1979-80 NHL Goal Scoring Log Jam

Who led the NHL in goals in 1979-80? Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings, Danny Gare of the Buffalo Sabres and Blaine Stoughton of the Hartford Whalers tied for the league lead with 56 goals each.

It remains a remarkable piece of NHL history. Three players finished a season tied for the goal-scoring lead, with Simmer reaching 56 goals despite playing just 64 games.

The 1979-80 season was also the NHL's first following the collapse of the World Hockey Association. Four former WHA franchises: the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, joined the NHL for the season.

1979-80 NHL Goal Scoring Leaders

Player	Team	Goals	Games
Charlie Simmer	Los Angeles Kings	56	64
Danny Gare	Buffalo Sabres	56	76
Blaine Stoughton	Hartford Whalers	56	80

Charlie Simmer – Los Angeles Kings

If today's Rocket Richard Trophy rules were applied to the 1979-80 season, Charlie Simmer would have shared the award with Gare and Stoughton. The trophy did not yet exist; it was first awarded following the 1998-99 NHL season.

What makes Simmer's performance particularly impressive is that he scored his 56 goals in only 64 games. That works out to 0.875 goals per game.

Simmer played on the famous Triple Crown Line with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor. He scored another 56 goals the following season, giving him consecutive 50-goal campaigns.

Those were the only two 50-goal seasons of Simmer's injury-plagued NHL career. Originally drafted by the California Golden Seals, Simmer played for the Seals, Cleveland Barons, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished his NHL career with 342 goals in 712 regular-season games.

Danny Gare – Buffalo Sabres

Danny Gare scored his 56 goals in 76 games for the Buffalo Sabres. It was the second 50-goal season of his NHL career after he scored exactly 50 for Buffalo in 1975-76.

A second-round pick of the Sabres in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Gare developed into one of Buffalo's most dangerous goal scorers. He spent the majority of his career with the Sabres before also playing for the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers.

Gare finished his 13-year NHL career with 354 goals in 827 regular-season games.

Blaine Stoughton – Hartford Whalers

Blaine Stoughton completed the full 80-game schedule for the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80 and scored 56 goals. It was Hartford's first season in the NHL after the franchise moved over from the WHA.

The season marked Stoughton's first NHL 50-goal campaign. He reached the milestone again in 1981-82 when he scored 52 goals for the Whalers.

Originally selected seventh overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, Stoughton played in both the NHL and WHA during his professional career.

His NHL teams included the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers. In the WHA, Stoughton played for the Cincinnati Stingers, Indianapolis Racers and New England Whalers. He also scored 52 goals for Cincinnati in 1976-77.

Why Was the 1979-80 Goal-Scoring Race Unusual?

The three-way tie between Simmer, Gare and Stoughton makes the 1979-80 scoring race one of the more unusual in NHL history. All three finished with exactly 56 goals despite playing significantly different numbers of games.

Simmer needed just 64 games to reach 56. Gare played 76 games, while Stoughton appeared in all 80. Simmer therefore had easily the highest goals-per-game rate of the three.

The season also came during an important transition in professional hockey. Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec and Hartford had entered the NHL following the end of the WHA, increasing the league to 21 teams.

1979-80 NHL Goal Scoring FAQ

Who scored the most goals in the NHL in 1979-80?

Charlie Simmer, Danny Gare and Blaine Stoughton tied for the NHL lead with 56 goals each.

How many games did Charlie Simmer play in 1979-80?

Simmer played 64 regular-season games for the Los Angeles Kings and scored 56 goals.

Who scored 56 goals for the Buffalo Sabres in 1979-80?

Danny Gare scored 56 goals in 76 games for Buffalo.

How many goals did Blaine Stoughton score for Hartford in 1979-80?

Stoughton scored 56 goals while playing all 80 games for the Hartford Whalers.

Did the Rocket Richard Trophy exist in 1979-80?

No. The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy was introduced for the 1998-99 NHL season. It is awarded annually to the NHL's leading regular-season goal scorer.

Les Cunningham Award Winners From The Cleveland Barons

The Cleveland Barons existed in the American Hockey League from 1936-37 to 1973-74. The Les Cunningham Award was established for the 1947-48 AHL season to honour the league’s most valuable player. In the lifetime of the Cleveland, Ohio franchise, four different players from the Barons won the Les Cunningham Award.

Les Douglas

Les Douglas won the Cunningham Award in 1949-50. With 32 goals and 68 assists for 100 points in 67 games, Douglas was also the recipient of the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the player in the AHL with the highest point total during the regular season.

Douglas played in the American Hockey League from 1939-40 to 1950-51 with the Indianapolis Capitals, Buffalo Bisons and Cleveland. Between 1940-41 and 1946-47, Les played sporadically with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League, appearing in a total of 52 games.

