1979–80 Minnesota North Stars season

1979–80 Minnesota North Stars
1979–80 Minnesota North Stars
Division	3rd Adams
Conference	4th Wales
1979–80 record	36–28–16
Home record	25–8–7
Road record	11–20–9
Goals for	311
Goals against	253
Team information
General manager	Lou Nanne
Coach	Glen Sonmor
Captain	Paul Shmyr
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Met Center
Average attendance	13,076 (83.3%)
Team leaders
Goals	Al MacAdam (42); Steve Payne (42)
Assists	Bobby Smith (56)
Points	Al MacAdam (93)
Penalty minutes	Brad Maxwell (126)
Plus/minus	Steve Payne (+37)
Wins	Gilles Meloche (27)
Goals against average	Gilles Meloche (3.06)
	← 1978–79 1980–81 →

The 1979–80 Minnesota North Stars season was the 13th season in North Stars history. The previous year's merger with the Cleveland Barons began to pay off as the North Stars finished with a winning record for the first time in seven years, and finished in third place in the Adams Division with 88 points. Former Baron Al MacAdam led the team in scoring with 93 points and captured the Bill Masterton Trophy. In the playoffs, the North Stars swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, they shocked the hockey world by eliminating the 4-time Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in seven games. The upset earned the North Stars a trip to the semi-finals, where their cinderella run came to an end when they fell in five games to the Philadelphia Flyers.^[1]

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	6	Craig Hartsburg (D)	Canada	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
1	10	Tom McCarthy (LW)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
2	42	Neal Broten (C)	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
3	63	Kevin Maxwell (C)	Canada	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
5	90	Jim Dobson (RW)	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
6	111	Brian Gualazzi (RW)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)

Regular season

Final standings

Adams Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Buffalo Sabres	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
Boston Bruins	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
Minnesota North Stars	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
Quebec Nordiques	80	25	44	11	248	313	61

^[2]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^[3]
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

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1979–80 NHL records^[4]
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	QUE	TOR	Total
Boston	—	2–1–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	12–3–1
Buffalo	1–2–1	—	2–1–1	3–1	4–0	10–4–2
Minnesota	2–2	1–2–1	—	2–1–1	2–2	7–7–2
Quebec	0–4	1–3	1–2–1	—	3–1	5–10–1
Toronto	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–3	—	3–13–0

Vs. Norris Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	DET	HFD	LAK	MTL	PIT	Total
Boston	2–1–1	2–1–1	2–1–1	1–3	2–2	9–8–3
Buffalo	3–1	3–1	3–0–1	1–1–2	4–0	14–3–3
Minnesota	1–2–1	4–0	0–2–2	1–3	3–1	9–8–3
Quebec	1–2–1	1–1–2	1–3	1–2–1	2–2	6–10–4
Toronto	4–0	2–2	0–3–1	1–3	2–2	9–10–1

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	WSH	Total
Boston	4–0	3–1	2–2	1–1–2	2–1–1	12–5–3
Buffalo	3–0–1	2–1–1	2–1–1	0–3–1	4–0	11–5–4
Minnesota	1–1–2	2–0–2	2–1–1	1–3	3–0–1	9–5–6
Quebec	0–3–1	0–4	1–2–1	0–3–1	1–1–2	2–13–5
Toronto	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–1–2	3–1	10–8–2

Vs. Smythe Division

1979–80 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	EDM	STL	VAN	WIN	Total
Boston	2−2	2−1−1	4−0	1−1−2	1−0−3	3−1	13−5−6
Buffalo	1−1−2	3−1	2−1−1	2−2	1−0−3	3−0−1	12−5−7
Minnesota	1−2−1	3−1	1−1−2	3−1	1−2−1	2−1−1	11−8−5
Quebec	1−2−1	3−1	2−2	2−2	2−2	2−2	12−11−1
Toronto	0−4	3−0−1	1−2−1	2−2	3−1	4−0	13−9−2

Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season^[5]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 11, 1979	4–1	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	1–0–0
2	W	October 13, 1979	5–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	2–0–0
3	W	October 14, 1979	5–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	3–0–0
4	L	October 17, 1979	2–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	3–1–0
5	L	October 19, 1979	2–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	3–2–0
6	T	October 21, 1979	5–5	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	3–2–1
7	W	October 24, 1979	5–2	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	4–2–1
8	W	October 27, 1979	7–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	5–2–1
9	W	October 31, 1979	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	6–2–1

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
10	L	November 1, 1979	1–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	6–3–1
11	W	November 3, 1979	7–1	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	7–3–1
12	T	November 6, 1979	7–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–3–2
13	W	November 9, 1979	6–5	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	8–3–2
14	T	November 10, 1979	6–6	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	8–3–3
15	W	November 14, 1979	7–2	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	9–3–3
16	L	November 17, 1979	2–4	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	9–4–3
17	T	November 18, 1979	3–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	9–4–4
18	W	November 21, 1979	3–1	New York Islanders (1979–80)	10–4–4
19	T	November 24, 1979	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	10–4–5
20	L	November 25, 1979	2–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	10–5–5
21	T	November 28, 1979	4–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	10–5–6
22	L	November 29, 1979	4–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	10–6–6

