1979–80 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1979–80 Winnipeg Jets season was the franchise's eighth season since its inception in 1972, and its first season in the National Hockey League.

1979–80 Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)
Division	5th Smythe
Conference	10th Campbell
1979–80 record	20–49–11
Goals for	214 (21st)
Goals against	314 (19th)
Team information
General manager	John Ferguson
Coach	Tom McVie Bill Sutherland
Captain	Lars-Erik Sjoberg
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Winnipeg Arena
Average attendance	13,284
Team leaders
Goals	Morris Lukowich (35)
Assists	Morris Lukowich (39)
Points	Morris Lukowich (74)
Penalty minutes	Jimmy Mann (287)
Wins	Pierre Hamel (9)
Goals against average	Markus Mattsson (3.25)

Offseason

After spending seven seasons in the World Hockey Association, in which the team won three Avco Cup championships, the Winnipeg Jets joined the National Hockey League, as did the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, as the WHA disbanded.

On June 13, 1979, the Jets participated in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft to fill out their roster, while on June 28, 1979, Winnipeg made their first ever trade, as the Jets sent Jamie Hislop to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Barry Legge.

On August 8, 1979, the Jets selected Jimmy Mann of the Sherbrooke Castors of the QMJHL with their first ever draft pick at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. In the fifth round, the Jets selected Thomas Steen from Leksands IF of the SEL.

During the off-season, the club announced that Tom McVie would be retained as head coach. McVie became the Jets head coach late in the 1978-79 season, going 11-8-0 in nineteen games, followed by a record of 8-2 in the playoffs to lead Winnipeg to the Avco Cup. McVie had head coaching experience in the NHL, as he coached the Washington Capitals to a 49-122-33 record from 1975-1978.

Lars-Erik Sjoberg was named captain of the team, as former captain Barry Long joined the Detroit Red Wings for the 1979-80 season. Sjoberg captained Winnipeg from 1975-1978 in the WHA.

Regular season

Final 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.

