1977–78 Edmonton Oilers season explained

League:	WHA
Season:	1977–78
Year:	1977
Team:	Edmonton Oilers
Division:	WHA
Divisionrank:	5th
Record:	38–39–3
Homerecord:	24–15–2
Roadrecord:	14–24–1
Goalsfor:	309 (4th)
Goalsagainst:	307 (4th)
Goalsleader:	Bill Flett (41)
Assistsleader:	Ron Chipperfield (52)
Pointsleader:	Ron Chipperfield (85)
Plusminusleader:	Al Hamilton (+24)
Pimleader:	Ron Busniuk (157)
Winsleader:	Dave Dryden (21)
Gaaleader:	Dave Dryden (3.49)
Minorleague:	Spokane Flyers (WIHL)

The 1977–78 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' sixth season of operation. The Oilers placed fifth to qualify for the playoffs, losing in the first round.

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 12, 1977	3–7	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	0–1–0
2	W	October 14, 1977	4–2	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	1–1–0
3	L	October 15, 1977	2–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	1–2–0
4	L	October 19, 1977	3–6	New England Whalers (1977–78)	1–3–0
5	L	October 26, 1977	7–8 OT	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	1–4–0
6	W	October 28, 1977	3–2	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	2–4–0
7	L	October 30, 1977	2–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	2–5–0
8	L	November 2, 1977	3–6	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	2–6–0
9	W	November 4, 1977	3–1	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	3–6–0
10	W	November 6, 1977	7–1	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	4–6–0
11	L	November 8, 1977	3–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	4–7–0
12	L	November 10, 1977	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	4–8–0
13	W	November 11, 1977	3–2	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	5–8–0
14	T	November 12, 1977	1–1	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	5–8–1
15	W	November 16, 1977	6–4	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	6–8–1
16	W	November 18, 1977	4–3 OT	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	7–8–1
17	L	November 20, 1977	4–5 OT	New England Whalers (1977–78)	7–9–1
18	W	November 22, 1977	4–2	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	8–9–1
19	L	November 24, 1977	4–5 OT	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	8–10–1
20	W	November 26, 1977	3–1	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	9–10–1
21	W	November 30, 1977	4–2	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	10–10–1
22	L	December 2, 1977	5–7	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	10–11–1
23	W	December 4, 1977	3–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	11–11–1
24	W	December 7, 1977	5–4 OT	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	12–11–1
25	L	December 9, 1977	3–5	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	12–12–1
26	L	December 11, 1977	2–4	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	12–13–1
27	W	December 14, 1977	6–1	Czechoslovakia (1977–78)	13–13–1
28	L	December 18, 1977	2–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	13–14–1
29	L	December 20, 1977	4–6	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	13–15–1
30	W	December 21, 1977	5–2	Soviet All-Stars (1977–78)	14–15–1
31	W	December 27, 1977	9–3	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	15–15–1
32	W	December 30, 1977	8–5	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	16–15–1
33	L	January 1, 1978	1–2	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	16–16–1
34	L	January 6, 1978	1–4	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	16–17–1
35	W	January 8, 1978	4–2	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	17–17–1
36	W	January 11, 1978	2–0	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	18–17–1
37	L	January 13, 1978	0–2	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	18–18–1
38	L	January 14, 1978	4–7	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	18–19–1
39	W	January 15, 1978	4–3 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	19–19–1
40	W	January 18, 1978	1–0	New England Whalers (1977–78)	20–19–1
41	L	January 20, 1978	3–5	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	20–20–1
42	W	January 21, 1978	3–2	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	21–20–1
43	L	January 22, 1978	2–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	21–21–1
44	W	January 25, 1978	6–2	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	22–21–1
45	W	January 27, 1978	9–6	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	23–21–1
46	L	January 29, 1978	3–4	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	23–22–1
47	W	January 31, 1978	6–4	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	24–22–1
48	L	February 1, 1978	3–4	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	24–23–1
49	W	February 3, 1978	6–3	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	25–23–1
50	W	February 4, 1978	4–3 OT	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	26–23–1
51	L	February 5, 1978	3–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	26–24–1
52	T	February 8, 1978	6–6	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	26–24–2
53	W	February 12, 1978	7–0	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	27–24–2
54	W	February 14, 1978	4–1	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	28–24–2
55	L	February 15, 1978	5–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	28–25–2
56	W	February 17, 1978	6–4	Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	29–25–2
57	W	February 19, 1978	4–3 OT	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	30–25–2
58	L	February 22, 1978	5–6	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	30–26–2
59	W	February 24, 1978	5–4 OT	Houston Aeros (1977–78)	31–26–2
60	L	February 26, 1978	5–6	New England Whalers (1977–78)	31–27–2
61	L	March 1, 1978	4–6	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	31–28–2
62	L	March 3, 1978	6–8	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	31–29–2
63	W	March 5, 1978	4–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	32–29–2
64	L	March 7, 1978	3–4	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	32–30–2
65	L	March 9, 1978	5–6	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	32–31–2
66	L	March 11, 1978	0–2	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	32–32–2
67	L	March 14, 1978	3–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	32–33–2
68	L	March 15, 1978	4–8	@ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	32–34–2
69	W	March 17, 1978	6–2	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	33–34–2
70	W	March 19, 1978	4–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78)	34–34–2
71	L	March 22, 1978	3–5	Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	34–35–2
72	W	March 24, 1978	4–0	Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	35–35–2
73	L	March 26, 1978	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1977–78)	35–36–2
74	W	March 28, 1978	4–3 OT	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	36–36–2
75	L	March 30, 1978	1–5	@ Houston Aeros (1977–78)	36–37–2
76	L	March 31, 1978	2–5	@ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78)	36–38–2
77	W	April 1, 1978	4–1	@ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78)	37–38–2
78	L	April 4, 1978	1–9	@ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78)	37–39–2
79	T	April 5, 1978	4–4	New England Whalers (1977–78)	37–39–3
80	W	April 7, 1978	4–2	Winnipeg Jets (1977–78)	38–39–3

