| 1978–79 AHL season | |
| League: | American Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champ Name: | F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy |
| Season Champs: | Maine Mariners |
| Mvp: | Rocky Saganiuk |
| Mvp Link: | Les Cunningham Award |
| Top Scorer: | Bernie Johnston |
| Top Scorer Link: | John B. Sollenberger Trophy |
| Finals: | Playoffs |
| Finals Link: | 1979 Calder Cup playoffs |
| Finals Champ: | Maine Mariners |
| Seasonslistnames: | AHL |
The 1978–79 AHL season was the 43rd season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurated the Ken McKenzie Award, for the most outstanding marketing executive, showing its commitment to marketing and public relations.
Nine teams were scheduled to play 80 games each. The Maine Mariners repeated as first overall in the regular season, and won their second consecutive Calder Cup championship.
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
| North | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Mariners (PHI) | 80 | 45 | 22 | 13 | 103 | 350 | 252 | |
| New Brunswick Hawks (CHI/TOR) | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 92 | 315 | 288 | |
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs (MTL) | 80 | 39 | 37 | 4 | 82 | 313 | 302 | |
| Springfield Indians (LAK) | 80 | 33 | 38 | 9 | 75 | 289 | 290 |
| South | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven Nighthawks (NYR) | 80 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 101 | 346 | 271 | |
| Hershey Bears (BUF/WSH) | 79 | 35 | 36 | 8 | 78 | 311 | 324 | |
| Binghamton Dusters (PIT) | 79 | 32 | 42 | 5 | 69 | 300 | 320 | |
| Rochester Americans (BOS) | 80 | 26 | 42 | 12 | 64 | 289 | 349 | |
| Philadelphia Firebirds (CLR) | 80 | 23 | 49 | 8 | 54 | 230 | 347 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 29 | 66 | 95 | 40 | |||
| 80 | 41 | 50 | 91 | 43 | |||
| 80 | 26 | 56 | 82 | 44 | |||
| 70 | 33 | 48 | 81 | 26 | |||
| 79 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 57 | |||
| 61 | 22 | 58 | 80 | 160 | |||
| 76 | 30 | 50 | 80 | 27 | |||
| 76 | 29 | 51 | 80 | 20 | |||
| 61 | 47 | 29 | 76 | 91 | |||
| 77 | 28 | 48 | 76 | 138 |
See main article: 1979 Calder Cup playoffs.
| Calder Cup Playoff champions: | Maine Mariners | |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular Season champions, North Division: | Maine Mariners | |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular Season champions, South Division: | New Haven Nighthawks |
| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: | Rocky Saganiuk - New Brunswick Hawks | |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: | Bernie Johnston - Maine Mariners | |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: | Mike Meeker - Binghamton Dusters | |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: | ||
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: | Pete Peeters & Robbie Moore - Maine Mariners | |
| Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: | Parker MacDonald - New Haven Nighthawks | |
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance: | Bernie Johnston - Maine Mariners |
| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: | Harry Sinden | |
| James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: | Eddie St. Pierre, Moncton, (newspaper) Arnie Patterson, Nova Scotia, (radio) Jack O'Neil, Springfield, (television) | |
| Ken McKenzie Award Outstanding marketing executive: | Roy Mlakar, New Haven Nighthawks |