RE-LIVE THE EDMONTON OILERS 1979-80 SEASON
8 years ago
After seven seasons of acrimony, lawsuits and inflationary player raiding by the upstart World Hockey Association (1972-79), the NHL grew from 17 to 21 teams when it reluctantly opened its doors to the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers and Winnipeg Jets by way of a merger.
Led by a pimply-faced teenager named Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers, who played the first WHA game as the Alberta Oilers on Oct. 11, 1972 against the Ottawa Nationals and in the final WHA game, losing in the Avco Cup final to the Jets, made a splash, or at least a ripple, right away. The Oilers finished 16th in league standings and made the playoffs, losing in the first round by way of a three-game sweep to the first-place Philadelphia Flyers.
RECORD 28-39-13 69 Pts .431 GD 301-322 -21 SH% 13.3 SV% —
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
1980-03-11 | Ron Chipperfield traded to Quebec for Ron Low. |
1980-03-11 | Cam Connor traded to NY Rangers with 3rd round pick in 1981 (Peter Sundstrom) for Don Murdoch. |
1980-03-11 | Jim Corsi traded to Minnesota for future considerations. |
1980-03-11 | Ron Low traded by Quebec for Ron Chipperfield. |
1980-03-11 | Don Murdoch traded by NY Rangers for Cam Connor and 3rd round pick in 1981 (Peter Sundstrom). |
1980-03-01 | Bob Dupuis signed as free agent. |
1980-02-25 | Don Ashby traded by Colorado for Bobby Schmautz. |
1980-01-12 | Don Cutts signed as free agent (formerly with NY Islanders). |
1980-01-01 | Roy Sommer signed as free agent (formerly with Toronto). |
1979-12-10 | Dan Newman traded to Boston for Bobby Schmautz. |
1979-11-13 | Alex Tidey traded by Buffalo for John Gould. |
1979-11-02 | Poul Popiel signed as free agent (formerly with Vancouver). |
1979-10-04 | Jim Corsi signed as free agent. |
1979-09-24 | Jim Harrison traded by Chicago for future considerations. |
1979-09-14 | Charlie Huddy signed as free agent. |
1979-08-09 | Glenn Anderson drafted 69th overall. |
1979-08-09 | Kevin Lowe drafted 21st overall. |
1979-08-09 | Mark Messier drafted 48th overall. |
1979-08-09 | Dave Semenko traded by Minnesota for 2nd (Neal Broten) and 3rd (Kevin Maxwell) round picks in 1979. |
1979-08-09 | Mike Toal drafted 105th overall. |
1979-08-07 | Tom Roulston traded by St. Louis with Risto Siltanen for Joe Micheletti. |
1979-07-22 | Kari Makkonen signed as free agent (formerly with NY Islanders). |
1979-07-15 | John Bednarski signed as free agent (formerly with NY Rangers). |
1979-07-04 | Stan Weir claimed on waivers from Toronto. |
1979-06-13 | Ron Areshenkoff claimed from Buffalo in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Wayne Bianchin claimed from Pittsburgh in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Colin Campbell claimed from Pittsburgh in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Cam Connor claimed from Montreal in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Lee Fogolin claimed from Buffalo in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Mike Forbes claimed from Boston in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Doug Hicks claimed from Chicago in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Pete Lopresti claimed from Minnesota in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-13 | Dave Lumley traded by Montreal with Dan Newman for 2nd round pick in 1980 (Ric Nattress). |
1979-06-13 | Pat Price claimed from NY Islanders in WHA expansion draft. |
1979-06-09 | Bryon Baltimore rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Brett Callighen rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Ron Carter rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Ron Chipperfield rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Peter Driscoll rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Dave Dryden rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Bill Flett rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Wayne Gretzky rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Al Hamilton rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Dave Hunter rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Blair MacDonald rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
1979-06-09 | Eddie Mio rights retained in WHA dispersal draft. |
Suffice to say, with the Oilers, Quebec, Hartford and Winnipeg joining the NHL from the WHA and the accompanying dispersal and expansion drafts, there were a staggering number of transactions. If you want a protracted explanation of all the player movement, you can find it here.
