1980–81 Calgary Flames season

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.

1980–81 Calgary Flames
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	4th Campbell
1980–81 record	39–27–14
Home record	25–5–10
Road record	14–22–4
Goals for	329 (5th)
Goals against	298 (9th)
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Al MacNeil
Captain	Brad Marsh
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Stampede Corral
Average attendance	7,217
Team leaders
Goals	Kent Nilsson (49)
Assists	Kent Nilsson (82)
Points	Kent Nilsson (131)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (239)
Wins	Pat Riggin (21)
Goals against average	Rejean Lemelin (3.83)
← 1979–80 1981–82 →

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

Season standings

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.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1980–81 NHL records^[5] Team CGY NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Calgary — 1−1−2 2−1−1 2−2 3−1 8−5−3 N.Y. Islanders 1−1−2 — 2−2 1−2−1 4−0 8−5−3 N.Y. Rangers 1−2−1 2−2 — 1−1−2 2−2 6−7−3 Philadelphia 2−2 2−1−1 1−1−2 — 2−2 7−6−3 Washington 1−3 0−4 2−2 2−2 — 5−11−0 Vs. Smythe Division 1980–81 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Calgary 0−1−3 1−3 2−1−1 2−2 3−1 3−0−1 11−8−5 N.Y. Islanders 4−0 3−1 2−0−2 2−0−2 3−1 3−0−1 17−2−5 N.Y. Rangers 2−1−1 1−3 2−1−1 0−4 2−1−1 3−1 10−11−3 Philadelphia 1−1−2 4−0 2−2 3−0−1 1−2−1 3−1 14−6−4 Washington 1−1−2 3−0−1 2−1−1 0−2−2 1−1−2 3−0−1 10−5−9 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1980–81 NHL records Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Calgary 3−1 1−2−1 2−2 1−1−2 2−2 9−8−3 N.Y. Islanders 2−2 2−2 2−0−2 3−1 3−1 12−6−2 N.Y. Rangers 2−2 1−2−1 1−1−2 1−1−2 2−2 7−8−5 Philadelphia 2−2 0−2−2 2−1−1 1−2−1 0−2−2 5−9−6 Washington 1−2−1 0−2−2 0−3−1 0−4 3−1 4−12−4 Vs. Norris Division 1980–81 NHL records Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Calgary 2−1−1 3−1 3−1 1−2−1 2−1−1 11−6−3 N.Y. Islanders 4−0 2−0−2 2−2 2−1−1 1−2−1 11−5−4 N.Y. Rangers 1−2−1 3−1 1−3 1−2−1 1−2−1 7−10−3 Philadelphia 3−1 3−0−1 4−0 1−2−1 4−0 15−3−2 Washington 2−1−1 3−1 1−2−1 0−2−2 1−2−1 7−8−5

