Wikipedia

1977–78 Edmonton Oilers season

The 1977–78 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' sixth season of operation. The Oilers placed fifth to qualify for the playoffs, losing in the first round.

1977–78 Edmonton Oilers
Division5th WHA
1977–78 record38–39–3
Home record24–15–2
Road record14–24–1
Goals for309 (4th)
Goals against307 (4th)
Team information
General managerBrian Conacher
CoachGlen Sather
CaptainPaul Shmyr
Alternate captainsNorm Ferguson
Bill Flett
Al Hamilton
ArenaNorthlands Coliseum
Minor league affiliate(s)Spokane Flyers (WIHL)
Team leaders
GoalsBill Flett (41)
AssistsRon Chipperfield (52)
PointsRon Chipperfield (85)
Penalty minutesRon Busniuk (157)
Plus/minusAl Hamilton (+24)
WinsDave Dryden (21)
Goals against averageDave Dryden (3.49)

Offseason

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Regular season

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Final standings

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Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points

WHA Team W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Winnipeg Jets 50 28 2 102 381 270 988
New England Whalers 44 31 5 93 335 269 1255
Houston Aeros 42 34 4 88 296 302 1543
Quebec Nordiques 40 37 3 83 349 347 1185
Edmonton Oilers 38 39 3 79 309 307 1296
Birmingham Bulls 36 41 3 75 287 314 2177
Cincinnati Stingers 35 42 3 73 298 332 1701
Indianapolis Racers 24 51 5 53 267 353 1189
Soviet All-Stars 3 4 1 7 27 36 120
Czechoslovakia All-Stars 1 6 1 3 21 40 87


Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 12, 1977 3–7 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 0–1–0
2 W October 14, 1977 4–2 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 1–1–0
3 L October 15, 1977 2–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 1–2–0
4 L October 19, 1977 3–6 New England Whalers (1977–78) 1–3–0
5 L October 26, 1977 7–8 OT @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 1–4–0
6 W October 28, 1977 3–2 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 2–4–0
7 L October 30, 1977 2–5 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 2–5–0
8 L November 2, 1977 3–6 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 2–6–0
9 W November 4, 1977 3–1 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 3–6–0
10 W November 6, 1977 7–1 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 4–6–0
11 L November 8, 1977 3–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 4–7–0
12 L November 10, 1977 3–5 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 4–8–0
13 W November 11, 1977 3–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 5–8–0
14 T November 12, 1977 1–1 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 5–8–1
15 W November 16, 1977 6–4 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 6–8–1
16 W November 18, 1977 4–3 OT Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 7–8–1
17 L November 20, 1977 4–5 OT New England Whalers (1977–78) 7–9–1
18 W November 22, 1977 4–2 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 8–9–1
19 L November 24, 1977 4–5 OT @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 8–10–1
20 W November 26, 1977 3–1 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 9–10–1
21 W November 30, 1977 4–2 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 10–10–1
22 L December 2, 1977 5–7 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 10–11–1
23 W December 4, 1977 3–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 11–11–1
24 W December 7, 1977 5–4 OT Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 12–11–1
25 L December 9, 1977 3–5 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 12–12–1
26 L December 11, 1977 2–4 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 12–13–1
27 W December 14, 1977 6–1 Czechoslovakia (1977–78) 13–13–1
28 L December 18, 1977 2–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 13–14–1
29 L December 20, 1977 4–6 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 13–15–1
30 W December 21, 1977 5–2 Soviet All-Stars (1977–78) 14–15–1
31 W December 27, 1977 9–3 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 15–15–1
32 W December 30, 1977 8–5 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 16–15–1
33 L January 1, 1978 1–2 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 16–16–1
34 L January 6, 1978 1–4 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 16–17–1
35 W January 8, 1978 4–2 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 17–17–1
36 W January 11, 1978 2–0 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 18–17–1
37 L January 13, 1978 0–2 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 18–18–1
38 L January 14, 1978 4–7 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 18–19–1
39 W January 15, 1978 4–3 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 19–19–1
40 W January 18, 1978 1–0 New England Whalers (1977–78) 20–19–1
41 L January 20, 1978 3–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 20–20–1
42 W January 21, 1978 3–2 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 21–20–1
43 L January 22, 1978 2–5 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 21–21–1
44 W January 25, 1978 6–2 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 22–21–1
45 W January 27, 1978 9–6 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 23–21–1
46 L January 29, 1978 3–4 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 23–22–1
47 W January 31, 1978 6–4 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 24–22–1
48 L February 1, 1978 3–4 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 24–23–1
49 W February 3, 1978 6–3 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 25–23–1
50 W February 4, 1978 4–3 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 26–23–1
51 L February 5, 1978 3–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 26–24–1
52 T February 8, 1978 6–6 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 26–24–2
53 W February 12, 1978 7–0 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 27–24–2
54 W February 14, 1978 4–1 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 28–24–2
55 L February 15, 1978 5–6 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 28–25–2
56 W February 17, 1978 6–4 Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 29–25–2
57 W February 19, 1978 4–3 OT Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 30–25–2
58 L February 22, 1978 5–6 Houston Aeros (1977–78) 30–26–2
59 W February 24, 1978 5–4 OT Houston Aeros (1977–78) 31–26–2
60 L February 26, 1978 5–6 New England Whalers (1977–78) 31–27–2
61 L March 1, 1978 4–6 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 31–28–2
62 L March 3, 1978 6–8 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 31–29–2
63 W March 5, 1978 4–3 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 32–29–2
64 L March 7, 1978 3–4 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 32–30–2
65 L March 9, 1978 5–6 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 32–31–2
66 L March 11, 1978 0–2 @ Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 32–32–2
67 L March 14, 1978 3–6 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 32–33–2
68 L March 15, 1978 4–8 @ Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 32–34–2
69 W March 17, 1978 6–2 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 33–34–2
70 W March 19, 1978 4–2 Cincinnati Stingers (1977–78) 34–34–2
71 L March 22, 1978 3–5 Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 34–35–2
72 W March 24, 1978 4–0 Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 35–35–2
73 L March 26, 1978 3–5 @ New England Whalers (1977–78) 35–36–2
74 W March 28, 1978 4–3 OT @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 36–36–2
75 L March 30, 1978 1–5 @ Houston Aeros (1977–78) 36–37–2
76 L March 31, 1978 2–5 @ Birmingham Bulls (1977–78) 36–38–2
77 W April 1, 1978 4–1 @ Indianapolis Racers (1977–78) 37–38–2
78 L April 4, 1978 1–9 @ Quebec Nordiques (1977–78) 37–39–2
79 T April 5, 1978 4–4 New England Whalers (1977–78) 37–39–3
80 W April 7, 1978 4–2 Winnipeg Jets (1977–78) 38–39–3

Playoffs

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New England Whalers 4, Edmonton Oilers 1 – Preliminary Round

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 14 Edmonton 4–6 New England 0–1
2 April 16 Edmonton 1–4 New England 0–2
3 April 19 New England 0–2 Edmonton 1–2
4 April 21 New England 9–1 Edmonton 1–3
5 April 23 Edmonton 1–4 New England 1–4

