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1978–79 NHL season

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.

1978–79 NHL season
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 11, 1978 – May 21, 1979
Number of games80
Number of teams17
TV partner(s)CBC, SRC (Canada)
NHL Network, CBS,[a] ABC[b] (United States)
Draft
Top draft pickBobby Smith
Picked byMinnesota North Stars
Regular season
Season championsNew York Islanders
Season MVPBryan Trottier (Islanders)
Top scorerBryan Trottier (Islanders)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVPBob Gainey (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
ChampionsMontreal Canadiens
  Runners-upNew York Rangers
NHL seasons

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

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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.

A dispersal draft was then held on June 15, 1978. The merged North Stars was allowed to protect 14 players, then the five other worst teams in the previous 1977–78 season would each have the option to pick one of the unprotected players.

The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was also held on June 15, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Bobby Smith was selected first overall by the North Stars.

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.

Regular season

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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

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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

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Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
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
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

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Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
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
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

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Main article: 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff seeds

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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

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Preliminary round Quarterfinals Semifinals Stanley Cup Finals
            
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

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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

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First team   Position   Second team
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

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Scoring leaders

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
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

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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
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

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Plus-minus
  • Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders

Coaches

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Patrick Division

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Adams Division

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Norris Division

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Smythe Division

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Milestones

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Debuts

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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):

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

Last games

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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):

Broadcasting

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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

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Notes

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  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

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  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

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