1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	3rd Norris
Conference	7th Prince of Wales
1980–81 record	30-37-13
Goals for	302
Goals against	345
Team information
General manager	Baz Bastien
Coach	Eddie Johnston
Captain	Orest Kindrachuk Randy Carlyle
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Kehoe (55)
Assists	Randy Carlyle (67)
Points	Rick Kehoe (88)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (204)
Wins	Greg Millen (25)
Goals against average	Nick Ricci (3.89)

The 1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 14th in the National Hockey League. The Penguins finished 3rd in the Norris Division and lost in the Preliminary round to the St. Louis Blues 3 games to 2.

Off-season

Draft Picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	9.	Mike Bullard	Canada	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
3	51.	Randy Boyd	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
4	72.	Tony Feltrin	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
5	93.	Doug Shedden	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
6	114.	Pat Graham	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
8	156.	Rob Geale	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
9	177.	Brian Lundberg	Canada	University of Michigan Wolverines (CCHA)
10	198.	Steve McKenzie	Canada	St. Albert Saints (AJHL)

Regular Season

Final Standings

Norris Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	80	45	22	13	332	232	103
Los Angeles Kings	80	43	24	13	337	290	99
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	30	37	13	302	345	73
Hartford Whalers	80	21	41	18	292	372	60
Detroit Red Wings	80	19	43	18	252	339	56

