1979–80 Atlanta Flames season

1979–80 Atlanta Flames
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	Campbell
1979–80 record	35–32–13
Goals for	282
Goals against	269
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Al MacNeil
Captain	Jean Pronovost
Arena	Omni Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Kent Nilsson (40)
Assists	Kent Nilsson (53)
Points	Kent Nilsson (98)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (231)
Wins	Dan Bouchard (23)
Goals against average	Dan Bouchard (3.18)

The 1979–80 Atlanta Flames season was the 8th and final season in Atlanta for the franchise. The franchise was bought and moved to Calgary, Alberta to become the Calgary Flames. The Flames finished 4th in the Patrick Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the New York Rangers 3 games to 1.

Regular Season

Final Standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
New York Islanders	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
New York Rangers	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
Atlanta Flames	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
Washington Capitals	80	27	40	13	261	293	67

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1979	5–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	1–0–0
2	L	October 11, 1979	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	1–1–0
3	W	October 13, 1979	9–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	2–1–0
4	L	October 16, 1979	1–5	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	2–2–0
5	L	October 18, 1979	2–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	2–3–0
6	T	October 20, 1979	2–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	2–3–1
7	L	October 23, 1979	3–5	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	2–4–1
8	W	October 26, 1979	7–3	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	3–4–1
9	W	October 27, 1979	3–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	4–4–1
10	W	October 30, 1979	3–1	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	5–4–1
11	T	November 2, 1979	4–4	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	5–4–2
12	T	November 3, 1979	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	5–4–3
13	W	November 6, 1979	8–0	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	6–4–3
14	W	November 9, 1979	5–2	New York Islanders (1979–80)	7–4–3
15	L	November 11, 1979	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	7–5–3
16	L	November 13, 1979	3–5	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–6–3
17	L	November 15, 1979	1–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	7–7–3
18	W	November 16, 1979	4–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	8–7–3
19	W	November 18, 1979	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	9–7–3
20	W	November 21, 1979	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	10–7–3
21	W	November 23, 1979	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	11–7–3
22	L	November 25, 1979	2–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	11–8–3
23	L	November 27, 1979	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	11–9–3
24	L	December 4, 1979	2–6	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	11–10–3
25	L	December 5, 1979	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	11–11–3
26	L	December 7, 1979	1–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	11–12–3
27	W	December 9, 1979	5–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	12–12–3
28	T	December 12, 1979	5–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	12–12–4
29	W	December 14, 1979	3–2	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	13–12–4
30	L	December 15, 1979	1–8	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	13–13–4
31	L	December 21, 1979	1–5	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	13–14–4
32	W	December 22, 1979	7–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	14–14–4
33	L	December 26, 1979	3–5	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	14–15–4
34	L	December 28, 1979	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	14–16–4
35	L	December 29, 1979	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	14–17–4
36	L	January 4, 1980	3–6	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	14–18–4
37	T	January 6, 1980	5–5	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	14–18–5
38	W	January 8, 1980	2–0	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	15–18–5
39	W	January 11, 1980	4–3	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	16–18–5
40	L	January 12, 1980	3–5	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	16–19–5
41	L	January 14, 1980	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	16–20–5
42	W	January 16, 1980	5–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	17–20–5
43	W	January 17, 1980	4–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	18–20–5
44	W	January 19, 1980	4–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	19–20–5
45	T	January 21, 1980	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	19–20–6
46	L	January 22, 1980	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	19–21–6
47	T	January 25, 1980	4–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	19–21–7
48	W	January 26, 1980	4–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	20–21–7
49	L	January 28, 1980	1–6	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	20–22–7
50	W	January 30, 1980	4–1	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	21–22–7
51	W	February 1, 1980	4–2	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	22–22–7
52	W	February 2, 1980	5–3	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	23–22–7
53	W	February 8, 1980	4–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	24–22–7
54	W	February 10, 1980	6–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	25–22–7
55	T	February 13, 1980	2–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	25–22–8
56	T	February 16, 1980	2–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	25–22–9
57	L	February 17, 1980	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	25–23–9
58	T	February 19, 1980	4–4	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	25–23–10
59	W	February 21, 1980	3–0	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	26–23–10
60	L	February 23, 1980	5–6	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	26–24–10
61	T	February 26, 1980	3–3	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	26–24–11
62	W	March 1, 1980	4–1	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	27–24–11
63	W	March 5, 1980	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	28–24–11
64	W	March 7, 1980	9–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	29–24–11
65	W	March 9, 1980	5–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	30–24–11
66	L	March 10, 1980	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	30–25–11
67	T	March 13, 1980	2–2	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	30–25–12
68	W	March 15, 1980	4–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	31–25–12
69	W	March 17, 1980	5–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	32–25–12
70	L	March 18, 1980	3–6	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	32–26–12
71	W	March 20, 1980	8–4	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	33–26–12
72	L	March 22, 1980	2–5	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	33–27–12
73	L	March 23, 1980	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	33–28–12
74	L	March 25, 1980	4–5	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	33–29–12
75	W	March 28, 1980	4–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	34–29–12
76	L	March 30, 1980	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	34–30–12
77	L	April 1, 1980	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	34–31–12
78	W	April 2, 1980	7–3	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	35–31–12
79	L	April 4, 1980	3–7	New York Islanders (1979–80)	35–32–12
80	T	April 5, 1980	4–4	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	35–32–13