Eddie Olson

Eddie Olson was the next Cleveland player to be honoured with the Les Cunningham Award. Olson took the prize in 1952-53 and, like Les Douglas, also won the Sollenberger Trophy. In 61 games, he scored 32 and added 54 assists for 86 points to lead the league. The Barons were Calder Cup champions that season.

Olson played in the AHL from 1946-47 to 1954-55 with the St. Louis Flyers and the Barons. Eddie never appeared in a National Hockey League game.

Johnny Bower

Johnny Bower is one of just two players to win the Les Cunningham Award three times. Just one of the three came as a member of the Cleveland Barons with the other two being awarded while he was with the Reds in Providence, Rhode Island. Bower won the Cunningham with Cleveland in 1957-58. He played in 64 of the team’s 68 regular season games, posting two shutouts and a 2.19 goals against average.

Bower had played his last game in the AHL with the Barons at the end of that season. The following year, he became a regular goaltender with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, a job he would retain until retiring from the game during the 1969-70 season. Johnny was a charter member of the AHL Hall of Fame and is also enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Fred Glover

Besides Bower, Fred Glover is the only other player to win the Les Cunningham Award three times. All of Glover’s victories came while playing for the Cleveland Barons. Fred won the award in 1959-60, 1961-62 and 1963-64. In 1959-60, Glover also won the second of his two John B. Sollenberger Trophies.

Fred played 1,201 regular season AHL games between 1948-49 and 1967-68 while only playing with the Indianapolis Capitals and the Barons. His career totals include 520 goals, 1,334 points and 2,402 minutes in penalties. Glover also appeared in 92 NHL games between 1949-50 and 1952-53 with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. Like Bower, Fred is a charter member of the AHL Hall of Fame.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Player Nicknames

The names our parents gave us never seem to be good enough! Quite often we’re handed a new moniker that better describes us physically, emotionally or mentally. Professional sports used to be the breeding grounds of great nicknames but not so much anymore.

Test and expand your knowledge of National Hockey League players and their unique nicknames with the following four hockey trivia questions.

Q. What Toronto Maple Leafs legend was dubbed “The Big Bomber”?

A. Charlie Conacher was also called “Little Train”. The Big Bomber played in the NHL from 1929-30 to 1940-41 with Toronto, the Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans. He later coached the Chicago Black Hawks for three years from 1947-48 to 1949-50. The Hawks did not make the playoffs during Charlie’s tenure. Conacher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

Brother Lionel was “The Big Train”. Lionel played in the NHL from 1925-26 to 1936-37 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans, Montreal Maroons and Chicago Blackhawks. Other brother Roy simply went by “Roy”. He played in the NHL from 1938-39 to 1951-52 with the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. All three Conacher brothers have a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

 

Charlie's son, Brian Conacher, also played in the National Hockey League.

Q. What agitator who played the bulk of his NHL career in the 1970’s and 1980’s was coined “The Rat”?

A. Ken Linseman had a great talent for getting under the skin of his opponents but also had a great talent for playing the game. The Rat played in the NHL from 1978-79 to 1991-92 with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Linseman ended his NHL career with a respectable 807 points in 860 regular season games and averaged over a point per game in his 113 playoff games.

Linseman was a 60 goal scorer in junior with the Kingston Canadians. He topped out in the NHL with 33 goals as a member of the Edmonton Oilers in 1982-83. In 1981-82, Ken had a career high 92 points with the Flyers. He was a seventh overall pick by the Flyers at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft and won his only Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1983-84.

Q. What NHL legend was nicknamed “The Stratford Streak”, despite being from nearby Mitchell, Ontario?

A. Howie Morenz was perhaps one of the greatest hockey players ever to grace the NHL. Morenz played in the NHL from 1923-24 to 1936-37 with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP three times, all as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. With the Habs, Howie was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams. Morenz died in 1937 as a result of complications from a broken leg that occurred while playing for the Canadiens. He was just 34 years old. Howie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.

Yes, Morenz was born in Mitchell, Ontario. The sign as you're entering the small town proudly displays this fact. Indeed, it should. Yes, Howie played his minor hockey in nearby Stratford, Ontario where he earned the nickname.

Q. This question is in reverse because everyone knows Gump Worsley by his nickname and not his real first name. What was the real first name of Mr. Worsley?

A. Lorne Worsley played between the pipes in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1973-74 with the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars. Worsley won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1952-53 as the NHL’s top rookie. He won the Vezina Trophy twice with the Montreal Canadiens. Gump was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980 and passed away in 2007.

Worsley is one of a special group of athletes that have had their real names dropped by fellow players and fans, replaced by a nickname. Irvine and Garnet are two Bailey's that are both much better known as "Ace". Frank McGraw Junior is known throughout the sporting world as "Tug". McGraw is one of the great relief pitchers in MLB history.