Playoffs

New England Whalers 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 – Preliminary Round

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 14	Edmonton	4–6	New England	0–1
2	April 16	Edmonton	1–4	New England	0–2
3	April 19	New England	0–2	Edmonton	1–2
4	April 21	New England	9–1	Edmonton	1–3
5	April 23	Edmonton	1–4	New England	1–4

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 80 33 52 85 48 1 11 1 0 RW 74 41 28 69 34 9 8 1 0 RW 80 34 34 68 11 −12 7 4 0 C 71 23 34 57 47 1 2 3 0 D 59 11 43 54 46 24 6 0 0 C 80 20 30 50 112 5 1 0 0 D 80 9 40 49 100 −9 3 0 0 D 56 14 34 48 56 8 3 0 0 RW 71 26 21 47 2 14 8 0 0 C 71 18 24 42 8 10 0 1 0 LW 60 12 21 33 71 −7 2 0 0 C/LW 53 8 22 30 12 11 0 0 0 D 62 6 22 28 90 11 1 0 0 C 53 7 13 20 12 −17 2 0 0 RW 59 2 18 20 157 −8 0 0 0 D 47 6 8 14 20 −7 3 0 0 LW 18 4 10 14 4 −1 0 0 0 C 37 11 2 13 29 −2 2 0 0 LW 65 6 6 12 140 −4 0 0 0 C 13 6 3 9 4 −4 1 0 0 G 33 0 8 8 2 0 0 0 0 D 6 2 4 6 2 0 0 0 0 RW 18 2 4 6 18 1 0 0 0 D 14 1 4 5 4 3 0 0 0 LW 20 1 3 4 32 −1 0 0 0 LW 22 2 1 3 14 −1 1 0 0 D 11 1 2 3 39 1 1 0 0 RW 47 2 0 2 124 −11 0 0 0 LW 5 1 1 2 7 −7 0 1 0 D 10 0 2 2 4 −1 0 0 0 G 48 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 D 19 0 1 1 16 −6 0 0 0 D 3 0 1 1 4 −1 0 0 0 LW 5 0 1 1 0 −1 0 0 0 RW 7 0 1 1 2 −1 0 0 0 D 4 0 0 0 15 −5 0 0 0 G 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LW 2 0 0 0 0 −3 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0 C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO 2578 48 21 23 2 150 3.49 2 1723 33 15 10 1 102 3.55 2 497 9 2 5 0 42 5.07 0 60 1 0 1 0 6 6.00 0 Team: 4858 80 38 39 3 300 3.71 4

