1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers season

NHL expansion

Philadelphia waited almost 35 years from when the Quakers' played their last home game (a 4–0 loss to Chicago on March 17, 1931) for the NHL to return when the city was awarded an expansion franchise on February 9, 1966. Philadelphia was a bit of a surprise choice since a group from the nearby city of Baltimore were considered favorites to land a team.

The man who often receives the most credit for bringing NHL hockey back to Philadelphia is Ed Snider. While attending a basketball game in 1964 at the Boston Garden, the then vice-president of the Philadelphia Eagles observed a crowd of Boston Bruins fans lining up to purchase tickets to see a last-place team. Intrigued, he began making plans for a new arena upon hearing the NHL was looking to expand due to fears of a competing league taking hold on the West Coast and the desire for a new television contract in the United States. Snider made his proposal to the league and the Philadelphia group – including Snider, Bill Putnam, Jerome Schiff, and Eagles owner Jerry Wolman – was chosen over the Baltimore group.

On April 4, 1966, Putnam announced there would be a name-the-team contest and that orange, black and white would be the team colors. Wanting what he referred to as "hot" colors, Putnam's choice was influenced by the orange and white of his alma mater, the University of Texas, and the orange and black of Philadelphia's previous NHL team, the Quakers. Also announced on April 4 was the hiring of a Chicago firm to design the team's arena.

Details of the name-the-team contest were released on July 12, 1966. As sponsor of the contest, ballots were available at local Acme Markets grocery stores and included a top prize of a RCA 21" color television, two season tickets for both the second and third prize winners, and a pair of tickets to a game for the next 100 winners. Among the names considered behind the scenes were Quakers, Ramblers, and Liberty Bells. The first two were the names of previous Philadelphia hockey teams and given the connotations of losing (Quakers) and the minor leagues (Ramblers), were passed over. Liberty Bells, though seriously considered, was also the name of a local race track. Bashers, Blizzards, Bruisers, Huskies, Keystones, Knights, Lancers, Raiders, and Sabres were among the other names considered.

With the name and colors already known, Philadelphia advertising firm Mel Richmann Inc. was hired to design a logo and jersey. With Tom Paul as head of the project, artist Sam Ciccone designed both the logo and jerseys with the concept to represent speed. Ciccone's winged P design, four stylized wings attached to a slanted P with an orange dot to represent a puck, was considered the "obvious choice" over his other designs which included a winged skate. Ciccone's jersey design, a stripe down each shoulder and down the arms, represented wings.

Off-season

The men hired to build the expansion Flyers were Bud Poile as general manager and Keith Allen as head coach. Both were former NHL players and were Western Hockey League coaches in the years preceding expansion, Poile with the San Francisco Seals and Allen with the Seattle Totems. On May 8, 1967, the Flyers purchased the American Hockey League's Quebec Aces and with them acquired sixteen professional players and the rights to sixteen amateur players. The NHL expansion draft was held a month later on June 6. The six expansion franchises selected 20 players from the Original Six teams, though most of the players available were either aging veterans or career minor-leaguers before expansion occurred. Among the Flyers' 20 selections were Bernie Parent, Doug Favell, Ed Van Impe, Joe Watson, Lou Angotti (who was named the Flyers' first captain), Leon Rochefort, and Gary Dornhoefer. The following day, the Flyers made two selections in the 1967 NHL amateur draft, notably Serge Bernier fifth overall from the Sorel Eperviers.

Regular season

The Flyers made their debut on October 11, 1967, losing 5–1 on the road to the California Seals. Bill Sutherland scored the first goal in franchise history. They won their first game a week later, defeating the St. Louis Blues on the road, 2–1. The Flyers made their home debut in front of a crowd of 7,812, shutting out their trans-Pennsylvania rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1–0 on October 19. With all six expansion teams grouped into the same division, the Flyers were able to win the division with a below .500 record and after being forced to play their last seven home games on the road (five of them at Le Colisee in Quebec City, the home of their AHL affiliate) due to a March 1 storm blowing parts of the Spectrum's roof off. The March 7 game against Boston, relocated to Toronto, featured a bloody stick-swinging duel between the Flyers' Larry Zeidel and the Bruins' Eddie Shack, resulting in suspensions for both players.

The team was led offensively by Leon Rochefort in goals (21) and Lou Angotti in assists (37) and points (49). Bill Sutherland was the only other player on the team with at least 20 goals and Gary Dornhoefer was the only other player with at least 30 assists. Rochefort was the only Flyer to take part in the NHL All-Star Game. Despite the lack of offensive firepower, the Flyers were strong enough defensively to be a respectable 8–15–1 against Original Six teams, winning at least one game against all six and winning three of their four games against the defending Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs. 22-year-old goaltenders Doug Favell and Bernie Parent split time in net and put up similar numbers. Favell finished 3rd in Calder Memorial Trophy voting.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

The Flyers returned to the Spectrum in time to open up their first playoff series on April 4, 1968, against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues came into the series as underdogs, but they took Game 1 1–0. Pat Hannigan scored the Flyers first ever playoff goal 1:32 into the first period of Game 2. Tied going into the third period, Leon Rochefort's goal with 13:09 left proved to be the game winner in a 4–3 result. The series shifted to St. Louis and the Flyers lost both Games 3 and 4. With the Flyers on the verge of elimination, Rosaire Paiement scored a hat trick in Game 5 and the Flyers won 6–1. Returning to St. Louis for Game 6, Don Blackburn's goal with 8:42 left in the 2nd overtime forced a Game 7. However, the Flyers lost Game 7 by a score of 3–1.

