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
|1||W||October 13, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||1–0–0
|2||L||October 17, 1978||1–2 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||1–1–0
|3||W||October 20, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||2–1–0
|4||L||October 21, 1978||3–4 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||2–2–0
|5||W||October 22, 1978||6–2 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||3–2–0
|6||L||October 24, 1978||2–3 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||3–3–0
|7||L||October 29, 1978||2–6 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||3–4–0
|8||L||October 31, 1978||4–5 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||3–5–0
|9||W||November 3, 1978||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||4–5–0
|10||L||November 5, 1978||0–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||4–6–0
|11||W||November 8, 1978||6–5 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||5–6–0
|12||L||November 9, 1978||1–6 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||5–7–0
|13||W||November 11, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||6–7–0
|14||L||November 12, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||6–8–0
|15||W||November 17, 1978||6–1 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||7–8–0
|16||W||November 19, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||8–8–0
|17||W||November 21, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||9–8–0
|18||W||November 24, 1978||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||10–8–0
|19||W||November 28, 1978||8–2 || align="left"| Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||11–8–0
|20||W||December 1, 1978||8–2 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||12–8–0
|21||L||December 3, 1978||0–7 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||12–9–0
|22||L||December 6, 1978||3–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||12–10–0
|23||L||December 7, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||12–11–0
|24||L||December 9, 1978||2–6 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||12–12–0
|25||L||December 10, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) ||12–13–0
|26||W||December 12, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||13–13–0
|27||W||December 15, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Soviet All-Stars (1978–79) ||14–13–0
|28||W||December 19, 1978||5–2 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||15–13–0
|29||L||December 22, 1978||4–5 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||15–14–0
|30||L||December 26, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||15–15–0
|31||W||December 27, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||16–15–0
|32||W||December 30, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| Czechoslovakia (1978–79) ||17–15–0
|33||L||January 9, 1979||3–4 OT|| align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||17–16–0
|34||W||January 13, 1979||3–0 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||18–16–0
|35||W||January 16, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||19–16–0
|36||W||January 17, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||20–16–0
|37||W||January 19, 1979||11–3 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||21–16–0
|38||L||January 21, 1979||3–4 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||21–17–0
|39||W||January 23, 1979||5–1 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||22–17–0
|40||L||January 26, 1979||2–5 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||22–18–0
|41||W||January 28, 1979||3–0 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||23–18–0
|42||L||January 31, 1979||3–6 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||23–19–0
|43||L||February 2, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||23–20–0
|44||L||February 4, 1979||3–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||23–21–0
|45||W||February 6, 1979||6–2 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||24–21–0
|46||W||February 7, 1979||8–5 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||25–21–0
|47||W||February 9, 1979||3–0 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||26–21–0
|48||W||February 11, 1979||4–3 OT|| align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||27–21–0
|49||W||February 13, 1979||6–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||28–21–0
|50||W||February 16, 1979||4–2 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||29–21–0
|51||W||February 18, 1979||6–3 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||30–21–0
|52||W||February 20, 1979||8–2 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||31–21–0
|53||W||February 23, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||32–21–0
|54||W||February 25, 1979||5–4 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||33–21–0
|55||T||February 27, 1979||1–1 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||33–21–1
|56||W||March 2, 1979||5–2 || align="left"| Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||34–21–1
|57||W||March 3, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||35–21–1
|58||L||March 6, 1979||3–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||35–22–1
