1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers | |
---|---|
Division | 2nd Atlantic |
Conference | 3rd Eastern |
1997–98 record | 42–29–11 |
Home record | 24–11–6 |
Road record | 18–18–5 |
Goals for | 242 |
Goals against | 193 |
Team information | |
President | Bob Clarke |
General manager | Bob Clarke |
Coach |
Wayne Cashman
[a] Roger Neilson [a] |
Captain | Eric Lindros |
Alternate captains |
Rod Brind'Amour Eric Desjardins |
Arena | CoreStates Center |
Average attendance | 19,519 [5] |
Minor league affiliate(s) | Philadelphia Phantoms |
Team leaders | |
Goals | John LeClair (51) |
Assists | Eric Lindros (41) |
Points | John LeClair (89) |
Penalty minutes | Dan Kordic (210) |
Plus/minus | John LeClair (+30) |
Wins | Ron Hextall (21) |
Goals against average | Ron Hextall (2.17) |
The 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 31st season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost their quarterfinal series with the Buffalo Sabres in five games.
Less than a week after losing game four of the Stanley Cup Finals, head coach Terry Murray was fired. [6] San Jose Sharks assistant coach Wayne Cashman was named his replacement on July 7, 1997. [7]
The Flyers made two major acquisitions during the summer. On July 14, unrestricted free agent defenseman Luke Richardson, formerly of the Edmonton Oilers, signed a five-year, $12.6 million contract. [8] A month later the Flyers signed Group II restricted free agent centerman Chris Gratton of the Tampa Bay Lightning to a five-year, $16.5 million offer sheet which included a $9 million signing bonus. [9] However, Tampa Bay claimed they had traded Gratton to the Chicago Blackhawks before the Flyers had signed Gratton. [9] An arbitrator dismissed this and another claim that the offer sheet was illegible because the contract figures were smeared. [10] Fearing Tampa Bay would match, the Flyers agreed to send defenseman Karl Dykhuis and right winger Mikael Renberg to the Lightning in exchange for the four first-round picks Tampa Bay would receive if they did not match. [10]
34-year-old forward Dale Hawerchuk announced his retirement on August 25, 1997, due to a degenerative left hip. [11]
With the acquisitions of Gratton and Richardson, the Flyers were expected to make another Stanley Cup run. A 7–3–1 start came crashing down as the Devils posted a 5–0 road win on October 27. Although the club finished the calendar year with an 8–0 strafing of Vancouver on New Year's Eve and began 1998 with a 7–2 road win over Ottawa, there were signs of trouble for Wayne Cashman's team - notably bad shutout home losses to San Jose in November and Boston in early December.
In a move which shocked many in Philadelphia and around the NHL, Cashman was reassigned as assistant coach and Roger Neilson elevated to head coach following a 4–3 overtime victory against Pittsburgh on March 8. [12]
The decision didn't seem to pay off, and after a 5–4 overtime win over the New York Rangers on March 22, the team limped to a 6–8–0 finish, including back-to-back 2–1 losses to the Rangers and Bruins to end the year.
On April 13 in a nationally televised 2–1 loss in Buffalo, John LeClair scored his 50th goal of the season, becoming the first American-born player to score 50 goals in three straight seasons.
No. | CR | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 225 | 166 | 107 |
2 | 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 242 | 193 | 95 |
3 | 4 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 219 | 202 | 92 |
4 | 10 | New York Islanders | 82 | 30 | 41 | 11 | 212 | 225 | 71 |
5 | 11 | New York Rangers | 82 | 25 | 39 | 18 | 197 | 231 | 68 |
6 | 12 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 24 | 43 | 15 | 203 | 256 | 63 |
7 | 13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 17 | 55 | 10 | 151 | 269 | 44 |
R | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Jersey Devils | ATL | 82 | 48 | 23 | 11 | 225 | 166 | 107 |
2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 82 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 228 | 188 | 98 |
3 | Philadelphia Flyers | ATL | 82 | 42 | 29 | 11 | 242 | 193 | 95 |
4 | Washington Capitals | ATL | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 219 | 202 | 92 |
5 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 221 | 194 | 91 |
6 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 211 | 187 | 89 |
7 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 235 | 208 | 87 |
8 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 34 | 33 | 15 | 193 | 200 | 83 |
9 | Carolina Hurricanes | NE | 82 | 33 | 41 | 8 | 200 | 219 | 74 |
10 | New York Islanders | ATL | 82 | 30 | 41 | 11 | 212 | 225 | 71 |
11 | New York Rangers | ATL | 82 | 25 | 39 | 18 | 197 | 231 | 68 |
12 | Florida Panthers | ATL | 82 | 24 | 43 | 15 | 203 | 256 | 63 |
13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | ATL | 82 | 17 | 55 | 10 | 151 | 269 | 44 |
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs
In a season in which the Flyers – despite a hard fall to the Detroit Red Wings the previous year – were heavily favored to repeat as Eastern champs and return to the Finals, they never came close, as they were dominated in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres in five games.
