WHA 1978/79

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The 1978/79 WHA season was the seventh and final season of the World Hockey Association (WHA).

After the renegotiations with the National Hockey League failed, the league was in a depression . The Houston Eros took the consequences of the financial difficulties of the pre-season and broke up in the summer. The Indianapolis Racers were less sensible . The team started the season and had to stop playing after 25 games, which forced the league to change the schedule. A young Racers player, who had contributed three assists and three goals in his eight appearances, moved to the Edmonton Oilers and inspired their game. His name was Wayne Gretzky . He played a strong season and brought new life to the declared dead league.

As in the previous season, the national teams from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia toured North America and played one game with each team of the WHA. Since Edmonton could not fill its game plan completely, they denied an additional game against Finland .

In the finals of the Avco World Trophy , the Edmonton Oilers met the Winnipeg Jets . The Jets were underdogs, but their experience prevailed against the talented Edmonton players 4–2. When Edmonton's Dave Semenko scored twelve seconds before the end of the sixth and final game against Gary Smith , a goal was celebrated for the last time in the WHA.

2,085,574 spectators watched last season's 259 games. The average was 8,052 per game, which meant only a very small decrease of 200 viewers per game compared to the previous season. In the NHL at that time, the average attendance had fallen to just under 11,409.

Regular season

Closing tables

As in the previous year, all teams played a game against the Soviet All Stars and Czechoslovakia. These games were part of the regular season. After the Indianapolis Racers gave up, the Edmonton Oilers would have had to end the season with just 79 games. To give them an 80th game, they played against Finland on March 20, 1979.

Abbreviations: GP = games, W = wins, L = defeats, T = draws, GF = goals scored, GA = goals conceded, Pts = points
Explanations: The position within the conference is in brackets;     = Playoff qualification,     = division winner,     = abandonment during the season,     = visiting team

GP W. L. T GF GA Pts
Edmonton Oilers 80 48 30th 2 340 266 98 11,255
Québec Nordiques 80 41 34 5 288 271 87 8,834
Winnipeg Jets 80 39 35 6th 307 306 84 8,683
New England Whalers 80 37 34 9 298 287 83 6,988
Cincinnati stingers 80 33 41 6th 274 284 72 7,048
Birmingham Bulls 80 32 42 6th 286 311 70 6.316
Indianapolis Racers (retired December 15, 1978) 25th 5 18th 2 78 130 12 6.364
Soviet All-Stars 6th 4th 1 1 27 20th 9 -
Czechoslovakia 6th 1 4th 1 14th 33 3 -
Finland 1 0 1 0 4th 8th 0 -

Best scorer

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best

player team GP G A. Pts +/- PIM
Real Cloutier Quebec 77 75 54 129 +6 48
Robbie Ftorek Cincinnati 80 39 77 116 +11 87
Wayne Gretzky Indianapolis / Edmonton 80 46 64 110 −2 19th
Mark Howe New England 77 42 65 107 +4 32
Kent Nilsson Winnipeg 78 39 68 107 0 8th
Morris Lukowich Winnipeg 80 65 34 99 +12 119
Marc Tardif Quebec 74 41 55 96 +8 98
André Lacroix New England 78 32 56 88 −2 34
Terry Ruskowski Winnipeg 75 20th 66 86 +5 211
Peter Sullivan Winnipeg 80 46 40 86 −2 24

Best goalkeeper

Abbreviations: GP = games, TOI = ice age (in minutes), W = wins, L = defeats, OTL = overtime / shootout defeats , GA = goals conceded, SO = shutouts , Sv% = shots saved (in%), GAA = Conceded goal; Bold: Season best

player team GP TOI W. L. T GA SO ATM
Dave Dryden Edmonton 63 3531 41 17th 2 170 3 2.89
Richard Brodeur Quebec 42 2433 25th 13 3 126 3 3.11
Jim Corsi Quebec 40 2291 16 20th 1 126 3 3.30
Al Smith New England 40 2396 17th 17th 5 132 1 3.31
Michel Dion Cincinnati 30th 1681 10 14th 2 93 0 3.32

Playoff

mode

After the first five teams have qualified, the playoffs , which are held in the knockout system , start . The teams in fourth and fifth played the place against the team with the highest points. The second met the third. The winning teams then played in the final series for the Avco World Trophy .

All series from the semi-finals onwards were played in best-of-seven mode, which means that a team needed four wins to reach the next round. The higher ranked team had the first two games at home, the next two the opposing team. If no winner emerged from the round up to then, the home law changed from game to game. The higher-ranked team had a home advantage in games 1, 2, 5 and 7, i.e. four of the maximum seven games.

In the final, the team with the most points in the regular season started with two home games. Two away games followed.

Overtime was intended for games that were tied after the regular playing time of 60 minutes . The thirds lasted 20 minutes and the game was played until one team scored the first goal. No overtime was required this season.

