1979–80 Atlanta Flames season

The 1979–80 Atlanta Flames season was the eighth and final season in Atlanta for the franchise. The franchise was bought and moved to Calgary, Alberta to become the Calgary Flames.

1979–80 Atlanta Flames
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	5th Campbell
1979–80 record	35–32–13
Home record	18–15–7
Road record	17–17–6
Goals for	282
Goals against	269
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Al MacNeil
Captain	Jean Pronovost
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Omni Coliseum
Average attendance	10,016 (66.1%)
Team leaders
Goals	Kent Nilsson (40)
Assists	Kent Nilsson (53)
Points	Kent Nilsson (93)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (231)
Wins	Dan Bouchard (23)
Goals against average	Dan Bouchard (3.18)
← 1978–79 1980–81 (Calgary) →

Offseason

• Al MacNeil left his position as head coach of the Canadiens farm club, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, to become head coach of the Atlanta Flames.^[1]
• Boom Boom Geoffrion left his position as a broadcaster with the Flames to become the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.^[2]

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
New York Islanders	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
New York Rangers	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
Atlanta Flames	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
Washington Capitals	80	27	40	13	261	293	67

^[3]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.

League standings^[4]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	NRS	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
4	Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
5	New York Islanders	PTK	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
6	Minnesota North Stars	ADM	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
7	x – Chicago Black Hawks	SMY	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
8	New York Rangers	PTK	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
9	Atlanta Flames	PTK	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
10	St. Louis Blues	SMY	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	ADM	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
12	Los Angeles Kings	NRS	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NRS	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
14	Hartford Whalers	NRS	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
15	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
16	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
17	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	27	40	13	261	293	67
18	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	26	43	11	268	306	63
19	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	25	44	11	248	313	61
20	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
21	Colorado Rockies	SMY	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1979–80 NHL records[5] Team ATL NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Atlanta — 1–3 3–0–1 2–2 3–0–1 9−5−2 N.Y. Islanders 3–1 — 2–2 2–2 2–2 9−7−0 N.Y. Rangers 0–3–1 2–2 — 1–2–1 2–2 5−9−2 Philadelphia 2–2 2–2 2–1–1 — 2–0–2 8−5−3 Washington 0–3–1 2–2 2–2 0–2–2 — 4−9−3 Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Atlanta 0−2−2 4−0 2−1−1 3−1 2−2 4−0 15−6−3 N.Y. Islanders 2−1−1 3−1 1−2−1 3−1 1−2−1 2−0−2 12−7−5 N.Y. Rangers 1−2−1 1−1−2 3−1 4−0 4−0 2−2 15−6−3 Philadelphia 2–0–2 2–1–1 3–0−1 2−0−2 3−1 4−0 16−2−6 Washington 2−2 1−1−2 1−3 2−2 3−1 3−0−1 12−9−3 Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1979–80 NHL records Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Atlanta 0–4 0–3–1 1–1–2 3–0–1 1–3 5–11–4 N.Y. Islanders 1–3 1–2–1 0–2–2 4–0 3–1 9–8–3 N.Y. Rangers 2–2 1–2–1 1–2–1 2–1–1 2–2 8–9–3 Philadelphia 1–1–2 3–0–1 3–1 3–0–1 1–1–2 11–3–6 Washington 1–2–1 0–4 0–3–1 1–1–2 1–3 3–13–4 Vs. Norris Division 1979–80 NHL records Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Atlanta 2–1–1 1–3 2–1–1 0–3–1 1–2–1 6–10–4 N.Y. Islanders 1–3 3–1 2–1–1 3–0–1 0–1–3 9–6–5 N.Y. Rangers 3–1 2–1–1 3–1 0–3–1 2–2 10–8–2 Philadelphia 3–0–1 2–0–2 4–0 1–2–1 3–0–1 13–2–5 Washington 1–2–1 2–1–1 3–1 1–2–1 1–3 8–9–3

Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season[6]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 1 W October 10, 1979 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 1–0–0 10,350 2 L October 11, 1979 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 1–1–0 16,106 3 W October 13, 1979 9–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 2–1–0 13,358 4 L October 16, 1979 1–5 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 2–2–0 13,914 5 L October 18, 1979 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 2–3–0 17,077 6 T October 20, 1979 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 2–3–1 12,934 7 L October 23, 1979 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 2–4–1 9,438 8 W October 26, 1979 7–3 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 3–4–1 8,420 9 W October 27, 1979 3–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 4–4–1 12,154 10 W October 30, 1979 3–1 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 5–4–1 7,135
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 11 T November 2, 1979 4–4 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 5–4–2 11,356 12 T November 3, 1979 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 5–4–3 8,543 13 W November 6, 1979 8–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 6–4–3 7,296 14 W November 9, 1979 5–2 New York Islanders (1979–80) 7–4–3 14,218 15 L November 11, 1979 3–6 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 7–5–3 13,239 16 L November 13, 1979 3–5 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 7–6–3 7,892 17 L November 15, 1979 1–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 7–7–3 16,433 18 W November 16, 1979 4–2 New York Rangers (1979–80) 8–7–3 12,919 19 W November 18, 1979 4–2 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 9–7–3 6,361 20 W November 21, 1979 4–1 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 10–7–3 8,346 21 W November 23, 1979 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 11–7–3 13,081 22 L November 25, 1979 2–4 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 11–8–3 7,627 23 L November 27, 1979 3–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 11–9–3 8,394
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 24 L December 4, 1979 2–6 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 11–10–3 8,290 25 L December 5, 1979 1–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 11–11–3 16,433 26 L December 8, 1979 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 11–12–3 15,379 27 W December 9, 1979 5–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 12–12–3 12,579 28 T December 12, 1979 5–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 12–12–4 15,423 29 W December 14, 1979 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 13–12–4 8,544 30 L December 15, 1979 1–8 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 13–13–4 16,485 31 L December 21, 1979 1–5 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 13–14–4 8,397 32 W December 22, 1979 7–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 14–14–4 10,207 33 L December 26, 1979 3–5 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 14–15–4 11,700 34 L December 28, 1979 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 14–16–4 9,133 35 L December 29, 1979 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 14–17–4 10,416
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 36 L January 4, 1980 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 14–18–4 9,216 37 T January 6, 1980 5–5 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 14–18–5 17,415 38 W January 8, 1980 2–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 15–18–5 6,138 39 W January 11, 1980 4–3 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 16–18–5 9,246 40 L January 12, 1980 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1979–80) 16–19–5 13,376 41 L January 14, 1980 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 16–20–5 16,493 42 W January 16, 1980 5–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 17–20–5 12,235 43 W January 17, 1980 4–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 18–20–5 7,511 44 W January 19, 1980 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 19–20–5 14,909 45 T January 21, 1980 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 19–20–6 9,203 46 L January 22, 1980 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 19–21–6 8,004 47 T January 25, 1980 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 19–21–7 11,924 48 W January 26, 1980 4–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 20–21–7 18,806 49 L January 28, 1980 1–6 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 20–22–7 7,627 50 W January 30, 1980 4–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 21–22–7 10,776
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 51 W February 1, 1980 4–2 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 22–22–7 9,166 52 W February 2, 1980 5–3 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 23–22–7 11,040 53 W February 8, 1980 4–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 24–22–7 15,423 54 W February 10, 1980 6–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 25–22–7 9,864 55 T February 13, 1980 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 25–22–8 12,032 56 T February 16, 1980 2–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 25–22–9 15,162 57 L February 17, 1980 2–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 25–23–9 14,835 58 T February 19, 1980 4–4 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 25–23–10 6,871 59 W February 21, 1980 3–0 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 26–23–10 6,218 60 L February 23, 1980 5–6 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 26–24–10 9,868 61 T February 26, 1980 3–3 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 26–24–11 10,210
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 62 W March 1, 1980 4–1 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 27–24–11 15,156 63 W March 5, 1980 3–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 28–24–11 9,628 64 W March 7, 1980 9–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 29–24–11 15,405 65 W March 9, 1980 5–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 30–24–11 12,412 66 L March 10, 1980 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 30–25–11 7,875 67 T March 13, 1980 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 30–25–12 9,253 68 W March 15, 1980 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 31–25–12 15,156 69 W March 17, 1980 5–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 32–25–12 16,485 70 L March 18, 1980 3–6 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 32–26–12 14,995 71 W March 20, 1980 8–4 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 33–26–12 8,446 72 L March 22, 1980 2–5 Boston Bruins (1979–80) 33–27–12 13,474 73 L March 23, 1980 2–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 33–28–12 15,927 74 L March 25, 1980 4–5 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 33–29–12 7,914 75 W March 28, 1980 4–2 New York Rangers (1979–80) 34–29–12 14,138 76 L March 30, 1980 2–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 34–30–12 17,077
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 77 L April 1, 1980 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 34–31–12 9,126 78 W April 2, 1980 7–3 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 35–31–12 17,415 79 L April 4, 1980 3–7 New York Islanders (1979–80) 35–32–12 12,168 80 T April 5, 1980 4–4 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 35–32–13 18,130
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Kent Nilsson	14		80	40	53	98	10		4	0	0	0	2
Guy Chouinard	16		76	31	46	77	22		4	1	3	4	4
Bob MacMillan	11		77	22	39	61	10		4	0	0	0	9
Ken Houston	6		80	23	31	54	100		4	1	1	2	10
Eric Vail	27		77	28	25	53	22		4	3	1	4	2
Paul Reinhart	23		79	9	38	47	31		–	–	–	–	-
Jean Pronovost	9		80	24	19	43	31		4	0	0	0	2
Ivan Boldirev‡	12		52	16	24	40	20		–	–	–	–	-
Phil Russell	3		80	5	31	36	115		4	0	1	1	6
Garry Unger	17/7		79	5	25	30	39		4	0	3	3	2
Willi Plett	25		76	13	19	32	231		4	1	0	1	15
Don Lever†	12		28	14	16	30	4		4	1	1	2	0
Pekka Rautakallio	4		79	5	25	30	18		4	0	1	1	2
Bill Clement	10		64	7	14	21	32		4	0	0	0	4
Bob Murdoch	20		80	5	16	21	48		4	1	1	2	2
Darcy Rota‡	18		44	10	8	18	49		–	–	–	–	-
Paul Henderson	15/19		30	7	6	13	6		4	0	0	0	0
Brad Marsh	5		80	2	9	11	119		4	0	1	1	2
Dave Shand	8		74	3	7	10	104		4	0	1	1	0
Curt Bennett	2		21	1	3	4	0		–	–	–	–	-
Bobby Lalonde‡	7		3	0	1	1	2		–	–	–	–	-
Dan Bouchard	30		53	0	1	1	34		4	0	0	0	2
Bobby Gould	22		1	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-
Earl Ingarfield	21		1	0	0	0	0		2	0	1	1	0
Gord Wappel	24		2	0	0	0	0		2	0	0	0	4
Reggie Lemelin	1		3	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-
Rick Adduono	17		3	0	0	0	2		–	–	–	–	-
Dave Gorman	15		3	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-
Serge Beaudoin	24		3	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-
Jim Craig	1		4	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-
Brad Smith	24		4	0	0	0	4		–	–	–	–	-
Pat Riggin	31		25	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	-

