1979–80 Detroit Red Wings season

1979–80 Detroit Red Wings
1979–80 Detroit Red Wings
Division	5th Norris
Conference	9th Wales
1979–80 record	26–43–11
Home record	14–21–5
Road record	12–22–6
Goals for	268
Goals against	306
Team information
General manager	Ted Lindsay
Coach	Bobby Kromm,; Ted Lindsay
Captain	Dale McCourt
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Detroit Olympia; (Oct-Dec); Joe Louis Arena; (Dec-Apr)
Team leaders
Goals	Mike Foligno (36)
Assists	Dale McCourt (51)
Points	Dale McCourt (81)
Penalty minutes	Willie Huber (164)
Wins	Rogie Vachon (20)
Goals against average	Rogie Vachon (3.62)
	← 1978–79 1980–81 →

The 1979–80 season was the first season that the Red Wings played at their at the time newly built arena, the Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason

Regular season

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

^[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 – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	NRS	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
4	Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
5	New York Islanders	PTK	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
6	Minnesota North Stars	ADM	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
7	x – Chicago Black Hawks	SMY	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
8	New York Rangers	PTK	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
9	Atlanta Flames	PTK	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
10	St. Louis Blues	SMY	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	ADM	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
12	Los Angeles Kings	NRS	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NRS	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
14	Hartford Whalers	NRS	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
15	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
16	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	28	39	13	301	322	69

17	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	27	40	13	261	293	67
18	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	26	43	11	268	306	63
19	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	25	44	11	248	313	61
20	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
21	Colorado Rockies	SMY	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records^[3]
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

1979–80 regular season^[4]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 10, 1979	4–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	0–0–1
2	L	October 12, 1979	1–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	0–1–1
3	T	October 13, 1979	3–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	0–1–2
4	W	October 17, 1979	5–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	1–1–2
5	L	October 20, 1979	3–7	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	1–2–2
6	W	October 25, 1979	4–0	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	2–2–2
7	L	October 27, 1979	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	2–3–2
8	L	October 28, 1979	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	2–4–2
9	L	October 31, 1979	3–5	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	2–5–2

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
10	W	November 3, 1979	2–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	3–5–2
11	L	November 4, 1979	1–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	3–6–2
12	W	November 7, 1979	5–3	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	4–6–2
13	L	November 10, 1979	1–2	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	4–7–2
14	L	November 14, 1979	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	4–8–2
15	W	November 16, 1979	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	5–8–2
16	W	November 17, 1979	5–4	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	6–8–2
17	L	November 21, 1979	1–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	6–9–2
18	L	November 23, 1979	2–5	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	6–10–2
19	T	November 24, 1979	3–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	6–10–3
20	T	November 27, 1979	5–5	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	6–10–4

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
21	W	December 1, 1979	6–3	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	7–10–4
22	T	December 2, 1979	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	7–10–5
23	W	December 5, 1979	6–4	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	8–10–5
24	W	December 8, 1979	5–1	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	9–10–5
25	L	December 10, 1979	0–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	9–11–5
26	L	December 11, 1979	1–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	9–12–5
27	T	December 13, 1979	6–6	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	9–12–6
28	T	December 15, 1979	4–4	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	9–12–7
29	L	December 16, 1979	3–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	9–13–7
30	W	December 19, 1979	6–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	10–13–7
31	L	December 22, 1979	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	10–14–7
32	L	December 26, 1979	4–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	10–15–7
33	L	December 27, 1979	2–3	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	10–16–7
34	W	December 30, 1979	4–2	New York Islanders (1979–80)	11–16–7
35	L	December 31, 1979	3–5	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	11–17–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
36	L	January 2, 1980	2–4	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	11–18–7
37	W	January 4, 1980	6–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	12–18–7
38	W	January 6, 1980	2–1	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	13–18–7
39	W	January 9, 1980	4–0	New York Rangers (1979–80)	14–18–7
40	L	January 12, 1980	4–6	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	14–19–7
41	L	January 13, 1980	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	14–20–7
42	W	January 16, 1980	5–1	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	15–20–7
43	W	January 18, 1980	5–0	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	16–20–7
44	W	January 19, 1980	5–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	17–20–7
45	L	January 23, 1980	3–5	New York Islanders (1979–80)	17–21–7
46	L	January 26, 1980	3–4	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	17–22–7
47	W	January 27, 1980	7–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	18–22–7
48	L	January 30, 1980	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	18–23–7
49	W	January 31, 1980	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	19–23–7

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
50	W	February 2, 1980	3–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	20–23–7
51	L	February 3, 1980	2–4	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	20–24–7
52	T	February 6, 1980	2–2	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	20–24–8
53	L	February 9, 1980	5–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	20–25–8
54	L	February 10, 1980	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	20–26–8
55	T	February 13, 1980	2–2	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	20–26–9
56	L	February 16, 1980	3–4	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	20–27–9
57	L	February 18, 1980	2–4	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	20–28–9
58	L	February 20, 1980	5–7	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	20–29–9
59	L	February 23, 1980	1–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	20–30–9
60	W	February 24, 1980	7–5	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	21–30–9
61	W	February 28, 1980	4–1	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	22–30–9

