1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season

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) Victoria Cougars (WHL)237Don Beaupre (G)Sudbury Wolves (OHA)479Mark Huglen (D)Roseau High School (USHS-MN)5100David Jensen (D)University of Minnesota (WCHA)6121Danny Zavarise (D)Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)7142Bill Stewart (RW)University of Denver (WCHA)8163Jeff Walters (RW)Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)9184Bob Lakso (LW)Aurora-Hoyt Lakes High School (USHS-MN)10205Dave Richter (D)University of Michigan (WCHA)

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||W||October 11, 1980||9–3 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||1–0–0

|2||W||October 15, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||2–0–0

|3||T||October 17, 1980||5–5 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||2–0–1

|4||L||October 18, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||2–1–1

|5||W||October 22, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||3–1–1

|6||W||October 24, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||4–1–1

|7||W||October 25, 1980||4–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||5–1–1

|8||T||October 29, 1980||2–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||5–1–2

|9||W||November 1, 1980||6–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||6–1–2

|10||W||November 2, 1980||8–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||7–1–2

|11||L||November 7, 1980||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||7–2–2

|12||W||November 9, 1980||7–1 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||8–2–2

|13||T||November 11, 1980||6–6 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||8–2–3

|14||W||November 12, 1980||5–1 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||9–2–3

|15||W||November 15, 1980||5–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||10–2–3

|16||L||November 17, 1980||1–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||10–3–3

|17||W||November 19, 1980||3–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||11–3–3

|18||T||November 20, 1980||1–1 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||11–3–4

|19||L||November 22, 1980||2–6 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||11–4–4

|20||L||November 26, 1980||2–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||11–5–4

|21||W||November 29, 1980||4–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||12–5–4

|22||W||December 1, 1980||5–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||13–5–4

|23||T||December 3, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||13–5–5

|24||T||December 6, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||13–5–6

|25||T||December 7, 1980||1–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||13–5–7

|26||L||December 9, 1980||1–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||13–6–7

|27||L||December 10, 1980||2–7 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||13–7–7

|28||W||December 13, 1980||4–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||14–7–7

|29||L||December 15, 1980||3–6 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||14–8–7

|30||L||December 17, 1980||2–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||14–9–7

|31||T||December 20, 1980||3–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||14–9–8

|32||W||December 23, 1980||6–2 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||15–9–8

|33||W||December 26, 1980||5–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||16–9–8

|34||W||December 27, 1980||6–4 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||17–9–8

|35||W||December 30, 1980||6–5 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||18–9–8

|36||W||January 3, 1981||3–0 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||19–9–8

|37||T||January 4, 1981||2–2 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||19–9–9

|38||T||January 7, 1981||1–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||19–9–10

|39||L||January 9, 1981||2–4 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||19–10–10

|40||W||January 10, 1981||3–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||20–10–10

|41||L||January 12, 1981||3–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||20–11–10

|42||T||January 14, 1981||1–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||20–11–11

|43||W||January 17, 1981||7–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||21–11–11

|44||W||January 19, 1981||6–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||22–11–11

|45||W||January 21, 1981||2–1 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1980–81) ||23–11–11

|46||L||January 22, 1981||4–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||23–12–11

|47||W||January 24, 1981||6–1 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||24–12–11

|48||W||January 26, 1981||3–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||25–12–11

|49||L||January 28, 1981||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||25–13–11

|50||T||January 29, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||25–13–12

|51||L||January 31, 1981||3–7 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1980–81) ||25–14–12

|52||L||February 4, 1981||2–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81) ||25–15–12

|53||L||February 5, 1981||0–7 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||25–16–12

|54||T||February 7, 1981||5–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1980–81) ||25–16–13

|55||T||February 8, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1980–81) ||25–16–14

|56||L||February 12, 1981||3–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||25–17–14

|57||W||February 14, 1981||7–4 || align="left"| Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||26–17–14

|58||W||February 15, 1981||7–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||27–17–14

|59||W||February 18, 1981||6–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1980–81) ||28–17–14

|60||W||February 20, 1981||5–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81) ||29–17–14

|61||L||February 21, 1981||3–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81) ||29–18–14

|62||L||February 23, 1981||1–4 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1980–81) ||29–19–14

|63||L||February 25, 1981||2–3 || align="left"| @ Hartford Whalers (1980–81) ||29–20–14

|64||L||February 26, 1981||1–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||29–21–14

|65||L||February 28, 1981||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81) ||29–22–14

|66||T||March 4, 1981||3–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1980–81) ||29–22–15

|67||W||March 7, 1981||8–5 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1980–81) ||30–22–15

|68||T||March 9, 1981||1–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1980–81) ||30–22–16

|69||W||March 11, 1981||3–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1980–81) ||31–22–16

|70||L||March 12, 1981||3–6 || align="left"| @ Calgary Flames (1980–81) ||31–23–16

|71||L||March 14, 1981||4–10 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||31–24–16

|72||L||March 18, 1981||3–5 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||31–25–16

|73||T||March 20, 1981||1–1 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81) ||31–25–17

|74||W||March 22, 1981||9–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1980–81) ||32–25–17

|75||L||March 24, 1981||3–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||32–26–17

|76||L||March 28, 1981||2–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81) ||32–27–17

|77||W||March 29, 1981||4–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81) ||33–27–17

|78||W||March 31, 1981||6–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||34–27–17

|79||W||April 4, 1981||5–0 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1980–81) ||35–27–17

|80||L||April 5, 1981||4–8 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81) ||35–28–17

Legend:

Playoffs

| 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

| 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

| 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

| 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:

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

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

Transactions The North Stars were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season.

Trades June 6, 1980To Minnesota North StarsAlex PirusTo Detroit Red WingsCash July 4, 1980To Minnesota North StarsFuture considerationsTo New York IslandersAlex Pirus September 1, 1980To Minnesota North StarsBill NyropTo Montreal CanadiensFuture considerations December 16, 1980To Minnesota North StarsGordie RobertsTo Hartford WhalersMike Fidler December 29, 1980To Minnesota North StarsKen Solheim 2nd round pick in 1981 – Tom HirschTo Chicago Black HawksGlen Sharpley February 2, 1981To Minnesota North Stars3rd round pick in 1982 – Wally ChapmanTo Edmonton OilersGary Edwards March 10, 1981To Minnesota North Stars2nd round pick in 1981 – Dave DonnellyTo Toronto Maple LeafsRon Zanussi 3rd round pick in 1981 – Ernie Godden June 9, 1981To Minnesota North StarsNelson Burton To Quebec NordiquesDan Chicoine

Waivers June 8, 1980To Detroit Red WingsDavid Hanson

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

References

External links North Stars on Hockey Database