1979 NHL expansion facts for kids

The 1979 NHL expansion was a big event in ice hockey history. It happened after many years of talks between the National Hockey League (NHL) and another league called the World Hockey Association (WHA). The WHA eventually closed down. In return, four of its remaining teams were allowed to join the NHL.

These four teams were the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. They started playing in the NHL for the 1979–80 season. This agreement officially began on June 22, 1979. It ended the WHA's seven-year run and made the NHL the only major professional ice hockey league in North America.

Even though many people called it the NHL–WHA merger, the NHL didn't see it that way. The NHL refused to count any of the WHA's past records or history as its own. Instead, it treated the WHA teams as four new teams joining the league. These new teams just happened to have similar names to the old WHA teams.

Existing NHL teams could take back players who had left for the WHA without paying anything. However, each of the new NHL teams could keep two goalies and two other players from their WHA rosters. After that, a special draft was held to help the four new teams get more players. These new teams were also placed at the very end of the draft order for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Usually, new teams get early picks in drafts to help them build their rosters.

Why the Leagues Changed

The NHL's Early Days

For a long time, the NHL was the only major professional ice hockey league in North America. After World War II, the league became very successful. Back then, the NHL had a rule called the reserve clause. This rule meant that once a player's contract ended, they couldn't sign with another NHL team. Their original team still owned their rights forever.

The NHL didn't want to add new teams for many years. But by the 1960s, they started to think about it. In 1967, the NHL added six new teams. This was the start of a big growth period for the league. By 1974, the NHL had grown to 18 teams.

The WHA Arrives

The WHA was created in 1971. It wanted to compete directly with the NHL. By its first season in 1972–73, 67 NHL players had left to join the new league. A famous player, Bobby Hull, who used to play for the Chicago Black Hawks, signed a huge contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He signed for $2.7 million over 10 years, which was the biggest hockey contract ever at that time.

The NHL tried to stop players from leaving by going to court. But in November 1972, a court ruled that the NHL's reserve clause was against the law. This ruling meant that players were free to play in the WHA. It also ended the NHL's control over all the best hockey players.

The WHA also tried to put teams in Canadian cities that the NHL had ignored. These included Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Quebec City. The WHA also put teams in cities where the NHL already had teams, like Philadelphia and Toronto. Because of the WHA, the NHL quickly added teams in Atlanta and Long Island in 1972 to keep the WHA out of those areas.

Talks About Joining Forces

Early Discussions and Challenges

The two leagues started talking about joining together as early as 1973. Some NHL owners wanted all 12 WHA teams to join the NHL. But some NHL owners, like Harold Ballard from Toronto, were against it. They were angry because the WHA had taken their players.

By 1976, both leagues were having money problems because they were competing so much. Bobby Hull thought the leagues should merge. But other WHA leaders, like Gordie Howe, thought the WHA could keep going on its own.

The NHL President, Clarence Campbell, was strongly against any union. He said the WHA tried to destroy the NHL. Despite this, some NHL teams played friendly exhibition games against WHA teams in 1974. Campbell stopped these games in 1975, but later allowed them again.

New Leadership, New Hope

Campbell retired in 1977. The new NHL President, John Ziegler, was more open to the idea of the leagues joining. Under Ziegler, more friendly games were played between the leagues. Talks about a merger also became more serious.

American NHL teams were more supportive of a merger than Canadian teams. One reason was that the Montreal Canadiens were very strong during the WHA's existence. They won five Stanley Cups during this time. The Canadiens were good at keeping their star players from joining the WHA. Adding Canadian teams, especially the Nordiques, could help balance the competition. Also, both leagues knew that Canadian cities were very important for hockey business.

However, American teams wanted to share the money from new teams equally. Canadian owners didn't like this. In 1970, Montreal and Toronto had only agreed to let Vancouver join the NHL after they were paid extra money. Any deal needed three-quarters of the NHL owners to agree. This meant Canadian teams only needed two American teams to side with them to block any agreement.

In June 1977, Ziegler announced that the NHL was looking into a merger. A proposal was made for six WHA teams to join the NHL in the 1977–78 season. But NHL owners, led by Toronto's Harold Ballard, voted against it. After this, several WHA teams, like the Calgary Cowboys and Phoenix Roadrunners, closed down. This left the WHA with only eight teams.