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 5 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 D 5 1 3 4 11 0 0 0 C 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 LW 5 1 1 2 20 0 0 1 RW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 C/LW 5 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 C 5 0 2 2 16 0 0 0 D 5 0 2 2 10 0 0 0 D 5 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 LW 5 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 C 5 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 D 4 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 C 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 RW 5 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 D 5 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 LW 5 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO 207 4 1 3 16 4.64 1 91 2 0 1 6 3.96 0 Team: 298 5 1 4 22 4.43 1

^[1]

Note: Pos = Position; 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;

Transactions

Trades

Date	To Edmonton Oilers	Traded to	Traded for
June 1977			Brett Callighen
		New England Whalers	Jean-Louis Levasseur
			Barry Wilkins Ed Patenaude Claude St. Sauveur Kevin Devine
			Chris Evans Pete Laframboise Danny Arndt
	Future considerations	Indianapolis Racers	Kevin Morrison Bill Prentice Bob Russell
			Future considerations
			Future considerations
		Quebec Nordiques	Dave Inkpen Rick Morris Warren Miller Ken Broderick
			Butch Deadmarsh Dave Debol Future considerations Cash
		Minnesota North Stars (NHL)	Future considerations

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term
		Calgary Cowboys
		New York Rangers (NHL)
			2-year
October 1977		San Diego Mariners
		Spokane Flyers (WIHL)
		San Diego Mariners
		Spokane Flyers (WIHL)
		Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA)
		St. Albert Saints (AJHL)

Players lost

Date	Player	New team
		Retired
	Randy Legge
		Indianapolis Racers
		Broome Dusters (AHL)
July 1977		Indianapolis Racers
November 1977		Birmingham Bulls
		Released
		Colorado Rockies (NHL)
		Birmingham Bulls
December 1977	Ken Baird	Winnipeg Jets
		Retired
		Cincinnati Stingers
		Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL)

Signings

Date	Player	Term
		2-year
		1-year
		1-year
		1-year
		2-year
		1-year
		2-year

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.^[2]

Round		Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	4	Mike Crombeen (F)		Kingston Canadians (OHA)
1	11	Ron Areshenkoff^[3] (C)		Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
3	24	Kim Davis (C)		Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4	33		Neil LaBatte (D)		Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4	34	Dan Clark (D)		Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
5	42	Rocky Saganiuk (RW)		Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL)
6	51	Julian Baretta (G)		University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
7	60	Dave Hoyda (LW)		Portland Winter Hawks (WCHL)
8	69	Ray Creasy (F)		New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
9	77	Guy Lash (RW)		Winnipeg Monarchs (WCHL)
10	85	Owen Lloyd (D)		Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)

See also

• 1977–78 WHA season

External links

• Web site: 1977–78 Edmonton Oilers Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-06 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-29 . 1977-78 Edmonton Oilers Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com.
2. Web site: 1977 WHA Amateur Draft . hockeyDB.com . December 18, 2018.
3. News: Matheson . Jim . 17 June 1977 . Dryden, Oilers reunited in odd fashion . . 22 February 2024 . Edmonton.