1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season

1979–80 Edmonton Oilers
Division	4nd Smythe
Conference	8th Campbell
1979–80 record	28–39–13
Home record	17–14–9
Road record	11–25–4
Goals for	301 (9th)
Goals against	322 (20th)
Team information
General manager	Larry Gordon
Coach	Glen Sather
Captain	Ron Chipperfield (Oct-Mar) vacant (Mar-Apr)
Alternate captains	none
Arena	Northlands Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Wayne Gretzky (51)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (86)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (137)
Penalty minutes	Colin Campbell (196)
Plus/minus	Doug Hicks (+18)
Wins	Eddie Mio (9)
Goals against average	Ron Low (3.42)

The 1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' eighth season, their first season in the National Hockey League (NHL), as they were one of the teams that were part of the WHA-NHL merger that took place on June 22, 1979.

Regular Season

The Oilers were led offensively by rookie superstar Wayne Gretzky, as he tied for the lead league in points at 137, however lost the Art Ross Trophy due to scoring fewer goals than winner Marcel Dionne. Gretzky, however, won the Hart Trophy as MVP of the NHL, but was declared ineligible for the Calder Trophy due to his playing days in the WHA.

Edmonton played 6 goaltenders during the season, and was led by Eddie Mio's 9 wins, while Ron Low, who came over in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques, would go 8–2–1 in 11 games with the Oilers.

They made the playoffs, however were quickly swept out by the powerful Philadelphia Flyers in 3 games, but Oilers fans were very excited about being part of the NHL, and of the future of the team.

