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 affiliate(s) 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)

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 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 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 Hawks8034271924125087
St. Louis Blues8034341226627880
Vancouver Canucks8027371625628170
Edmonton Oilers8028391330132269
Winnipeg Jets8020491121431451
Colorado Rockies8019481323430851

[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 Gretzky79518613721
Blair MacDonald804648946
Stan Weir7933336640
Brett Callighen5923355872
Dave Lumley80203858138

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Ron Low116508213703.42
Don Cutts62691211603.57
Jim Corsi26136681438303.65
Bob Dupuis160010404.00
Eddie Mio341711913512014.21
Dave Dryden147442735304.27
Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky32130
Mark Messier31232
Blair MacDonald30330
Don Murdoch32020
Brett Callighen30220

Goaltending

PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Ron Low3212031203.40

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular Season
PlayerMilestoneReached
Brett Callighen1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
October 10, 1979
Wayne Gretzky
Ron Chipperfield1st NHL Game
Peter Driscoll
Blair MacDonald
Mark Messier
Dave Semenko
Risto Siltanen
Dave Hunter1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Kevin Lowe
Dave Lumley1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Blair MacDonald1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
October 13, 1979
Mark Messier
Eddie Mio1st NHL Game
Dave Semenko1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Stan Weir200th NHL Point
Colin Campbell300th NHL GameOctober 14, 1979
Bill Flett500th NHL PIM
Wayne Gretzky1st NHL Goal
Blair MacDonald1st NHL Assist
Risto Siltanen1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Brett Callighen1st NHL GoalOctober 19, 1979
Ron Chipperfield1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Blair MacDonald1st NHL Hat-trick
Mark Messier1st NHL Assist
Eddie Mio1st NHL Win
Dave Hunter
Risto Siltanen
1st NHL AssistOctober 21, 1979
Ron Areshenkoff1st NHL GameOctober 23, 1979
Colin Campbell600th NHL PIM
Peter Driscoll1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Peter Driscoll1st NHL AssistOctober 26, 1979
Dave Semenko1st NHL Goal
Bill Flett200th NHL GoalOctober 28, 1979
Ron Chipperfield1st NHL GoalOctober 30, 1979
Mike Toal1st NHL Game
Kari Makkonen1st NHL GameNovember 7, 1979
John Bednarski100th NHL GameNovember 8, 1979
Bryon Baltimore1st NHL GameNovember 13, 1979
Dave Dryden200th NHL GameNovember 21, 1979
Kevin Lowe1st NHL AssistNovember 30, 1979
Pat Price200th NHL Game
Kari Makkonen1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 7, 1979
Stan Weir400th NHL Game
Eddie Mio1st NHL ShutoutDecember 9, 1979
Kari Makkonen1st NHL GoalDecember 12, 1979
Eddie Mio1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
December 19, 1979
Jim Corsi1st NHL GameDecember 21, 1979
Jim Corsi1st NHL WinDecember 26, 1979
Jim Corsi1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
January 7, 1980
Stan Weir100th NHL Goal
Doug Hicks100th NHL PointJanuary 13, 1980
Blair MacDonald2nd NHL Hat-trickJanuary 19, 1980
Doug Hicks400th NHL GameJanuary 20, 1980
Blair MacDonald3rd NHL Hat-trickJanuary 26, 1980
Don Cutts1st NHL Game
1st NHL Win
January 30, 1980
Dave Semenko100th NHL PIM
Cam Connor100th NHL PIMFebruary 1, 1980
Wayne Gretzky1st NHL Hat-trick
Dave Lumley100th NHL PIMFebruary 6, 1980
Stan Weir
Colin Campbell700th NHL PIMFebruary 13, 1980
Lee Fogolin500th NHL PIMFebruary 15, 1980
Blair MacDonald4th NHL Hat-trick
Wayne Gretzky100th NHL PointFebruary 24, 1980
Ron Carter1st NHL GameFebruary 27, 1980
Pat Price200th NHL PIMMarch 4, 1980
Bob Dupuis1st NHL GameMarch 9, 1980
Lee Fogolin400th NHL GameMarch 14, 1980
Wayne Gretzky2nd NHL Hat-trick
1st NHL Natural Hat-trick
March 21, 1980
Dave Semenko1st NHL Gordie Howe hat trick
Don Ashby1st NHL Hat-trickMarch 29, 1980
Wayne Gretzky50th Goal in 79 GamesApril 2, 1980
Dave Hunter100th NHL PIM
Playoffs
PlayerMilestoneReached
Brett Callighen1st NHL Game
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
April 8, 1980
Blair MacDonald
Mark Messier
Wayne Gretzky1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
Peter Driscoll1st NHL Game
Dave Hunter
Ron Low
Kevin Lowe
Dave Semenko
Dave Lumley1st NHL Game
1st NHL Goal
1st NHL Point
Kevin Lowe1st NHL Assist
1st NHL Point
April 9, 1980
Risto Siltanen1st NHL Game
Mark Messier1st NHL GoalApril 11, 1980

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

PlayerFormer Team
F Clayton PachalColorado Rockies
D John BednarskiNew York Rangers
F Kari MakkonenNew York Islanders
G Jim CorsiQuebec Nordiques
F Roy SommerToronto Maple Leafs
G Don CuttsNew York Islanders
PlayerNew Team
D Dennis PattersonPhiladelphia Flyers

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft:

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
121Kevin Lowe CanadaQuebec Remparts (QMJHL)
348Mark Messier CanadaCincinnati Stingers (WHA)
469Glenn Anderson CanadaDenver Pioneers (WCHA)
484Max Kostovich CanadaPortland Winter Hawks (WHL)
5105Mike Toal CanadaPortland Winter Hawks (WHL)
6126Blair Barnes CanadaWindsor 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
1United StatesPete LoPrestiG25Minnesota North Stars173033643101204.06
2CanadaDoug FavellG34Colorado Rockies373088152123153693.17
3CanadaCam ConnorRW24Montreal Canadiens2313439
4CanadaLee FogolinD24Buffalo Sabres32986876424
5CanadaPat PriceD24New York Islanders18284553104
6CanadaColin CampbellD26Pittsburgh Penguins297176077584
7CanadaLarry BrownD32Los Angeles Kings45575360180
8CanadaRon AreshenkoffC22Buffalo Sabres
9SwedenInge HammarstromLW31St. Louis Blues42711612323998
10CanadaJohn GouldRW30Atlanta Flames452122129251103
11CanadaDoug HicksD24Chicago Black Hawks357206383241
12CanadaTom EdurD24Pittsburgh Penguins15817708767
13CanadaWayne BianchinLW25Pittsburgh Penguins2646841109137
14CanadaMike ForbesD21Boston Bruins3204415
15CanadaDoug PateyRW22Washington Capitals454268
16CanadaBob KellyLW33Chicago Black Hawks42587109196687
17CanadaReg ThomasC26Chicago Black Hawks
18CanadaDave HunterLW21Montreal 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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