Washington Capitals 1980-81 Season Summary: Close Call

Photo: Hockeygods.com Blog

The Washington Capitals celebrate their 50th anniversary.^th Anniversary, NoVa Caps summarizes each of the previous seasons, from the earliest to the most recent.

The 1980-81 season was the seventh NHL season for the Washington Capitals. Their record was 26-36-18 in 80 games with 70 points, missing the playoffs by three points, finishing fifth in the Patrick Division and fifth worst in the NHL, but it was their best season in franchise history. The Capitals finished 18th^th of 21 for goals scored and 12^th of 21 for goals conceded.

At the end of the 1980 calendar year, the Capitals were the definition of mediocrity, with a record of 13-13-11. Unfortunately, they began the year on a five-game losing streak. February was even worse. They won on February 1, but didn’t win again until March 8. This winless streak included several ties.

The season featured offensive heroics from young stars Dennis Maruk and Mike Gartner, the first players in franchise history to score more than 40 goals and 90+ points. They had four other players score at least 20 goals. But after that, the roster depth was thin.

Photo: Sportsinfo.paper Blog

Notable Capitals draftees in the 1980 NHL Draft

• Darren Veitch (1^st Round – #4 overall)
• Torrie Robertson (3^rd Round – #55 overall)
• Timo Blomqvist (5^th Round – #89 overall)
• Peter Andersson (9^th Round – #173 overall)

Managing Director: Max McNab
Head coach: Gary Green

Captain: Ryan Walter

management

Goals: Dennis Maruk (50), Mike Gartner (48)
Assists: Dennis Maruk (47), Mike Gartner (46)
Points: Dennis Maruk (97), Mike Gartner (94)
Penalty minutes: Alan Hangsleben (198), Jim McTaggart (185)

Notable trades

• June 11, 1980 – Robert Picard, Tim Coulis and their second-round pick (#26) were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender Mike Palmateer and Toronto’s third-round pick (#55).
• July 1, 1980 – Jean Pronovost was acquired by the Calgary Flames for future use.

Previous summaries

Season 1974–75
Season 1975–76
Season 1976–77
Season 1977–78
Season 1978–79
Season 1979–80

By Diane Doyle