Player statistics

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Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Ron Chipperfield C 80 33 52 85 48 1 11 1 0
Bill Flett RW 74 41 28 69 34 9 8 1 0
Blair MacDonald RW 80 34 34 68 11 −12 7 4 0
Mike Zuke C 71 23 34 57 47 1 2 3 0
Al Hamilton D 59 11 43 54 46 24 6 0 0
Brett Callighen C 80 20 30 50 112 5 1 0 0
Paul Shmyr D 80 9 40 49 100 −9 3 0 0
Joe Micheletti D 56 14 34 48 56 8 3 0 0
Norm Ferguson RW 71 26 21 47 2 14 8 0 0
Juha Widing C 71 18 24 42 8 10 0 1 0
Pierre Guite LW 60 12 21 33 71 −7 2 0 0
Randy Rota C/LW 53 8 22 30 12 11 0 0 0
Dave Langevin D 62 6 22 28 90 11 1 0 0
Bryan Campbell C 53 7 13 20 12 −17 2 0 0
Ron Busniuk RW 59 2 18 20 157 −8 0 0 0
Ab DeMarco D 47 6 8 14 20 −7 3 0 0
Pierre Jarry LW 18 4 10 14 4 −1 0 0 0
Gary MacGregor C 37 11 2 13 29 −2 2 0 0
Dave Semenko LW 65 6 6 12 140 −4 0 0 0
Dennis Sobchuk C 13 6 3 9 4 −4 1 0 0
Don McLeod G 33 0 8 8 2 0 0 0 0
Ken Baird D 6 2 4 6 2 0 0 0 0
Warren Miller RW 18 2 4 6 18 1 0 0 0
Ray McKay D 14 1 4 5 4 3 0 0 0
Butch Deadmarsh LW 20 1 3 4 32 −1 0 0 0
Jerry Holland LW 22 2 1 3 14 −1 1 0 0
Cal Sandbeck D 11 1 2 3 39 1 1 0 0
Jim Troy RW 47 2 0 2 124 −11 0 0 0
Rick Morris LW 5 1 1 2 7 −7 0 1 0
Craig Topolnisky D 10 0 2 2 4 −1 0 0 0
Dave Dryden G 48 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Dave Inkpen D 19 0 1 1 16 −6 0 0 0
Owen Lloyd D 3 0 1 1 4 −1 0 0 0
Gerry Pinder LW 5 0 1 1 0 −1 0 0 0
Kevin Primeau RW 7 0 1 1 2 −1 0 0 0
Chris Ahrens D 4 0 0 0 15 −5 0 0 0
Ken Broderick G 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jim Cross LW 2 0 0 0 0 −3 0 0 0
Bob Falkenberg D 2 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Del Hall C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dale McMullin LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Frank Turnbull G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Dave Dryden 2578 48 21 23 2 150 3.49 2
Don McLeod 1723 33 15 10 1 102 3.55 2
Ken Broderick 497 9 2 5 0 42 5.07 0
Frank Turnbull 60 1 0 1 0 6 6.00 0
Team: 4858 80 38 39 3 300 3.71 4
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Mike Zuke C 5 2 3 5 0 0 0 0
Paul Shmyr D 5 1 3 4 11 0 0 0
Ron Chipperfield C 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Pierre Guite LW 5 1 1 2 20 0 0 1
Blair MacDonald RW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Randy Rota C/LW 5 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Brett Callighen C 5 0 2 2 16 0 0 0
Dave Langevin D 5 0 2 2 10 0 0 0
Joe Micheletti D 5 0 2 2 4 0 0 0
Pierre Jarry LW 5 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Dennis Sobchuk C 5 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Ray McKay D 4 0 1 1 4 0 0 0
Juha Widing C 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Ron Busniuk RW 5 0 0 0 18 0 0 0
Ab DeMarco D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dave Dryden G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Norm Ferguson RW 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Don McLeod G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kevin Primeau RW 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Cal Sandbeck D 5 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
Dave Semenko LW 5 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
Jim Troy RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Don McLeod 207 4 1 3 16 4.64 1
Dave Dryden 91 2 0 1 6 3.96 0
Team: 298 5 1 4 22 4.43 1

[1]

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

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Transactions

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Trades

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Date To Edmonton Oilers Traded to Traded for
June 1977 Jim Troy New England Whalers Brett Callighen
June 16, 1977 (1977-06-16) Dave Dryden
Brett Callighen
1st round pick in 1977 - Ron Areshenkoff
4th round pick in 1977 - Dan Clark		 New England Whalers Jean-Louis Levasseur
September 9, 1977 (1977-09-09) Blair MacDonald
Dave Inkpen
Mike Zuke		 Indianapolis Racers Barry Wilkins
Ed Patenaude
Claude St. Sauveur
Kevin Devine
September 19, 1977 (1977-09-19) Jeff Jacques
Lou Nistico		 Birmingham Bulls Chris Evans
Pete Laframboise
Danny Arndt
Future considerations Indianapolis Racers Kevin Morrison
Bill Prentice
Bob Russell
Don Tannahill
Peter Donnelly		 Quebec Nordiques Future considerations
October 16, 1977 (1977-10-16) Dave Semenko Houston Aeros Future considerations
November 25, 1977 (1977-11-25) Pierre Guité
Don McLeod		 Quebec Nordiques Dave Inkpen
Rick Morris
Warren Miller
Ken Broderick
December 16, 1977 (1977-12-16) Dennis Sobchuk
Del Hall		 Cincinnati Stingers Butch Deadmarsh
Dave Debol
Future considerations
Cash
March 3, 1978 (1978-03-03) Pierre Jarry
Chris Ahrens		 Minnesota North Stars (NHL) Future considerations

