1978–79 Minnesota North Stars season

The 1978–79 Minnesota North Stars season was the team's 12th season in the NHL. In the off season, the North Stars were on the verge of folding, and were merged with the Cleveland Barons, another team on the brink of collapse. The merged franchise continued as the Minnesota North Stars, with the old logo and colors. The changes for the franchise were new ownership and new management. Former Cleveland Barons General Manager Harry Howell assumed the coaching duties, and former Barons owner George Gund III would now become a co-owner of the North Stars.^[1]

Another result of the merger saw the North Stars take the Barons' place in the tough Adams Division. The North Stars finished in last place and missed the playoffs for the 5th time in 6 years. One of the highlights was Bobby Smith winning the Calder Trophy.^[1]

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/junior/club team (League)
1	6	Craig Hartsburg	(D)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
1	10	Tom McCarthy	(LW)	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
2	42	Neal Broten	(C)	United States	Minnesota

^[2]

Regular season

Final standings

Adams Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Boston Bruins	80	43	23	14	316	270	100
Buffalo Sabres	80	36	28	16	280	263	88
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	34	33	13	267	252	81
Minnesota North Stars	80	28	40	12	257	289	68

^[3]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game log

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1978	2–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	0–1–0
2	L	October 14, 1978	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	0–2–0
3	W	October 18, 1978	7–2	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	1–2–0
4	L	October 19, 1978	2–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	1–3–0
5	T	October 21, 1978	4–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	1–3–1
6	T	October 25, 1978	2–2	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	1–3–2
7	L	October 28, 1978	0–1	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	1–4–2
8	W	November 1, 1978	9–1	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	2–4–2
9	W	November 4, 1978	2–1	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	3–4–2
10	L	November 5, 1978	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	3–5–2
11	L	November 7, 1978	2–5	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	3–6–2
12	W	November 8, 1978	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	4–6–2
13	W	November 10, 1978	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	5–6–2
14	L	November 11, 1978	1–8	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	5–7–2
15	L	November 15, 1978	2–3	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	5–8–2
16	L	November 18, 1978	2–7	New York Rangers (1978–79)	5–9–2
17	L	November 19, 1978	2–9	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	5–10–2
18	L	November 22, 1978	1–4	New York Islanders (1978–79)	5–11–2
19	L	November 24, 1978	3–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	5–12–2
20	L	November 25, 1978	1–4	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	5–13–2
21	L	November 29, 1978	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	5–14–2
22	W	December 1, 1978	4–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	6–14–2
23	W	December 2, 1978	5–3	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	7–14–2
24	W	December 6, 1978	4–0	Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	8–14–2
25	W	December 9, 1978	3–0	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	9–14–2
26	T	December 10, 1978	4–4	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	9–14–3
27	L	December 13, 1978	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	9–15–3
28	W	December 15, 1978	6–1	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	10–15–3
29	L	December 16, 1978	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	10–16–3
30	W	December 19, 1978	5–3	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	11–16–3
31	L	December 20, 1978	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	11–17–3
32	W	December 23, 1978	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	12–17–3
33	W	December 26, 1978	6–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	13–17–3
34	W	December 27, 1978	6–1	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	14–17–3
35	L	December 30, 1978	2–7	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	14–18–3
36	T	January 3, 1979	3–3	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	14–18–4
37	L	January 6, 1979	2–5	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	14–19–4
38	L	January 8, 1979	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	14–20–4
39	T	January 10, 1979	2–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	14–20–5
40	L	January 11, 1979	4–6	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	14–21–5
41	W	January 13, 1979	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	15–21–5
42	W	January 15, 1979	8–1	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	16–21–5
43	L	January 16, 1979	0–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	16–22–5
44	L	January 19, 1979	3–5	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	16–23–5
45	T	January 20, 1979	3–3	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	16–23–6
46	T	January 24, 1979	2–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	16–23–7
47	W	January 27, 1979	3–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	17–23–7
48	W	January 28, 1979	3–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	18–23–7
49	W	January 30, 1979	5–4	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	19–23–7
50	W	February 1, 1979	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	20–23–7
51	L	February 3, 1979	1–2	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	20–24–7
52	W	February 4, 1979	6–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	21–24–7
53	W	February 14, 1979	8–1	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	22–24–7
54	L	February 15, 1979	5–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	22–25–7
55	T	February 17, 1979	3–3	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	22–25–8
56	L	February 18, 1979	2–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	22–26–8
57	W	February 21, 1979	5–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	23–26–8
58	T	February 23, 1979	2–2	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	23–26–9
59	L	February 24, 1979	3–6	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	23–27–9
60	T	February 28, 1979	4–4	New York Rangers (1978–79)	23–27–10
61	T	March 1, 1979	5–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	23–27–11
62	L	March 3, 1979	0–5	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	23–28–11
63	L	March 4, 1979	4–5	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	23–29–11
64	W	March 7, 1979	5–1	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	24–29–11
65	L	March 10, 1979	3–4	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	24–30–11
66	L	March 11, 1979	2–8	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	24–31–11
67	W	March 14, 1979	4–3	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	25–31–11
68	L	March 17, 1979	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	25–32–11
69	L	March 18, 1979	3–5	New York Islanders (1978–79)	25–33–11
70	W	March 21, 1979	7–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	26–33–11
71	W	March 24, 1979	3–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	27–33–11
72	L	March 25, 1979	1–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	27–34–11
73	L	March 27, 1979	1–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	27–35–11
74	L	March 29, 1979	4–7	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	27–36–11
75	L	March 31, 1979	2–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	27–37–11
76	L	April 1, 1979	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	27–38–11
77	W	April 3, 1979	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	28–38–11
78	L	April 4, 1979	1–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	28–39–11
79	T	April 6, 1979	2–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	28–39–12
80	L	April 7, 1979	1–7	@ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79)	28–40–12

