1979–80 Colorado Rockies season

1979–80 Colorado Rockies
1979–80 Colorado Rockies
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	11th Campbell
1979–80 record	19–48–13
Home record	12–20–8
Road record	7–28–5
Goals for	234
Goals against	308
Team information
General manager	Ray Miron
Coach	Don Cherry
Captain	Mike Christie
Alternate captains	None
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Average attendance	9,787 (61.6%)
Team leaders
Goals	Rene Robert (28)
Assists	Rene Robert (35)
Points	Rene Robert (63)
Penalty minutes	Rob Ramage (135)
Wins	Hardy Astrom (9); Bill McKenzie (9)
Goals against average	Bill McKenzie (3.49)
	← 1978–79 1980–81 →

The 1979–80 Colorado Rockies season was the franchise's fourth season in Colorado and their sixth in the NHL. Trying to jolt the fan base and create some excitement for the club, the team hired Don Cherry, who had been fired by the Boston Bruins, and installed him as the new head coach. In addition, a major mid-season trade netted the Rockies legendary goal-scorer and future Hall-of-Famer Lanny McDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With the first pick overall in the draft, the Rockies selected offensive-minded defenseman Rob Ramage. It was the first time that the Rockies had the first pick overall.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	1	Rob Ramage	Defense	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
4	64	Steve Peters	Center	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
5	85	Gary Dillon	Center	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
6	106	Bob Attwell	Right wing	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)

Regular season

Season standings

Smythe Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Black Hawks	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
St. Louis Blues	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
Vancouver Canucks	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
Edmonton Oilers	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
Winnipeg Jets	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
Colorado Rockies	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

^[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

League standings^[2]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	NRS	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
4	Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
5	New York Islanders	PTK	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
6	Minnesota North Stars	ADM	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
7	x – Chicago Black Hawks	SMY	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
8	New York Rangers	PTK	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
9	Atlanta Flames	PTK	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
10	St. Louis Blues	SMY	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	ADM	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
12	Los Angeles Kings	NRS	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NRS	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
14	Hartford Whalers	NRS	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
15	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
16	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	28	39	13	301	322	69

17	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	27	40	13	261	293	67
18	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	26	43	11	268	306	63
19	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	25	44	11	248	313	61
20	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
21	Colorado Rockies	SMY	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records^[3]
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Chicago	—	3−0−1	1−3	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	8−8−4
Colorado	0−3−1	—	2−2	0−2−2	1−2−1	1−2−1	4−11−5
Edmonton	3−1	2−2	—	0−3−1	1−2−1	1−2−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−0−2	3−0−1	—	3−1	1−1−2	11−3−6
Vancouver	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	1−3	—	2−1−1	8−7−5
Winnipeg	2−2	2−1−1	1−2−1	2−2	1−2−1	—	8−9−3

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Chicago	2−0−2	1−2−1	2−1−1	0−2−2	2−2	7−7−6
Colorado	0−4	1−3	1−1−2	1−2−1	1−1−2	4−11−5
Edmonton	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	0−3−1	3−1	7−10−3
St. Louis	1−3	1−3	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	4−14−2
Vancouver	2−2	2−1−1	0−4	1−3	1−3	6−13−1
Winnipeg	0−4	0−2−2	2−2	0−4	0−3−1	2−15−3

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Chicago	2−2	1−1−2	2−1−1	2−1−1	4−0	11−5−4
Colorado	1−2−1	1−3	1−3	1−3	0−3−1	4−14−2
Edmonton	0−4	1−2−1	1−1−2	2−2	2−1−1	6−10−4
St. Louis	1−1−2	2−2	1−3	2−2	2−2	8−10−2
Vancouver	0−1−3	0−1−3	2−1−1	2−2	1−3	5−8−7
Winnipeg	1−3	0−3−1	1−2−1	2−2	0−4	4−14−2

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Chicago	3−1	1−1−2	0−3−1	2−2	2−0−2	8−7−5
Colorado	3−1	1−2−1	0−4	1−3	2−2	7−12−1
Edmonton	1−2−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	1−3	3−1	8−9−3
St. Louis	2−1−1	2−2	3−1	2−2	2−1−1	11−7−2
Vancouver	2−2	1−1−2	2−2	2−2	1−2−1	8−9−3
Winnipeg	1−3	2−2	2−1−1	1−3	0−4	6−13−1

Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season^[4]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 11, 1979	3–3	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	0–0–1
2	L	October 13, 1979	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	0–1–1
3	L	October 14, 1979	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	0–2–1
4	L	October 18, 1979	2–5	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	0–3–1
5	W	October 20, 1979	4–1	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	1–3–1
6	L	October 23, 1979	4–7	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	1–4–1
7	T	October 26, 1979	2–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	1–4–2
8	L	October 28, 1979	2–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	1–5–2
9	L	October 30, 1979	1–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	1–6–2
10	L	October 31, 1979	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	1–7–2

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
11	W	November 3, 1979	7–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	2–7–2
12	L	November 6, 1979	2–7	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	2–8–2
13	L	November 9, 1979	5–6	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	2–9–2
14	W	November 11, 1979	5–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	3–9–2
15	L	November 13, 1979	1–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	3–10–2
16	L	November 15, 1979	1–4	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	3–11–2
17	L	November 17, 1979	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	3–12–2
18	T	November 20, 1979	3–3	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	3–12–3
19	W	November 23, 1979	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	4–12–3
20	L	November 24, 1979	3–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	4–13–3
21	W	November 28, 1979	7–4	New York Islanders (1979–80)	5–13–3

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
22	L	December 1, 1979	4–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	5–14–3
23	W	December 2, 1979	5–3	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	6–14–3
24	W	December 4, 1979	3–1	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	7–14–3
25	L	December 7, 1979	3–5	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	7–15–3
26	W	December 9, 1979	7–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	8–15–3
27	L	December 12, 1979	3–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	8–16–3
28	L	December 14, 1979	3–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	8–17–3
29	W	December 15, 1979	6–5	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	9–17–3
30	L	December 18, 1979	2–3	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	9–18–3
31	L	December 19, 1979	3–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	9–19–3
32	W	December 21, 1979	5–4	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	10–19–3
33	L	December 26, 1979	3–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	10–20–3
34	W	December 27, 1979	4–3	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	11–20–3
35	L	December 29, 1979	2–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	11–21–3
36	W	December 31, 1979	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	12–21–3

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
37	L	January 2, 1980	2–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	12–22–3
38	L	January 4, 1980	2–4	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	12–23–3
39	T	January 8, 1980	2–2	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	12–23–4
40	L	January 11, 1980	3–4	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	12–24–4
41	L	January 13, 1980	2–6	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	12–25–4
42	T	January 14, 1980	6–6	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	12–25–5
43	L	January 16, 1980	1–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	12–26–5
44	L	January 17, 1980	1–4	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	12–27–5
45	L	January 19, 1980	1–3	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	12–28–5
46	W	January 22, 1980	5–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	13–28–5
47	W	January 24, 1980	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	14–28–5
48	T	January 26, 1980	4–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	14–28–6
49	T	January 27, 1980	3–3	New York Rangers (1979–80)	14–28–7
50	L	January 30, 1980	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	14–29–7

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
51	T	February 2, 1980	2–2	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	14–29–8
52	L	February 3, 1980	2–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	14–30–8
53	L	February 7, 1980	3–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	14–31–8
54	T	February 8, 1980	4–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	14–31–9
55	L	February 10, 1980	1–6	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	14–32–9
56	L	February 14, 1980	3–5	New York Islanders (1979–80)	14–33–9
57	L	February 16, 1980	3–5	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	14–34–9
58	W	February 19, 1980	8–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	15–34–9
59	W	February 22, 1980	3–1	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	16–34–9
60	T	February 24, 1980	1–1	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	16–34–10
61	L	February 27, 1980	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	16–35–10

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
62	L	March 1, 1980	1–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	16–36–10
63	W	March 2, 1980	3–1	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	17–36–10
64	L	March 4, 1980	1–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	17–37–10
65	L	March 7, 1980	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	17–38–10
66	T	March 9, 1980	4–4	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	17–38–11
67	L	March 11, 1980	1–4	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	17–39–11
68	L	March 12, 1980	0–6	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	17–40–11
69	L	March 15, 1980	1–4	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	17–41–11
70	T	March 16, 1980	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	17–41–12
71	L	March 18, 1980	1–4	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	17–42–12
72	L	March 20, 1980	2–6	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	17–43–12
73	W	March 22, 1980	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	18–43–12
74	L	March 23, 1980	1–7	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	18–44–12
75	L	March 25, 1980	2–5	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	18–45–12
76	W	March 28, 1980	5–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	19–45–12
77	T	March 30, 1980	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	19–45–13

