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1978–79 NHL season
1978–79 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 11, 1978 – May 21, 1979
Number of games	80
Number of teams	17
TV partner(s)	CBC, SRC (Canada); NHL Network, CBS, ABC (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Bobby Smith
Picked by	Minnesota North Stars
Regular season
Season champions	New York Islanders
Season MVP	Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Top scorer	Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Bob Gainey (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runners-up	New York Rangers
NHL seasons
	← 1977–78 1979–80 →

The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two "Original Six" teams would not meet again in the Finals for the next 34 years, when Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Finals. The Bruins faced the Canadiens in the 1979 semifinals, marking the last appearance by three Original Six teams in the final four for the next 35 years, when the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Rangers reached the semifinals of the 2014 playoffs.

The Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars (continuing as the North Stars), reducing the NHL membership to 17 teams, the last time that a league in the "big four" major professional sports league contracted.

League business

This season saw the first reduction in the total number of teams since the Brooklyn Americans folded following the 1941–42 season. Fearing that two teams were on the verge of folding, the league approved the merger of the financially unstable Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars franchises, reducing the number of teams to 17. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars but assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division.

This reduction would only be temporary, however, as negotiations continued toward an agreement with the World Hockey Association that would see it fold following this season, with four of its teams joining the NHL as expansion franchises for 1979–80.

A dispersal draft was then held on June 15, 1978. The merged North Stars was allowed to protect 14 players, then the five other worst teams in the previous 1977–78 season would each have the option to pick one of the unprotected players.

The 1978 NHL Amateur Draft was also held on June 15, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Bobby Smith was selected first overall by the North Stars.

For the first time since the NHL All-Star Game became an annual tradition, it was not played. In its stead was the 1979 Challenge Cup, which saw Soviet Union players come over to North America to play against NHL players. The Soviets won the series two games to one.

Regular season

For the past three seasons, the Montreal Canadiens had dominated the regular season, but times were changing. The New York Islanders had been steadily improving over the past few seasons and this season saw them beat out the Canadiens by one point for the best record in the league.

This was the last season until the 2005–06 season that the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs.

Final standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Boston Bruins	80	43	23	14	316	270	100
Buffalo Sabres	80	36	28	16	280	263	88
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	34	33	13	267	252	81
Minnesota North Stars	80	28	40	12	257	289	68

^[1]

Norris Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	80	52	17	11	337	204	115
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	36	31	13	281	279	85
Los Angeles Kings	80	34	34	12	292	286	80
Washington Capitals	80	24	41	15	273	338	63
Detroit Red Wings	80	23	41	16	252	295	62

^[1]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Clarence Campbell Conference

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Islanders	80	51	15	14	358	214	116
Philadelphia Flyers	80	40	25	15	281	248	95
New York Rangers	80	40	29	11	316	292	91
Atlanta Flames	80	41	31	8	327	280	90

Smythe Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Black Hawks	80	29	36	15	244	277	73
Vancouver Canucks	80	25	42	13	217	291	63
St. Louis Blues	80	18	50	12	249	348	48
Colorado Rockies	80	15	53	12	210	331	42

^[1]

Playoffs

Playoff seeds

The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points.

Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.

New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 116 points
Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 115 points
Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 100 points
Philadelphia Flyers – 95 points
New York Rangers – 91 points
Atlanta Flames – 90 points
Buffalo Sabres – 88 points
Pittsburgh Penguins – 85 points
Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points
Los Angeles Kings – 80 points
Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 73 points
Vancouver Canucks – 63 points

Playoff bracket

Preliminary round			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Stanley Cup Finals

			1	NY Islanders	4

			8	Chicago	0



						1	NY Islanders	2

						4	NY Rangers	4
1	Philadelphia	2

8	Vancouver	1
			4	Philadelphia	1

			5	NY Rangers	4
2	NY Rangers	2

7	Los Angeles	0
									2	Montreal	4

									4	NY Rangers	1



			2	Montreal	4

			7	Toronto	0
3	Atlanta	0

6	Toronto	2
						2	Montreal	4

						3	Boston	3



			3	Boston	4

			6	Pittsburgh	0
4	Buffalo	1

5	Pittsburgh	2

Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals
Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds

Awards

1979 NHL awards
Prince of Wales Trophy: (Wales Conference regular season champion)	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (Campbell Conference regular season champion)	New York Islanders
Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season)	Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication)	Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player)	Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs)	Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Frank J. Selke Trophy: (Best defensive forward)	Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season)	Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Jack Adams Award: (Best coach)	Al Arbour, New York Islanders
James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman)	Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship)	Bob MacMillan, Atlanta Flames
Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season)	Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team(s) with best goaltending record)	Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens

All-Star teams

First team	Position	Second team
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens	G	Glenn Resch, New York Islanders
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders	D	Börje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens	D	Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders	C	Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens	RW	Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Clark Gillies, New York Islanders	LW	Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	76	47	87	134	50
Marcel Dionne	Los Angeles Kings	80	59	71	130	30
Guy Lafleur	Montreal Canadiens	80	52	77	129	28
Mike Bossy	New York Islanders	80	69	57	126	25
Bob MacMillan	Atlanta Flames	79	37	71	108	14
Guy Chouinard	Atlanta Flames	80	50	57	107	14
Denis Potvin	New York Islanders	73	31	70	101	58
Bernie Federko	St. Louis Blues	74	31	64	95	14
Dave Taylor	Los Angeles Kings	78	43	48	91	124
Clark Gillies	New York Islanders	75	35	56	91	68

Source: NHL.^[2]

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO
Ken Dryden	Montreal Canadiens	47	2814	108	2.30	30	10	7	5
Chico Resch	N.Y. Islanders	43	2539	106	2.50	26	7	10	2
Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	36	1979	89	2.70	16	12	7	4
Michel Larocque	Montreal Canadiens	34	1986	94	2.84	22	7	4	3
Billy Smith	N.Y. Islanders	40	2261	108	2.87	25	8	4	1
Mike Palmateer	Toronto Maple Leafs	58	3396	167	2.95	26	21	10	4
Don Edwards	Buffalo Sabres	54	3160	159	3.02	26	18	9	2
Mario Lessard	L.A. Kings	49	2860	148	3.10	23	15	10	4
Glen Hanlon	Vancouver Canucks	31	1821	94	3.10	12	13	5	3
Gerry Cheevers	Boston Bruins	43	2509	132	3.16	23	9	10	1

Other statistics

Plus-minus

Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders

Coaches

Patrick Division

Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton
New York Islanders: Al Arbour
New York Rangers: Fred Shero
Philadelphia Flyers: Bob McCammon and Pat Quinn

Adams Division

Boston Bruins: Don Cherry
Buffalo Sabres: Billy Inglis
Minnesota North Stars: Harry Howell and Glen Sonmor
Toronto Maple Leafs: Roger Neilson

Norris Division

Detroit Red Wings: Bobby Kromm
Los Angeles Kings: Bob Berry
Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
Pittsburgh Penguins: Johnny Wilson
Washington Capitals: Danny Belisle

Smythe Division

Chicago Black Hawks: Bill White
Colorado Rockies: Pat Kelly
St. Louis Blues: Barclay Plager
Vancouver Canucks: Harry Neale

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1978–79 (listed with their first team, asterisk (*) marks debut in playoffs):

Joel Quenneville, Toronto Maple Leafs
Brad Marsh, Atlanta Flames
Reggie Lemelin, Atlanta Flames
Al Secord, Boston Bruins
Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars
Steve Payne, Minnesota North Stars
Rod Langway §, Montreal Canadiens
John Tonelli §, New York Islanders
Anders Hedberg §, New York Rangers
Ulf Nilsson §, New York Rangers
Ken Linseman §, Philadelphia Flyers
Pete Peeters, Philadelphia Flyers
Greg Millen, Pittsburgh Penguins
Wayne Babych, St. Louis Blues
Curt Fraser, Vancouver Canucks
Thomas Gradin, Vancouver Canucks
Stan Smyl, Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Walter, Washington Capitals

Players marked with § began their major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1978–79 (listed with their last team):

Bobby Orr, Chicago Black Hawks
Joe Watson, Colorado Rockies
Danny Grant, Los Angeles Kings
J. P. Parise, Minnesota North Stars
Jacques Lemaire, Montreal Canadiens
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Ed Westfall, New York Islanders
Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers
Garry Monahan, Toronto Maple Leafs
Pit Martin, Vancouver Canucks

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games.

In the U.S., this was the fourth and final season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package. On February 10, CBS decided to televise Game 2 of the 1979 Challenge Cup, but that was the network's only involvement in broadcasting the NHL this season. Similarly, ABC only agreed to air Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals had the series gone that far. The league then dissolved the NHL Network after the season, signing packages of regular season slates to the fledgling cable networks ESPN and UA-Columbia (later known as the USA Network). The Hughes Television Network, the NHL Network's distributor, also signed a new deal for regular season and postseason games.

Notes

^ CBS only televised the February 10 Challenge Cup game.
^ ABC was contracted to only televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Finals ended in five games.

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
^ Dinger 2011, p. 151.

References

Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, New York: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.