Players acquired

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Date Player Former team Term
August 25, 1977 (1977-08-25) Doug Berry Calgary Cowboys
Ron Chipperfield
Chris Evans
Don Micheletti
Joe Micheletti
Warren Miller
Perry Schnarr
Steve Stoyanovich
Kevin Devine San Diego Mariners
Norm Ferguson
Randy Legge
Kevin Morrison
Paul Shmyr
September 9, 1977 (1977-09-09) Butch Deadmarsh Calgary Cowboys
September 14, 1977 (1977-09-14) Jerry Holland New York Rangers (NHL)
Gary MacGregor Indianapolis Racers
September 16, 1977 (1977-09-16) Juha Widing Cleveland Crusaders 2-year
October 1977 Bob Falkenberg San Diego Mariners
October 12, 1977 (1977-10-12) Ken Baird Calgary Cowboys
Frank Turnbull Spokane Flyers (WIHL)
February 19, 1978 (1978-02-19) Gerry Pinder San Diego Mariners
March 1, 1978 (1978-03-01) Dale McMullin Spokane Flyers (WIHL)
Craig Topolnisky
March 5, 1978 (1978-03-05) Kevin Primeau Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA)
March 7, 1978 (1978-03-07) Jim Cross St. Albert Saints (AJHL)
March 12, 1978 (1978-03-12) Ray McKay Birmingham Bulls

Players lost

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Date Player New team
Doug Barrie Retired
Randy Legge
Bill Prentice Indianapolis Racers
Tom Simpson Broome Dusters (AHL)
July 1977 Bobby Sheehan Indianapolis Racers
November 1977 Frank Beaton Birmingham Bulls
November 1, 1977 (1977-11-01) Ken Baird Released
November 6, 1977 (1977-11-06) Lou Nistico Colorado Rockies (NHL)
November 15, 1977 (1977-11-15) Gavin Kirk Birmingham Bulls
December 1977 Ken Baird Winnipeg Jets
Del Hall Retired
Paul Stewart Cincinnati Stingers
March 1, 1978 (1978-03-01) Robin Sadler Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL)

Signings

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Date Player Term
June 20, 1977 (1977-06-20) Robin Sadler 2-year
September 6, 1977 (1977-09-06) Norm Ferguson
Paul Shmyr
September 13, 1977 (1977-09-13) Dave Dryden
September 21, 1977 (1977-09-21) Ron Busniuk 1-year
Al Hamilton 1-year
October 10, 1977 (1977-10-10) Warren Miller 1-year
October 12, 1977 (1977-10-12) Ken Baird
October 23, 1977 (1977-10-23) Dave Semenko 2-year
December 2, 1977 (1977-12-02) Ab DeMarco 1-year
January 5, 1978 (1978-01-05) Jim Troy
March 18, 1978 (1978-03-18) Cal Sandbeck 2-year
March 20, 1978 (1978-03-20) Owen Lloyd

Draft picks

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Edmonton's draft picks at the 1977 WHA Amateur Draft.[2]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 4 Mike Crombeen (F)   Canada Kingston Canadians (OHA)
1 11 Ron Areshenkoff[3] (C)   Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
3 24 Kim Davis (C)   Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
4 33 Neil LaBatte (D)   Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4 34 Dan Clark (D)   Canada Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)
5 42 Rocky Saganiuk (RW)   Canada Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL)
6 51 Julian Baretta (G)   United States University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
7 60 Dave Hoyda (LW)   Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WCHL)
8 69 Ray Creasy (F)   Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
9 77 Guy Lash (RW)   Canada Winnipeg Monarchs (WCHL)
10 85 Owen Lloyd (D)   Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)

Farm teams

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1977-78 Edmonton Oilers Statistics – Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  2. ^ "1977 WHA Amateur Draft". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Matheson, Jim (June 17, 1977). "Dryden, Oilers reunited in odd fashion". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton. Retrieved February 22, 2024. (Subscription required.)
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