Division 4th Smythe 1980–81 record 29–35–16 Road record 12–22–6 | Conference 8th Campbell Home record 17–13–10 Goals for 328 (6th) | |
The 1980–81 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' second season in the NHL, and they finished with 74 points, a 5-point improvement from their 1st season.
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Wayne Gretzky would run away with the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the leading scorer, as he finished with 164 points, 29 points ahead of runner-up Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky would also win his 2nd straight Hart Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the NHL. His 164 points were an NHL record, previously held by Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins in the 1970–71 NHL season when he scored 152 points. Youngsters Jari Kurri and Mark Messier would have very good offensive seasons, finishing 2nd and 3rd on the Oilers scoring list.
Eddie Mio would get the majority of action in the Oilers goal, playing in a team high 43 games and having 16 wins, which set a franchise record.
In the playoffs, the Oilers would face the heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, and they would shock the hockey world by sweeping Montreal in 3 games. In the quarter-finals, the Oilers would play the defending Stanley Cup Champion New York Islanders, and would take them to 6 games before being eliminated.
Season standings
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.
Playoffs
In Game One of the series versus Montreal, Wayne Gretzky had five assists. This was a single game playoff record.
Records
Free agents
*Played only one game before becoming a free agent
Draft picks
Edmonton's draft picks at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft