1979–80 QMJHL season

Canadian junior ice hockey season

The 1979–80 QMJHL season was the 11th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Ten teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Sherbrooke Castors finished first overall in the regular season, winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy. The Cornwall Royals, led by rookie Dale Hawerchuk won the President's Cup, defeating the Sherbrooke Castors in the finals. Cornwall went on to win the 1980 Memorial Cup, winning their second Memorial Cup championship.

Team changes

The Laval National are renamed the Laval Voisins.
The Verdun Éperviers return to Sorel, Quebec, mid-season.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against

Dilio Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Sherbrooke Castors	72	45	20	7	97	435	314
Chicoutimi Saguenéens	72	42	27	3	87	442	347
Quebec Remparts	72	38	29	5	81	348	331
Trois-Rivières Draveurs	72	36	27	9	81	426	327
Shawinigan Cataractes	72	28	35	9	65	314	339

Lebel Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Cornwall Royals	72	41	25	6	88	388	333
Montreal Juniors	72	39	30	3	81	406	387
Hull Olympiques	72	25	35	12	62	336	378
Verdun/Sorel Éperviers	72	20	47	5	45	321	426
Laval Voisins	72	13	52	7	33	265	499

complete list of standings.

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
J. F. Sauve	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	72	63	124	187	31
Guy Carbonneau	Chicoutimi Saguenéens	72	72	110	182	66
Denis Savard	Montreal Juniors	72	63	118	181	93
Normand Aubin	Verdun/Sorel/Sherbrooke	63	91	89	180	66
Gilles Hamel	Trois-Rivières/Chicoutimi	70	86	70	156	95
Alain Bouchard	Verdun/Sorel/Montreal	70	53	94	147	27
Pierre Aubry	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	72	85	62	147	82
Denis Cyr	Montreal Juniors	70	70	76	146	61
Alain Lemieux	Chicoutimi Saguenéens	72	47	95	142	36
Louis Begin	Sherbrooke Castors	70	60	73	133	54

complete scoring statistics

Playoffs

Dale Hawerchuk was the leading scorer of the playoffs with 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists).

Quarterfinals

Sherbrooke Castors defeated Hull Olympiques 4 games to 0.
Cornwall Royals defeated Shawinigan Cataractes 4 games to 3.
Chicoutimi Saguenéens defeated Trois-Rivières Draveurs 4 games to 3.
Montreal Juniors defeated Quebec Remparts 4 games to 1.

Semifinals

Sherbrooke Castors defeated Montreal Juniors 4 games to 1.
Cornwall Royals defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 1.

Finals

Cornwall Royals defeated Sherbrooke Castors 4 games to 2.

All-star teams

First team

Goaltender - Paul Pageau, Shawinigan Cataractes
Left defence - Fred Arthur, Cornwall Royals
Right defence - Gaston Therrien, Quebec Remparts
Left winger - Gilles Hamel, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Centreman - J. F. Sauve, Trois-Rivières Draveurs & Denis Savard, Montreal Juniors
Right winger - Denis Cyr, Montreal Juniors
Coach - Doug Carpenter, Cornwall Royals

Second team

Goaltender - Corrado Micalef, Sherbrooke Castors
Left defence - Normand Rochefort, Trois-Rivières Draveurs
Right defence - Dave Ezard, Cornwall Royals
Left winger - Pierre Aubry, Trois-Rivières Draveurs & Louis Begin, Sherbrooke Castors
Centreman - Guy Carbonneau, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Right winger - Brian Johnson, Sherbrooke Castors
Coach - Ghislain Delage, Sherbrooke Castors & Gaston Drapeau, Quebec Remparts
List of First/Second/Rookie team all-stars.