1980–81 WHL season

The 1980–81 WHL season was the 15th season of the Western Hockey League. Thirteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Victoria Cougars won the President's Cup.

League notes

 * The Spokane Flyers and Winnipeg Warriors joined the WHL as its 12th and 13th franchises.

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

First round

 * Regina defeated Brandon 4 games to 1
 * Calgary defeated Billings 4 games to 1
 * Lethbridge defeated Medicine Hat 4 games to 1


 * Spokane defeated New Westminster in 4th place tiebreaker game

Division semi-finals

 * Regina earned a bye
 * Calgary defeated Lethbridge 3 games to 1


 * Victoria defeated Spokane 4 games to 0
 * Portland defeated Seattle 4 games to 1

Division finals

 * Calgary defeated Regina 4 games to 2
 * Victoria defeated Portland 4 games to 0

WHL Championship

 * Victoria defeated Calgary 4 games to 3

All-Star Game
On January 20, the WHL All-Stars defeated the Victoria Cougars 8–3 at Victoria, British Columbia with a crowd of 3,520.