Schedule and results

1980–81 Game Log
October: 5–4–2 (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 1 October 9 Quebec 5 – 5 Calgary OT 0–0–1 1 7,243 2 October 11 Calgary 2 – 6 Colorado 0–1–1 1 7,564 3 October 12 Calgary 3 – 3 Chicago OT 0–1–2 2 10,923 4 October 14 Los Angeles 2 – 4 Calgary 1–1–2 4 7,126 5 October 16 Boston 1 – 2 Calgary 2–1–2 6 7,229 6 October 18 Minnesota 2 – 6 Calgary 3–1–2 8 7,139 7 October 22 Calgary 3 – 5 Edmonton 3–2–2 8 17,396 8 October 23 Toronto 5 – 4 Calgary 3–3–2 8 7,243 9 October 25 Calgary 8 – 2 Pittsburgh 4–3–2 10 9,363 10 October 28 Calgary 0 – 8 Philadelphia 4–4–2 10 17,077 11 October 30 Calgary 3 – 1 Boston 5–4–2 12 8,774
November: 5–5–3 (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 3–4–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 12 November 1 Calgary 3 – 2 St. Louis 6–4–2 14 12,559 13 November 2 Calgary 3 – 8 Minnesota 6–5–2 14 11,531 14 November 5 Calgary 5 – 5 Winnipeg OT 6–5–3 15 10,500 15 November 8 St. Louis 2 – 4 Calgary 7–5–3 17 7,243 16 November 11 NY Rangers 3 – 7 Calgary 8–5–3 19 7,243 17 November 13 Chicago 4 – 4 Calgary OT 8–5–4 20 7,243 18 November 16 Colorado 4 – 3 Calgary 8–6–4 20 7,243 19 November 20 Calgary 2 – 4 Washington 8–7–4 20 8,721 20 November 22 Calgary 3 – 3 Quebec OT 8–7–5 21 10,185 21 November 25 Calgary 5 – 4 Montreal 9–7–5 23 16,020 22 November 27 Calgary 3 – 6 Buffalo 9–8–5 23 16,433 23 November 29 Calgary 3 – 9 St. Louis 9–9–5 23 15,541 24 November 30 Calgary 4 – 1 Winnipeg 10–9–5 25 12,867
December: 6–3–3 (Home: 4–2–2; Road: 2–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 25 December 4 Winnipeg 3 – 1 Calgary 11–9–5 27 7,077 26 December 6 Hartford 5 – 3 Calgary 11–10–5 27 7,083 27 December 8 Calgary 4 – 2 Los Angeles 12–10–5 29 7,673 28 December 11 Buffalo 4 – 8 Calgary 13–10–5 31 7,226 29 December 13 NY Islanders 4 – 4 Calgary OT 13–10–6 32 7,243 30 December 18 Montreal 4 – 0 Calgary 13–11–6 32 7,243 31 December 20 Pittsburgh 3 – 3 Calgary OT 13–11–7 33 7,123 32 December 22 Calgary 3 – 2 NY Rangers 14–11–7 35 17,418 33 December 23 Calgary 2 – 2 NY Islanders OT 14–11–8 36 14,950 34 December 26 Calgary 2 – 5 Colorado 14–12–8 36 11,849 35 December 27 Philadelphia 1 – 2 Calgary 15–12–8 38 7,243 36 December 30 Edmonton 3 – 5 Calgary 16–12–8 40 7,243
January: 6–7–3 (Home: 5–0–3; Road: 1–7–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 37 January 2 Los Angeles 6 – 7 Calgary 17–12–8 42 7,243 38 January 4 Toronto 5 – 8 Calgary 18–12–8 44 7,243 39 January 5 Calgary 2 – 5 Los Angeles 18–13–8 44 8,256 40 January 8 Washington 0 – 6 Calgary 19–13–8 46 7,243 41 January 10 Calgary 1 – 4 Detroit 19–14–8 46 16,014 42 January 11 Calgary 1 – 2 Chicago 19–15–8 46 8,667 43 January 13 NY Rangers 4 – 4 Calgary OT 19–15–9 47 7,226 44 January 15 Detroit 0 – 10 Calgary 20–15–9 49 7,226 45 January 17 Winnipeg 2 – 4 Calgary 21–15–9 51 7,243 46 January 19 Calgary 3 – 6 NY Rangers 21–16–9 51 17,415 47 January 20 Calgary 0 – 5 NY Islanders 21–17–9 51 15,008 48 January 23 Calgary 4 – 2 Hartford 22–17–9 53 10,206 49 January 24 Calgary 3 – 4 Pittsburgh 22–18–9 53 9,360 50 January 26 Calgary 2 – 3 Minnesota 22–19–9 53 11,971 51 January 29 Montreal 4 – 4 Calgary OT 22–19–10 54 7,243 52 January 31 Chicago 3 – 3 Calgary OT 22–19–11 55 7,223
February: 9–2–1 (Home: 7–1–1; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 53 February 1 Calgary 2 – 6 Vancouver 22–20–11 55 15,716 54 February 5 Washington 5 – 2 Calgary 23–20–11 57 7,226 55 February 7 Pittsburgh 4 – 5 Calgary 24–20–11 59 7,222 56 February 8 Calgary 10 – 4 Edmonton 25–20–11 61 17,490 57 February 12 Quebec 3 – 5 Calgary 26–20–11 63 7,225 58 February 14 Buffalo 4 – 4 Calgary OT 26–20–12 64 7,226 59 February 17 St. Louis 5 – 2 Calgary 26–21–12 64 7,226 60 February 19 Philadelphia 4 – 5 Calgary 27–21–12 66 7,225 61 February 21 Boston 2 – 7 Calgary 28–21–12 68 7,226 62 February 22 Calgary 5 – 3 Vancouver 29–21–12 70 13,456 63 February 25 NY Islanders 4 – 11 Calgary 30–21–12 72 7,226 64 February 27 Hartford 1 – 5 Calgary 31–21–12 74 7,226
March: 6–6–2 (Home: 2–0–2; Road: 4–6–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 65 March 3 Calgary 6 – 3 Washington 32–21–12 76 8,164 66 March 4 Calgary 0 – 4 Buffalo 32–22–12 76 16,298 67 March 7 Calgary 6 – 4 Toronto 32–22–12 78 16,485 68 March 8 Calgary 5 – 4 Hartford 33–22–12 80 10,171 69 March 10 Vancouver 2 – 11 Calgary 35–22–12 82 7,226 70 March 12 Minnesota 3 – 6 Calgary 36–22–12 84 7,226 71 March 15 Edmonton 3 – 3 Calgary OT 36–22–13 85 7,226 72 March 19 Calgary 6 – 3 Detroit 37–22–13 87 12,117 73 March 21 Calgary 3 – 4 Boston 37–23–13 87 11,452 74 March 22 Calgary 2 – 6 Philadelphia 37–24–13 87 17,077 75 March 25 Calgary 2 – 4 Quebec 37–25–13 87 14,970 76 March 26 Calgary 2 – 8 Montreal 37–26–13 87 16,464 77 March 28 Calgary 5 – 9 Toronto 37–27–13 87 16,485 78 March 31 Detroit 5 – 5 Calgary OT 37–27–14 88 7,226
April: 2–0–0 (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Record Pts Attendance 79 April 2 Colorado 3 – 5 Calgary 38–27–14 90 7,226 80 April 4 Vancouver 5 – 6 Calgary 39–27–14 92 7,226

