The 1979–80 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 13th in the National Hockey League.

Regular season

The Penguins changed their team colors from two-tone blue to Black and Gold in January. This move was done in part to honor the other two professional teams in Pittsburgh (the Steelers and Pirates) both of whom won their respective championships in 1979. The Boston Bruins initially challenged the change in colors as the new scheme closely matched their own. However, as the original NHL franchise in Pittsburgh, the Pirates, had nearly the same colors from their inception while the Bruins wore brown and yellow sweaters, NHL president John Ziegler Jr. eventually denied the Bruins claim. The new Pittsburgh jerseys were debuted on January 30 against the visiting St. Louis Blues.

Division standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Preliminary round vs. Boston

Player statistics

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1979–80 season:

Trades

Additions and subtractions

Draft picks

The 1979 NHL Entry Draft was held on August 9, 1979, in Montreal.