1979–80 Quebec Nordiques season

1979–80 Quebec Nordiques
Division	5th Adams
Conference	10th Wales
1979–80 record	25–44–11
Home record	17–16–7
Road record	8–28–4
Goals for	248
Goals against	313
Team information
General manager	Maurice Filion
Coach	Jacques Demers
Captain	Marc Tardif
Arena	Colisée de Québec
Average attendance	10,742
Minor league affiliate(s)	Syracuse Firebirds (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Real Cloutier (42)
Assists	Real Cloutier (47)
Points	Real Cloutier (89)
Penalty minutes	Paul Baxter (145)
Plus/minus	Robbie Ftorek (+6)
Wins	Michel Dion (15)
Goals against average	Michel Dion (3.70)

The 1979–80 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques eighth season overall, however, it marked as their expansion season in the National Hockey League. Quebec had played their previous seven seasons in the now defunct World Hockey Association. In 1978–79, their last season in the WHA, Quebec finished the year with the second best record, as they had a 41–34–5 record, earning 87 points. The Nordiques were then swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the WHA semi-finals. In the NHL, the team finished out of the playoffs.

Off-season

During the off-season, the Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets were admitted into the NHL as expansion teams. Quebec would be placed in the Adams Division in the Wales Conference. The other teams in the Nordiques division was the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota North Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs. Quebec held on to head coach Jacques Demers.

As many of the WHA players had their rights held by NHL teams, those NHL teams were allowed to reclaim their players. In order to keep the NHL from taking all the talent from the WHA-turned-NHL teams, each incoming franchise was allowed to protect up to two goaltenders and two skaters. These were designated as "priority selections" in the 1979 NHL expansion draft. The Nordiques made a deal with the Chicago Black Hawks, in which Quebec would keep Réal Cloutier in exchange for the Nordiques first round draft pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft. Quebec made a deal with the Montreal Canadiens in which Montreal selected Dan Geoffrion and Alain Cote from the Nordiques, rather than Marc Tardif and Richard David. In exchange for this, the Nordiques relinquished a third round pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft, a second round pick in the 1981 NHL entry draft, and that the Nordiques would draft Alain Cote from the Canadiens at the 1979 NHL expansion draft.

On June 28, 1979, the Nordiques acquired Jamie Hislop from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Barry Legge. Hislop played with the Cincinnati Stingers in the 1978–79, as he scored 30 goals and 70 points in 80 games.

The Nordiques acquired goaltender Goran Hogosta from the New York Islanders for goaltender Richard Brodeur. Hogosta played the 1978–79 season with the Fort Worth Texans, earning a record of 25–29–4 with a 3.51 GAA and a .877 save percentage. Brodeur had been with the Nordiques during their entire existence in the WHA. In 1978–79, Brodeur had a 25–13–3 record with a 3.11 GAA and a .901 save percentage with Quebec.

At the 1979 NHL entry draft held on August 9, the Nordiques selected Michel Goulet from the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association in the first round, 20th overall. In 78 games with the Bulls during the 1978–79, Goulet scored 28 goals and 58 points. In the second round, Quebec selected Dale Hunter from the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. Hunter scored 34 goals and 85 points in 61 games during the 1978–79 season. In the fourth round, the Nordiques selected Anton Stastny from Slovan ChZJD Bratislava of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League. Stastny scored 32 goals and 51 points in 44 games during the 1978–79 season.

Quebec signed free agent Robbie Ftorek on August 13, who played the 1978–79 season with the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association. Ftorek finished second in WHA scoring with 39 goals and 77 assists to earn 116 points in 80 games. Ftorek has previous NHL experience, as in 15 games with the Detroit Red Wings from 1972 to 1974, Ftorek scored two goals and seven points.

Regular season

Quebec played in their first ever NHL game on October 10, 1979, at Le Colisée in Quebec City, as the Nordiques lost 5–3 to the Atlanta Flames. The Nords won their first ever NHL game in their third game, defeating the Colorado Rockies 5–2 in Denver, Colorado. During the first half of the season, the Nordiques were very competitive, earning a 17–17–6 record as they held on to a playoff position, however, wins were few and far between in the second half of the year, as Quebec fell into last place, and finished the year 25–44–11, earning 61 points, and missing the post-season.

