With the Washington Capitals celebrating their 50th anniversary, NoVa Caps is revisiting each season of the team, from earliest to most recent. The 1979-80 season was the sixth NHL season for the Washington Capitals.
Their record was 27-40-13 in 80 games for 67 points which was fifth in the Norris Division and fifth worst in the NHL. Despite several losing streaks, especially during the first half of the season, they ended up with the most standings points in franchise history which topped their total from 1978-79 by four points.
Unfortunately, they still did not make the playoffs as the Edmonton Oilers beat them out of the last playoff berth by just two points. The Capitals ranked 15th out of 21 for goals scored and 12th out of 21 for goals given up. This season was the first after the NHL had absorbed five teams from the World Hockey Association (WHA).
The Capitals got off to a poor start for 1979-80 and were just 4-10-2 after their game on November 10. Thus, head Coach Danny Belisle was fired and replaced by Gary Green who was very young for a Head Coach, just 26 years old.
But wins were still hard to come by as they were 9-23-6 at the close of 1979, including a 10-game winless streak. The second half featured a five-game winning streak in March but the team mostly struggled to win.
Photo: Zoo.com (website)
Notable Capitals Draftees in 1979 NHL Draft
- Mike Gartner (1st round — #5 overall)
- Errol Rausse (2nd round — #24 overall)
- Tim Tookey (5th round — #88 overall)
- Greg Theberge (6th round — #109 overall)
General Manager: Max McNab
Head Coach:
- Danny Belisle (through November 14)
- Gary Green (since November 14)
Captain: Ryan Walter
Leaders
Goals: Mike Gartner (36), Ryan Walter (24)
Assists: Robert Picard (43), Ryan Walter (42)
Points: Mike Gartner (68), Ryan Walter (66)
Penalty Minutes: Paul Mulvey (240), Robert Picard (122)
Notable Trades
- June 15, 1979 – Traded Nelson Burton to Los Angeles Kings for Dave Parro
- August 16, 1979 — Traded 1981 third-round pick to Philadelphia Flyers for Wayne Stephenson
- December 7, 1979 – Tradede Gord Lane to New York Islanders for Mike Kaszycki
- January 17, 1980 – Traded Tom Rowe to Hartford Whalers for Alan Hangsleben
- February 16, 1980 – Traded Mike Kaszycki to Toronto Maple Leafs for Pat Ribble
Previous Summaries
1974-75 Season
1975-76 Season
1976-77 Season
1977-78 Season
1978-79 Season
By Diane Doyle
