1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season
| 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th Adams |
| Conference | 6th Wales |
| 1980–81 record | 30-32-18 |
| Home record | 18–11–11 |
| Road record | 12–21–7 |
| Goals for | 314 |
| Goals against | 318 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Maurice Filion |
| Coach |
Maurice Filion (1-3-2) Michel Bergeron (29-29-16) |
| Captain | Marc Tardif |
| Alternate captains | None |
| Arena | Colisée Pepsi |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Jacques Richard (52) |
| Assists | Peter Stastny (70) |
| Points | Peter Stastny (109) |
| Penalties in minutes | Dale Hunter (226) |
| Plus/minus | Mario Marois and Peter Stastny (+11) |
| Wins | Dan Bouchard (19) |
| Goals against average | Dan Bouchard (3.17) |
The 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques season was the Nordiques second season in the National Hockey League. Quebec improved on their inaugural NHL season, making the playoffs, only to lose in the first round.
During the off-season, the Nordiques fired head coach Jacques Demers, and general manager Maurice Filion would begin the season as the head coach. This would mark Filion's third time behind the Nordiques bench, as he was the head coach of the club in the 1972–73 WHA season, and he served as an interim head coach at the end of the 1977-78 season. Quebec was able to sign brothers Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny, who both defected from Czechoslovakia. The brothers would have a huge impact in the league, as Peter would win the Calder Trophy awarded to the NHL's Rookie of the Year, and both Peter and Anton would set rookie records, each earning eight points in a game on February 22, 1981, leading Quebec to an 11-7 win over the Washington Capitals.
The Nordiques season began with a nine-game road trip, and head coach Maurice Filion would replace himself with Michel Bergeron after the club had a 1-3-2 record in their opening six games. Quebec continued to struggle, and fifteen games into the season, they had a 1-9-5 record. The Nordiques would continue to struggle, and found themselves a season high fourteen games under .500 with an 11-26-12 record after 49 games. Quebec would then get red hot, posting a record of 19-6-6 in their remaining 31 games to finish the season at 30-32-18, earning 78 points, and their first ever berth into the NHL playoffs.
Offensively, the Nordiques were led by rookie Peter Stastny, who set a team record with 109 points, winning the Calder Trophy. Jacques Richard became the first Nordique to score over 50 goals in a season, as he scored 52, and registered 103 points. Anton Stastny also had a great rookie season, earning 85 points, while Robbie Ftorek and Michel Goulet had 75 and 73 points respectively. Pierre Lacroix led the Nordiques blueline, earning 39 points, while Dale Hunter had a team high 226 penalty minutes.
...
Wikipedia