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
2	W	October 11, 1980	5–4	Winnipeg Jets (1980–81)	1–1–0
3	W	October 12, 1980	6–3	@ New York Rangers (1980–81)	2–1–0
4	L	October 15, 1980	2–5	Hartford Whalers (1980–81)	2–2–0
5	L	October 18, 1980	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (1980–81)	2–3–0
6	L	October 21, 1980	5–8	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81)	2–4–0
7	W	October 22, 1980	9–3	St. Louis Blues (1980–81)	3–4–0
8	L	October 25, 1980	2–8	Calgary Flames (1980–81)	3–5–0
9	T	October 29, 1980	1–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81)	3–5–1
10	W	October 31, 1980	6–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81)	4–5–1
11	L	November 1, 1980	3–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	4–6–1
12	T	November 3, 1980	4–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81)	4–6–2
13	L	November 5, 1980	1–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81)	4–7–2
14	W	November 8, 1980	5–3	Detroit Red Wings (1980–81)	5–7–2
15	L	November 9, 1980	4–7	@ Boston Bruins (1980–81)	5–8–2
16	L	November 12, 1980	1–3	Washington Capitals (1980–81)	5–9–2
17	T	November 14, 1980	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1980–81)	5–9–3
18	L	November 15, 1980	4–7	Boston Bruins (1980–81)	5–10–3
19	L	November 19, 1980	2–3	Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	5–11–3
20	W	November 22, 1980	4–2	Colorado Rockies (1980–81)	6–11–3
21	L	November 26, 1980	4–7	Vancouver Canucks (1980–81)	6–12–3
22	T	November 27, 1980	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1980–81)	6–12–4
23	L	November 29, 1980	2–4	New York Rangers (1980–81)	6–13–4
24	T	December 3, 1980	4–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81)	6–13–5
25	W	December 4, 1980	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81)	7–13–5
26	W	December 6, 1980	6–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81)	8–13–5
27	L	December 7, 1980	1–10	@ Buffalo Sabres (1980–81)	8–14–5
28	W	December 10, 1980	4–3	Montreal Canadiens (1980–81)	9–14–5
29	W	December 12, 1980	6–2	@ Washington Capitals (1980–81)	10–14–5
30	L	December 13, 1980	5–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81)	10–15–5
31	T	December 17, 1980	3–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81)	10–15–6
32	L	December 19, 1980	4–10	@ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81)	10–16–6
33	T	December 20, 1980	3–3	@ Calgary Flames (1980–81)	10–16–7
34	L	December 23, 1980	3–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1980–81)	10–17–7
35	L	December 26, 1980	7–9	@ Hartford Whalers (1980–81)	10–18–7
36	W	December 27, 1980	6–4	Quebec Nordiques (1980–81)	11–18–7
37	L	December 31, 1980	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81)	11–19–7
38	W	January 3, 1981	6–4	Detroit Red Wings (1980–81)	12–19–7
39	L	January 4, 1981	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81)	12–20–7
40	W	January 7, 1981	7–3	New York Islanders (1980–81)	13–20–7
41	L	January 8, 1981	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1980–81)	13–21–7
42	L	January 10, 1981	3–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81)	13–22–7
43	L	January 13, 1981	3–6	@ New York Islanders (1980–81)	13–23–7
44	W	January 14, 1981	6–3	St. Louis Blues (1980–81)	14–23–7
45	W	January 17, 1981	5–4	Los Angeles Kings (1980–81)	15–23–7
46	L	January 21, 1981	0–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81)	15–24–7
47	W	January 24, 1981	4–3	Calgary Flames (1980–81)	16–24–7
48	L	January 27, 1981	1–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1980–81)	16–25–7
49	W	January 28, 1981	3–1	Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	17–25–7
50	T	January 31, 1981	4–4	Washington Capitals (1980–81)	17–25–8
51	L	February 2, 1981	4–8	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1980–81)	17–26–8
52	W	February 4, 1981	3–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1980–81)	18–26–8
53	L	February 6, 1981	4–6	@ Colorado Rockies (1980–81)	18–27–8
54	L	February 7, 1981	4–5	@ Calgary Flames (1980–81)	18–28–8
55	W	February 12, 1981	5–3	New York Islanders (1980–81)	19–28–8
56	T	February 14, 1981	2–2	Vancouver Canucks (1980–81)	19–28–9
57	L	February 17, 1981	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1980–81)	19–29–9
58	W	February 19, 1981	6–2	Hartford Whalers (1980–81)	20–29–9
59	L	February 21, 1981	1–6	Buffalo Sabres (1980–81)	20–30–9
60	W	February 22, 1981	9–4	Colorado Rockies (1980–81)	21–30–9
61	W	February 25, 1981	4–3	Winnipeg Jets (1980–81)	22–30–9
62	W	February 26, 1981	7–5	@ Washington Capitals (1980–81)	23–30–9
63	W	February 28, 1981	6–4	New York Rangers (1980–81)	24–30–9
64	W	March 2, 1981	5–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81)	25–30–9
65	W	March 4, 1981	6–5	Los Angeles Kings (1980–81)	26–30–9
66	L	March 7, 1981	5–8	@ Minnesota North Stars (1980–81)	26–31–9
67	W	March 8, 1981	6–4	Edmonton Oilers (1980–81)	27–31–9
68	L	March 11, 1981	1–2	Montreal Canadiens (1980–81)	27–32–9
69	T	March 14, 1981	3–3	Quebec Nordiques (1980–81)	27–32–10
70	L	March 16, 1981	6–7	@ Edmonton Oilers (1980–81)	27–33–10
71	L	March 17, 1981	3–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1980–81)	27–34–10
72	T	March 19, 1981	4–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1980–81)	27–34–11
73	W	March 21, 1981	3–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1980–81)	28–34–11
74	W	March 25, 1981	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1980–81)	29–34–11
75	T	March 28, 1981	4–4	@ New York Islanders (1980–81)	29–34–12
76	L	March 29, 1981	2–5	Edmonton Oilers (1980–81)	29–35–12
77	L	March 31, 1981	1–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1980–81)	29–36–12
78	T	April 2, 1981	1–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1980–81)	29–36–13
79	L	April 4, 1981	2–5	Boston Bruins (1980–81)	29–37–13
80	W	April 5, 1981	5–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1980–81)	30–37–13

