1979–80 Detroit Red Wings season
The 1979-80 season was the first season that the Red Wings played at their at the time newly built arena, the Joe Louis Arena.Offseason
Regular season
Final standings
Schedule and results
As a result, the Red Wings were forced on a four-game road trip from December 16 to 26.Playoffs
The Red Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs.Regular season
;Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| C | 80 | 30 | 51 | 81 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| RW | 79 | 35 | 39 | 74 | 13 | -5 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| RW | 80 | 36 | 35 | 71 | 109 | -2 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 80 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 101 | -7 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| C | 80 | 16 | 50 | 66 | 69 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| LW | 76 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| LW | 77 | 34 | 14 | 48 | 22 | -10 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| D | 76 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 164 | -26 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| LW | 41 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 8 | -4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| LW | 79 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 24 | -19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D/LW | 63 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 108 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| D | 80 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 38 | -28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 42 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 10 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D | 59 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 45 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LW | 27 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| LW | 44 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 19 | -14 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 33 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C/RW | 66 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 127 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 28 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 49 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 43 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LW | 50 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 43 | -21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 41 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 59 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RW | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| 3474 | 59 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 209 | 3.61 | 4 |
| 1326 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 92 | 4.16 | 1 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 26 | 43 | 11 | 301 | 3.76 | 5 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;Awards and records
Transactions
Roster
Draft picks
Detroit's draft picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club Team |
| 1 | 3 | Mike Foligno | | Sudbury Wolves |
| 3 | 45 | Jody Gage | | Kitchener Rangers |
| 3 | 46 | Boris Fistric | | New Westminster Bruins |
| 4 | 66 | John Ogrodnick | | New Westminster Bruins |
| 5 | 87 | Joe Paterson | | London Knights |
| 6 | 108 | Carmine Cirella | | Peterborough Petes |