Schedule and results

Preseason

|- | 1 || September 17 || 1–6 || align="left"| @ Quebec Aces (AHL) || 0–1–0 || L |- | 2 || September 19 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Quebec Aces (AHL) || 0–1–1 || T |- | 3 || September 21 || 5–4 || align="left"| Springfield Kings (AHL) || 1–1–1 || W |- | 4 || September 22 || 1–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || 1–2–1 || L |- | 5 || September 23 || 3–7 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || 1–3–1 || L |- | 6 || September 30 || 5–1 || align="left"| @ Hershey Bears (AHL) || 2–3–1 || W |- | 7 || October 3 || 4–4 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || 2–3–2 || T |- | 8 || October 4 || 5–3 || align="left"| Quebec Aces (AHL) || 3–3–2 || W |- | 9 || October 6 || 3–1 || align="left"| @ Quebec Aces (AHL) || 4–3–2 || W |- | 10 || October 8 || 4–3 || align="left"| @ Providence Reds (AHL) || 5–3–2 || W |- Notes:

Game played in Hamilton, Ontario.

Game played in Guelph, Ontario.

Game played in Brantford, Ontario.

Game played in Kingston, Ontario.

Game played in Sorel, Quebec.

| Legend:

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 11 || 1–5 || align="left"| @ California Seals || Parent || 6,886 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 14 || 2–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 7,035 || 0–2–0 || 0 || |- | 3 || October 18 || 2–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 5,234 || 1–2–0 || 2 || |- | 4 || October 19 || 1–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 7,812 || 2–2–0 || 4 || |- | 5 || October 22 || 5–2 || align="left"| California Seals || Favell || 5,783 || 3–2–0 || 6 || |- | 6 || October 28 || 1–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Favell || 10,859 || 3–3–0 || 6 || |- | 7 || October 29 || 2–2 || align="left"| California Seals || Favell || 4,708 || 3–3–1 || 7 ||

The California Seals changed their name to the Oakland Seals on December 8, 1967.

Game played at Madison Square Garden due to the roof blowing off the Spectrum during a March 1 storm.

Game played at Maple Leaf Gardens due to the roof blowing off the Spectrum during a March 1 storm.

Game played at Le Colisée due to the roof blowing off the Spectrum during a March 1 storm.

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 4 || 0–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,649 || Blues lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 6 || 4–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Favell || 11,111 || Series tied 1–1 || |- | 3 || April 10 || 2–3 2OT || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,867 || Blues lead 2–1 || |- | 4 || April 11 || 2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 11,070 || Blues lead 3–1 || |- | 5 || April 13 || 6–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,587 || Blues lead 3–2 || |- | 6 || April 16 || 2–1 2OT || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 13,738 || Series tied 3–3 || |- | 7 || April 18 || 1–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 14,646 || Blues win 4–3 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.*

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Excluding the shortened 1994–95, 2012–13, and 2020–21 seasons, the 173 goals scored during the regular season is the lowest total in franchise history. During game six of the team’s playoff series against St. Louis that the Flyers won 2–1 in the second overtime period, goaltender Bernie Parent made 63 saves on 64 shots against, both team records. His playoff year totals for goals against average (1.36) is also a team record and his save percentage (.963) is a league record.

Milestones

Franchise firsts

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 3, 1967, the day after the deciding game of the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 11, 1968, the day of the deciding game of the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Signings

Draft picks

NHL expansion draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1967 NHL expansion draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 6, 1967.

NHL amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1967 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 7, 1967.

NHL special internal amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1967 NHL special internal amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 7, 1967. Sponsored players aged 20 before May 31, 1967, who played as amateurs during the 1966–67 season were eligible for selection. There were only four selections total in this draft, two of which were made by the Flyers.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, whom they purchased on May 8, 1967, the Seattle Totems and Phoenix Roadrunners of the WHL, and the Knoxville Knights of the EHL. Quebec finished second in their division and made it to the Calder Cup Finals before losing to the Rochester Americans in six games. Head coach Vic Stasiuk was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year and Simon Nolet won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Seattle finished 2nd in the 5-team WHL and won the Lester Patrick Cup as league champions. Knoxville finished 9th in the 12-team EHL and missed the playoffs in what proved to be their final season in existence.

Notes

References

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