Final Standings

Smythe Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Chicago Black Hawks	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
St. Louis Blues	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
Vancouver Canucks	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
Edmonton Oilers	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
Winnipeg Jets	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
Colorado Rockies	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 10	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks	0–1–0	0
2	October 13	Detroit Red Wings	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	0–1–1	1
3	October 14	Vancouver Canucks	4–4	Edmonton Oilers	0–1–2	2
4	October 19	Quebec Nordiques	3–6	Edmonton Oilers	1–1–2	4
5	October 21	Minnesota North Stars	5–5	Edmonton Oilers	1–1–3	5
6	October 23	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	New York Islanders	1–1–4	6
7	October 24	Edmonton Oilers	2–10	New York Rangers	1–2–4	6
8	October 26	Edmonton Oilers	3–7	Atlanta Flames	1–3–4	6
9	October 28	Washington Capitals	6–4	Edmonton Oilers	1–4–4	6
10	October 30	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	St. Louis Blues	1–5–4	6
11	November 2	New York Islanders	5–7	Edmonton Oilers	2–5–4	8
12	November 4	Boston Bruins	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	2–6–4	8
13	November 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	Detroit Red Wings	2–7–4	8
14	November 8	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Boston Bruins	2–8–4	8
15	November 11	Toronto Maple Leafs	6–3	Edmonton Oilers	2–9–4	8
16	November 13	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Washington Capitals	3–9–4	10
17	November 15	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers	3–10–4	10
18	November 17	Edmonton Oilers	0–4	Hartford Whalers	3–11–4	10
19	November 18	Edmonton Oilers	7–9	Buffalo Sabres	3–12–4	10
20	November 21	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	3–12–5	11
21	November 24	Philadelphia Flyers	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	3–12–6	12
22	November 28	Chicago Black Hawks	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	4–12–6	14
23	November 30	New York Islanders	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	5–12–6	16
24	December 5	Edmonton Oilers	1–6	Minnesota North Stars	5–13–6	16
25	December 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–8	Winnipeg Jets	5–14–6	16
26	December 9	Hartford Whalers	0–3	Edmonton Oilers	6–14–6	18
27	December 12	Atlanta Flames	5–5	Edmonton Oilers	6–14–7	19
28	December 14	Montreal Canadiens	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	7–14–7	21
29	December 16	Winnipeg Jets	4–3	Edmonton Oilers	7–15–7	21
30	December 19	Detroit Red Wings	6–4	Edmonton Oilers	7–16–7	21
31	December 21	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Colorado Rockies	7–17–7	21
32	December 22	Edmonton Oilers	3–9	Los Angeles Kings	7–18–7	21
33	December 26	Colorado Rockies	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	8–18–7	23
34	December 28	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Vancouver Canucks	9–18–7	25
35	December 30	Quebec Nordiques	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	9–19–7	25
36	January 2	Hartford Whalers	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	9–19–8	26
37	January 5	Los Angeles Kings	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	9–19–9	27
38	January 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Montreal Canadiens	9–20–9	27
39	January 9	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Quebec Nordiques	9–21–9	27
40	January 11	New York Rangers	6–2	Edmonton Oilers	9–22–9	27
41	January 13	Buffalo Sabres	5–6	Edmonton Oilers	10–22–9	29
42	January 16	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Washington Capitals	11–22–9	31
43	January 17	Edmonton Oilers	1–7	Boston Bruins	11–23–9	31
44	January 19	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	12–23–9	33
45	January 20	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	Buffalo Sabres	12–23–10	34
46	January 23	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	13–23–10	36
47	January 26	Toronto Maple Leafs	3–8	Edmonton Oilers	14–23–10	38
48	January 27	Philadelphia Flyers	5–3	Edmonton Oilers	14–24–10	38
49	January 29	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	St. Louis Blues	14–25–10	38
50	January 30	Edmonton Oilers	8–1	Los Angeles Kings	15–25–10	40
51	February 1	Winnipeg Jets	2–9	Edmonton Oilers	16–25–10	42
52	February 3	Los Angeles Kings	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	17–25–10	44
53	February 6	St. Louis Blues	6–3	Edmonton Oilers	17–26–10	44
54	February 8	Atlanta Flames	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	17–27–10	44
55	February 10	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	Winnipeg Jets	17–27–11	45
56	February 13	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	Minnesota North Stars	18–27–11	47
57	February 15	Washington Capitals	2–8	Edmonton Oilers	19–27–11	49
58	February 17	St. Louis Blues	5–5	Edmonton Oilers	19–27–12	50
59	February 19	Edmonton Oilers	2–6	Hartford Whalers	19–28–12	50
60	February 20	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	New York Rangers	19–29–12	50
61	February 22	Edmonton Oilers	1–3	Colorado Rockies	19–30–12	50
62	February 24	Boston Bruins	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	19–31–12	50
63	February 27	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks	20–31–12	52
64	February 29	Buffalo Sabres	4–2	Edmonton Oilers	20–32–12	52
65	March 1	Vancouver Canucks	5–2	Edmonton Oilers	20–33–12	52
66	March 4	Edmonton Oilers	4–6	New York Islanders	20–34–12	52
67	March 6	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Montreal Canadiens	20–35–12	52
68	March 8	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Pittsburgh Penguins	20–36–12	52
69	March 9	Edmonton Oilers	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers	20–37–12	52
70	March 12	Edmonton Oilers	6–3	Quebec Nordiques	21–37–12	54
71	March 14	Chicago Black Hawks	4–6	Edmonton Oilers	22–37–12	56
72	March 15	Montreal Canadiens	7–3	Edmonton Oilers	22–38–12	56
73	March 19	New York Rangers	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	23–38–12	58
74	March 21	Pittsburgh Penguins	2–9	Edmonton Oilers	24–38–12	60
75	March 25	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Atlanta Flames	25–38–12	62
76	March 26	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Detroit Red Wings	26–38–12	64
77	March 29	Edmonton Oilers	8–5	Toronto Maple Leafs	27–38–12	66
78	April 1	Edmonton Oilers	0–5	Vancouver Canucks	27–39–12	66
79	April 2	Minnesota North Stars	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	27–39–13	67
80	April 4	Colorado Rockies	2–6	Edmonton Oilers	28–39–13	69

Playoffs

Philadelphia Flyers 3, Edmonton Oilers 0

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 8	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers	0–1
2	April 9	Edmonton Oilers	1–5	Philadelphia Flyers	0–2
3	April 11	Philadelphia Flyers	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	0–3

Season Stats

Scoring Leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky	79	51	86	137	21
Blair MacDonald	80	46	48	94	6
Stan Weir	79	33	33	66	40
Brett Callighen	59	23	35	58	72
Dave Lumley	80	20	38	58	138

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA
Ron Low	11	650	8	2	1	37	0	3.42
Don Cutts	6	269	1	2	1	16	0	3.57
Jim Corsi	26	1366	8	14	3	83	0	3.65
Bob Dupuis	1	60	1	0	0	4	0	4.00
Eddie Mio	34	1711	9	13	5	120	1	4.21
Dave Dryden	14	744	2	7	3	53	0	4.27