Playoff tree

  Quarter finals Semifinals Finals
                           
  1            
8th      
1 Edmonton Oilers 4th
  4th New England Whalers 3  
4th New England Whalers 2
5 Cincinnati stingers 1  
1 Edmonton Oilers 2
  3 Winnipeg Jets 4th
3        
6th      
3 Winnipeg Jets 4th
  2 Québec Nordiques 0  
2    
  7th      

Quarterfinals (Round 1)

New England Whalers (4) vs. Cincinnati Stingers (5)
date Away team Home team Note
April 21 Cincinnati 3 5 New England
April 22 New England 3 6th Cincinnati
April 24th Cincinnati 1 2 New England
New England wins the series 2-1.
In the crucial series for the semi-finals there were only home wins. The New England Whalers, who came fourth in the regular season and had two home rights, advanced to the next round.

Semifinals (round 2)

Edmonton Oilers (1) vs. New England Whalers (4)
date Away team Home team Note
26th of April New England 2 6th Edmonton
April 27 New England 5 9 Edmonton
April 29 Edmonton 1 4th New England
1st of May Edmonton 4th 5 New England
May 3rd New England 2 5 Edmonton
May 6th Edmonton 4th 8th New England
8th of May New England 3 6th Edmonton
Edmonton wins the series 4-3.

With their home strength, the Whalers also challenged the team from Edmonton. Even if they didn't even come close to winning at the Oilers, New England won all three home games and forced the Oilers to go the full distance.

Québec Nordiques (2) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3)
date Away team Home team Note
April 23 Winnipeg 6th 3 Quebec
April 25 Winnipeg 9 2 Quebec
April 27 Quebec 5 9 Winnipeg
April 29 Quebec 2 6th Winnipeg
Winnipeg wins the series 4-0.

One expected an exciting series in which the Nordiques were slightly favored, but the Jets surprised the team from Québec and won both games in eastern Canada. At home, Winnipeg made the sweep perfect. At Québec only Marc Tardif convinced , who scored six of the twelve goals for his team and submitted another two.

Avco World Trophy Championship

Edmonton Oilers (1) vs. Winnipeg Jets (3)
date Away team Home team Note
May 11th Winnipeg 3
R. Preston ( P. Sullivan ) 3:29
B. Lesuk ( R. Eriksson , L. Moffat ) 15:23
R. Preston ( K. Nilsson ) 56:24
1
B. Flett ( P. Shmyr ) 17:48
Edmonton
May 13th Winnipeg 3
P. Sullivan ( P. Terbenche ) 41:17
M. Lukowich ( S. Campbell , T. Ruskowski ) 51:53
W. Lindström ( B. Long , M. Lukowich) 55:24
2
D. Sobchuk ( P. Driscoll ) 26:12
A. Hamilton 44:10
Edmonton
May 15 Edmonton 8
A. Hamilton ( W. Gretzky , B. Callighen ) 9:03
P. Driscoll ( B. Goldsworthy ) 9:44
R. Chipperfield ( P. Shmyr , P. Driscoll) 12:45
B. Goldsworthy (A. Hamilton, R. Chipperfield) 4:01 pm
B. MacDonald ( R. Siltanen ) 41:42
B. Callighen (B. MacDonald, W. Gretzky) 44:14
B.-Å. Gustafsson ( D. Hunter , S. Weir ) 49:52
D. Hunter (B.-Å. Gustafsson, A. Hamilton) 51:00
3
M. Lukowich ( T. Ruskowski , K. Nilsson ) 4:54
W. Lindström 15:53
M. Lukowich ( P. MacKinnon , R. Eriksson ) 31:56
Winnipeg
May 16 Edmonton 2
W. Gretzky ( B. MacDonald , B. Callighen ) 7:41
B. Callighen (W. Gretzky, B.-Å. Gustafsson ) 33:42
3
R. Preston ( P. Sullivan ) 12:54
M. Lukowich ( K. Nilsson , W. Lindström ) 49:24
L. Moffat ( B. Lesuk , R. Eriksson ) 53:34
Winnipeg
May 18 Winnipeg 2
R. Preston ( M. Lukowich , K. Nilsson ) 20:22
K. Nilsson 43:14
10
D. Sobchuk ( R. Chipperfield , P. Shmyr ) 4:23
W. Gretzky ( B. Callighen , R. Chipperfield) 16:28
S. Weir ( J. Micheletti , D. Sobchuk) 17:29
R. Chipperfield ( D. Langevin ) 18:01
D. Sobchuk (P. Shmyr, S. Weir) 22:58
R. Chipperfield ( R. Siltanen , J. Micheletti) 24:51
R. Chipperfield ( P. Driscoll , D. Semenko ) 30 : 45
J. Hughes (D. Sobchuk) 34:23
R. Chipperfield (D. Semenko) 47:45
R. Chipperfield (J. Micheletti, R. Siltanen) 54:31
Edmonton
May 20th Edmonton 3
R. Chipperfield ( P. Driscoll , R. Siltanen ) 38:45
B. Flett ( A. Hamilton ) 41:48
D. Semenko (R. Chipperfield, R. Siltanen) 59:48
7
W. Lindström ( T. Ruskowski , M. Lukowich ) 2:14
B. Long (T. Ruskowski, M. Lukowich) 13:42
P. MacKinnon ( P. Sullivan , G. Hicks ) 25:22
L. Moffat ( R. Eriksson , M. Lukowich) 26:35
B. Long (T. Ruskowski, P. MacKinnon) 29:23
K. Nilsson (P. Sullivan) 42:09
W. Lindström (T. Ruskowski) 53:38
Winnipeg
Winnipeg wins the series 4-2 and the Avco World Trophy .

