5 First Rounders From 1980 NHL Entry Draft To Play Over 1000 Games

The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was the hangover Sunday following the big party on Saturday night. The big party was the 1979 draft with eleven of the 21 first round draft picks moving on to NHL careers of 1000 games or more. Six more from the later rounds in 1979 accomplished this feat as well. Eventual Hockey Hall of Famers Mark Messier, Ray Bourque and Mike Gartner were just a sampling of this great class of hockey players.

The 1980 draft paled in comparison but was still decent. Five from the first round went on to NHL careers of over 1000 games. Three of those first rounders have since been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Four more from the later rounds played over 1000 games, one of which is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Dave Babych was taken second overall in 1980 by the Winnipeg Jets. Babych was drafted out of the Western Hockey League where he played junior A hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks. Dave played a total of 1195 regular season NHL games during a career that lasted from 1980-81 until 1998-99. Babych totalled 723 points while playing for the Jets, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings. He played an additional 114 games in the playoffs, making it to the Stanley Cup finals with the Vancouver Canucks in 1993-94 while losing to the New York Rangers.

Denis Savard was scooped up by the Chicago Black Hawks third overall from the Montreal Juniors of the QMJHL. Savard played 1196 NHL regular season games from 1980-81 to 1996-97 with Chicago, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. In both 1982-83 and 1987-88, Denis finished third in the NHL for total points. His best performance was 87-88 when he totalled 131 points and finished behind just Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. Savard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

Larry Murphy followed directly behind Savard in the fourth spot. Murphy was taken by the Los Angeles Kings after playing his junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes. Larry played 1615 regular season NHL games from 1980-81 to 2000-01 with the Kings, Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. Murphy put up 1216 points as a defenseman and played in an additional 215 playoffs games. He was part of four Stanley Cup winning teams during the 1990’s, two with Pittsburgh and two with Detroit, the only player to accomplish that feat. Murphy entered the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Paul Coffey would become the greatest of the 1980 draft despite five teams passing him up before the Edmonton Oilers took him sixth overall. After a great junior career in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers, Coffey jumped right into an NHL career that would see him play 1409 regular season games from 1980-81 to 2000-01. Paul contributed 1531 points from the blue line with the Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins. Coffey holds the record for most goals by a defenseman in a season with 48 in 1985-86. He won three Norris Trophies, four Stanley Cups and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.

Brent Sutter was taken seventeenth overall by the New York Islanders. Sutter played 1111 regular season games from 1981-82 to 1997-98 with the Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks. Sutter contributed 829 points over his career. He was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams in New York and went to the finals with the Islanders one more time and once with the Blackhawks.