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 10, 1979	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	0–1–0
2	L	October 11, 1979	0–4	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	0–2–0
3	W	October 14, 1979	4–2	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	1–2–0
4	L	October 17, 1979	1–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	1–3–0
5	W	October 19, 1979	3–2	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	2–3–0
6	L	October 20, 1979	1–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	2–4–0
7	L	October 24, 1979	0–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	2–5–0
8	W	October 26, 1979	3–2	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	3–5–0
9	T	October 28, 1979	2–2	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	3–5–1
10	W	October 31, 1979	5–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	4–5–1
11	T	November 2, 1979	1–1	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	4–5–2
12	T	November 4, 1979	4–4	New York Islanders (1979–80)	4–5–3
13	L	November 6, 1979	0–8	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	4–6–3
14	L	November 7, 1979	3–6	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	4–7–3
15	L	November 10, 1979	4–8	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	4–8–3
16	W	November 14, 1979	3–2	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	5–8–3
17	L	November 16, 1979	2–3	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	5–9–3
18	L	November 18, 1979	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	5–10–3
19	W	November 21, 1979	6–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	6–10–3
20	L	November 22, 1979	0–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	6–11–3
21	W	November 24, 1979	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–11–3
22	L	November 27, 1979	3–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	7–12–3
23	L	November 28, 1979	2–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	7–13–3
24	T	December 1, 1979	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	7–13–4
25	L	December 2, 1979	0–4	New York Islanders (1979–80)	7–14–4
26	W	December 4, 1979	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	8–14–4
27	L	December 5, 1979	4–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	8–15–4
28	W	December 7, 1979	8–3	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	9–15–4
29	L	December 9, 1979	4–5	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	9–16–4
30	L	December 12, 1979	0–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	9–17–4
31	W	December 15, 1979	6–2	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	10–17–4
32	W	December 16, 1979	4–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	11–17–4
33	L	December 19, 1979	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	11–18–4
34	W	December 21, 1979	4–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	12–18–4
35	L	December 26, 1979	0–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	12–19–4
36	L	December 28, 1979	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	12–20–4
37	L	December 29, 1979	1–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	12–21–4
38	L	December 31, 1979	2–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	12–22–4
39	L	January 4, 1980	1–2	Boston Bruins (1979–80)	12–23–4
40	T	January 6, 1980	4–4	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	12–23–5
41	L	January 8, 1980	0–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	12–24–5
42	L	January 10, 1980	4–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	12–25–5
43	L	January 12, 1980	0–3	New York Rangers (1979–80)	12–26–5
44	W	January 13, 1980	5–3	Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	13–26–5
45	L	January 15, 1980	2–5	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	13–27–5
46	L	January 16, 1980	1–4	@ New York Rangers (1979–80)	13–28–5
47	L	January 18, 1980	0–5	Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	13–29–5
48	L	January 21, 1980	2–7	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	13–30–5
49	L	January 22, 1980	4–5	@ Washington Capitals (1979–80)	13–31–5
50	L	January 25, 1980	4–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	13–32–5
51	T	January 27, 1980	6–6	St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	13–32–6
52	W	January 29, 1980	7–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80)	14–32–6
53	L	February 1, 1980	2–9	@ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	14–33–6
54	T	February 2, 1980	2–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	14–33–7
55	L	February 8, 1980	3–6	Washington Capitals (1979–80)	14–34–7
56	T	February 10, 1980	2–2	Edmonton Oilers (1979–80)	14–34–8
57	T	February 12, 1980	0–0	@ New York Islanders (1979–80)	14–34–9
58	L	February 14, 1980	1–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80)	14–35–9
59	L	February 15, 1980	4–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	14–36–9
60	W	February 17, 1980	6–5	Quebec Nordiques (1979–80)	15–36–9
61	L	February 20, 1980	3–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	15–37–9
62	L	February 21, 1980	0–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	15–38–9
63	L	February 23, 1980	3–9	Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	15–39–9
64	L	February 27, 1980	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	15–40–9
65	T	February 29, 1980	3–3	Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	15–40–10
66	L	March 2, 1980	2–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	15–41–10
67	L	March 4, 1980	1–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80)	15–42–10
68	L	March 9, 1980	2–5	Atlanta Flames (1979–80)	15–43–10
69	T	March 12, 1980	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1979–80)	15–43–11
70	L	March 14, 1980	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1979–80)	15–44–11
71	W	March 16, 1980	6–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80)	16–44–11
72	L	March 19, 1980	1–9	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80)	16–45–11
73	W	March 21, 1980	4–2	New York Rangers (1979–80)	17–45–11
74	L	March 23, 1980	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80)	17–46–11
75	W	March 26, 1980	7–0	Hartford Whalers (1979–80)	18–46–11
76	L	March 28, 1980	1–2	Minnesota North Stars (1979–80)	18–47–11
77	L	March 30, 1980	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1979–80)	18–48–11
78	W	April 2, 1980	5–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80)	19–48–11
79	L	April 5, 1980	0–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1979–80)	19–49–11
80	W	April 6, 1980	3–2	Colorado Rockies (1979–80)	20–49–11

