| 1979–80 WHL season | |
| League: | Western Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Finals Champ: | Regina Pats (2) |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Victoria Cougars |
| No Of Teams: | 11 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Portland Winter Hawks (1) |
| Mvp Link: | Four Broncos Memorial Trophy |
| Mvp: | Doug Wickenheiser (Regina Pats) |
| Top Scorer Link: | Bob Clarke Trophy |
| Top Scorer: | Doug Wickenheiser (Regina Pats) |
| Seasonslistnames: | WHL |
| Prevseason Year: | 1978–79 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1980–81 |
| 1979–80 CHL season | |
| Color: |
|
| Color Text: |
|
| League: | Canadian Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| No Of Teams: | 33 |
| Season: | OMJHL |
| Season2: | QMJHL |
| Season3: | WHL |
| Playoffs: | Memorial Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) |
| Num Championships: | 2 |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) |
The 1979–80 WHL season was the 14th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). It featured eleven teams completing a 72-game regular season. The Portland Winter Hawks became the first American-based club to top the regular season standings, capturing the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy. In the playoffs, the Regina Pats won their second President's Cup, defeating the Victoria Cougars in the championship final.
The season was the first for the Great Falls Americans, after the Edmonton Oil Kings relocated to Great Falls prior to the season. However, the team lasted only 28 games before ceasing operations on December 16, 1979, for the remainder of the season. Thus while twelve teams opened the season, only eleven played it through to completion.
| East Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Regina Pats | 72 | 47 | 24 | 1 | 95 | 429 | 311 |
| x Calgary Wranglers | 72 | 43 | 27 | 2 | 88 | 376 | 319 |
| x Medicine Hat Tigers | 72 | 37 | 30 | 5 | 79 | 344 | 315 |
| x Billings Bighorns | 72 | 37 | 34 | 1 | 75 | 326 | 284 |
| x Brandon Wheat Kings | 72 | 33 | 37 | 2 | 68 | 319 | 343 |
| x Lethbridge Broncos | 72 | 28 | 39 | 5 | 61 | 329 | 349 |
| Saskatoon Blades | 72 | 27 | 40 | 5 | 59 | 331 | 382 |
| Great Falls Americans1 | 28 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 73 | 186 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x Portland Winter Hawks | 72 | 53 | 18 | 1 | 107 | 398 | 293 |
| x Victoria Cougars | 72 | 51 | 21 | 0 | 102 | 349 | 226 |
| x Seattle Breakers | 72 | 29 | 41 | 2 | 60 | 297 | 364 |
| New Westminster Bruins | 72 | 10 | 61 | 1 | 21 | 244 | 443 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 89 | 81 | 170 | 99 | ||
| 70 | 58 | 83 | 141 | 55 | ||
| 72 | 52 | 88 | 140 | 50 | ||
| 71 | 65 | 73 | 138 | 64 | ||
| 72 | 66 | 68 | 134 | 179 | ||
| 65 | 54 | 76 | 130 | 63 | ||
| 72 | 57 | 65 | 122 | 92 | ||
| 71 | 29 | 93 | 122 | 118 | ||
| Brian Varga | 70 | 39 | 79 | 118 | 97 | |
| 68 | 58 | 59 | 117 | 188 | ||
Round Robin format
| Most Valuable Player | |
| Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Doug Wickenheiser, Regina Pats | |
| Most Sportsmanlike Player | |
| Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Dave Babych, Portland Winter Hawks | |
| Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Grant Fuhr, Victoria Cougars | |
| Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Kevin Eastman, Victoria Cougars | |
| Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Doug Sauter, Calgary Wranglers | |
| Regular season Champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Portland Winter Hawks |
| First Team | Second team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | Billings Bighorns | |||
| Defense | Billings Bighorns | |||
| Mark Robinson | Victoria Cougars | |||
| Center | Victoria Cougars | |||
| Left wing | Greg C. Adams (tied) | Medicine Hat Tigers | ||
| Florent Robidoux (tied) | - | - | ||
| Right wing | Mike Blaisdell (tie) | Regina Pats | ||
| - | - | Don Gillen (tie) | Brandon Wheat Kings | |