1997–98 regular season [14] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 7–5–2, 16 points (home: 5–3–0; road: 2–2–2)
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November: 8–3–2, 18 points (home: 4–2–1; road: 4–1–1)
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December: 8–2–3, 18 points (home: 4–1–2; road: 4–1–1)
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January: 5–5–2, 12 points (home: 2–2–1; road: 3–3–1)
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February: 2–2–0, 4 points (home: 0–0–0; road: 2–2–0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March: 8–7–2, 18 points (home: 7–1–2; road: 1–6–0)
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April: 4–5–0, 8 points (home: 2–2–0; road: 2–3–0)
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Legend:
Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) |
1998 Stanley Cup playoffs [14] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Buffalo Sabres - Sabres win 4–1
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Legend:
Win Loss |
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
10 | John LeClair | LW | 82 | 51 | 36 | 87 | 30 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −4 | 8 |
17 | Rod Brind'Amour | LW | 82 | 36 | 38 | 74 | −2 | 54 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
88 | Eric Lindros | C | 63 | 30 | 41 | 71 | 14 | 134 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 17 |
55 | Chris Gratton | C | 82 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 11 | 159 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 10 |
20 | Trent Klatt | RW | 82 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 0 |
44 | Janne Niinimaa‡ | D | 66 | 3 | 31 | 34 | 6 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
9 | Dainius Zubrus | RW | 69 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 29 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
37 | Eric Desjardins | D | 77 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 11 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
77 | Paul Coffey | D | 57 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 3 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
19 | Alexandre Daigle† | RW | 37 | 9 | 17 | 26 | −1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
25 | Shjon Podein | RW | 82 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 8 | 53 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 10 |
11 | Mike Sillinger† | C | 27 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
12 | Colin Forbes | LW | 63 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 2 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
6 | Chris Therien | D | 78 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 80 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
45 | Vaclav Prospal‡ | C | 41 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −10 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
23 | Petr Svoboda | D | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
15 | Pat Falloon‡ | RW | 30 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
29 | Joel Otto | C | 68 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −2 | 78 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
3 | Dan McGillis† | D | 13 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −4 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
22 | Luke Richardson | D | 81 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 139 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
32 | Daniel Lacroix | C | 56 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 135 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
26 | John Druce | RW | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
28 | Kjell Samuelsson | D | 49 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
21 | Dan Kordic | LW | 61 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −4 | 210 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
24 | Chris Joseph | D | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
14 | Craig Darby | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
27 | Ron Hextall | G | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
30 | Garth Snow‡ | G | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
18 | Brantt Myhres†‡ | RW | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 169 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
33 | Sean Burke† | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
44 | Dave Babych† | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
38 | Paul Healey | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
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No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
27 | Ron Hextall | 46 | 44 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 1089 | 97 | 2.17 | .911 | 4 | 2,687:37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3.00 | .875 | 0 | 20:00 |
30 | Garth Snow‡ | 29 | 27 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 682 | 67 | 2.44 | .902 | 1 | 1,650:34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
33 | Sean Burke† | 11 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 311 | 27 | 2.56 | .913 | 1 | 631:38 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 121 | 17 | 3.60 | .860 | 0 | 283:13 |
Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
League (annual) |
NHL first All-Star team | John LeClair ( Left wing) | [15] |
League (in-season) |
NHL All-Star Game selection | John LeClair [b] | [17] |
Eric Lindros [b] | |||
NHL Player of the Week | John LeClair (November 10) | [18] | |
Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Eric Desjardins | [19] |