Playoffs

1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
Preliminary round vs. Chicago – Flames win 3–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series Attendance 1 April 8 Chicago 3 – 4 Calgary Calgary leads 1–0 7,226 2 April 9 Chicago 2 – 6 Calgary Calgary leads 2–0 7,226 3 April 11 Calgary 5 – 4 Chicago 2OT Calgary wins 3–0 12,482
League quarter-final vs. Philadelphia – Flames win 4–3 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series Attendance 1 April 16 Calgary 0 – 4 Philadelphia Philadelphia leads 1–0 17,077 2 April 17 Calgary 5 – 4 Philadelphia Series tied 1–1 17,077 3 April 19 Philadelphia 1 – 2 Calgary Calgary leads 2–1 7,226 4 April 20 Philadelphia 4 – 5 Calgary Calgary leads 3–1 7,226 5 April 22 Calgary 4 – 9 Philadelphia Calgary leads 3–2 17,077 6 April 24 Philadelphia 3 – 2 Calgary Series tied 3–3 7,226 7 April 26 Calgary 4 – 1 Philadelphia Calgary wins 4–3 17,077
League semi-final vs. Minnesota – North Stars win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Series Attendance 1 April 28 Minnesota 4 – 1 Calgary Minnesota leads 1–0 7,226 2 April 30 Minnesota 2 – 3 Calgary Series tied 1–1 7,226 3 May 3 Calgary 4 – 6 Minnesota Minnesota leads 2–1 15,784 4 May 5 Calgary 4 – 7 Minnesota Minnesota leads 3–1 15,784 5 May 7 Minnesota 1 – 3 Calgary Minnesota leads 3–2 7,226 6 May 9 Calgary 3 – 5 Minnesota Minnesota wins 4–2 15,784

Player statistics

Skaters

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

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

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

Trades

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^[6]	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

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

Main article: List of Calgary Flames draft picks

Calgary's picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, held in Montreal.^[7]

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

• 1980–81 NHL season

References

• 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. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
6. Maki, Alan (June 11, 1980). "No Kings' ransom paid to land Unger". Calgary Herald. p. D1. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
7. Calgary Flames draft history, hockeydb.com, accessed October 8, 2007.