1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season

1979–80 Edmonton Oilers
Division 4th 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
Average attendance 15,431 (100.1%)
Minor league affiliations Houston Apollos (CHL)
Team leaders
Goals Wayne Gretzky (51)
Assists Wayne Gretzky (86)
Points Wayne Gretzky (137)
Penalties in minutes Colin Campbell (196)
Plus/minus Doug Hicks (+18)
Wins Eddie Mio (9)
Goals against average Ron Low (3.42)
<1978–79 1980–81>

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.

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, would win 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 would make 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.

Regular season

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

[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

1979–80 Game Log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1980 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Player statistics

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 0 1 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

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Brett Callighen 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 10, 1979
Wayne Gretzky
Ron Chipperfield 1st NHL Game
Peter Driscoll
Blair MacDonald
Mark Messier
Dave Semenko
Risto Siltanen
Dave Hunter 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Kevin Lowe
Dave Lumley 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Blair MacDonald 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
October 13, 1979
Mark Messier
Eddie Mio 1st NHL Game
Dave Semenko 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Stan Weir 200th NHL Point
Bill Flett 500th NHL PIM October 14, 1979
Wayne Gretzky 1st NHL Goal
Blair MacDonald 1st NHL Assist
Risto Siltanen 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Brett Callighen 1st NHL Goal October 19, 1979
Ron Chipperfield 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Blair MacDonald 1st NHL Hat-trick
Mark Messier 1st NHL Assist
Eddie Mio 1st NHL Win
Dave Hunter
Risto Siltanen
1st NHL Assist October 21, 1979
Ron Areshenkoff 1st NHL Game October 23, 1979
Colin Campbell 600th NHL PIM
Peter Driscoll 1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Peter Driscoll 1st NHL Assist October 26, 1979
Dave Semenko 1st NHL Goal
Bill Flett 200th NHL Goal October 28, 1979
Ron Chipperfield 1st NHL Goal October 30, 1979
Mike Toal 1st NHL Game
Kari Makkonen 1st NHL Game November 7, 1979
Dave Dryden 200th NHL Game November 21, 1979
Kevin Lowe 1st NHL Assist November 30, 1979
Kari Makkonen 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 7, 1979
Eddie Mio 1st NHL Shutout December 9, 1979
Kari Makkonen 1st NHL Goal December 12, 1979
Eddie Mio 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 19, 1979
Jim Corsi 1st NHL Game December 21, 1979
Jim Corsi 1st NHL Win December 26, 1979
Jim Corsi 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
January 7, 1980
Stan Weir 100th NHL Goal
Doug Hicks 100th NHL Point January 13, 1980
Blair MacDonald 2nd NHL Hat-trick January 19, 1980
Blair MacDonald 3rd NHL Hat-trick January 26, 1980
Don Cutts 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win
January 30, 1980
Dave Semenko 100th NHL PIM
Cam Connor 100th NHL PIM February 1, 1980
Wayne Gretzky 1st NHL Hat-trick
Dave Lumley 100th NHL PIM February 6, 1980
Stan Weir
Colin Campbell 700th NHL PIM February 13, 1980
Lee Fogolin 500th NHL PIM February 15, 1980
Blair MacDonald 4th NHL Hat-trick
Wayne Gretzky 100th NHL Point February 24, 1980
Ron Carter 1st NHL Game February 27, 1980
Pat Price 200th NHL PIM March 4, 1980
Bob Dupuis 1st NHL Game March 9, 1980
Lee Fogolin 400th NHL Game March 14, 1980
Wayne Gretzky 2nd NHL Hat-trick
1st NHL Natural Hat-trick
March 21, 1980
Dave Semenko 1st NHL Gordie Howe hat trick
Don Ashby 1st NHL Hat-trick March 29, 1980
Wayne Gretzky 50th Goal in 79 Games April 2, 1980
Dave Hunter 100th NHL PIM
Bryon Baltimore 1st NHL Game TBD
John Bednarski 100th NHL Game
Colin Campbell 300th NHL Game
Doug Hicks 400th NHL Game
Pat Price 200th NHL Game
Stan Weir 400th NHL Game
Playoffs
Player Milestone Reached
Brett Callighen 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
April 8, 1980
Blair MacDonald
Mark Messier
Wayne Gretzky 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Peter Driscoll 1st NHL Game
Dave Hunter
Ron Low
Kevin Lowe
Dave Semenko
Dave Lumley 1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Kevin Lowe 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
April 9, 1980
Mark Messier 1st NHL Goal April 11, 1980
Risto Siltanen 1st NHL Game TBD

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 Denver Pioneers (WCHA)
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

Pick Nationality Player Pos Age Drafted From GP G A PTS PIM W L T GAA
1 United States LoPresti, PetePete LoPresti G 25 Minnesota North Stars 173 0 3 3 6 43 101 20 4.06
2 Canada Favell, DougDoug Favell G 34 Colorado Rockies 373 0 8 8 152 123 153 69 3.17
3 Canada Connor, CamCam Connor RW 24 Montreal Canadiens 23 1 3 4 39
4 Canada Fogolin, LeeLee Fogolin D 24 Buffalo Sabres 329 8 68 76 424
5 Canada Price, PatPat Price D 24 New York Islanders 182 8 45 53 104
6 Canada Campbell, ColinColin Campbell D 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 297 17 60 77 584
7 Canada Brown, LarryLarry Brown D 32 Los Angeles Kings 455 7 53 60 180
8 Canada Areshenkoff, RonRon Areshenkoff C 22 Buffalo Sabres
9 Sweden Hammarstrom, IngeInge Hammarstrom LW 31 St. Louis Blues 427 116 123 239 98
10 Canada Gould, JohnJohn Gould RW 30 Atlanta Flames 452 122 129 251 103
11 Canada Hicks, DougDoug Hicks D 24 Chicago Black Hawks 357 20 63 83 241
12 Canada Edur, TomTom Edur D 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 158 17 70 87 67
13 Canada Bianchin, WayneWayne Bianchin LW 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 264 68 41 109 137
14 Canada Forbes, MikeMike Forbes D 21 Boston Bruins 32 0 4 4 15
15 Canada Patey, DougDoug Patey RW 22 Washington Capitals 45 4 2 6 8
16 Canada Kelly, BobBob Kelly LW 33 Chicago Black Hawks 425 87 109 196 687
17 Canada Thomas, RegReg Thomas C 26 Chicago Black Hawks
18 Canada Hunter, DaveDave Hunter LW 21 Montreal Canadiens
This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Roster

1979-80 Edmonton Oilers
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centres

See also

References

  1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
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