Bobby Clarke Trophy | John LeClair | [19] | |
Class Guy Award | Trent Klatt | [19] | |
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy | Colin Forbes | [19] |
Among the team records set during the 1997–98 season was John LeClair tying the team record for most points in a single period (4) on October 11. [20]
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 1997, the day after the deciding game of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 16, 1998, the day of the deciding game of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals. [21]
Date | Details | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|
June 18, 1997 | To Philadelphia Flyers Rights to Martin Cerven |
To
Edmonton Oilers 7th-round pick in 1997 |
[22] |
June 21, 1997 | To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 1998 |
To
Dallas Stars 3rd-round pick in 1997 |
[23] |
August 20, 1997 | To Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 1998 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 1999 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 2000 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 2001 |
To
Tampa Bay Lightning Karl Dykhuis Mikael Renberg |
[10] |
October 15, 1997 | To Philadelphia Flyers Rights to Brantt Myhres |
To Edmonton Oilers Jason Bowen |
[24] |
October 21, 1997 | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Maneluk |
To
Ottawa Senators Future considerations |
[25] |
January 17, 1998 | To Philadelphia Flyers Alexandre Daigle |
To Ottawa Senators Pat Falloon Vaclav Prospal 2nd-round pick in 1998 |
[26] |
February 5, 1998 | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Sillinger |
To
Vancouver Canucks Conditional 6th-round pick in 1998 [c] |
[28] |
March 4, 1998 | To Philadelphia Flyers Sean Burke |
To Vancouver Canucks Garth Snow |
[29] |
March 9, 1998 [d] | To Philadelphia Flyers Roger Neilson |
To
St. Louis Blues Conditional 6th-round pick in 1999 |
[30] |
March 24, 1998 | To Philadelphia Flyers Dave Babych Philadelphia's 6th-round pick in 1998 |
To Vancouver Canucks 3rd-round pick in 1998 |
[27] |
March 24, 1998 | To Philadelphia Flyers Dan McGillis 2nd-round pick in 1998 |
To Edmonton Oilers Janne Niinimaa |
[31] |
Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 12, 1997 | Jim Montgomery | Kolner Haie ( DEL) | 3-year | Free agency | [32] |
July 10, 1997 | Jamie Heward | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency | [33] |
July 14, 1997 | Luke Richardson | Edmonton Oilers | 5-year | Free agency | [8] |
July 16, 1997 | Travis Van Tighem | Michigan Tech University ( WCHA) | 1-year | Free agency | [34] |
August 12, 1997 | Chris Gratton | Tampa Bay Lightning | 5-year | Free agency | [9] [10] |
September 4, 1997 | Chris Joseph | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year [e] | Free agency | [35] |
May 18, 1998 | Ryan Bast | Saint John Flames ( AHL) | 2-year | Free agency | [36] [37] |
Date | Player | New team | Via [f] | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
August 25, 1997 | Dale Hawerchuk | Retirement | [11] | |
N/A | Patrik Juhlin | Jokerit ( Liiga) | Free agency (II) | [39] |
Frantisek Kucera | HC Sparta Praha ( ELH) | Free agency | [40] | |
Darren Rumble | Adler Mannheim ( DEL) | Free agency (UFA) | [41] | |
Ryan Sittler | South Carolina Stingrays ( ECHL) | Free agency | [42] | |
September 28, 1997 | Scott Daniels | New Jersey Devils | Waiver draft | [43] |
October 29, 1997 | Michel Petit | Detroit Vipers ( IHL) | Free agency (III) | [44] |
April 14, 1998 | Brantt Myhres | Release | [45] |
Date | Player | Term | Contract type | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
June 18, 1997 | Kjell Samuelsson | 1-year | Re-signing | [46] |
July 9, 1997 | Jean-Marc Pelletier | Entry-level | [47] | |
July 10, 1997 | Martin Cerven | 3-year | Entry-level | [33] |
July 15, 1997 | Craig Darby | 2-year | Re-signing | [48] |
Neil Little | 1-year | Re-signing | [48] | |
July 18, 1997 | Brett Bruininks | 1-year | Re-signing | [49] |
August 18, 1997 | Garth Snow | 1-year | Arbitration award | [50] |
September 3, 1997 | Dan Kordic | 2-year | Re-signing | [51] |
September 12, 1997 | Chris Therien | 3-year | Re-signing | [52] |
October 16, 1997 | Brantt Myhres | 1-year | Re-signing | |
October 17, 1997 | John LeClair | 3-year [g] | Re-signing | [53] |
December 17, 1997 | Eric Lindros | 1-year | Re-signing | [54] |
Philadelphia's picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 21, 1997. [55] The Flyers traded their third-round pick, 77th overall, to the Dallas Stars for the Stars' 1998 second-round pick on June 21, 1997. [56] They also traded their fifth-round pick, 130th overall, and Bob Wilkie to the Chicago Blackhawks for Karl Dykhuis on February 16, 1995, and their seventh-round pick, 187th overall, to the Edmonton Oilers for Martin Cerven on June 18, 1997. [56]
Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 30 | Jean-Marc Pelletier | Goaltender | United States | Cornell University ( ECAC) | [h] |
2 | 50 | Pat Kavanagh | Right wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes ( OHL) | |
3 | 62 | Kris Mallette | Defense | Canada | Kelowna Rockets ( WHL) | [i] |
4 | 103 | Mikhail Chernov | Defense | Russia | Torpedo Yaroslavl (RUS) | |
6 | 158 | Jordon Flodell | Defense | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) | |
7 | 164 | Todd Fedoruk | Left wing | Canada | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | [j] |
8 | 214 | Marko Kauppinen | Defense | Finland | JYP Jr. (FIN) | |
9 | 240 | Par Styf | Defense | Sweden | Modo Hockey Jrs. (SWE) |
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. [57] [58]
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