Player stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
Bobby Smith	80	30	44	74	-8	39

^[4]

Goaltenders

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

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	SO	SV%	GAA

Roster

1978–1979 Minnesota North Stars Roster

Goaltenders

Defencemen

2 – John Baby
2 – Bill Butters
3 – Fred Barrett
4 – Jean Potvin
5 – Brad Maxwell
20 – Bryan Maxwell
22 – Gary Sargent
23 – Greg Smith
32 – Don Jackson

Wingers

8 – Kent-Erik Andersson
9 – Ron Zanussi
10 – Alex Pirus
11 – J.P. Parise - C
12 – Dan Chicoine
12 – Mike Fidler
14 – Per-Olov Brasar
18 – Jim McKenny
19 – Chuck Arnason
21 – Jack Carlson
25 – Al MacAdam
26 – Steve Payne
28 – Jim Roberts
29 – Tom Younghans

Centers

7 – Glen Sharpley
15 – Bobby Smith
16 – Mike Polich
17 – Tim Young
18 – Mike Eaves
21 – Bill Hogaboam
21 – Dennis Maruk
24 – Kris Manery
GM: Lou Nanne
Coach: Harry Howell (3-6-2)
Coach: Glen Sonmor (25-34-10)

References

North Stars on Hockey Database

1 2 http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/minnystars/northstars.html
↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 234, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
↑ http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1979.html

1978–79 NHL season

Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia

Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Toronto

Norris	Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington

Smythe	Chicago Colorado St. Louis Vancouver

See also	Amateur Draft Dispersal Draft The Game Challenge Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals

Minnesota North Stars seasons

1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 Dallas

Cleveland Barons

History	WHL years California Golden Seals

Franchise	Cleveland Barons Players Draft picks

Key personnel	Owner: Gordon Gund Coaches: Jack Evans Fred Glover

Arena	Richfield Coliseum

Seasons	1975–76 (California) 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 (Minnesota)

See also	California Golden Seals

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