1978–79 NHL season

National Hockey League season

Sports season

1978–79 NHL season

League| National Hockey League
Sport| Ice hockey
Duration| October 11, 1978 – May 21, 1979
Number of games| 80
Number of teams| 17
TV partner(s)| CBC, SRC (Canada)
NHL Network, CBS,[a] ABC[b] (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick| Bobby Smith
Picked by| Minnesota North Stars
Regular season
Season champions| New York Islanders
Season MVP| Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Top scorer| Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP| Bob Gainey (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
Champions| Montreal Canadiens
Runners-up| New York Rangers
NHL seasons

← 1977–78

1979–80 →

The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two "Original Six" teams would not meet again in the Finals for the next 34 years, when Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Finals. The Bruins faced the Canadiens in the 1979 semifinals, marking the last appearance by three Original Six teams in the final four for the next 35 years, when the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Rangers reached the semifinals of the 2014 playoffs.

The Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars (continuing as the North Stars), reducing the NHL membership to 17 teams, the last time that a league in the "big four" major professional sports league contracted.

## League business

[edit]

This season saw the first reduction in the total number of teams since the Brooklyn Americans folded following the 1941–42 season. Fearing that two teams were on the verge of folding, the league approved the merger of the financially unstable Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars franchises, reducing the number of teams to 17. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars but assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division.

This reduction would only be temporary, however, as negotiations continued toward an agreement with the World Hockey Association that would see it fold following this season, with four of its teams joining the NHL as expansion franchises for 1979–80.

For the first time since the NHL All-Star Game became an annual tradition, it was not played. In its stead was the 1979 Challenge Cup, which saw Soviet Union players come over to North America to play against NHL players. The Soviets won the series two games to one.

## Teams

[edit]

1978-79 National Hockey League

Prince of Wales Conference
Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity
Adams  | Boston Bruins | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 14,654
Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo, New York | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | 16,433
Minnesota North Stars | Bloomington, Minnesota | Metropolitan Sports Center | 15,000
Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 16,316
Norris  | Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Olympia | 15,000
Los Angeles Kings | Inglewood, California | The Forum | 16,005
Montreal Canadiens | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | 18,076
Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | 16,033
Washington Capitals | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | 18,130
Campbell Conference
Patrick  | Atlanta Flames | Atlanta, Georgia | Omni Coliseum | 15,155
New York Islanders | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 14,995
New York Rangers | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 17,500
Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Spectrum | 17,077
Smythe  | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 16,666
Colorado Rockies | Denver, Colorado | McNichols Sports Arena | 15,900
St. Louis Blues | St. Louis, Missouri | Checkerdome | 17,968
Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver, British Columbia | Pacific Coliseum | 16,413

## Map of teams

[edit]

Bruins

Sabres

North Stars

Leafs

Wings

Kings

Canadiens

Penguins

Capitals

Flames

Islanders

Rangers

Flyers

Black
hawks

Rockies

Blues

Canucks

Adams Division  Norris Division  Patrick Division  Smythe Division

## Regular season

[edit]

For the past three seasons, the Montreal Canadiens had dominated the regular season, but times were changing. The New York Islanders had been steadily improving over the past few seasons and this season saw them beat out the Canadiens by one point for the best record in the league.

This was the last season until the 2005–06 season that the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs.

### Final standings

[edit]

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

#### Prince of Wales Conference

[edit]

Adams Division | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts

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Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 316 | 270 | 100
Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 280 | 263 | 88
Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 267 | 252 | 81
Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 257 | 289 | 68

[1]

Norris Division | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts

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Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 337 | 204 | 115
Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 281 | 279 | 85
Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 292 | 286 | 80
Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 273 | 338 | 63
Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 41 | 16 | 252 | 295 | 62

[1]

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.

#### Clarence Campbell Conference

[edit]

Patrick Division | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts

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New York Islanders | 80 | 51 | 15 | 14 | 358 | 214 | 116
Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 281 | 248 | 95
New York Rangers | 80 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 316 | 292 | 91
Atlanta Flames | 80 | 41 | 31 | 8 | 327 | 280 | 90
Smythe Division | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts

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Chicago Black Hawks | 80 | 29 | 36 | 15 | 244 | 277 | 73
Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | 217 | 291 | 63
St. Louis Blues | 80 | 18 | 50 | 12 | 249 | 348 | 48
Colorado Rockies | 80 | 15 | 53 | 12 | 210 | 331 | 42

[1]

## Playoffs

[edit]

Main article: 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs

### Playoff seeds

[edit]

The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points.

Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.

1. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 116 points
2. Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 115 points
3. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 100 points
4. Philadelphia Flyers – 95 points
5. New York Rangers – 91 points
6. Atlanta Flames – 90 points
7. Buffalo Sabres – 88 points
8. Pittsburgh Penguins – 85 points
9. Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points
10. Los Angeles Kings – 80 points
11. Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 73 points
12. Vancouver Canucks – 63 points

### Playoff bracket

[edit]

| Preliminary round | | | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Stanley Cup Finals |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| | | | 1 | NY Islanders | 4 | | |
|  |
| | | 8 | Chicago | 0 |
| |

| |
| | 1 | NY Islanders | 2 |
|  |
| | | 4 | NY Rangers | 4 |
| 1 | Philadelphia | 2 | |

| 8 | Vancouver | 1 |
| | 4 | Philadelphia | 1 |
|  |
| | | 5 | NY Rangers | 4 |
| 2 | NY Rangers | 2 |

| 7 | Los Angeles | 0 |
| | 2 | Montreal | 4 |
|  |
| | | 4 | NY Rangers | 1 |
| | | |

| |
| | 2 | Montreal | 4 |
|  |
| | | 7 | Toronto | 0 |
| 3 | Atlanta | 0 |

| 6 | Toronto | 2 |
| | 2 | Montreal | 4 |
|  |
| | | 3 | Boston | 3 |
| | |

| |
| | 3 | Boston | 4 |
|  |
| | | 6 | Pittsburgh | 0 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 1 |

| 5 | Pittsburgh | 2 |

* Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals
* Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds

## Awards

[edit]

1979 NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:
(Wales Conference regular season champion) | Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:
(Campbell Conference regular season champion) | New York Islanders
Art Ross Trophy:
(Top scorer, regular season) | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:
(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) | Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Calder Memorial Trophy:
(Top first-year player) | Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
Conn Smythe Trophy:
(Most valuable player, playoffs) | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Frank J. Selke Trophy:
(Best defensive forward) | Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:
(Most valuable player, regular season) | Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Jack Adams Award:
(Best coach) | Al Arbour, New York Islanders
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
(Best defenceman) | Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
(Excellence and sportsmanship) | Bob MacMillan, Atlanta Flames
Lester B. Pearson Award:
(Outstanding player, regular season) | Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Vezina Trophy:
(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) | Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens

### All-Star teams

[edit]

First team |  Position  | Second team

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Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens | G | Glenn Resch, New York Islanders
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders | D | Börje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens | D  | Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders | C | Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens | RW | Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Clark Gillies, New York Islanders | LW | Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers

## Player statistics

[edit]

### Scoring leaders

[edit]

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player  | Team  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM

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Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | 76 | 47 | 87 | 134 | 50
Marcel Dionne | Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 59 | 71 | 130 | 30
Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 77 | 129 | 28
Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 80 | 69 | 57 | 126 | 25
Bob MacMillan | Atlanta Flames | 79 | 37 | 71 | 108 | 14
Guy Chouinard | Atlanta Flames | 80 | 50 | 57 | 107 | 14
Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 73 | 31 | 70 | 101 | 58
Bernie Federko | St. Louis Blues | 74 | 31 | 64 | 95 | 14
Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 43 | 48 | 91 | 124
Clark Gillies | New York Islanders | 75 | 35 | 56 | 91 | 68

Source: NHL.[2]

### Leading goaltenders

[edit]

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player  | Team  | GP  | MIN  | GA  | GAA  | W  | L  | T  | SO

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Ken Dryden | Montreal Canadiens | 47 | 2814 | 108 | 2.30 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 5
Chico Resch | N.Y. Islanders | 43 | 2539 | 106 | 2.50 | 26 | 7 | 10 | 2
Bernie Parent | Philadelphia Flyers | 36 | 1979 | 89 | 2.70 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 4
Michel Larocque | Montreal Canadiens | 34 | 1986 | 94 | 2.84 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 3
Billy Smith | N.Y. Islanders | 40 | 2261 | 108 | 2.87 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 1
Mike Palmateer | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 | 3396 | 167 | 2.95 | 26 | 21 | 10 | 4
Don Edwards | Buffalo Sabres | 54 | 3160 | 159 | 3.02 | 26 | 18 | 9 | 2
Mario Lessard | L.A. Kings | 49 | 2860 | 148 | 3.10 | 23 | 15 | 10 | 4
Glen Hanlon | Vancouver Canucks | 31 | 1821 | 94 | 3.10 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 3
Gerry Cheevers | Boston Bruins | 43 | 2509 | 132 | 3.16 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 1

