The 1979–80 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' eighth season and their first season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers were one of four WHA organizations that were granted NHL expansion franchises under the terms of an expansion agreement that took effect 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 2 fewer goals than winner Marcel Dionne. Gretzky, however, won 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 made the playoffs, however, they 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
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.
Divisions: ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe
bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
Playoffs
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
Goaltending
- Playoff stats
Scoring leaders
Goaltending
Awards and records
- Wayne Gretzky – Hart Memorial Trophy
Records
Milestones
Transactions
Draft picks
Edmonton's draft picks at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft:
Expansion draft picks
Edmonton's expansion draft picks at the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft
Trades
- The Montreal Canadiens traded Dave Hunter and Ron Carter in exchange for Edmonton not to select Bill Nyrop, Gilles Lupien, or Rod Langway.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs traded Stan Weir in exchange for Edmonton not to select Ron Ellis.
See also
- 1979–80 NHL season
References
- SHRP Sports
- The Internet Hockey Database
- National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