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season.

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Dan Bouchard	30		53	3076	23	19	10	163	2	3.18		4	240	1	3	14	0	3.49
Pat Riggin	31		25	1368	11	9	2	73	0	3.20		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Jim Craig	1		4	206	1	2	1	13	0	3.79		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Reggie Lemelin	1		3	150	0	2	0	15	0	6.00		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1979–80 season.

Trades

May 24, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Curt Bennett	To St. Louis Blues Bobby Simpson
October 10, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Garry Unger	To St. Louis Blues Ed Kea Red Laurence 2nd round pick in 1981 (Hakan Nordin)
October 23, 1979	To Atlanta Flames Future considerations	To Boston Bruins Bobby Lalonde
February 8, 1980	To Atlanta Flames Don Lever Brad Smith	To Vancouver Canucks Ivan Boldirev Darcy Rota

Free agents

Player Former team D Pekka Rautakallio Assat Pori (SM-liiga) D Serge Beaudoin Birmingham Bulls (WHA) RW Dave Gorman Birmingham Bulls (WHA) LW Paul Henderson Birmingham Bulls (WHA) C Rick Adduono Birmingham Bulls (WHA) LW Earl Ingarfield Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)

Player New team G Yves Belanger Boston Bruins

Expansion draft

See also: 1979 NHL expansion draft

Player	Selected by
LW John Gould	Edmonton Oilers
D Rick Hodgson	Hartford Whalers
C Gene Carr	Winnipeg Jets

Draft picks

See also: 1979 NHL entry draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	12.	Paul Reinhart (D)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
2	23.	Mike Perovich (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	33.	Pat Riggin (G)	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
3	54.	Tim Hunter (RW)	Canada	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
4	75.	Jim Peplinski (RW)	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
5	96.	Brad Kempthorne (F)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
6	117.	Glenn Johnson (C)	Canada	University of Denver (NCAA)