### Other statistics

[edit]

Plus-minus

* Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders

## Coaches

[edit]

### Patrick Division

[edit]

* Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton
* New York Islanders: Al Arbour
* New York Rangers: Fred Shero
* Philadelphia Flyers: Bob McCammon and Pat Quinn

### Adams Division

[edit]

* Boston Bruins: Don Cherry
* Buffalo Sabres: Billy Inglis
* Minnesota North Stars: Harry Howell and Glen Sonmor
* Toronto Maple Leafs: Roger Neilson

### Norris Division

[edit]

* Detroit Red Wings: Bobby Kromm
* Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry
* Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
* Pittsburgh Penguins: Johnny Wilson
* Washington Capitals: Danny Belisle

### Smythe Division

[edit]

* Chicago Black Hawks: Bill White
* Colorado Rockies: Pat Kelly
* St. Louis Blues: Barclay Plager
* Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale

## Milestones

[edit]

### Debuts

[edit]

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1978–79 (listed with their first team, asterisk (*) marks debut in playoffs):

* Joel Quenneville, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Brad Marsh, Atlanta Flames
* Reggie Lemelin, Atlanta Flames
* Al Secord, Boston Bruins
* Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
* Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
* Rod Langway §, Montreal Canadiens
* John Tonelli §, New York Islanders
* Anders Hedberg §, New York Rangers
* Ulf Nilsson §, New York Rangers
* Ken Linseman §, Philadelphia Flyers
* Pete Peeters, Philadelphia Flyers
* Greg Millen, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Wayne Babych, St. Louis Blues
* Curt Fraser, Vancouver Canucks
* Thomas Gradin, Vancouver Canucks
* Stan Smyl, Vancouver Canucks
* Ryan Walter, Washington Capitals

Players marked with § began their major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

### Last games

[edit]

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1978–79 (listed with their last team):

* Bobby Orr, Chicago Black Hawks
* Joe Watson, Colorado Rockies
* Danny Grant, Los Angeles Kings
* J. P. Parise, Minnesota North Stars
* Jacques Lemaire, Montreal Canadiens
* Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
* Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
* Ed Westfall, New York Islanders
* Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers
* Garry Monahan, Toronto Maple Leafs
* Pit Martin, Vancouver Canucks

## Broadcasting

[edit]

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.

In the U.S., this was the fourth and final season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package. On February 10, CBS decided to televise Game 2 of the 1979 Challenge Cup, but that was the network's only involvement in broadcasting the NHL this season. Similarly, ABC only agreed to air Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals had the series gone that far. The league then dissolved the NHL Network after the season, signing packages of regular season slates to the fledgling cable networks ESPN and UA-Columbia (later known as the USA Network). The Hughes Television Network, the NHL Network's distributor, also signed a new deal for regular season and postseason games.

## See also

[edit]

* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1978 NHL Amateur Draft
* 1978–79 NHL transactions
* 1979 Challenge Cup
* 1978–79 WHA season
* Lester Patrick Trophy
* 1978 in sports
* 1979 in sports

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ CBS only televised the February 10 Challenge Cup game.
2. ^ ABC was contracted to only televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Finals ended in five games.

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
2. ^ Dinger 2011, p. 151.

## References

[edit]

* Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
* Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
* Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
* Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.

## External links

[edit]

* Hockey Database
* NHL.com

* v
* t
* e

1978–79 NHL season

Patrick|

* Atlanta
* NY Islanders
* NY Rangers
* Philadelphia

Adams|

* Boston
* Buffalo
* Minnesota
* Toronto

Norris|

* Detroit
* Los Angeles
* Montreal
* Pittsburgh
* Washington

Smythe|

* Chicago
* Colorado
* St. Louis
* Vancouver

See also|

* Amateur Draft
* Dispersal Draft
* Waiver Draft
* The Game
* Challenge Cup
* Playoffs
* Stanley Cup Finals

* v
* t
* e

NHL seasons

1910s|

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2000s|

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2020s|

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The 2004–05 season was not played due to a lockout.
*[GP]: Games played
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template