1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season

1980–81 Minnesota North Stars
Division3rd Adams
Conference5th Wales
1980–81 record35–28–17
Home record23–10–7
Road record12–18–10
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

NHL Draft

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

Season standings

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
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 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

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference


Schedule and results

1980–81 regular season[4]
October
Game Result 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
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
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

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

Playoffs

1981 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Preliminary round vs. (8) Boston Bruins – North Stars win 3–0
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 8 Minnesota North Stars 5–4 (OT) Boston Bruins 1-0
2 April 9 Minnesota North Stars 9–6 Boston Bruins 2-0
3 April 11 Boston Bruins 3–6 Minnesota North Stars 3-0
Quarterfinals vs. (3) Buffalo Sabres – North Stars win 4–1
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 16 Minnesota North Stars 4–3 (OT) Buffalo Sabres 1-0
2 April 17 Minnesota North Stars 5–2 Buffalo Sabres 2-0
3 April 19 Buffalo Sabres 4–6 Minnesota North Stars 3-0
4 April 20 Buffalo Sabres 5–4 (OT) Minnesota North Stars 3-1
5 April 22 Minnesota North Stars 4–3 Buffalo Sabres 4-1
Semifinals vs. (2) Calgary Flames – North Stars win 4–2
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 28 Minnesota North Stars 4–1 Calgary Flames 1-0
2 April 30 Minnesota North Stars 2–3 Calgary Flames 1-1
3 May 3 Calgary Flames 4–6 Minnesota North Stars 2-1
4 May 5 Calgary Flames 4–7 Minnesota North Stars 3-1
5 May 7 Minnesota North Stars 1–3 Calgary Flames 3-2
6 May 9 Calgary Flames 3–5 Minnesota North Stars 4-2
Stanley Cup Finals vs. (1) New York Islanders – Islanders win 4–1
Game Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 May 12 Minnesota North Stars 3–6 New York Islanders 0-1
2 May 14 Minnesota North Stars 3–6 New York Islanders 0-2
3 May 17 New York Islanders 7–5 Minnesota North Stars 0-3
4 May 19 New York Islanders 2–4 Minnesota North Stars 1-3
5 May 21 Minnesota North Stars 1–5 New York Islanders 1-4

Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

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

[5]

Goaltending

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

Player GP W L T SO GAA
Don Beaupre 44 18 14 11 0 3.21
Gilles Meloche 38 17 14 6 2 3.26

Awards and records

Transactions

The North Stars were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.[6]

Trades

June 6, 1980 To Minnesota North Stars
Alex Pirus 		To Detroit Red Wings
Cash
July 4, 1980 To Minnesota North Stars
Future considerations 		To New York Islanders
Alex Pirus
September 1, 1980 To Minnesota North Stars
Bill Nyrop 		To Montreal Canadiens
Future considerations
December 16, 1980 To Minnesota North Stars
Gordie Roberts 		To Hartford Whalers
Mike Fidler
December 29, 1980 To Minnesota North Stars
Ken Solheim
2nd round pick in 1981 – Tom Hirsch 		To Chicago Black Hawks
Glen Sharpley
February 2, 1981 To Minnesota North Stars
3rd round pick in 1982 – Wally Chapman 		To Edmonton Oilers
Gary Edwards
March 10, 1981 To Minnesota North Stars
2nd round pick in 1981 – Dave Donnelly 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ron Zanussi
3rd round pick in 1981 – Ernie Godden
June 9, 1981 To Minnesota North Stars
Nelson Burton 		To Quebec Nordiques
Dan Chicoine

Waivers

June 8, 1980 To Detroit Red Wings
David Hanson

Free agent signings

June 16, 1980 From Erie Blades (EHL)
Dan Poulin
June 26, 1980 From Baltimore Clippers (EHL)
Ron Friest
August 7, 1980 From Billings Bighorns (WHL)
Murray Brumwell
March 23, 1981 From Väsby IK (Sweden)
Roger Melin

References

  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. ^ a b "1980-81 Minnesota North Stars Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  5. ^ "1980-81 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics".
  6. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
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