# 1978–79 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1978–79 Winnipeg Jets season was the franchise's seventh and final season in the World Hockey Association. The WHA folded after the season.

## Regular season

Head coach Larry Hillman, who had guided the Jets to the AVCO Cup the previous season, was fired 61 games into the season. Three days later, Tom McVie took over and coached the remaining 19 games and guided the team to a 3rd-place finish in the league, which due to the league's dwindling fortunes meant that the top five teams of the remaining seven in the league (Indianapolis folded midway in the season) went into the playoffs. They finished one point ahead of the rival Whalers for third, which meant that the Jets got a first round bye as New England and Cincinnati played each other. The Jets played the 2nd place team, Quebec. After sweeping the Nordiques, they went to their fifth and final AVCO Cup Finals against the Oilers. Fittingly, the Jets won the Cup 4-2 and clinched the series at Winnipeg Arena 7-3 in Game 6 to end a seven-year run in which they appeared in five AVCO Cups and won three of them (1976, 1978, 1979) before the WHA merged with the NHL with the Jets included.

### Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points
| WHA Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | PIM |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 48 | 30 | 2 | 98 | 340 | 266 | 1220 |
| Quebec Nordiques | 80 | 41 | 34 | 5 | 87 | 288 | 271 | 1399 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 84 | 307 | 306 | 1342 |
| New England Whalers | 80 | 37 | 34 | 9 | 83 | 298 | 287 | 1090 |
| Cincinnati Stingers | 80 | 33 | 41 | 6 | 72 | 274 | 284 | 1651 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 80 | 32 | 42 | 6 | 70 | 286 | 311 | 1661 |
| xIndianapolis Racers | 25 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 78 | 130 | 557 |
| #Soviet All-Stars | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 20 | 77 |
| #Czechoslovakia | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 33 | 107 |
| #Finland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
x-team folded during season #-played limited schedule

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 13, 1978 | 5–4 OT | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 14, 1978 | 6–3 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | L | October 15, 1978 | 3–4 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | T | October 18, 1978 | 4–4 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | L | October 22, 1978 | 2–6 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | W | October 25, 1978 | 7–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 3–2–1 |
| 7 | W | October 27, 1978 | 6–4 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 4–2–1 |
| 8 | L | October 28, 1978 | 2–3 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | T | October 29, 1978 | 3–3 | Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | L | November 3, 1978 | 3–4 OT | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 4–4–2 |
| 11 | W | November 5, 1978 | 6–2 | Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 5–4–2 |
| 12 | W | November 7, 1978 | 2–1 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 6–4–2 |
| 13 | L | November 9, 1978 | 5–6 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 6–5–2 |
| 14 | L | November 10, 1978 | 2–3 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 6–6–2 |
| 15 | L | November 12, 1978 | 4–6 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 6–7–2 |
| 16 | L | November 15, 1978 | 2–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 6–8–2 |
| 17 | W | November 17, 1978 | 10–6 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 7–8–2 |
| 18 | W | November 19, 1978 | 5–2 | Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 8–8–2 |
| 19 | L | November 22, 1978 | 2–5 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 8–9–2 |
| 20 | W | November 23, 1978 | 5–1 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 9–9–2 |
| 21 | T | November 26, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 9–9–3 |
| 22 | W | November 29, 1978 | 4–2 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 10–9–3 |
| 23 | L | December 1, 1978 | 5–6 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 10–10–3 |
| 24 | L | December 3, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 10–11–3 |
| 25 | W | December 7, 1978 | 9–4 | @ Indianapolis Racers (1978–79) | 11–11–3 |
| 26 | T | December 10, 1978 | 4–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 11–11–4 |
| 27 | L | December 14, 1978 | 3–4 | Soviet All-Stars (1978–79) | 11–12–4 |
| 28 | W | December 17, 1978 | 6–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 12–12–4 |
| 29 | W | December 22, 1978 | 5–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 13–12–4 |
| 30 | W | December 26, 1978 | 5–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 14–12–4 |
| 31 | L | December 27, 1978 | 3–5 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 14–13–4 |
| 32 | T | January 1, 1979 | 3–3 | Czechoslovakia (1978–79) | 14–13–5 |
| 33 | W | January 7, 1979 | 3–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 15–13–5 |
| 34 | W | January 9, 1979 | 4–3 OT | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 16–13–5 |
| 35 | W | January 12, 1979 | 3–1 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 17–13–5 |
| 36 | W | January 13, 1979 | 3–1 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 18–13–5 |
| 37 | W | January 14, 1979 | 4–2 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 19–13–5 |
| 38 | L | January 16, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 19–14–5 |
| 39 | L | January 17, 1979 | 3–6 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 19–15–5 |
| 40 | L | January 19, 1979 | 2–7 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 19–16–5 |
| 41 | L | January 20, 1979 | 1–10 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 19–17–5 |
| 42 | W | January 21, 1979 | 3–1 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 20–17–5 |
| 43 | T | January 24, 1979 | 5–5 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 20–17–6 |
| 44 | W | January 27, 1979 | 4–2 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 21–17–6 |
| 45 | L | January 28, 1979 | 6–8 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 21–18–6 |
| 46 | L | January 30, 1979 | 2–5 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 21–19–6 |
| 47 | W | January 31, 1979 | 6–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 22–19–6 |
| 48 | W | February 2, 1979 | 4–2 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 23–19–6 |
| 49 | W | February 4, 1979 | 8–1 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 24–19–6 |
| 50 | W | February 7, 1979 | 3–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 25–19–6 |
| 51 | L | February 9, 1979 | 0–4 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 25–20–6 |
| 52 | L | February 10, 1979 | 2–7 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 25–21–6 |
| 53 | W | February 14, 1979 | 5–1 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 26–21–6 |
| 54 | L | February 16, 1979 | 1–2 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 26–22–6 |
| 55 | L | February 17, 1979 | 4–6 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 26–23–6 |
| 56 | L | February 18, 1979 | 1–7 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 26–24–6 |
| 57 | L | February 20, 1979 | 2–5 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 26–25–6 |
| 58 | W | February 21, 1979 | 5–2 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 27–25–6 |
| 59 | L | February 23, 1979 | 1–9 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 27–26–6 |
| 60 | W | February 25, 1979 | 7–5 | @ New England Whalers (1978–79) | 28–26–6 |
| 61 | L | February 27, 1979 | 2–5 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 28–27–6 |
| 62 | L | March 2, 1979 | 1–4 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 28–28–6 |
| 63 | L | March 6, 1979 | 4–5 | @ Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 28–29–6 |
| 64 | W | March 7, 1979 | 5–3 | @ Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 29–29–6 |
| 65 | W | March 11, 1979 | 7–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 30–29–6 |
| 66 | L | March 14, 1979 | 2–4 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 30–30–6 |
| 67 | W | March 16, 1979 | 5–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 31–30–6 |
| 68 | W | March 18, 1979 | 4–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 32–30–6 |
| 69 | L | March 21, 1979 | 4–7 | Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 32–31–6 |
| 70 | W | March 23, 1979 | 6–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 33–31–6 |
| 71 | W | March 28, 1979 | 6–3 | Cincinnati Stingers (1978–79) | 34–31–6 |
| 72 | L | March 30, 1979 | 0–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 34–32–6 |
| 73 | W | April 1, 1979 | 7–3 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1978–79) | 35–32–6 |
| 74 | L | April 4, 1979 | 2–4 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 35–33–6 |
| 75 | L | April 6, 1979 | 1–2 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 35–34–6 |
| 76 | W | April 8, 1979 | 6–4 | New England Whalers (1978–79) | 36–34–6 |
| 77 | W | April 10, 1979 | 6–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 37–34–6 |
| 78 | W | April 11, 1979 | 2–1 | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 38–34–6 |
| 79 | W | April 15, 1979 | 5–4 OT | Birmingham Bulls (1978–79) | 39–34–6 |
| 80 | L | April 18, 1979 | 3–9 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1978–79) | 39–35–6 |

