1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season

The 1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' eighth season and their first season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers were one of four WHA organizations that were granted NHL expansion franchises under the terms of an expansion agreement that took effect on June 22, 1979.

1979–80 Edmonton Oilers
Division4th Smythe
Conference8th Campbell
1979–80 record28–39–13
Home record17–14–9
Road record11–25–4
Goals for301 (9th)
Goals against322 (20th)
Team information
General managerLarry Gordon
CoachGlen Sather
CaptainRon Chipperfield (Oct-Mar)
Blair MacDonald (Mar-Apr)
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaNorthlands Coliseum
Average attendance15,431 (100.1%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Houston Apollos (CHL)
Dayton Gems (IHL)
Team leaders
GoalsWayne Gretzky (51)
AssistsWayne Gretzky (86)
PointsWayne Gretzky (137)
Penalty minutesColin Campbell (196)
Plus/minusDoug Hicks (+18)
WinsEddie Mio (9)
Goals against averageRon Low (3.42)

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 2 fewer goals than winner Marcel Dionne. Gretzky, however, won the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP of the NHL but was declared ineligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy due to his playing days in the WHA.

Edmonton played six goaltenders during the season and was led by Eddie Mio's nine 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, they 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

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Final standings

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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.

League standings[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Philadelphia Flyers PTK 80 48 12 20 327 254 116
2 y – Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 47 17 16 318 201 110
3 x – Montreal Canadiens NRS 80 47 20 13 328 240 107
4 Boston Bruins ADM 80 46 21 13 310 234 105
5 New York Islanders PTK 80 39 28 13 281 247 91
6 Minnesota North Stars ADM 80 36 28 16 311 253 88
7 x – Chicago Black Hawks SMY 80 34 27 19 241 250 87
8 New York Rangers PTK 80 38 32 10 308 284 86
9 Atlanta Flames PTK 80 35 32 13 282 269 83
10 St. Louis Blues SMY 80 34 34 12 266 278 80
11 Toronto Maple Leafs ADM 80 35 40 5 304 327 75
12 Los Angeles Kings NRS 80 30 36 14 290 313 74
13 Pittsburgh Penguins NRS 80 30 37 13 251 303 73
14 Hartford Whalers NRS 80 27 34 19 303 312 73
15 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 27 37 16 256 281 70
16 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 28 39 13 301 322 69
17 Washington Capitals PTK 80 27 40 13 261 293 67
18 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 26 43 11 268 306 63
19 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 25 44 11 248 313 61
20 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 20 49 11 214 314 51
21 Colorado Rockies SMY 80 19 48 13 234 308 51

Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

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Smythe Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

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Vs. Wales Conference


Schedule and results

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1979–80 Game Log

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

Playoffs

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1980 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics

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Scoring leaders

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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

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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

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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

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

Awards and records

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Records

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Milestones

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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
Colin Campbell 300th NHL Game October 14, 1979
Bill Flett 500th NHL PIM
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
John Bednarski 100th NHL Game November 8, 1979
Bryon Baltimore 1st NHL Game November 13, 1979
Dave Dryden 200th NHL Game November 21, 1979
Kevin Lowe 1st NHL Assist November 30, 1979
Pat Price 200th NHL Game
Kari Makkonen 1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 7, 1979
Stan Weir 400th NHL Game
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
Doug Hicks 400th NHL Game January 20, 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
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
Risto Siltanen 1st NHL Game
Mark Messier 1st NHL Goal April 11, 1980

Transactions

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Draft picks

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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

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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   Pete LoPresti G 25 Minnesota North Stars 173 0 3 3 6 43 101 20 4.06
2   Doug Favell G 34 Colorado Rockies 373 0 8 8 152 123 153 69 3.17
3   Cam Connor RW 24 Montreal Canadiens 23 1 3 4 39
4   Lee Fogolin D 24 Buffalo Sabres 329 8 68 76 424
5   Pat Price D 24 New York Islanders 182 8 45 53 104
6   Colin Campbell D 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 297 17 60 77 584
7   Larry Brown D 32 Los Angeles Kings 455 7 53 60 180
8   Ron Areshenkoff C 22 Buffalo Sabres
9   Inge Hammarstrom LW 31 St. Louis Blues 427 116 123 239 98
10   John Gould RW 30 Atlanta Flames 452 122 129 251 103
11   Doug Hicks D 24 Chicago Black Hawks 357 20 63 83 241
12   Tom Edur D 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 158 17 70 87 67
13   Wayne Bianchin LW 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 264 68 41 109 137
14   Mike Forbes D 21 Boston Bruins 32 0 4 4 15
15   Doug Patey RW 22 Washington Capitals 45 4 2 6 8
16   Bob Kelly LW 33 Chicago Black Hawks 425 87 109 196 687

Trades

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Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. ^ "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.