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	L	April 1, 1980	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	19–46–13
79	L	April 4, 1980	2–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	19–47–13
80	L	April 6, 1980	2–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	19–48–13

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Rene Robert	RW	69	28	35	63	79	-20	10	0	0
Mike McEwen	D	67	11	40	51	33	-13	5	1	1
Jack Valiquette	C	77	25	25	50	8	-7	6	0	2
Lanny McDonald	RW	46	25	20	45	43	-15	8	0	3
Lucien DeBlois	C	70	24	19	43	36	-18	4	0	1
Ron Delorme	C	75	19	24	43	76	-24	5	0	4
Randy Pierce	RW	75	16	23	39	100	-11	0	0	1
Doug Berry	C	75	7	23	30	16	-23	0	1	1
Rob Ramage	D	75	8	20	28	135	-40	4	0	3
Wilf Paiement	RW	34	10	16	26	41	-6	2	2	1
Mike Christie	D	74	1	17	18	78	-30	0	0	0
Don Saleski	RW	51	8	8	16	23	-17	0	0	0
Pat Hickey	LW	24	7	9	16	10	-2	0	0	0
Kevin Morrison	D	41	4	11	15	23	-6	2	0	1
Bobby Schmautz	RW	20	9	4	13	53	-10	2	1	1
Joel Quenneville	D	35	5	7	12	26	-21	1	0	0
Trevor Johansen	D	62	3	8	11	45	-17	1	0	0
Mike Gillis	LW	40	4	5	9	22	-18	1	0	0
Nick Beverley	D	46	0	9	9	10	-4	0	0	0
Bobby Sheehan	C	30	3	4	7	2	-7	1	0	0
Rey Comeau	C	22	2	5	7	6	0	0	0	0
Mike Kitchen	D	42	1	6	7	25	-10	0	0	0
Merlin Malinowski	C	10	2	4	6	2	-1	0	0	0
Barry Beck	D	10	1	5	6	8	-2	0	0	0
Nelson Pyatt	C	13	5	0	5	2	-5	0	0	0
Barry Smith	C	33	2	3	5	4	-11	0	1	0
Gary Croteau	LW	15	1	4	5	4	-4	1	0	0
Walt McKechnie	C	17	0	4	4	2	-14	0	0	0
Bob Attwell	RW	7	1	1	2	0	-5	0	0	0
Dennis Owchar	D	10	1	0	1	2	-3	0	0	0
Dean Turner	D	27	1	0	1	51	0	0	0	0
Don Ashby	C	11	0	1	1	4	-2	0	0	0
John Flesch	LW	5	0	1	1	4	-1	0	0	0
Mario Giallonardo	D	8	0	1	1	2	-3	0	0	0
Steve Peters	C	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Hardy Astrom	G	49	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Mike Dwyer	LW	10	0	0	0	19	-5	0	0	0
Bill McKenzie	G	26	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Bill Oleschuk	G	12	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Michel Plasse	G	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Larry Skinner	C	2	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Peter Sturgeon	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dave Watson	LW	5	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Hardy Astrom	2574	49	9	27	6	161	3.75	0
Bill McKenzie	1342	26	9	12	3	78	3.49	1
Bill Oleschuk	557	12	1	6	2	39	4.20	0
Michel Plasse	327	6	0	3	2	26	4.77	0
Team:	4800	80	19	48	13	304	3.80	1

^[5]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

Transactions

On December 29, 1979, the Maple Leafs traded Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville to the Colorado Rockies for Wilf Paiement and Pat Hickey.^[6]

Farm teams

Affiliations have included: Flint Generals, Fort Worth Texans^[7]

References

^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1979-80 Colorado Rockies Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
^ "1979-80 Colorado Rockies Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
^ Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Lanny McDonald Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
^ "A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey - Co". Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2008.

External links

Rockies on Hockey Database

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[nhl-1980-2] "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.

[3] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-4] "1979-80 Colorado Rockies Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[5] "1979-80 Colorado Rockies Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.

[6] Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Lanny McDonald Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine

[7] "A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey - Co". Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2008.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e 1979–80 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Washington
Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Quebec Toronto
Norris	Detroit Hartford Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh
Smythe	Chicago Colorado Edmonton St. Louis Vancouver Winnipeg
See also	NHL–WHA merger Expansion draft Entry draft All-Star Game Playoffs Stanley Cup Final