1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season



The 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season was the team's 2nd season in the National Hockey League. The Nordiques finished 4th in the Adams Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the Philadelphia Flyers 3 games to 0.

Off-season
During the off-season, the Nordiques fired head coach Jacques Demers, and general manager Maurice Filion would begin the season as the head coach. This would mark Filion's third time behind the Nordiques bench, as he was the head coach of the club in the 1972-73 WHA season, and he served as an interim head coach at the end of the 1977-78 season. Quebec was able to sign brothers Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny, who both defected from Czechoslovakia. The brothers would have a huge impact in the league, as Peter would win the Calder Trophy awarded to the NHL's Rookie of the Year, and both Peter and Anton would set rookie records, each earning eight points in a game on February 22, 1981, leading Quebec to an 11-7 win over the Washington Capitals.

Regular Season
The Nordiques season began with a nine game road trip, and head coach Maurice Filion would replace himself with Michel Bergeron after the club had a 1-3-2 record in their opening six games. Quebec continued to struggle, and fifteen games into the season, they had a 1-9-5 record. The Nordiques would continue to struggle, and found themselves a season high fourteen games under .500 with a 11-26-12 record after 49 games. Quebec would then get red hot, posting a record of 19-6-6 in their remaining 31 games to finish the season at 30-32-18, earning 78 points, and their first ever berth into the NHL playoffs.

Offensively, the Nordiques were led by rookie Peter Stastny, who set a team record with 109 points, winning the Calder Trophy. Jacques Richard became the first Nordique to score over 50 goals in a season, as he scored 52, and registered 103 points. Anton Stastny also had a great rookie season, earning 85 points, while Robbie Ftorek and Michel Goulet had 75 and 73 points respectively. Pierre Lacroix led the Nordiques blueline, earning 39 points, while Dale Hunter had a team high 226 penalty minutes.

In goal, Dan Bouchard emerged as the number one goalie late in the season, winning a team record 19 games, while posting a team best 3.17 GAA, along with two shutouts. Michel Plasse had the most playing time, and he won 10 games with a 3.66 GAA in 33 games.

Philadelphia Flyers 3, Quebec Nordiques 2
The Nordiques opened the 1981 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a best of five preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers finished the season with a 41-24-15 record, earning 97 points, and second place in the Patrick Division. The series opened up with two games at the Philadelphia Spectrum, and the Flyers took the series lead with two victories, winning the first game 6-4, followed by an 8-5 victory in the second game to push the Nordiques to the brink of elimination. The series moved to Quebec for the next two games, and the Nordiques responded, shutting out Philadelphia 2-0 in the third game, followed by a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in the fourth game, to set up a fifth and deciding game in Philadelphia. Quebec was not able to complete the comeback, as Philadelphia defeated the Nordiques 5-2 in the fifth game to eliminate Quebec.

Awards and Records

 * Calder Memorial Trophy: Peter Stastny

Draft Picks
Quebec's draft picks from the 1980 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.