Offensively, the Nordiques were led by Real Cloutier, who in his first NHL season, had a team best 42 goals and 47 assists for 89 points. Real Cloutier scored three goals in his National League Debut. Marc Tardif had a solid season, scoring 33 goals and 68 points, while the Nordiques first round draft pick, Michel Goulet, had 22 goals and 54 points to finish in third in team scoring. On the blue line, Dale Hoganson led the way, earning 40 points, while Pierre Lacroix scored 9 goals and 30 points. Paul Baxter led the club with 145 penalty minutes.

In goal, Michel Dion saw most of the action, appearing in 50 games, earning a team high 15 victories and a 3.70 GAA, as well as two shutouts.

Season 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

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

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 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
October Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 1 October 10 Atlanta Flames 5–3 Quebec Nordiques 0–1–0 0 10,350 2 October 13 Quebec Nordiques 1–3 Montreal Canadiens 0–2–0 0 17,049 3 October 18 Quebec Nordiques 5–2 Colorado Rockies 1–2–0 2 6,389 4 October 19 Quebec Nordiques 3–6 Edmonton Oilers 1–3–0 2 15,386 5 October 21 Quebec Nordiques 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks 2–3–0 4 9,893 6 October 24 Hartford Whalers 2–2 Quebec Nordiques 2–3–1 5 10,445 7 October 27 Buffalo Sabres 3–0 Quebec Nordiques 2–4–1 5 10,896 8 October 28 Montreal Canadiens 4–5 Quebec Nordiques 3–4–1 7 11,908 9 October 31 Winnipeg Jets 5–2 Quebec Nordiques 3–5–1 7 10,430
November Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 10 November 2 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Atlanta Flames 3–5–2 8 11,356 11 November 4 Detroit Red Wings 1–5 Quebec Nordiques 4–5–2 10 10,795 12 November 7 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 Quebec Nordiques 4–6–2 10 11,899 13 November 10 Quebec Nordiques 4–5 New York Rangers 4–7–2 10 17,417 14 November 11 St. Louis Blues 1–4 Quebec Nordiques 5–7–2 12 10,260 15 November 14 Quebec Nordiques 2–7 Minnesota North Stars 5–8–2 12 10,955 16 November 16 Quebec Nordiques 3–2 Winnipeg Jets 6–8–2 14 12,401 17 November 18 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–4 Quebec Nordiques 7–8–2 16 10,577 18 November 20 Boston Bruins 5–3 Quebec Nordiques 7–9–2 16 11,897 19 November 22 Quebec Nordiques 4–7 Boston Bruins 7–10–2 16 11,699 20 November 24 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Hartford Whalers 7–10–3 17 7,627 21 November 25 Washington Capitals 2–2 Quebec Nordiques 7–10–4 18 10,643 22 November 27 Quebec Nordiques 2–4 St. Louis Blues 7–11–4 18 8,360 23 November 28 Quebec Nordiques 2–7 Pittsburgh Penguins 7–12–4 18 8,396
December Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 24 December 1 Quebec Nordiques 2–7 Washington Capitals 7–13–4 18 6,892 25 December 2 Vancouver Canucks 1–3 Quebec Nordiques 8–13-4 20 10,567 26 December 4 Colorado Rockies 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 8–14–4 20 10,299 27 December 6 St. Louis Blues 2–5 Quebec Nordiques 9–14–4 22 10,347 28 December 9 Los Angeles Kings 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 10–14–4 24 11,168 29 December 12 Winnipeg Jets 0–5 Quebec Nordiques 11–14–4 26 10,326 30 December 13 Quebec Nordiques 4–6 Philadelphia Flyers 11–15–4 26 17,007 31 December 15 Quebec Nordiques 4–4 Detroit Red Wings 11–15–5 27 15,609 32 December 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Quebec Nordiques 12–15–5 29 10,279 33 December 19 Colorado Rockies 3–6 Quebec Nordiques 13–15–5 31 10,806 34 December 23 Quebec Nordiques 3–1 Buffalo Sabres 14–15–5 33 16,433 35 December 27 Quebec Nordiques 0–3 Los Angeles Kings 14–16–5 33 9,978 36 December 29 Quebec Nordiques 2–6 Vancouver Canucks 14–17–5 33 13,615 37 December 30 Quebec Nordiques 2–1 Edmonton Oilers 15–17–5 35 15,423
January Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 38 January 2 New York Rangers 3–3 Quebec Nordiques 15–17–6 36 11,898 39 January 5 Quebec Nordiques 7–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 16–17–6 38 16,485 40 January 9 Edmonton Oilers 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 17–17–6 40 10,480 41 January 11 Quebec Nordiques 3–4 Atlanta Flames 17–18–6 40 9,246 42 January 12 Quebec Nordiques 2–8 St. Louis Blues 17–19–6 40 15,110 43 January 16 Boston Bruins 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 17–20–6 40 11,899 44 January 19 Quebec Nordiques 1–3 New York Islanders 17–21–6 40 14,995 45 January 20 Washington Capitals 2–3 Quebec Nordiques 18–21–6 42 10,097 46 January 23 Minnesota North Stars 4–6 Quebec Nordiques 19-21–6 44 10,710 47 January 26 Quebec Nordiques 1–1 Washington Capitals 19–21–7 45 9,479 48 January 27 Detroit Red Wings 7–6 Quebec Nordiques 19–22–7 45 10,765 49 January 30 Atlanta Flames 4–1 Quebec Nordiques 19–23–7 45 10,776
February Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 50 February 2 Quebec Nordiques 2–7 Boston Bruins 19–24–7 45 12,298 51 February 3 New York Rangers 4–5 Quebec Nordiques 20–24–7 47 11,075 52 February 6 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 Quebec Nordiques 20–24–8 48 11,073 53 February 9 Quebec Nordiques 0–5 New York Islanders 20–25–8 48 14,995 54 February 10 Quebec Nordiques 1–3 New York Rangers 20–26–8 48 17,415 55 February 14 Quebec Nordiques 1–5 Montreal Canadiens 20–27–8 48 16,970 56 February 17 Quebec Nordiques 5–6 Winnipeg Jets 20–28–8 48 12,328 57 February 18 Quebec Nordiques 2–6 Minnesota North Stars 20–29–8 48 8,283 58 February 19 Buffalo Sabres 3–1 Quebec Nordiques 20–30–8 48 10,722 59 February 23 Quebec Nordiques 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins 20–31–8 48 14,116 60 February 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–2 Quebec Nordiques 21–31–8 50 10,227 61 February 26 Hartford Whalers 5–9 Quebec Nordiques 22–31–8 52 10,099 62 February 27 New York Islanders 5–3 Quebec Nordiques 22–32–8 52 10,619
March Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 63 March 2 Los Angeles Kings 4–3 Quebec Nordiques 22–33–8 52 10,777 64 March 5 Minnesota North Stars 3-3 Quebec Nordiques 22–33–9 53 10,193 65 March 8 Quebec Nordiques 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs 22–34–9 53 16,485 66 March 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–5 Quebec Nordiques 23–34-9 55 10,241 67 March 12 Edmonton Oilers 6–3 Quebec Nordiques 23–35–9 55 10,619 68 March 16 Vancouver Canucks 3–2 Quebec Nordiques 23–36–9 55 10,699 69 March 19 Quebec Nordiques 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks 23–37–9 55 10,035 70 March 20 Quebec Nordiques 6–2 Colorado Rockies 24–37–9 57 8,732 71 March 22 Quebec Nordiques 1-4 Los Angeles Kings 24–38-9 57 10,635 72 March 23 Quebec Nordiques 6–2 Vancouver Canucks 25–38–9 59 13,620 73 March 26 Chicago Black Hawks 7–2 Quebec Nordiques 25–39–9 59 10,718 74 March 27 Quebec Nordiques 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers 25–40–9 59 17,077 75 March 29 Quebec Nordiques 7–9 Detroit Red Wings 25–41–9 59 16,485 76 March 30 New York Islanders 9–6 Quebec Nordiques 25–42–9 59 10,412
April Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Points Attendance 77 April 1 Philadelphia Flyers 3–3 Quebec Nordiques 25–42–10 60 10,706 78 April 3 Quebec Nordiques 3–8 Buffalo Sabres 25–43–10 60 16,433 79 April 4 Quebec Nordiques 2–9 Hartford Whalers 25–44–10 60 14,356 80 April 6 Montreal Canadiens 4–4 Quebec Nordiques 25–44–11 61 11,005
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Réal Cloutier	67	42	47	89	12
Marc Tardif	58	33	35	68	30
Michel Goulet	77	22	32	54	48
Robbie Ftorek	52	18	33	51	28
Rich Leduc	75	21	27	48	49