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
23	T	December 1, 1979	4–4	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	10–6–7
24	W	December 5, 1979	6–1	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	11–6–7
25	W	December 7, 1979	4–1	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	12–6–7
26	W	December 12, 1979	5–4	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	13–6–7
27	L	December 14, 1979	2–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	13–7–7
28	W	December 15, 1979	3–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	14–7–7
29	W	December 17, 1979	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	15–7–7
30	W	December 19, 1979	5–2	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	16–7–7
31	W	December 26, 1979	6–0	Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	17–7–7
32	L	December 27, 1979	3–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	17–8–7
33	L	December 29, 1979	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	17–9–7
34	W	December 31, 1979	4–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	18–9–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
35	W	January 2, 1980	2–1	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	19–9–7
36	T	January 5, 1980	2–2	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	19–9–8
37	W	January 7, 1980	7–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	20–9–8
38	W	January 9, 1980	6–2	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	21–9–8
39	L	January 12, 1980	5–6	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	21–10–8
40	L	January 15, 1980	1–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	21–11–8
41	W	January 16, 1980	7–3	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	22–11–8
42	L	January 19, 1980	4–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	22–12–8
43	L	January 21, 1980	0–3	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	22–13–8
44	L	January 23, 1980	4–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	22–14–8
45	T	January 26, 1980	4–4	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	22–14–9
46	L	January 27, 1980	0–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	22–15–9
47	T	January 29, 1980	2–2	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	22–15–10
48	L	January 31, 1980	2–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	22–16–10

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
49	L	February 2, 1980	4–5	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	22–17–10
50	W	February 3, 1980	6–2	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	23–17–10
51	W	February 9, 1980	5–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	24–17–10
52	W	February 10, 1980	6–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	25–17–10
53	L	February 13, 1980	3–5	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	25–18–10
54	T	February 16, 1980	2–2	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	25–18–11
55	W	February 18, 1980	6–2	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	26–18–11
56	T	February 19, 1980	4–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	26–18–12
57	W	February 21, 1980	5–2	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	27–18–12
58	W	February 23, 1980	6–3	New York Rangers (1979–80)	28–18–12
59	L	February 24, 1980	5–7	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	28–19–12
60	W	February 26, 1980	5–4	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	29–19–12
61	L	February 28, 1980	3–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	29–20–12

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
62	L	March 1, 1980	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	29–21–12
63	T	March 2, 1980	2–2	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	29–21–13
64	T	March 5, 1980	3–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	29–21–14
65	L	March 8, 1980	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	29–22–14
66	L	March 9, 1980	2–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	29–23–14
67	L	March 12, 1980	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	29–24–14
68	L	March 15, 1980	2–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	29–25–14
69	W	March 16, 1980	6–1	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	30–25–14
70	W	March 18, 1980	4–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	31–25–14
71	W	March 19, 1980	7–4	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	32–25–14
72	W	March 21, 1980	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	33–25–14
73	W	March 23, 1980	7–1	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	34–25–14
74	W	March 25, 1980	7–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	35–25–14
75	W	March 28, 1980	2–1	@ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80)	36–25–14
76	L	March 30, 1980	3–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	36–26–14

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
77	T	April 1, 1980	1–1	New York Islanders (1979–80)	36–26–15
78	T	April 2, 1980	1–1	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	36–26–16
79	L	April 5, 1980	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	36–27–16
80	L	April 6, 1980	2–4	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	36–28–16

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

Playoffs

NHL 1st round
- 4/8/1980 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 – 3 (Stars lead 1 – 0)
- 4/9/1980 Toronto Maple Leafs 7 – 2 (Stars lead 2 – 0)
- 4/11/1980 at Toronto Maple Leafs 4 – 3 (Stars win 3 – 0)
NHL Quarter-finals
- 4/16/1980 at Montreal Canadiens 3 – 0 (Stars lead 1 – 0)
- 4/17/1980 at Montreal Canadiens 4 – 1 (Stars lead 2 – 0)
- 4/19/1980 Montreal Canadiens 0 – 5 (Stars lead 2 – 1)
- 4/20/1980 Montreal Canadiens 1 – 5 (Series tied 2 – 2)
- 4/22/1980 at Montreal Canadiens 2 – 6 (Canadiens lead 3 – 2)
- 4/24/1980 Montreal Canadiens 5 – 2 (Series tied 3 – 3)
- 4/27/1980 at Montreal Canadiens 3 – 2 (Stars win 4 – 3)
- Series winning goal scored by Al MacAdam.^[6]
NHL Semi-finals
- 4/29/1980 at Philadelphia Flyers 6 – 5 (Stars lead 1 – 0)
- 5/1/1980 at Philadelphia Flyers 0 – 7 (Series tied 1 – 1)
- 5/4/1980 Philadelphia Flyers 3 – 5 (Flyers lead 2 – 1)
- 5/6/1980 Philadelphia Flyers 2 – 3 (Flyers lead 3 – 1)
- 5/8/1980 at Philadelphia Flyers 3 – 7 (Flyers win 4 – 1)

^[7]

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Al MacAdam	80	42	51	93	+36	24
Steve Payne	80	42	43	85	+37	40

^[8]

Goaltenders

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

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Gilles Meloche	54	3141	27	20	5	160	1		3.06

^[8]

Awards and records

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: || Al MacAdam, Minnesota North Stars

Transactions

References

^ "Minnesota North Stars – Sports Ecyclopedia".
^ 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 Minnesota North Stars Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
^ The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.240, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
^ "Minnesota North Stars(1967 - 1992) 1979 Stats, History, Awards and More". Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "1979-80 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics".

External links

North Stars on Hockey Database

[1] "Minnesota North Stars – Sports Ecyclopedia".

[nhl-gd-standings-2] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.

[nhl-1980-3] "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.

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

[Gamelog-5] "1979-80 Minnesota North Stars Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

[6] The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.240, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0

[7] "Minnesota North Stars(1967 - 1992) 1979 Stats, History, Awards and More". Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2008.

[hockey-reference.com-8] "1979-80 Minnesota North Stars Roster and Statistics".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

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

v t e Minnesota North Stars seasons
1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 Dallas