The Winnipeg Jets had made good use of the nine-day longer recovery period and won the first two games in Edmonton. The Oilers made a remarkable comeback to the series with 8-3 in their first game in Winnipeg. After the Jets managed their third win in game four, the Oilers overran the Jets in game 5. Ron Chipperfield scored five of the ten goals and put on two more. Back in Winnipeg, the jets decided the series. In the middle of the second third they were already leading 5-0. The Oilers only had the last goal in the history of the WHA.

Avco World Trophy Winner

The 21 players in the Jets consist of two goalkeepers, six defenders and 13 attackers.

Several players who were used during the season were not part of the winning team. In particular, goalkeeper Markus Mattsson (52 appearances in the regular season) and defender Mike Amodeo (64) - who had played a large part of the season's games - were not taken into account because they did not appear in the final round. After the first attack formation - consisting of the greats Bobby Hull , Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg - had left the Winnipeg Jets, a new formation was formed with the actors Morris Lukowich , Rich Preston and Terry Ruskowski , which led the offensive of the Jets. The team was complemented by the former Houston Eros defenders Scott Campbell and Paul Terbenche .

In addition to head coach Tom McVie and General Manager John Ferguson , the following players were engraved on the Avco World Trophy, the championship trophy of the WHA:

Avco World Trophy winner Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets logo

Goalkeepers: Joe Daley , Gary Smith

Defenders: Scott Campbell , Kim Clackson , Barry Long ( C ), Paul MacKinnon , Lars-Erik Sjöberg (C), Paul Terbenche

Attackers: Roland Eriksson , John Gray , Bob Guindon , Glenn Hicks , Bill Lesuk , Willy Lindström , Morris Lukowich , Lyle Moffat , Kent Nilsson , Rich Preston , Terry Ruskowski , Peter Sullivan , Steve West

Head Coach: Tom McVie   General Manager: John Ferguson

Best scorer

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, PIM = penalty minutes; Bold: Season best

player team GP G A. Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky Edmonton 13 10 10 20th 2
Ron Chipperfield Edmonton 13 9 10 19th 8th
Blair MacDonald Edmonton 13 8th 10 18th 6th
Willy Lindström Winnipeg 10 10 5 15th 9
Morris Lukowich Winnipeg 10 8th 7th 15th 21st
Brett Callighen Edmonton 13 5 10 15th 15th

WHA Awards and trophies awarded

Award player team
Gordie Howe Trophy Dave Dryden Edmonton Oilers
Bill Hunter Trophy Real Cloutier Québec Nordiques
Lou Kaplan Trophy Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
Ben Hatskin Trophy Dave Dryden Edmonton Oilers
Dennis A. Murphy Trophy Rick Ley New England Whalers
WHA Playoff MVP Rich Preston Winnipeg Jets
Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy John Brophy Birmingham Bulls
Paul Deneau Trophy Kent Nilsson Winnipeg Jets

WHA All-Star Teams

WHA First All-Star Team

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals

player position team GP G A. Pts
Robbie Ftorek center Cincinnati stingers 80 39 77 116
Real Cloutier Winger Québec Nordiques 77 75 54 129
Mark Howe Winger New England Whalers 77 42 65 107
Rick Ley defender New England Whalers 78 11 39 50
Rob Ramage defender Birmingham Bulls 80 12 36 48
player position team GP W. SO ATM
Dave Dryden goalkeeper Edmonton Oilers 63 41 3 2.89

WHA Second All-Star Team

Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, W = wins, SO = shutouts , GAA = conceded goals

player position team GP G A. Pts
Wayne Gretzky center Edmonton Oilers 80 46 64 110
Blair MacDonald Winger Edmonton Oilers 80 34 37 71
Morris Lukowich Winger Winnipeg Jets 80 65 34 99
Dave Langevin defender Edmonton Oilers 77 6th 21st 27
Paul Shmyr defender Edmonton Oilers 80 8th 39 47
player position team GP W. SO ATM
Richard Brodeur goalkeeper Québec Nordiques 42 25th 3 3.11

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Scott Surgent: The World Hockey Association Factbook. 2010, p. 238, ISBN 978-0-9644774-8-3