1981 Stanley Cup Final

The 1981 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Minnesota North Stars, making their first Finals appearance, and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their second Finals appearance. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup championship. This would be the last all-American Finals until 1991, when the North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Butch Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs.

1981 Stanley Cup Final
1 2 3 4 5 Total New York Islanders 6 6 7 2 5 4 Minnesota North Stars 3 3 5 4 1 1
Location(s)	Uniondale: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1, 2, 5) Bloomington: Met Center (3, 4)
Coaches	New York: Al Arbour Minnesota: Glen Sonmor
Captains	New York: Denis Potvin Minnesota: Paul Shmyr
Referees	Bryan Lewis, Dave Newell, Andy Van Hellemond
Dates	May 12–21, 1981
MVP	Butch Goring (Islanders)
Series-winning goal	Wayne Merrick (5:37, first, G5)
Hall of Famers	Islanders: Mike Bossy (1991) Clark Gillies (2002) Denis Potvin (1991) Billy Smith (1993) Bryan Trottier (1997) North Stars: Dino Ciccarelli (2010) Coaches: Al Arbour (1996) Officials: Andy Van Hellemond (1999)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (National): USA Network (New York City area): SportsChannel New York (1–2, 5), WOR (3–4) (Minnesota area): KMSP
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole, Mickey Redmond, and Gary Dornhoefer (SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay (USA) Simulcast of CBC feed (SCNY) Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall (WOR) Jiggs McDonald (Game 3), Tim Ryan (Game 4), and Ed Westfall (KMSP) Bob Kurtz and Tom Reid
← 1980 Stanley Cup Final 1982 →

Paths to the Finals

Further information: 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs

See also: 1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season and 1980–81 New York Islanders season

Minnesota defeated the Boston Bruins 3–0, the Buffalo Sabres 4–1 and the Calgary Flames 4–2 to advance to the Final.

New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0, the Edmonton Oilers 4–2, and the New York Rangers 4–0 to reach the Final.

Game summaries

Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.

May 12	Minnesota North Stars		3–6		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			Anders Kallur (3) – 02:54 Bryan Trottier (10) – sh – 14:38 Anders Kallur (4) – sh – 15:25
13:04 – pp – Kent-Erik Andersson (2)		Second period			Billy Carroll (3) – 09:58
03:08 – Steve Payne (13) 15:14 – Dino Ciccarelli (12)		Third period			Wayne Merrick (4) – 00:58 Wayne Merrick (5) – 13:15
Gilles Meloche 17 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 23 saves / 26 shots

May 14	Minnesota North Stars		3–6		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
03:38 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (13)		First period			Mike Bossy (14) – pp – 04:33 Bob Nystrom (5) – 14:39 Denis Potvin (7) – 17:48
09:15 – Brad Palmer (8)		Second period			No scoring
00:30 – Steve Payne (14)		Third period			Denis Potvin (8) – pp – 08:00 Ken Morrow (3) – 11:57 Mike Bossy (15) – 16:22
Don Beaupre 32 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 25 saves / 28 shots

May 17	New York Islanders		7–5		Minnesota North Stars	Met Center	Recap
14:47 – Mike Bossy (16)		First period			Steve Christoff (7) – pp – 03:25 Steve Payne (15) – 14:09 Bobby Smith (7) – pp – 16:30
04:10 – Bob Nystrom (6) 07:16 – pp – Butch Goring (6) 11:51 – Butch Goring (7)		Second period			No scoring
02:05 – Mike Bossy (17) 06:34 – Butch Goring (8) 19:16 – en – Bryan Trottier (11)		Third period			Steve Payne (16) – 01:11 Dino Ciccarelli (14) – 13:35
Billy Smith 23 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Gilles Meloche 22 saves / 28 shots

May 19	New York Islanders		2–4		Minnesota North Stars	Met Center	Recap
03:47 – Gord Lane (1)		First period			Craig Hartsburg (3) – pp – 11:34
07:37 – pp – Mike McEwen (5)		Second period			Al MacAdam (9) – 05:15
No scoring		Third period			Steve Payne (17) – 12:26 Bobby Smith (8) – pp – 18:12
Billy Smith 30 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Don Beaupre 33 saves / 35 shots

May 21	Minnesota North Stars		1–5		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
16:06 – Steve Christoff (8)		First period			Butch Goring (9) – pp – 05:12 Wayne Merrick (6) – 05:37 Butch Goring (10) – 10:03
No scoring		Second period			Bob Bourne (4) – 19:21
No scoring		Third period			Mike McEwen (6) – 17:06
Don Beaupre 28 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 24 saves / 25 shots

New York won series 4–1

Broadcasting

The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage. However, USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York metro and Minnesota area due to the local rights to their respective teams in that markets. In the New York area, SportsChannel New York aired three games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and WOR televised two games in Bloomington, Minnesota while KMSP aired every game of the series in the Minnesota area.