The most noteworthy saw the Oilers retain Gretzky, Ron Chipperfield, Dave Hunter, Brett Callighen, Ed Mio and Blair McDonald in the WHA dispersal draft, while Cam Connor, Lee Fogolin and Colin Campbell selected in the WHA expansion draft and Kevin Lowe (21st), Mark Messier (48th) and Glenn Anderson (69th) were taken in what would become the NHL Entry Draft.
Notable trades saw Dave Lumley acquired from Montreal, Tom Roulston and Risto Siltanen acquired from St. Louis, Dave Semenko obtained from Minnesota and Jim Harrison acquired from Chicago. Charlie Huddy was signed as a free agent and Stan Weir was claimed on waivers from Toronto.
LEADING SCORERS
Player | Pos | Age | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | EV | PP | SH | S | S% |
C | 19 | 79 | 51 | 86 | 137 | 15 | 21 | 37 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 62 | 23 | 1 | 284 | 18.0 | |
RW | 26 | 80 | 46 | 48 | 94 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 15 | 1 | 266 | 17.3 | |
C | 27 | 79 | 33 | 33 | 66 | 2 | 40 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 129 | 25.6 | |
LW | 26 | 59 | 23 | 35 | 58 | -1 | 72 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 159 | 14.5 | |
RW | 25 | 80 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 15 | 138 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 145 | 13.8 | |
LW | 22 | 80 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 7 | 103 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 11.0 | |
D | 24 | 78 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 18 | 52 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 122 | 7.4 | |
C | 25 | 67 | 18 | 19 | 37 | -15 | 24 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 129 | 14.0 | |
D | 21 | 64 | 6 | 29 | 35 | -9 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 116 | 5.2 | |
C | 19 | 75 | 12 | 21 | 33 | -10 | 120 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 113 | 10.6 |
All eyes, as you’d expect, were on Gretzky as he entered the NHL fresh from a 104-point campaign in Edmonton’s final WHA season, and he didn’t disappoint. At just 19, Gretzky’s 137 points tied him with Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings for the scoring lead, but No. 99 had two fewer goals and Dionne won the Art Ross Trophy.
Gretzky, to the dismay of Oiler fans, wasn’t eligible for the Calder Trophy as NHL top rookie because he’d played with Indianapolis and Edmonton of the WHA before the merger, but he did win the Hart Trophy, his first of nine, as Most Valuable Player.
SEASON RECAP
Playing in the Smythe Division within the Clarence Campbell Conference, the Oilers overcame a terrible start with a torrid finish to their first NHL season to grab the 16th and final playoff spot and a date with the Flyers.
The Oilers, regular season champs in their final WHA season, won just one of their first 10 games, a stretch that included a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden and a 7-3 loss to the Atlanta Flames.
Looking like also-rans at the 70-game mark, Gretzky and the Oilers turned into gangbusters in their final 11 games down the stretch, winning eight of those, including five-in-a-row, to go with a tie. The surge left the Oilers ahead of merger mates Quebec and Winnipeg, not to mention the Detroit Red Wings, and on the way to their first-round meeting with the Flyers.
The Flyers won the series by scores of 4-3 (overtime) and 5-1 in Philly before closing the Oilers out in Edmonton by a 3-2 score as future Oiler Ken Linseman decided it in double-overtime.
RETHINKING THE SEASON
The Oilers went as far as anybody could reasonably expect them to go on the shoulders of Gretzky. With Messier developing and yet to become the force he’d be in coming years and much of what would become the core of the Stanley Cup teams yet to arrive, Gretzky was the lone driver.
Gretzky carried linemate Blair MacDonald to a career-high 94 points, including 46 goals. Stan Weir had 33 goals and Brett Callighen and Dave Lumley scored 23 and 20 respectively. Edmonton’s 301 goals ranked ninth in the NHL, so scoring wasn’t the problem. With 322 goals-against, only the Toronto Maples Leafs (327) were worse. There was no Grant Fuhr or Andy Moog yet and coach Glen Sather had to rely on a crease carousel that included Ron Low, Jim Corsi, Ed Mio and Dave Dryden.
Edmonton had an NHL team, the Great One had definitely arrived and there was plenty of help soon to follow.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.
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