−1 1−3 2−2 1−2−1 12−9−3 Montreal 2−2 3−1 3−1 2−2 2−2 3−1 15−9−0 Pittsburgh 0−2–2 2−2 1−3 1−2–1 2−1–1 4−0 10−10−4

Schedule and results

Regular season results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 11, 1979	3–1	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	1–0–0
2	W	October 13, 1979	3–1	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	2–0–0
3	L	October 17, 1979	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	2–1–0
4	W	October 20, 1979	5–4	New York Rangers (1979–80)	3–1–0
5	T	October 21, 1979	6–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	3–1–1
6	W	October 23, 1979	5–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	4–1–1
7	W	October 25, 1979	8–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	5–1–1
8	W	October 27, 1979	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	6–1–1
9	L	October 28, 1979	4–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	6–2–1
10	T	October 30, 1979	2–2	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	6–2–2
11	W	November 1, 1979	5–1	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	7–2–2
12	L	November 3, 1979	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	7–3–2
13	W	November 5, 1979	2–0	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	8–3–2
14	T	November 7, 1979	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	8–3–3
15	L	November 10, 1979	3–5	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	8–4–3
16	W	November 13, 1979	5–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	9–4–3
17	W	November 15, 1979	4–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	10–4–3
18	W	November 17, 1979	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	11–4–3
19	L	November 18, 1979	2–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	11–5–3
20	W	November 22, 1979	7–0	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	12–5–3
21	W	November 24, 1979	3–1	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	13–5–3
22	L	November 25, 1979	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	13–6–3
23	T	November 27, 1979	5–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	13–6–4
24	W	November 29, 1979	3–2	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	14–6–4
25	T	December 1, 1979	4–4	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	14–6–5
26	T	December 3, 1979	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	14–6–6
27	L	December 5, 1979	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	14–7–6
28	W	December 7, 1979	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	15–7–6
29	L	December 9, 1979	5–7	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	15–8–6
30	L	December 11, 1979	1–4	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	15–9–6
31	L	December 14, 1979	3–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	15–10–6
32	L	December 15, 1979	2–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	15–11–6
33	L	December 18, 1979	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	15–12–6
34	L	December 19, 1979	2–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	15–13–6
35	W	December 22, 1979	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	16–13–6
36	W	December 23, 1979	8–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	17–13–6
37	L	December 27, 1979	3–7	New York Islanders (1979–80)	17–14–6
38	W	December 29, 1979	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	18–14–6
39	L	January 2, 1980	3–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	18–15–6
40	L	January 5, 1980	3–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	18–16–6
41	W	January 7, 1980	4–3	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	19–16–6
42	W	January 9, 1980	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	20–16–6
43	W	January 12, 1980	4–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	21–16–6
44	W	January 14, 1980	3–2	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	22–16–6
45	W	January 16, 1980	6–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	23–16–6
46	W	January 19, 1980	7–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	24–16–6
47	L	January 22, 1980	1–2	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	24–17–6
48	W	January 24, 1980	7–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	25–17–6
49	L	January 26, 1980	2–7	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	25–18–6
50	W	January 29, 1980	4–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	26–18–6
51	W	January 30, 1980	3–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	27–18–6
52	W	February 2, 1980	5–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	28–18–6
53	W	February 7, 1980	4–3	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	29–18–6
54	L	February 9, 1980	3–4	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	29–19–6
55	W	February 10, 1980	3–2	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	30–19–6
56	W	February 14, 1980	5–1	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	31–19–6
57	W	February 16, 1980	8–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	32–19–6
58	T	February 17, 1980	2–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	32–19–7
59	L	February 19, 1980	1–3	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	32–20–7
60	W	February 21, 1980	3–0	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	33–20–7
61	W	February 23, 1980	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	34–20–7
62	T	February 26, 1980	3–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	34–20–8
63	W	February 28, 1980	6–3	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	35–20–8
64	W	March 1, 1980	6–3	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	36–20–8
65	W	March 2, 1980	5–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	37–20–8
66	W	March 6, 1980	5–4	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	38–20–8
67	W	March 8, 1980	5–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	39–20–8
68	W	March 10, 1980	6–3	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	40–20–8
69	W	March 12, 1980	4–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	41–20–8
70	W	March 14, 1980	4–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	42–20–8
71	W	March 15, 1980	7–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	43–20–8
72	T	March 19, 1980	5–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	43–20–9
73	T	March 22, 1980	5–5	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	43–20–10
74	W	March 23, 1980	6–1	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	44–20–10
75	W	March 25, 1980	8–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	45–20–10
76	T	March 28, 1980	2–2	New York Islanders (1979–80)	45–20–11
77	T	March 30, 1980	1–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	45–20–12
78	W	April 2, 1980	7–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	46–20–12
79	W	April 5, 1980	6–1	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	47–20–12
80	T	April 6, 1980	4–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	47–20–13