Revised Agreement in 1978

Cities that hosted NHL and WHA teams in 1979

The competition between the leagues also hurt the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins almost moved to Seattle in 1975. The California Golden Seals and Kansas City Scouts did move in 1976. By 1978, two NHL teams, the Minnesota North Stars and Cleveland Barons, were in danger of closing. Ziegler helped them by arranging for the two clubs to merge.

Talks started again in 1978. The Houston Aeros were a strong WHA team and seemed like a good candidate to join the NHL. But Ziegler realized NHL owners would never agree to six teams. He suggested a plan for four WHA teams to join. The WHA insisted that all three of its Canadian teams be included. This left room for only one American team. The Aeros and Whalers were the main choices.

The Aeros owner tried to get support, but many NHL owners were against any merger. Also, Ziegler was not keen on adding another team in a warm climate. Three teams in warm areas had joined the NHL since 1967. One had already moved, and two were struggling financially.

It became clear that no merger would happen for the 1978–79 NHL season. It also looked like the Aeros would not be included. The Aeros owner decided his team would not play in the 1978–79 WHA season. He tried to get his team directly into the NHL or buy an existing NHL team. But the NHL wasn't interested. The Aeros eventually closed down on July 9, 1978. They were the only WHA playoff champion that didn't eventually join the NHL.

Discussions continued into the 1978–79 season. The WHA offered to have five teams join the NHL, paying $5 million each. Ziegler was hopeful. The Indianapolis Racers WHA team closed after only 25 games, leaving the WHA with just six teams.

The Final Agreement

Six teams was seen as the smallest number for a league to survive. The WHA was having money problems. But the Racers left the WHA with a key advantage. Their owner had signed a 17-year-old superstar named Wayne Gretzky. At the time, the NHL didn't allow players under 20. But the WHA had no such rules. The owner believed that whoever owned Gretzky's rights would be able to get an NHL team.

Gretzky only played eight games for the Racers. The owner couldn't pay him, so he sold Gretzky's contract to Peter Pocklington, the owner of the Oilers. Pocklington's team was more stable and was likely to be included in any deal.

The two leagues reached an agreement in March 1979. It would allow four WHA cities to get NHL teams. The NHL originally wanted the New England Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, and Edmonton Oilers. The owners of the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls knew they wouldn't be included. But the Quebec Nordiques fought for their spot. The NHL's American teams were less excited about Quebec than Edmonton and Winnipeg.

However, the WHA insisted that all three of its remaining Canadian teams join the NHL. Ziegler agreed to let the NHL owners vote. On March 8, 1979, 12 of 17 owners supported the plan. This was one vote short of the three-fourths majority needed. The five teams that voted against it were the Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Los Angeles Kings.

These five teams had different reasons for voting no. The Bruins didn't want to share New England with the Whalers. The Canadiens didn't want to share Quebec with the Nordiques. The Canadiens, Canucks, and Maple Leafs didn't want to split TV money with more teams. The Canucks and Kings worried about losing games with eastern NHL teams. The Maple Leafs' owner, Harold Ballard, was still angry that the WHA had taken his players years ago.

The Canadiens were owned by Molson Brewery. When people found out the Canadiens voted no, fans in Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Quebec City started boycotting Molson products. They believed Molson was stopping their cities from having big-league hockey. The boycott spread across Canada. It also hurt the Canucks' money because their arena sold Molson products. The Canadian government even asked the NHL to reconsider.

A second vote was held on March 22, 1979. This time, it passed 14–3. Montreal and Vancouver changed their votes because of the boycott. The Canucks also got a promise of a more balanced schedule.

The agreement meant the Oilers, Whalers, Nordiques, and Jets joined the NHL for the 1979–80 NHL season. This made the NHL have 21 teams. The NHL still called it an expansion, not a merger. The WHA teams had to pay a $6 million fee to join. The two WHA teams that didn't join, the Stingers and Bulls, were paid $1.5 million each. They then joined a minor league. Major professional hockey has not returned to Cincinnati or Birmingham.