Goaltending

Player	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA
Michel Dion	50	2773	15	25	6	171	2	3.70
Ron Low	15	828	5	7	2	51	0	3.70
Goran Hogosta	21	1199	5	12	3	83	1	4.15

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

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

Trades

June 9, 1979	To Chicago Black Hawks 1st round pick in 1980 – Denis Savard	To Quebec Nordiques *Real Cloutier
June 9, 1979	To Montreal Canadiens 3rd round pick in 1980 – John Newberry 2nd round pick in 1981 – Lars Eriksson	To Quebec Nordiques **Marc Tardif Richard David
June 13, 1979	To St. Louis Blues Hartland Monahan	To Quebec Nordiques Cash
June 15, 1979	To Washington Capitals Dave Parro	To Quebec Nordiques Nelson Burton
June 28, 1979	To Winnipeg Jets Barry Melrose	To Quebec Nordiques Jamie Hislop Barry Legge
August 1, 1979	To New York Islanders Richard Brodeur	To Quebec Nordiques Goran Hogosta
December 13, 1979	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Farrish Terry Martin	To Quebec Nordiques Reg Thomas
March 11, 1980	To Edmonton Oilers Ron Low	To Quebec Nordiques Ron Chipperfield
May 26, 1980	To Winnipeg Jets Barry Legge	To Quebec Nordiques Cash

*Black Hawks promised to not make Réal Cloutier one of its priority selections in the 1979 NHL reclaim draft
**Canadiens promised to not take Danny Geoffrion and Alain Cote rather than Marc Tardif and/or Richard David in the 1979 NHL reclaim draft

Waivers

August 13, 1979

From Minnesota North Stars Greg Tebbutt

Free agents

Player Former Team Bernie Saunders Kalamazoo Wings (IHL) Robbie Ftorek Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) Frantisek Cernik TJ Vitkovice (Czechoslovakia) Dave Pichette Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) Jacques Richard Buffalo Sabres Miroslav Frycer TJ Vitkovice (Czechoslovakia)

Player New Team Ken Kuzyk Minnesota North Stars

1979 NHL expansion draft

The Nordiques participated in the 1979 NHL expansion draft, which was held on June 13, 1979.

Quebec Nordiques selections

#	Player	Drafted from
1.	Dave Farrish (D)	New York Rangers
2.	Gerry Hart (D)	New York Islanders
3.	Ron Low (G)	Detroit Red Wings
4.	Pierre Plante (RW)	New York Rangers
5.	Blair Stewart (F)	Washington Capitals
6.	John Baby (D)	Minnesota North Stars
7.	John Smrke (LW)	St. Louis Blues
8.	Dave Parro (G)	Boston Bruins
9.	Ken Kuzyk (RW)	Minnesota North Stars
10.	Roland Cloutier (C)	Detroit Red Wings
11.	Terry Martin (F)	Buffalo Sabres
12.	Jamie Masters (D)	St. Louis Blues
13.	Hartland Monahan (F)	Los Angeles Kings
14.	Ron Andruff (C)	Colorado Rockies
15.	Alain Cote (LW)	Montreal Canadiens
16.	Lars Zetterstrom (D)	Vancouver Canucks

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks from the 1979 NHL entry draft which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on August 9, 1979.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team (league)
1	20	Michel Goulet	Canada	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2	41	Dale Hunter	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
3	62	Lee Norwood	United States	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
4	83	Anton Šťastný	Czechoslovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Czech.)
5	104	Pierre Lacroix	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
6	125	Scott McGeown	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)