1978–79 Edmonton Oilers season explained

League:	WHA
Season:	1978–79
Year:	1978
Team:	Edmonton Oilers
Division:	WHA
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	48–30–2
Homerecord:	29–11–1
Roadrecord:	19–19–1
Goalsfor:	340 (1st)
Goalsagainst:	266 (1st)
Goalsleader:	Wayne Gretzky (43)
Assistsleader:	Wayne Gretzky (61)
Pointsleader:	Wayne Gretzky (104)
Plusminusleader:	Paul Shmyr (+37)
Pimleader:	Dave Semenko (158)
Winsleader:	Dave Dryden (41)
Gaaleader:	Dave Dryden (2.89)
Minorleague:	Springfield Indians (AHL) Dallas Black Hawks (CHL)

The 1978–79 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' seventh season of operation. The Oilers placed first and made it to the Avco Cup Final, losing to the Winnipeg Jets. This was the organization's last season in the WHA before joining the National Hockey League.

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 13, 1978	3–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	1–0–0
2	L	October 17, 1978	1–2	New England Whalers (1978–79)	1–1–0
3	W	October 20, 1978	4–3	@ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79)	2–1–0
4	L	October 21, 1978	3–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	2–2–0
5	W	October 22, 1978	6–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	3–2–0
6	L	October 24, 1978	2–3	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	3–3–0
7	L	October 29, 1978	2–6	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	3–4–0
8	L	October 31, 1978	4–5	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	3–5–0
9	W	November 3, 1978	4–3 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	4–5–0
10	L	November 5, 1978	0–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	4–6–0
11	W	November 8, 1978	6–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	5–6–0
12	L	November 9, 1978	1–6	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	5–7–0
13	W	November 11, 1978	5–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	6–7–0
14	L	November 12, 1978	3–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	6–8–0
15	W	November 17, 1978	6–1	Indianapolis Racers (1978–79)	7–8–0
16	W	November 19, 1978	6–3	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	8–8–0
17	W	November 21, 1978	4–1	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	9–8–0
18	W	November 24, 1978	4–3 OT	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	10–8–0
19	W	November 28, 1978	8–2	Indianapolis Racers (1978–79)	11–8–0
20	W	December 1, 1978	8–2	New England Whalers (1978–79)	12–8–0
21	L	December 3, 1978	0–7	New England Whalers (1978–79)	12–9–0
22	L	December 6, 1978	3–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	12–10–0
23	L	December 7, 1978	3–5	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	12–11–0
24	L	December 9, 1978	2–6	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	12–12–0
25	L	December 10, 1978	4–6	@ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79)	12–13–0
26	W	December 12, 1978	5–2	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	13–13–0
27	W	December 15, 1978	5–3	Soviet All-Stars (1978–79)	14–13–0
28	W	December 19, 1978	5–2	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	15–13–0
29	L	December 22, 1978	4–5	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	15–14–0
30	L	December 26, 1978	3–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	15–15–0
31	W	December 27, 1978	5–3	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	16–15–0
32	W	December 30, 1978	5–1	Czechoslovakia (1978–79)	17–15–0
33	L	January 9, 1979	3–4 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	17–16–0
34	W	January 13, 1979	3–0	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	18–16–0
35	W	January 16, 1979	3–1	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	19–16–0
36	W	January 17, 1979	6–3	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	20–16–0
37	W	January 19, 1979	11–3	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	21–16–0
38	L	January 21, 1979	3–4	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	21–17–0
39	W	January 23, 1979	5–1	New England Whalers (1978–79)	22–17–0
40	L	January 26, 1979	2–5	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	22–18–0
41	W	January 28, 1979	3–0	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	23–18–0
42	L	January 31, 1979	3–6	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	23–19–0
43	L	February 2, 1979	2–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	23–20–0
44	L	February 4, 1979	3–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	23–21–0
45	W	February 6, 1979	6–2	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	24–21–0
46	W	February 7, 1979	8–5	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	25–21–0
47	W	February 9, 1979	3–0	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	26–21–0
48	W	February 11, 1979	4–3 OT	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	27–21–0
49	W	February 13, 1979	6–1	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	28–21–0
50	W	February 16, 1979	4–2	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	29–21–0
51	W	February 18, 1979	6–3	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	30–21–0
52	W	February 20, 1979	8–2	New England Whalers (1978–79)	31–21–0
53	W	February 23, 1979	3–1	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	32–21–0
54	W	February 25, 1979	5–4	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	33–21–0
55	T	February 27, 1979	1–1	New England Whalers (1978–79)	33–21–1
56	W	March 2, 1979	5–2	Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	34–21–1
57	W	March 3, 1979	6–4	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	35–21–1
58	L	March 6, 1979	3–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	35–22–1
59	L	March 7, 1979	3–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	35–23–1
60	T	March 9, 1979	4–4	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	35–23–2
61	W	March 11, 1979	4–0	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	36–23–2
62	L	March 13, 1979	1–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	36–24–2
63	W	March 16, 1979	6–1	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	37–24–2
64	L	March 18, 1979	2–7	Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	37–25–2
65	W	March 20, 1979	8–4	Finland (1978–79)	38–25–2
66	W	March 21, 1979	7–4	@ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	39–25–2
67	L	March 23, 1979	4–6	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	39–26–2
68	W	March 25, 1979	6–5	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	40–26–2
69	L	March 28, 1979	0–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	40–27–2
70	W	March 30, 1979	3–1	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	41–27–2
71	W	April 1, 1979	5–3	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	42–27–2
72	W	April 3, 1979	5–1	@ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79)	43–27–2
73	L	April 4, 1979	2–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79)	43–28–2
74	W	April 6, 1979	7–2	New England Whalers (1978–79)	44–28–2
75	W	April 8, 1979	5–4	Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	45–28–2
76	L	April 10, 1979	4–6	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	45–29–2
77	W	April 13, 1979	6–4	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	46–29–2
78	L	April 14, 1979	6–7	@ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79)	46–30–2
79	W	April 15, 1979	4–1	@ New England Whalers (1978–79)	47–30–2
80	W	April 18, 1979	9–3	Winnipeg Jets (1978–79)	48–30–2