^[7]

Playoffs

The Canadiens swept the Hartford Whalers in the preliminary round 3–0 in games. The Canadiens then faced the Minnesota North Stars in the quarter-final and lost a seven-game series four games to three.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Guy Lafleur	RW	74	50	75	125	12	40	15	0	7
Pierre Larouche	C	73	50	41	91	16	36	12	0	7
Steve Shutt	LW	77	47	42	89	34	45	17	0	4
Larry Robinson	D	72	14	61	75	39	38	6	0	3
Pierre Mondou	C	75	30	36	66	12	26	8	0	3
Yvon Lambert	LW	77	21	32	53	23	3	7	0	7
Mark Napier	RW	76	16	33	49	7	11	4	0	1
Rejean Houle	W	60	18	27	45	68	3	2	0	3
Mario Tremblay	RW	77	16	26	42	105	6	0	0	2
Rod Langway	D	77	7	29	36	81	36	0	0	1
Bob Gainey	LW	64	14	19	33	32	-2	4	1	3
Guy Lapointe	D	45	6	20	26	29	-2	0	0	0
Doug Jarvis	C	80	13	11	24	28	-5	0	1	3
Brian Engblom	D	70	3	20	23	43	22	0	0	0
Doug Risebrough	C	44	8	10	18	81	-2	0	0	0
Serge Savard	D	46	5	8	13	18	-2	0	0	1
Rick Chartraw	D/RW	66	5	7	12	35	6	0	0	0
Gaston Gingras	D	34	3	7	10	18	11	2	0	1
Gilles Lupien	D	56	1	7	8	109	13	0	0	1
Danny Geoffrion	RW	32	0	6	6	12	1	0	0	0
Norm Dupont	LW	35	1	3	4	4	2	0	0	0
Michel Larocque	G	39	0	2	2	4	0	0	0	0
Chris Nilan	RW	15	0	2	2	50	-1	0	0	0
Keith Acton	C	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Denis Herron	G	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rick Meagher	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moe Robinson	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richard Sevigny	G	11	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Denis Herron	1909	34	25	3	3	80	2.51	0
Michel Larocque	2259	39	17	13	8	125	3.32	3
Richard Sevigny	632	11	5	4	2	31	2.94	0
Team:	4800	80	47	20	13	236	2.95	3

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Yvon Lambert	LW	10	8	4	12	4	1	0	1
Mario Tremblay	RW	10	0	11	11	14	0	0	0
Steve Shutt	LW	10	6	3	9	6	2	0	2
Rejean Houle	W	10	4	5	9	12	1	0	0
Doug Jarvis	C	10	4	4	8	2	0	1	0
Mark Napier	RW	10	2	6	8	0	1	0	0
Pierre Larouche	C	9	1	7	8	2	0	0	0
Gaston Gingras	D	10	1	6	7	8	0	0	0
Rod Langway	D	10	3	3	6	2	1	0	0
Brian Engblom	D	10	2	4	6	6	1	0	1
Pierre Mondou	C	4	1	4	5	4	0	0	0
Guy Lafleur	RW	3	3	1	4	0	0	0	0
Rick Chartraw	D/RW	10	2	2	4	0	0	0	0
Larry Robinson	D	10	0	4	4	2	0	0	0
Norm Dupont	LW	8	1	1	2	0	0	0	1
Bob Gainey	LW	10	1	1	2	4	0	0	1
Danny Geoffrion	RW	2	0	0	0	7	0	0	0
Denis Herron	G	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yvan Joly	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Guy Lapointe	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Michel Larocque	G	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gilles Lupien	D	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Chris Nilan	RW	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Serge Savard	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Michel Larocque	300	5	4	1	11	2.20	1
Denis Herron	300	5	2	3	15	3.00	0
Team:	600	10	6	4	26	2.60	1

^[8]

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;

Awards and records

Larry Robinson, Norris Trophy^[9]

Transactions

Draft picks

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (League)
2	27	Gaston Gingras	Defence	Canada	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2	37	Mats Naslund	Left Wing	Sweden	Brynas IF (Sweden)
3	43	Craig Levie	Defence	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
3	44	Guy Carbonneau	Centre	Canada	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
3	58	Rick Wamsley	Goaltender	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
4	79	Dave Orleski	Left Wing	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
5	100	Yvan Joly	Right Wing	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
6	121	Greg Moffett	Goaltender	United States	University of New Hampshire (ECAC)

^[10]

Farm teams

See also

• 1979–80 NHL season

References

1. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.240, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
2. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.236, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
3. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.237, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
4. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.239, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
5. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
6. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
7. "1979–80 Montreal Canadiens Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
8. "1979-80 Montreal Canadiens Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
9. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
10. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 234, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5