## Playoffs
### Winnipeg Jets 4, Quebec Nordiques 0

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 23 | Winnipeg Jets | 6–3 | Quebec Nordiques | 1-0 |
| 2 | April 25 | Winnipeg Jets | 9–2 | Quebec Nordiques | 2-0 |
| 3 | April 27 | Quebec Nordiques | 5–9 | Winnipeg Jets | 3-0 |
| 4 | April 29 | Quebec Nordiques | 2–6 | Winnipeg Jets | 4-0 |

### Winnipeg Jets 4, Edmonton Oilers 2 - Avco Cup Finals

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | May 11 | Winnipeg Jets | 3–1 | Edmonton Oilers | 1-0 |
| 2 | May 13 | Winnipeg Jets | 3–2 | Edmonton Oilers | 2-0 |
| 3 | May 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 8–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 2-1 |
| 4 | May 16 | Edmonton Oilers | 2–3 | Winnipeg Jets | 3-1 |
| 5 | May 18 | Winnipeg Jets | 2–10 | Edmonton Oilers | 3-2 |
| 6 | May 20 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–7 | Winnipeg Jets | 4-2 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG |
| Kent Nilsson | C | 78 | 39 | 68 | 107 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Morris Lukowich | LW | 80 | 65 | 34 | 99 | 119 | 26 | 16 | 0 |
| Peter Sullivan | C | 80 | 46 | 40 | 86 | 24 | -6 | 9 | 2 |
| Terry Ruskowski | C | 75 | 20 | 66 | 86 | 211 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
| Willy Lindstrom | RW | 79 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 22 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Rich Preston | RW | 80 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 88 | -5 | 6 | 1 |
| Barry Long | D | 80 | 5 | 36 | 41 | 42 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 79 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 44 | -14 | 0 | 0 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 70 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 38 | -14 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Guindon | LW | 71 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 21 | -12 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gray | RW | 57 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 51 | -7 | 6 | 0 |
| Paul Terbenche | D | 68 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 12 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Amodeo | D | 64 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 29 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Campbell | D | 74 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 248 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacKinnon | D | 73 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 70 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Hicks | LW | 69 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 48 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| Roland Eriksson | C | 33 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | -5 | 3 | 0 |
| Steve West | C | 18 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Kim Clackson | D | 71 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 210 | -6 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Hull | LW | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Davis | D | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 |
| Lars-Erik Sjoberg | D | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Smith | G | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Green | D | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | -7 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | G | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gibson | D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Markus Mattsson | G | 52 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Gosselin | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Yakiwchuk | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Markus Mattsson | 2990 | 52 | 25 | 21 | 3 | 181 | 3.63 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | 1256 | 23 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 90 | 4.30 | 0 |
| Gary Smith | 626 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2.97 | 0 |
| Team: | 4872 | 80 | 39 | 35 | 6 | 302 | 3.72 | 0 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GWG |
| Willy Lindstrom | RW | 10 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 1 |
| Morris Lukowich | LW | 10 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 21 | 1 |
| Peter Sullivan | C | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Kent Nilsson | C | 10 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| Rich Preston | RW | 10 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
| Terry Ruskowski | C | 8 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 23 | 1 |
| Paul MacKinnon | D | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Barry Long | D | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve West | C | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Roland Eriksson | C | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Clackson | D | 9 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 0 |
| Lyle Moffat | LW | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 2 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Bobby Guindon | LW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Lars-Erik Sjoberg | D | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Glenn Hicks | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Paul Terbenche | D | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Scott Campbell | D | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 0 |
| Gary Smith | G | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gray | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gary Smith | 563 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 35 | 3.73 | 0 |
| Joe Daley | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4.86 | 0 |
| Team: | 600 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 3.80 | 0 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;