Playoffs

The Jets failed to qualify for the playoffs, as their record of 20-49-11 earned them 51 points, good for fifth in the Smythe Division, 18 points behind the fourth place Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff position.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Morris Lukowich	LW	78	35	39	74	77	-16	13	1	2
Peter Sullivan	C	79	24	35	59	20	-45	5	0	3
Ron Wilson	C	79	21	36	57	28	-12	6	0	3
Willy Lindstrom	RW	79	23	26	49	20	-19	5	0	4
Craig Norwich	D	70	10	35	45	36	-11	7	0	0
Peter Marsh	RW	57	18	20	38	59	-38	9	0	0
Lars-Erik Sjoberg	D	79	7	27	34	48	-35	3	1	0
Jude Drouin	C	78	8	16	24	50	-38	1	2	1
Scott Campbell	D	63	3	17	20	136	-39	0	0	2
Lyle Moffat	LW	74	10	9	19	38	-24	0	0	1
Dave Christian	RW	15	8	10	18	2	-5	3	0	0
John Markell	LW	38	10	7	17	21	-12	2	0	1
Lorne Stamler	LW	62	8	7	15	12	-29	0	0	0
Al Cameron	D	63	3	11	14	72	-26	0	0	0
Ross Cory	D	46	2	9	11	32	-16	1	0	0
Kris Manery	C/RW	16	6	4	10	6	-8	4	0	0
Bobby Hull	LW	18	4	6	10	0	-7	1	0	0
Barry Melrose	D	74	4	6	10	124	-41	0	0	1
Jimmy Mann	RW	72	3	5	8	287	-20	1	0	1
Hilliard Graves	RW	35	1	5	6	15	-13	0	0	0
Bill Riley	RW	14	3	2	5	7	0	2	0	1
Gord McTavish	C	10	1	3	4	2	4	0	0	0
Dave Hoyda	LW	15	1	1	2	35	-4	0	0	0
John Bethel	LW	17	0	2	2	4	-3	0	0	0
Pierre Hamel	G	35	0	2	2	10	0	0	0	0
Pat Daley	LW	5	1	0	1	4	-2	0	0	0
Bobby Guindon	LW	6	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
Bill Lesuk	LW	49	0	1	1	43	-15	0	0	0
Mike Amodeo	D	19	0	0	0	2	-15	0	0	0
Wayne Dillon	C	13	0	0	0	2	-6	0	0	0
Larry Hopkins	LW	5	0	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0
Don MacIver	D	6	0	0	0	2	-5	0	0	0
Markus Mattsson	G	21	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Lindsay Middlebrook	G	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gerry Rioux	RW	8	0	0	0	6	-2	0	0	0
Gary Smith	G	20	0	0	0	25	0	0	0	0
Gord Smith	D	13	0	0	0	8	-5	0	0	0
Glenn Tomalty	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Pierre Hamel	1947	35	9	19	3	130	4.01	0
Markus Mattsson	1200	21	5	11	4	65	3.25	2
Gary Smith	1073	20	4	11	4	73	4.08	0
Lindsay Middlebrook	580	10	2	8	0	40	4.14	0
Team:	4800	80	20	49	11	308	3.85	2

[2]

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

Trades

June 28, 1979	To Quebec Nordiques Jamie Hislop	To Winnipeg Jets Barry Legge
July 25, 1979	To New York Rangers Future Considerations	To Winnipeg Jets Wayne Dillon
August 1, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Paul Terbenche	To Winnipeg Jets Future Considerations
October 4, 1979	To Montreal Canadiens Cash	To Winnipeg Jets Ron Wilson
October 15, 1979	To New York Rangers Cash Future Considerations	To Winnipeg Jets Bud Stefanski
February 27, 1980	To Hartford Whalers Bobby Hull	To Winnipeg Jets Future Considerations

Waivers

February 27, 1980	From Vancouver Canucks Kris Manery

Free agents

Player Former Team Willy Lindstrom Winnipeg Jets (WHA) Larry Hopkins Toronto Maple Leafs John Bethel Undrafted Free Agent Benoit Gosselin New York Rangers Gerry Rioux Undrafted Free Agent Glenn Tomalty Undrafted Free Agent Ross Cory Undrafted Free Agent Jude Drouin New York Islanders Mark Plantery Undrafted Free Agent Don MacIver Undrafted Free Agent Anders Steen Undrafted Free Agent

Draft picks

NHL Amateur Draft

Winnipeg's picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec on August 9, 1979.[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	19	Jimmy Mann (RW)	Canada	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
2	40	Dave Christian (RW)	United States	University of North Dakota (NCAA)
3	61	Bill Whelton (D)	United States	Boston University (NCAA)
4	82	Pat Daley (LW)	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
5	103	Thomas Steen (C)	Sweden	Farjestads BK Karlstad (SEL)
6	124	Tim Watters (D)	Canada	Michigan Tech (NCAA)