Playoffs

Edmonton Oilers 4, New England Whalers 3 – Semifinals

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 26	New England	2 – 6	Edmonton	1–0
2	April 27	New England	5 – 9	Edmonton	2–0
3	April 29	Edmonton	1 – 4	New England	2–1
4	May 1	Edmonton	4 – 5	New England	2–2
5	May 3	New England	2 – 5	Edmonton	3–2
6	May 6	Edmonton	8 – 4	New England	3–3
7	May 8	New England	3 – 6	Edmonton	4–3

Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 2 – Avco Cup Finals

	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 11		3–1		0–1
2	May 13		3–2		0–2
3	May 15		8–3		1–2
4	May 16		2–3		1–3
5	May 18		2–10		2–3
6	May 20		3–7		2–4

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 72 43 61 104 19 23 9 0 0 RW 80 34 37 71 44 35 3 4 0 C 71 31 39 70 79 29 12 0 0 C 55 32 37 69 47 25 6 0 0 RW 73 28 36 64 14 26 9 0 0 C 74 26 37 63 31 24 6 1 0 C 68 31 30 61 20 24 3 0 0 D 72 14 33 47 85 10 3 0 0 D 80 8 39 47 119 37 0 0 0 D 80 6 38 44 38 22 2 0 0 C 73 18 22 40 50 15 4 3 0 LW 69 17 23 40 115 16 3 0 0 LW 72 7 25 32 134 7 0 0 0 D 54 8 23 31 16 -5 2 1 0 D 77 6 21 27 76 33 3 0 0 LW 77 10 14 24 158 -12 2 0 0 D 41 2 15 17 82 22 0 0 0 C 29 6 3 9 4 -9 1 0 0 LW 38 5 4 9 22 -8 1 0 0 G 63 0 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 D 20 3 4 7 4 4 0 0 0 RW 17 4 2 6 14 -3 0 0 0 D 35 0 5 5 18 5 0 0 0 LW 12 1 1 2 8 -5 1 0 0 G 22 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 LW 3 0 0 0 11 1 0 0 0 G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RW 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 D 6 0 0 0 2 -2 0 0 0 D 2 0 0 0 0 -4 0 0 0 G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO 3531 63 41 17 2 170 2.89 3 1068 22 7 10 0 71 3.99 1 90 2 0 1 0 10 6.67 0 144 3 0 2 0 9 3.75 0 Team: 4833 80 48 30 2 260 3.23 4