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
62	W	March 1, 1980	4–3	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	23–30–9
63	L	March 2, 1980	3–6	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	23–31–9
64	L	March 5, 1980	3–5	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	23–32–9
65	T	March 8, 1980	2–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	23–32–10
66	W	March 9, 1980	6–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	24–32–10
67	T	March 12, 1980	4–4	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	24–32–11
68	L	March 13, 1980	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	24–33–11
69	L	March 15, 1980	2–5	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	24–34–11
70	L	March 16, 1980	2–6	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	24–35–11
71	L	March 19, 1980	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	24–36–11
72	W	March 21, 1980	5–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	25–36–11
73	L	March 22, 1980	1–5	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	25–37–11
74	L	March 26, 1980	2–5	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	25–38–11
75	L	March 27, 1980	1–10	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	25–39–11
76	W	March 29, 1980	9–7	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	26–39–11
77	L	March 31, 1980	5–7	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	26–40–11

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	L	April 2, 1980	2–7	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	26–41–11
79	L	April 5, 1980	1–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	26–42–11
80	L	April 6, 1980	3–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	26–43–11

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

Game 28 would be the last game ever played in the Detroit Olympia.
Game 33 would be the first ice hockey game ever played in the Joe Louis Arena.

As a result, the Red Wings were forced on a four-game road trip from December 16 to 26.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Dale McCourt	C	80	30	51	81	12	1	7	2	3
Vaclav Nedomansky	RW	79	35	39	74	13	-5	11	0	5
Mike Foligno	RW	80	36	35	71	109	-2	9	0	0
Reed Larson	D	80	22	44	66	101	-7	7	0	2
Pete Mahovlich	C	80	16	50	66	69	3	3	0	1
Dan Labraaten	LW	76	30	27	57	8	5	6	0	5
Errol Thompson	LW	77	34	14	48	22	-10	8	2	3
Willie Huber	D	76	17	23	40	164	-26	4	2	2
John Ogrodnick	LW	41	8	24	32	8	-4	3	0	1
Paul Woods	LW	79	6	20	26	24	-19	0	0	0
Jim Korn	D/LW	63	5	13	18	108	-4	1	0	1
Barry Long	D	80	0	17	17	38	-28	0	0	0
Bill Hogaboam	C	42	3	12	15	10	-8	0	0	1
Greg Joly	D	59	3	10	13	45	-2	0	0	0
George Lyle	LW	27	7	4	11	2	-2	0	0	2
Dan Bolduc	LW	44	6	5	11	19	-14	2	0	0
Dennis Sobchuk	C	33	4	6	10	0	-11	0	0	0
Dennis Polonich	C/RW	66	2	8	10	127	-15	0	0	0
Thommie Bergman	D	28	1	5	6	45	4	0	0	0
Jean Hamel	D	49	1	4	5	43	-2	0	0	0
Glenn Hicks	LW	50	1	2	3	43	-21	0	0	0
Brent Peterson	C	18	1	2	3	2	-1	0	0	0
Perry Miller	D	16	0	3	3	41	-4	0	0	0
Rogie Vachon	G	59	0	3	3	2	0	0	0	0
Alex Pirus	RW	4	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
Rejean Cloutier	D	3	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
John Hilworth	D	15	0	0	0	11	-2	0	0	0
Jim Rutherford	G	23	0	0	0	24	0	0	0	0
Kevin Schamehorn	RW	2	0	0	0	4	-2	0	0	0
Rick Vasko	D	8	0	0	0	2	-11	0	0	0
Tom Webster	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Rogie Vachon	3474	59	20	30	8	209	3.61	4
Jim Rutherford	1326	23	6	13	3	92	4.16	1
Team:	4800	80	26	43	11	301	3.76	5

^[5]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	3	Mike Foligno	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
3	45	Jody Gage	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
3	46	Boris Fistric	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
4	66	John Ogrodnick	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
5	87	Joe Paterson	Canada	London Knights (OMJHL)
6	108	Carmine Cirella	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)

References

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1979-80 Detroit Red Wings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
^ "1979-80 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[nhl-1980-2] "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-4] "1979-80 Detroit Red Wings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2025.

[5] "1979-80 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Detroit Red Wings
Founded in 1926 Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season
History	History (Original Six) Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Ilitch Holdings (Christopher Ilitch, chairman) General manager Steve Yzerman Head coach Todd McLellan Team captain Dylan Larkin Current roster
Arenas	Windsor Arena Olympia Stadium Joe Louis Arena Little Caesars Arena
Rivalries	Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche Toronto Maple Leafs
Affiliates	AHL Grand Rapids Griffins ECHL Toledo Walleye
Media	TV Bally Sports Detroit Radio WXYT WXYT-FM
Culture and lore	Victoria Cougars Al the Octopus Grind Line Hockeytown Legend of the Octopus Production Line Red Wings–Avalanche brawl Hakan Andersson "Stanley's Cup" (South Park) Russian Five Karen Newman Budd Lynch Al Sobotka London Lions "Don't Stop Believin'" "Without Me" Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F 1938 European tour 1954 prison game 2009 Winter Classic 2014 Winter Classic 2016 Stadium Series Centennial Classic 2025 Stadium Series
Category Commons

v t e Detroit Red Wings seasons
1920s	1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e 1979–80 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Quebec Toronto
Norris	Detroit Hartford Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh
Smythe	Chicago Colorado Edmonton St. Louis Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	NHL–WHA merger Expansion draft Entry draft All-Star Game Playoffs Stanley Cup Final

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Schedule and results

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

See also

References