1979–80 Chicago Black Hawks season

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The 1979–80 Chicago Black Hawks season was the team’s 54th season in the NHL. After finishing atop the Smythe Division the year before but missing the playoffs, Chicago made some changes and won the Smythe Division again.

Off-season
- Eddie Johnston was hired as head coach, with Bob Pulford shifting to general manager duties.
- The NHL expanded to 21 teams. Chicago reclaimed Terry Ruskowski from the Winnipeg Jets and brought back Bobby Hull and John Garrett in trades, though Hull later left for Winnipeg in the expansion draft.
- Keith Magnuson started the season as captain; Terry Ruskowski became captain in October.

Regular season
- The Hawks had a rocky start (3–6–3) but rallied. They struggled early, were in second place in the Smythe Division, but then surged to take first place with a 9–3–2 stretch.
- They finished 34–27–19 for 87 points, winning the Smythe Division for the third straight year and eighth division title in eleven seasons.
- Team leaders: Terry Ruskowski led with 70 points (15 goals, 55 assists) and a team-high 252 penalty minutes. Grant Mulvey added 39 goals, Tom Lysiak had 69 points, Rich Preston 61 points, and Doug Wilson 61 points. Tony Esposito was the primary goalie with 31 wins and a 2.98 GAA.
- Captaincy changed early in the season: Magnuson retired from the captaincy after three games and Ruskowski took over as captain.

Key moments
- October 10, 1979: Chicago beat Edmonton 4–2 in Wayne Gretzky’s NHL debut.

Playoffs
- Preliminary round: Defeated the St. Louis Blues 3 games to 0 (two home games, one in St. Louis). The series included an overtime win in Game 1.
- Quarterfinals: Faced the Buffalo Sabres and were swept 4 games to 0. Buffalo, strong that season, won Games 1–4 decisively.

Season summary
- The Black Hawks finished strong enough to win their division but were unable to advance past the quarterfinals in the playoffs. They remained a competitive team with solid contributions from Ruskowski, Mulvey, Lysiak, Preston, Wilson, and Esposito.