Team rosters

Minnesota North Stars

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
2		Curt Giles	D	L	22	1978	The Pas, Manitoba
3		Fred Barrett	D	L	31	1970	Ottawa, Ontario
4		Craig Hartsburg	D	L	21	1979	Stratford, Ontario
5		Brad Maxwell	D	R	23	1977	Brandon, Manitoba
6		Paul Shmyr (C)	D	L	35	1979	Cudworth, Saskatchewan
7		Neal Broten	C	L	21	1979	Roseau, Minnesota
8		Kent-Erik Andersson	RW	R	29	1977	Örebro, Sweden
9		Kevin Maxwell	C	R	21	1979	Edmonton, Alberta
10		Gordie Roberts	D	L	23	1980	Detroit, Michigan
11		Tom McCarthy	LW	L	20	1979	Toronto, Ontario
14		Brad Palmer	LW	L	19	1980	Duncan, British Columbia
15		Bobby Smith	C	L	23	1978	North Sydney, Nova Scotia
16		Mike Polich	LW	L	28	1978	Hibbing, Minnesota
17		Tim Young	C	R	26	1975	Scarborough, Ontario
20		Dino Ciccarelli	RW	R	21	1980	Sarnia, Ontario
21		Jack Carlson	LW	L	26	1979	Virginia, Minnesota
23		Greg Smith	D	L	25	1978	Ponoka, Alberta
25		Al MacAdam	RW	L	29	1978	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
26		Steve Payne	LW	L	22	1978	Toronto, Ontario
27		Gilles Meloche	G	L	30	1978	Montreal, Quebec
28		Steve Christoff	C	R	23	1978	Springfield, Illinois
29		Tom Younghans	RW	R	28	1976	Saint Paul, Minnesota
31		Ken Solheim	LW	L	20	1981	Hythe, Alberta
33		Don Beaupre	G	L	19	1980	Waterloo, Ontario

New York Islanders

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
1		Roland Melanson	G	L	20	1979	Moncton, New Brunswick
3		Jean Potvin	D	L	32	1979	Ottawa, Ontario
4		Bob Lorimer	D	L	27	1973	Toronto, Ontario
5		Denis Potvin (C)	D	L	27	1973	Vanier, Ontario
6		Ken Morrow	D	R	24	1976	Davison, Michigan
7		Stefan Persson	D	L	26	1974	Bjurholm, Sweden
8		Garry Howatt	LW	L	28	1972	Grand Centre, Alberta
9		Clark Gillies	LW	L	27	1974	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
11		Wayne Merrick	C	L	29	1977	Sarnia, Ontario
12		Duane Sutter	RW	R	21	1979	Viking, Alberta
14		Bob Bourne	LW	L	26	1974	Kindersley, Saskatchewan
16		Mike McEwen	D	L	24	1981	Hornepayne, Ontario
19		Bryan Trottier	C	L	24	1974	Val Marie, Saskatchewan
22		Mike Bossy	RW	R	24	1977	Montreal, Quebec
23		Bob Nystrom	RW	R	28	1972	Stockholm, Sweden
24		Gord Lane	D	L	28	1979	Brandon, Manitoba
25		Billy Carroll	C	L	22	1979	Toronto, Ontario
26		Dave Langevin	D	L	26	1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota
27		John Tonelli	LW	L	24	1977	Hamilton, Ontario
28		Anders Kallur	RW	L	28	1979	Ludvika, Sweden
29		Hector Marini	RW	R	24	1977	Timmins, Ontario
31		Billy Smith	G	L	30	1972	Perth, Ontario
91		Butch Goring	C	L	31	1980	St. Boniface, Manitoba

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1981 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL President John Ziegler following the Islanders 5–1 win over the North Stars in game five.

The following Islanders players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1980–81 New York Islanders

Players

  Centres

• 11 Wayne Merrick
• 14 Bob Bourne
• 19 Bryan Trottier
• 25 Billy Carroll*
• 91 Butch Goring

  Wingers

• 8 Garry Howatt
• 9 Clark Gillies
• 12 Duane Sutter
• 22 Mike Bossy
• 23 Bob Nystrom
• 27 John Tonelli
• 28 Anders Kallur
• 29 Hector Marini

  Defencemen

• 5 Denis Potvin (Captain)
• 3 Jean Potvin †
• 4 Bob Lorimer
• 6 Ken Morrow
• 7 Stefan Persson
• 16 Mike McEwen
• 24 Gord Lane
• 26 Dave Langevin

  Goaltenders

• 1 Roland Melanson
• 31 Billy Smith

• * Played both centre and wing.
  
• † Did not play in Finals. Name engraved on Stanley Cup despite not officially qualifying.^[A]

Coaching and administrative staff

• John Pickett (Chairman/Owner)
• Bill Torrey (President/General Manager)
• Al Arbour (Head Coach), 10 Lorne Henning (playing-Ass't Coach)
• Jim Devellano (Chief Scout), Gerry Ehman (Western Scout)
• Harry Boyd (Scout), Mario Saraceno (Scout)
• Ron Waske (Trainer), Jim Pickard (Asst. Trainer)

Stanley Cup engraving

• ^{^A} #3 Jean Potvin (D) – 18 games regular season games and did not dress in the playoffs. He spent the rest of year as a broadcaster. Potvin's name was put on the cup in 1981, even though he did not officially qualify.
• #10 Lorne Henning (C) – played nine regular season and one playoff game. He was the last playing-coach to win the Stanley Cup.
• A new ring was created in 1993 for the winners from 1979 to 1991. New York Islanders was misspelled. NEW YORK ILANDERS missing the first "S". Name was spelled correctly on the Replica Cup also created in 1993.

Aftermath

The Islanders successfully returned to the Finals the following year. This time, they played the Vancouver Canucks and swept them to capture their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

The North Stars, however, lost in the first round to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3–1. The North Stars would not return to the Stanley Cup Final again until 1991, when they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, in six games.

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1980–81 NHL season

References

• Total Stanley Cup. NHL. 2000.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.

Preceded by New York Islanders 1980

New York Islanders Stanley Cup champions 1981

Succeeded by New York Islanders 1982