Reclaimed Players

Reclaiming of Players: The 17 existing NHL teams were allowed to reclaim any rights to former WHA players they held. The four incoming franchises, however, were allowed to protect up to two goaltenders and two skaters, voiding their NHL rights. These players were considered "priority selections" in the expansion draft. Gordie Howe was one of two special cases (the other being Wayne Gretzky), as a gentlemen's agreement between the Hartford Whalers and the Detroit Red Wings, which held his rights, led to the Wings declining to reclaim Howe.

These are Winnipeg players whose NHL rights were reclaimed when the WHA merged with the NHL. This list is incomplete.

#	Player	Reclaimed From	Reclaimed By
4.	Bobby Hull (LW)	Winnipeg Jets	Chicago Blackhawks

Jets selections

#	Player	Drafted From	Drafted By
1.	Peter Marsh (LW)	Pittsburgh Penguins	Winnipeg Jets
2.	Lindsay Middlebrook (G)	New York Rangers	Winnipeg Jets
3.	Bobby Hull (LW)	Chicago Black Hawks	Winnipeg Jets
4.	Al Cameron (D)	Detroit Red Wings	Winnipeg Jets
5.	Dave Hoyda (LW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Winnipeg Jets
6.	Jim Roberts (LW)	Minnesota North Stars	Winnipeg Jets
7.	Lorne Stamler (LW)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Winnipeg Jets
8.	Mark Heaslip (RW)	Los Angeles Kings	Winnipeg Jets
9.	Pierre Hamel (G)	Toronto Maple Leafs	Winnipeg Jets
10.	Gord McTavish (F)	St. Louis Blues	Winnipeg Jets
11.	Gord Smith (D)	Washington Capitals	Winnipeg Jets
12.	Clark Hamilton (C)	Detroit Red Wings	Winnipeg Jets
13.	Jim Cunningham (LW)	Philadelphia Flyers	Winnipeg Jets
14.	Dennis Abgrall (RW)	Los Angeles Kings	Winnipeg Jets
15.	Bill Riley (W)	Washington Capitals	Winnipeg Jets
16.	Gene Carr (C)	Atlanta Flames	Winnipeg Jets
17.	Hilliard Graves (RW)	Vancouver Canucks	Winnipeg Jets

Roster

1979-80 Winnipeg Jets
Goaltenders 1 – Pierre Hamel  30 – Gary Smith  31 – Lindsay Middlebrook  35 – Markus Mattsson		Defensemen 2 – Mike Amodeo  3 – Ross Cory  4 – Lars-Erik Sjoberg  - C 5 – Craig Norwich  6 – Barry Melrose  7 – Scott Campbell  18 – Glenn Tomalty  26 – Al Cameron  28 – Don MacIver  29 – Gord Smith		Wingers 8 – Jimmy Mann  9 – Bobby Hull  11 – Hilliard Graves  12 – Morris Lukowich  13 – Dave Christian  14 – Peter Marsh  15 – Dave Hoyda  16 – Pat Daley  17 – Bill Lesuk  18 – Bobby Guindon  19 – Bill Riley  20 – Willy Lindstrom  21 – John Bethel  22 – Lyle Moffat  23 – Larry Hopkins  23 – John Markell  24 – Ron Wilson  27 – Lorne Stamler  28 – Gerry Rioux		Centres 10 – Peter Sullivan  16 – Wayne Dillon  19 – Kris Manery  23 – Gord McTavish  25 – Jude Drouin  GM: John Ferguson Coach: Tom McVie (19-47-11) Coach: Bill Sutherland (1-2-0)

References

• Jets on Hockey Database

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
2. "1979-80 Winnipeg Jets Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
3. "1979 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.