The rest of the agreement heavily favored the NHL. The NHL held a draft where most players who had left the NHL for the WHA had to return to their original NHL teams. The WHA teams lost almost all their players. They had to rebuild their rosters from scratch. However, they were allowed to protect two goalies and two other players. Some older players, like Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull, were allowed to stay with their WHA teams.

Another controversial part was that the four new teams were placed at the very bottom of the draft order for the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Usually, new teams get high draft picks. The NHL also lowered the draft age to 19, which meant more players were available. This was partly so the Oilers could keep Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky was only 18 but was allowed to join the NHL with the Oilers because he had played professionally. He was not eligible for the rookie of the year award because he had already played professionally.

The former WHA teams got players through the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft. The established NHL teams received $125,000 for each player taken. But this money was part of the $6 million fee the WHA teams paid. Many players available in the draft were either retired or not very good.

Since the NHL saw it as an expansion, it didn't recognize WHA records. The four new NHL teams were seen as new teams, not as continuing the old WHA teams. The Canadian teams could keep their names, colors, and logos. But to please the Bruins, the NHL made the Whalers drop "New England" from their name. They became the "Hartford Whalers." The NHL still says all four teams were founded on June 22, 1979.

What Happened Next

The NHL originally wanted to put its four new teams in different divisions. But the Oilers and Jets wanted to be in the same division as the Canucks. The league agreed.

Even though the WHA teams had done well against NHL teams in friendly games, they were expected to struggle in the NHL because they lost so many players. However, the NHL also expanded the playoffs from 12 to 16 teams. This allowed the Whalers and Oilers to make the playoffs in their first NHL season. Both teams lost in the first round. The next year, the Oilers surprised everyone by beating the strong Canadiens in the first round.

The WHA's Lasting Impact

In its seven seasons, the WHA paid its players $120 million but lost over $50 million. The competition for players between the two leagues made player salaries go up very quickly. For the first time, hockey players had real power when negotiating their contracts.

The WHA also looked for players in Europe, signing players from Finland and Sweden. Players like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson signed with the Jets in 1974. They played well in North America. The Jets won three WHA championships after signing European players. Their success led other teams to sign European players too. Many of these players later played in the NHL.

Of the teams that joined the NHL in 1979, only the Edmonton Oilers are still in their original city today. The other three teams moved and changed their names in the 1990s. The Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver. The Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996. The Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.

The Oilers almost moved in 1998 when their owner had money problems. But a local group of owners managed to keep the team in Edmonton. The Oilers eventually got a new owner, Daryl Katz, in 2008. In 2016, the Oilers opened their new arena, Rogers Place.

Of the three cities that lost their WHA/NHL teams, only Winnipeg has gotten a team back. The Atlanta Thrashers moved there in 2011 and became the new Winnipeg Jets. The Oilers are the only WHA team to win the Stanley Cup while still in their original WHA city. They have won five Stanley Cups. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996, 2001, and 2022. The Hurricanes won their only Stanley Cup in 2006. The Jets/Coyotes team has never reached the Stanley Cup Finals.

Even though the NHL doesn't officially recognize WHA records, all four teams that joined the NHL have honored players who played mostly in the WHA. The teams that moved in the 1990s handled retired numbers differently. Colorado and Carolina didn't keep their old team histories. But the Coyotes kept the retired numbers from the original Jets, including Bobby Hull's number 9. This showed they recognized the Jets' history from 1972 to 1996.

When the NHL returned to Winnipeg, the league decided to let the new team use the Jets' name. But the history of the original Jets (1972-1996) stayed with the Arizona team. The new Winnipeg Jets kept the Thrashers' history. The new Jets immediately issued number 9 to a player, which was controversial because it was Bobby Hull's retired number. In 2014, the Coyotes changed their retired numbers to "honored numbers." The modern-day Jets also honor players from the original Jets through their Hall of Fame, even though that history belongs to the Coyotes.

Adding three new NHL teams in Canada made the league think about other Canadian cities. One year after the 1979 expansion, the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary. They became big rivals with the Oilers. In 1992, the NHL added a new team in Ottawa. Both of these teams are still in their cities. However, the league has said no to bids to bring NHL teams to Hamilton and Saskatoon.

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