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG C 13 10 10 20 2 0 0 1 C 13 9 10 19 8 0 0 0 RW 13 8 10 18 6 0 0 0 C 13 5 10 15 15 0 0 1 C 12 6 6 12 4 0 0 1 D 13 4 5 9 4 0 0 0 D 13 0 9 9 2 0 0 0 D 11 0 9 9 4 0 0 0 RW 10 5 2 7 2 0 0 1 C 13 2 5 7 2 0 0 1 LW 13 1 6 7 8 0 0 0 LW 11 4 2 6 29 0 0 0 D 13 1 5 6 23 0 0 0 LW 13 2 3 5 42 0 0 0 RW 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 C 11 1 1 2 12 0 0 0 RW 4 1 1 2 11 0 0 1 D 13 1 0 1 35 0 0 0 G 13 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 D 13 0 1 1 25 0 0 0 LW 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO 687 13 6 7 42 3.67 0 90 3 0 0 6 4.00 0 Team: 777 13 6 7 48 3.71 0

^[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;

Awards and records

Regular Season
Player	Milestone	Reached
	1st WHA Game 1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point	October 13, 1978
	1st WHA Game
Dave Hunter	1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point	October 20, 1978
	1st WHA Game	October 21, 1978
	1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point	October 22, 1978
	1st WHA Goal 1st WHA Point	October 31, 1978
	100th WHA Point	November 8, 1978
	1st WHA Assist 1st WHA Point
Garnet Bailey	1st WHA Assist	November 11, 1978
Doug Berry	1st WHA Assist	November 19, 1978
Dave Hunter	1st WHA Goal
Stan Weir	1st WHA Goal	November 21, 1978
	1st WHA Assist	November 24, 1978
Stan Weir	1st WHA Hat-Trick	November 28, 1978
	1st WHA Hat-Trick	December 12, 1978
	200th WHA Game	December 19, 1978
Wayne Gretzky	2nd WHA Hat-Trick	January 13, 1978
	300th WHA Point	January 28, 1979
	300th WHA Point	February 7, 1979
Dave Dryden	100th WHA Win	February 23, 1979
	300th WHA Point	March 16, 1979
	1st WHA Goal	March 18, 1979
	300th WHA Point	March 20, 1979
	1st WHA Game
	100th WHA Assist	April 4, 1979
	100th WHA Goal
Wayne Gretzky	3rd WHA Hat-Trick	April 10, 1979
Wayne Gretzky	100th WHA Point	April 13, 1979
	100th WHA Point	April 14, 1979
Wayne Gretzky	4th WHA Hat-Trick	April 15, 1979

Transactions

Trades

Date	To Edmonton Oilers	Traded to	Traded for
			Juha Widing
		Minnesota North Stars (NHL)	Cash
		Indianapolis Racers	($850,000) Cash

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term
		Vancouver Canucks (NHL)	1-year
		Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)	3-year
		Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)	2-year
		Montreal Canadiens (NHL)	5-year
			2-year
		Seattle Breakers (WCHL)
		Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)	2-year
		Cleveland Barons (NHL)
		Maine Mariners (AHL)
		Indianapolis Racers
		New York Rangers (NHL)
		Jokerit Helsinki (Liiga)	1-year
		Ilves Tampere (Liiga)	1-year
		Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
		Färjestad BK Karlstad (Elitserien)	2-year

Players lost

Date	Player	New team
		Retired
	Bryan Campbell
	Bob Falkenberg
	Norm Ferguson
		Birmingham Bulls
		Indianapolis Racers
		Retired
	Gerry Pinder
	Randy Rota
		Indianapolis Racers
	Don McLeod
		Cincinnati Stingers
		St. Louis Blues (NHL)
		Boston Bruins (NHL)
		Released
		Cincinnati Stingers

Signings

Date	Player	Term
		3-year
		3-year
		4-year
		1-year
		10-year

Waivers

Date	Player	Team
		from New England Whalers
	Jim Mayer

See also

• 1978–79 WHA season

References

• Web site: 1978–79 Edmonton Oilers Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-06 .
• Web site: Teenager Gretzky Pulls 'Hat Trick' On Stingers, 5-2..

Notes and References

1. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-29 . 1978-79 Edmonton Oilers Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com.