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Kent Nilsson	14		80	40	53	98	10		4	0	0	0	2
Guy Chouinard	16		76	31	46	77	22		4	1	3	4	4
Bob MacMillan	11		77	22	39	61	10		4	0	0	0	9
Ken Houston	6		80	23	31	54	100		4	1	1	2	10
Eric Vail	27		77	28	25	53	22		4	3	1	4	2
Paul Reinhart	23		79	9	38	47	31		-	-	-	-	-
Jean Pronovost	9		80	24	19	43	31		4	0	0	0	2
Ivan Boldirev‡	12		52	16	24	40	20		-	-	-	-	-
Phil Russell	3		80	5	31	36	115		4	0	1	1	6
Garry Unger	17/7		79	5	25	30	39		4	0	3	3	2
Willi Plett	25		76	13	19	32	231		4	1	0	1	15
Don Lever†	12		28	14	16	30	4		4	1	1	2	0
Pekka Rautakallio	4		79	5	25	30	18		4	0	1	1	2
Bill Clement	10		64	7	14	21	32		4	0	0	0	4
Bob Murdoch	20		80	5	16	21	48		4	1	1	2	2
Darcy Rota‡	18		44	10	8	18	49		-	-	-	-	-
Paul Henderson	15/19		30	7	6	13	6		4	0	0	0	0
Brad Marsh	5		80	2	9	11	119		4	0	1	1	2
Dave Shand	8		74	3	7	10	104		4	0	1	1	0
Curt Bennett	2		21	1	3	4	0		-	-	-	-	-
Bobby Lalonde‡	7		3	0	1	1	2		-	-	-	-	-
Dan Bouchard	30		53	0	1	1	34		4	0	0	0	2
Bobby Gould	22		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Earl Ingarfield	21		1	0	0	0	0		2	0	1	1	0
Gord Wappel	24		2	0	0	0	0		2	0	0	0	4
Reggie Lemelin	1		3	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Rick Adduono	17		3	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
Dave Gorman	15		3	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Serge Beaudoin	24		3	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Jim Craig	1		4	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Brad Smith	24		4	0	0	0	4		-	-	-	-	-
Pat Riggin	31		25	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular Season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Dan Bouchard	30		53	3076	23	19	10	163	2	3.18		4	240	1	3	14	0	3.49
Pat Riggin	31		25	1368	11	9	2	73	0	3.20		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--
Jim Craig	1		4	206	1	2	1	13	0	3.79		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--
Reggie Lemelin	1		3	150	0	2	0	15	0	6.00		-	-	-	-	-	-	-.--

Awards and Records

• The Flames did not win any awards this season.

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1979–80 season.

Trades

May 24, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Curt Bennett	To St. Louis Blues Bobby Simpson
October 10, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Garry Unger	To St. Louis Blues Ed Kea Red Laurence 2nd round pick in 1981 (Hakan Nordin)
October 23, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Future considerations	To Boston Bruins Bobby Lalonde
February 8, 1980	To Atlanta Flames Don Lever Brad Smith	To Vancouver Canucks Ivan Boldirev Darcy Rota

Free Agents

Player Former team D Pekka Rautakallio Assat Pori (SM-liiga) D Serge Beaudoin Birmingham Bulls (WHA) RW Dave Gorman Birmingham Bulls (WHA) LW Paul Henderson Birmingham Bulls (WHA) C Rick Adduono Birmingham Bulls (WHA) LW Earl Ingarfield Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)

Player New team G Yves Belanger Boston Bruins

Expansion Draft

See also: 1979 NHL Expansion Draft

Player	Selected by
LW John Gould	Edmonton Oilers
D Rick Hodgson	Hartford Whalers
C Gene Carr	Winnipeg Jets

Draft Picks

See also: 1979 NHL Entry Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	12.	Paul Reinhart (D)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
2	23.	Mike Perovich (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	33.	Pat Riggin (G)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
3	54.	Tim Hunter (RW)	Canada	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
4	75.	Jim Peplinski (RW)	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5	96.	Brad Kempthorne (F)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6	117.	Glenn Johnson (C)	Canada	University of Denver (NCAA)

References

• Flames on Hockey Database