Player Stats

Skaters

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

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Rick Kehoe	17		80	55	33	88	6		5	0	3	3	0
Randy Carlyle	25		76	16	67	83	136		5	4	5	9	9
Paul Gardner	20		62	34	40	74	59		5	1	0	1	8
Peter Lee	10		80	30	34	64	86		5	0	4	4	4
Rod Schutt	27		80	25	35	60	55		5	3	3	6	16
Mario Faubert	5		72	8	44	52	118		5	1	1	2	4
Greg Malone	12		62	21	29	50	68		5	2	3	5	16
Ross Lonsberry	18		80	17	33	50	76		5	0	0	0	2
George Ferguson	11		79	25	18	43	42		5	2	6	8	9
Ron Stackhouse	3		74	6	29	35	86		4	0	1	1	6
Mark Johnson	9		73	10	23	33	50		5	2	1	3	6
Gregg Sheppard	19		47	11	17	28	49		5	2	4	6	2
Pat Hughes‡	24		58	10	9	19	161		-	-	-	-	-
Paul Baxter	4		51	5	14	19	204		5	0	1	1	28
Russ Anderson	7		34	3	14	17	112		-	-	-	-	-
Errol Thompson†	6		34	6	8	14	12		-	-	-	-	-
Nick Libett	14		43	6	6	12	4		-	-	-	-	-
Orest Kindrachuk	26		13	3	9	12	34		-	-	-	-	-
Gary McAdam‡	16		34	3	9	12	30		-	-	-	-	-
Pat Price†	2		13	0	10	10	33		5	1	1	2	21
Marc Chorney	24		8	1	6	7	14		2	0	1	1	2
Jim Hamilton	23		20	1	6	7	18		1	0	0	0	0
Paul Marshall‡	20		13	3	0	3	4		-	-	-	-	-
Mike Bullard	22		15	1	2	3	19		4	3	3	6	0
Dave Burrows†	8		53	0	2	2	28		1	0	0	0	0
Greg Millen	29		63	0	2	2	6		5	0	0	0	0
Kim Davis‡	22		8	1	0	1	4		-	-	-	-	-
Gary Rissling	23		25	1	0	1	143		5	0	1	1	4
Bennett Wolf	6		24	0	1	1	94		-	-	-	-	-
Gilles Lupien‡	2		31	0	1	1	34		-	-	-	-	-
Tony Feltrin	33		2	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
Nick Ricci	31		9	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
Rob Holland	1		10	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-

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

Goaltenders

Note: GP= Games played; TOI= Time on ice (minutes); W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; 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
Nick Ricci	31		9	540	4	5	0	35	0	3.89		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Greg Millen	29		63	3721	25	27	10	258	0	4.16		5	325	2	3	19	0	3.51
Rob Holland	1		10	539	1	5	3	45	0	5.01		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Awards and Records

• James Norris Memorial Trophy: Randy Carlyle
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Rick Kehoe
• Randy Carlyle, Defense, NHL First Team All-Star

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1980–81 season:

Trades

September 26, 1980	To Pittsburgh Penguins Gilles Lupien	To Montreal Canadiens 3rd round pick in 1983 Draft (traded to Winnipeg Jets, Jets selected Peter Taglianetti)
November 8, 1980	To Pittsburgh Penguins Dave Burrows Paul Gardner	To Toronto Maple Leafs Kim Davis Paul Marshall
January 2, 1981	To Pittsburgh Penguins Gary Rissling	To Washington Capitals 5th round pick in 1981 Draft (Peter Sidorkiewicz)
January 8, 1981	To Pittsburgh Penguins Dave Burrows Errol Thompson	To Detroit Red Wings Gary McAdam
February 20, 1981	To Pittsburgh Penguins 6th round pick in 1981 Draft (Paul Edwards)	To Hartford Whalers Gilles Lupien
March 10, 1981	To Pittsburgh Penguins Pat Price	To Edmonton Oilers Pat Hughes

Additions and Subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Paul Baxter Quebec Nordiques free agency (1980-08-07)

Subtractions Player New team Via Tom Bladon Edmonton Oilers free agency (1980-07-10) Kim Clackson Quebec Nordiques compensation for signing of Paul Baxter (1980-08-07)

References

• Penguins on Hockey Database