Playoff Stats

Scoring Leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Wayne Gretzky	3	2	1	3	0
Mark Messier	3	1	2	3	2
Blair MacDonald	3	0	3	3	0
Don Murdoch	3	2	0	2	0
Brett Callighen	3	0	2	2	0

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Ron Low	3	212	0	3	12	0	3.40

Awards and Records

• Hart Trophy: Wayne Gretzky
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky
• Wayne Gretzky, Center, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

Trades

June 9, 1979	To Minnesota North Stars *Paul Shmyr	To Edmonton Oilers 4th round pick in 1979 - Glenn Anderson
June 13, 1979	To Montreal Canadiens 2nd round pick in 1980 - Ric Nattress	To Edmonton Oilers Dave Lumley Dan Newman
August 7, 1979	To St. Louis Blues Joe Micheletti	To Edmonton Oilers Tom Roulston Risto Siltanen
August 9, 1979	To Minnesota North Stars 2nd round pick in 1979 - Neal Broten 3rd round pick in 1979 - Kevin Maxwell	To Edmonton Oilers Dave Semenko 3rd round pick in 1979 - Mark Messier
August 22, 1979	To Toronto Maple Leafs Reg Thomas	To Edmonton Oilers 6th round pick in 1981 - Steve Smith
September 24, 1979	To Chicago Black Hawks Future considerations	To Edmonton Oilers Jim Harrison
November 13, 1979	To Buffalo Sabres John Gould	To Edmonton Oilers Alex Tidey
December 10, 1979	To Boston Bruins Dan Newman	To Edmonton Oilers Bobby Schmautz
February 25, 1980	To Colorado Rockies Bobby Schmautz	To Edmonton Oilers Don Ashby
March 11, 1980	To Minnesota North Stars Jim Corsi	To Edmonton Oilers Future considerations
March 11, 1980	To New York Rangers Cam Connor 3rd round pick in 1981 - Peter Sundstrom	To Edmonton Oilers Don Murdoch
March 11, 1980	To Quebec Nordiques Ron Chipperfield	To Edmonton Oilers Ron Low

*Oilers promised to not make Paul Shmyr one of its priority selections in the 1979 NHL expansion draft

Free Agents

Player Former Team F Clayton Pachal Colorado Rockies D John Bednarski New York Rangers F Kari Makkonen New York Islanders G Jim Corsi Quebec Nordiques F Roy Sommer Toronto Maple Leafs G Don Cutts New York Islanders

Player New Team D Dennis Patterson Philadelphia Flyers

Draft Picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft:

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	21	Kevin Lowe	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
3	48	Mark Messier	Canada	Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
4	69	Glenn Anderson	Canada	University of Denver (NCAA)
4	84	Max Kostovich	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
5	105	Mike Toal	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
6	126	Blair Barnes	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)

Expansion Draft Picks

Edmonton's expansion draft picks at the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft

#	Player	Drafted From
1.	Pete LoPresti (G)	Minnesota North Stars
2.	Doug Favell (G)	Colorado Rockies
3.	Cam Connor (RW)	Montreal Canadiens
4.	Lee Fogolin (D)	Buffalo Sabres
5.	Pat Price (D)	New York Islanders
6.	Colin Campbell (D)	Pittsburgh Penguins
7.	Larry Brown (D)	Los Angeles Kings
8.	Ron Areshenkoff (C)	Buffalo Sabres
9.	Inge Hammarstrom (LW)	St. Louis Blues
10.	John Gould (RW)	Atlanta Flames
11.	Doug Hicks (D)	Chicago Black Hawks
12.	Tom Edur (D)	Pittsburgh Penguins
13.	Wayne Bianchin (LW)	Pittsburgh Penguins
14.	Mike Forbes (D)	Boston Bruins
15.	Doug Patey (RW)	Washington Capitals
16.	Bob Kelly (LW)	Chicago Black Hawks
17.	Reg Thomas (C)	Chicago Black Hawks
18.	Dave Hunter (LW)	Montreal Canadiens

See Also

• 1979–80 NHL season

Game Ads

Exhibition vs Moscow Dynamo

Pre-season

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007