Сезон НХЛ 1978–79: "Монреаль" и сокращение лиги

National Hockey League season

The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two "Original Six" teams would not meet again in the Finals for the next 34 years, when Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Finals. The Bruins faced the Canadiens in the 1979 semifinals, marking the last appearance by three Original Six teams in the final four for the next 35 years, when the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Rangers reached the semifinals of the 2014 playoffs. The Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars (continuing as the North Stars), reducing the NHL membership to 17 teams, the last time that a team in the "big four" major professional sports league contracted.

This season saw the first reduction in the total number of teams since the Brooklyn Americans folded following the 1941–42 season. Fearing that two teams were on the verge of folding, the league approved the merger of the financially unstable Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars franchises, reducing the number of teams to 17. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars but assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division. This reduction would only be temporary, however, as negotiations continued toward an agreement with the World Hockey Association that would see it fold following this season, with four of its teams joining the NHL as expansion franchises for 1979–80. For the first time since the NHL All Star Game became an annual tradition, it was not played. In its stead was the 1979 Challenge Cup, which saw Soviet Union players come over to North America to play against NHL players. The Soviets won the series two games to one.

1978 79 National Hockey League Division Team City Arena Capacity Adams Boston Bruins Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 14,654 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo, New York Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 16,433 Minnesota North Stars Bloomington, Minnesota Metropolitan Sports Center 15,000 Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto, Ontario Maple Leaf Gardens 16,316 Norris Detroit Red Wings Detroit, Michigan Detroit Olympia 15,000 Montreal Canadiens Montreal, Quebec Montreal Forum 18,076 Los Angeles Kings Inglewood, California The Forum 16,005 Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Civic Arena 16,033 Washington Capitals Landover, Maryland Capital Centre 18,130 Patrick Atlanta Flames Atlanta, Georgia Omni Coliseum 15,155 New York Islanders Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,995 New York Rangers New York, New York Madison Square Garden 17,500 Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spectrum 17,077 Smythe Chicago Black Hawks Chicago, Illinois Chicago Stadium 16,666 Colorado Rockies Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena 15,900 St. Louis Blues St. Louis, Missouri Checkerdome 17,968 Vancouver Canucks Vancouver, British Columbia Pacific Coliseum 16,413

For the past three seasons, the Montreal Canadiens had dominated the regular season, but times were changing. The New York Islanders had been steadily improving over the past few seasons and this season saw them beat out the Canadiens by one point for the best record in the league. This was the last season until the 2005–06 season that the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs.

Prior to 2013, this was the last time two Original Six clubs met in the finals.

1979 NHL awardsPrince of Wales Trophy:(Wales Conference regular season champion) Montreal CanadiensClarence S. Campbell Bowl:(Campbell Conference regular season champion) New York IslandersArt Ross Trophy:(Top scorer, regular season) Bryan Trottier, New York IslandersBill Masterton Memorial Trophy:(Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) Serge Savard, Montreal CanadiensCalder Memorial Trophy:(Top first year player) Bobby Smith, Minnesota North StarsConn Smythe Trophy:(Most valuable player, playoffs) Bob Gainey, Montreal CanadiensFrank J. Selke Trophy:(Best defensive forward) Bob Gainey, Montreal CanadiensHart Memorial Trophy:(Most valuable player, regular season) Bryan Trottier, New York IslandersJack Adams Award:(Best coach) Al Arbour, New York IslandersJames Norris Memorial Trophy:(Best defenceman) Denis Potvin, New York IslandersLady Byng Memorial Trophy:(Excellence and sportsmanship) Bob MacMillan, Atlanta FlamesLester B. Pearson Award:(Outstanding player, regular season) Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles KingsVezina Trophy:(Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record) Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal CanadiensLester Patrick Trophy:(Service to hockey in the U. S.) Bobby Orr

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. In the U. S., this was the fourth and final season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package. On February 10, CBS decided to televise Game 2 of the 1979 Challenge Cup, but that was the network's only involvement in broadcasting the NHL this season. Similarly, ABC only agreed to air Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals had the series gone that far. The league then dissolved the NHL Network after the season, signing packages of regular season slates to the fledgling cable networks ESPN and UA Columbia (later known as the USA Network). The Hughes Television Network, the NHL Network's distributor, also signed a new deal for regular season and postseason games.