The 1980–81 European Cup was the 16th edition of the European Cup, IIHF's premier European club ice hockey tournament. The season started on October 9, 1980, and finished on August 9, 1981.
The tournament was won by CSKA Moscow, who won the final group.
| width=22% | Team #1 | width=11% | Score | width=22% | Team #2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flyers Heerenveen  | 12–1, 11–2 | Levski-Spartak Sofia | |||
| 3–10, 2–11 |  Zaglebie Sosnowiec | ||||
| Dynamo Berlin | 13–4, 10–2 |  HC Steaua București | |||
EC KAC  | 2–3, 1–4 |  HC Gherdëina | |||
CHH Txuri Urdin  | 2–2, 2–10 |  ASG Tours |
| width=22% | Team #1 | width=11% | Score | width=22% | Team #2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers Heerenveen | 5–6, 5–3 | EHC Arosa | |||
| Zaglebie Sosnowiec | 6–3, 1–6 | Dynamo Berlin | |||
| HC Gherdëina | 1–1, 3–8 | HK Olimpija Ljubljana | |||
| ASG Tours | 5–6, 2–9 | Mannheimer ERC |
HIFK, 
Brynäs IF, Poldi Kladno, CSKA Moscow : bye
| width=22% | Team #1 | width=11% | Score | width=22% | Team #2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–5, 2–12 | Poldi Kladno | ||||
| 2–3, 3–6 | HIFK | ||||
| 3–6, 4–5 | Brynäs IF | ||||
| Flyers Heerenveen | 0–11, 1–9 | CSKA Moscow |
(Urtijëi, Italy)
| width=22% | Team #1 | width=11% | Score | width=22% | Team #2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIFK | 5–4 | Poldi Kladno | |||
| 10–1 | Brynäs IF | ||||
| 6–0 | |||||
| 4–2 | Brynäs IF | ||||
| HIFK | 3–3 | Brynäs IF | |||
| 12–2 | Poldi Kladno |
| Rank | Team | Points | |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | HIFK | 3 | |
| 3 | Poldi Kladno | 2 | |
| 4 | Brynäs IF | 1 |