|59||L||March 7, 1979||3–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||35–23–1
|60||T||March 9, 1979||4–4 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||35–23–2
|61||W||March 11, 1979||4–0 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||36–23–2
|62||L||March 13, 1979||1–5 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||36–24–2
|63||W||March 16, 1979||6–1 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||37–24–2
|64||L||March 18, 1979||2–7 || align="left"| Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||37–25–2
|65||W||March 20, 1979||8–4 || align="left"| Finland (1978–79) ||38–25–2
|66||W||March 21, 1979||7–4 || align="left"| @ Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||39–25–2
|67||L||March 23, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||39–26–2
|68||W||March 25, 1979||6–5 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||40–26–2
|69||L||March 28, 1979||0–3 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||40–27–2
|70||W||March 30, 1979||3–1 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||41–27–2
|71||W||April 1, 1979||5–3 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||42–27–2
|72||W||April 3, 1979||5–1 || align="left"| @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) ||43–27–2
|73||L||April 4, 1979||2–4 || align="left"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) ||43–28–2
|74||W||April 6, 1979||7–2 || align="left"| New England Whalers (1978–79) ||44–28–2
|75||W||April 8, 1979||5–4 || align="left"| Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||45–28–2
|76||L||April 10, 1979||4–6 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||45–29–2
|77||W||April 13, 1979||6–4 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||46–29–2
|78||L||April 14, 1979||6–7 || align="left"| @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) ||46–30–2
|79||W||April 15, 1979||4–1 || align="left"| @ New England Whalers (1978–79) ||47–30–2
|80||W||April 18, 1979||9–3 || align="left"| Winnipeg Jets (1978–79) ||48–30–2
Legend:
Playoffs
| 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
| 1 || May 11 || Winnipeg Jets || 3–1 || Edmonton Oilers || 0–1
| 2 || May 13 || Winnipeg Jets || 3–2 || Edmonton Oilers || 0–2
| 3 || May 15 || Edmonton Oilers || 8–3 || Winnipeg Jets || 1–2
| 4 || May 16 || Edmonton Oilers || 2–3 || Winnipeg Jets || 1–3
| 5 || May 18 || Winnipeg Jets || 2–10 || Edmonton Oilers || 2–3
| 6 || May 20 || Edmonton Oilers || 3–7 || Winnipeg Jets || 2–4
Legend:
Player statistics Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 72 43 61 104 1923900 RW 80 34 37 71 4435340 C 71 31 39 70 79291200 C 55 32 37 69 4725600 RW 73 28 36 64 1426900 C 74 26 37 63 3124610 C 68 31 30 61 2024300 D 72 14 33 47 8510300 D 80 8 39 47 11937000 D 80 6 38 44 3822200 C 73 18 22 40 5015430 LW 69 17 23 40 11516300 LW 72 7 25 32 1347000 D 54 8 23 31 16-5210 D 77 6 21 27 7633300 LW 77 10 14 24 158-12200 D 41 2 15 17 8222000 C 29 6 3 9 4-9100 LW 38 5 4 9 22-8100 G 63 0 8 8 00000 D 20 3 4 7 44000 RW 17 4 2 6 14-3000 D 35 0 5 5 185000 LW 12 1 1 2 8-5100 G 22 0 1 1 20000 LW 3 0 0 0 111000 G 2 0 0 0 00000 RW 2 0 0 0 0-2000 D 6 0 0 0 2-2000 D 2 0 0 0 0-4000 G 3 0 0 0 00000Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA 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 2001 C 13 9 10 19 8000 RW 13 8 10 18 6000 C 13 5 10 15 15001 C 12 6 6 12 4001 D 13 4 5 9 4000 D 13 0 9 9 2000 D 11 0 9 9 4000 RW 10 5 2 7 2001 C 13 2 5 7 2001 LW 13 1 6 7 8000 LW 11 4 2 6 29000 D 13 1 5 6 23000 LW 13 2 3 5 42000 RW 2 1 2 3 0000 C 11 1 1 2 12000 RW 4 1 1 2 11001 D 13 1 0 1 35000 G 13 0 1 1 0000 D 13 0 1 1 25000 LW 2 0 0 0 4000 G 3 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA 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
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 Claire Alexander 1st WHA Game1st WHA Goal1st WHA Assist1st WHA Point October 13, 1978 Dave Hunter 1st WHA Game Dave Hunter 1st WHA Assist1st WHA Point October 20, 1978 Ed Walsh 1st WHA Game October 21, 1978 Doug Berry 1st WHA Goal1st WHA Point October 22, 1978 Garnet Bailey 1st WHA Goal1st WHA Point October 31, 1978 Brett Callighen 100th WHA Point November 8, 1978 Stan Weir 1st WHA Assist1st 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 Jim Neilson 1st WHA Assist November 24, 1978 Stan Weir 1st WHA Hat-Trick November 28, 1978 Wayne Gretzky 1st WHA Hat-Trick December 12, 1978 Dave Dryden 200th WHA Game December 19, 1978 Wayne Gretzky 2nd WHA Hat-Trick January 13, 1978 Dennis Sobchuk 300th WHA Point January 28, 1979 Ron Chipperfield 300th WHA Point February 7, 1979 Dave Dryden 100th WHA Win February 23, 1979 Paul Shmyr 300th WHA Point March 16, 1979 Risto Siltanen 1st WHA Goal March 18, 1979 Al Hamilton 300th WHA Point March 20, 1979 Hannu Kamppuri 1st WHA Game Peter Driscoll 100th WHA Assist April 4, 1979 Bill Flett 100th WHA Goal Wayne Gretzky 3rd WHA Hat-Trick April 10, 1979 Wayne Gretzky 100th WHA Point April 13, 1979 Joe Micheletti 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 Bill Goldsworthy Indianapolis Racers Juha Widing Larry Hendrick Minnesota North Stars (NHL) Cash Peter DriscollEddie MioWayne Gretzky Indianapolis Racers ($850,000) Cash
Players acquired