1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers season

Off-season

The Flyers coaxed Dick Cherry, who they selected in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, out of retirement by agreeing to a three-year contract.

Lou Angotti, the Flyers first captain, was involved in a three-team trade. The Flyers traded Angotti to the St. Louis Blues for Darryl Edestrand and Gerry Melnyk and the Blues subsequently traded Angotti to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Melnyk suffered a heart attack in training camp and retired to become a scout for the team.

The Flyers claimed veteran defenseman Allan Stanley in the reverse draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Regular season

Defenseman Ed Van Impe was named Angotti's replacement as captain in November.

Led by Van Impe and the team-leading 24 goals of Andre Lacroix, the Flyers struggled finishing 15 games under .500.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

Despite the poor regular season showing, they made the playoffs; however, they were manhandled by St. Louis in a four-game sweep. Not wanting his team to be physically outmatched again, owner Ed Snider instructed general manager Bud Poile to acquire bigger, tougher players going forward.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 13 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Parent || 14,011 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 16 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Favell || 15,906 || 0–2–0 || 0 || |- | 3 || October 17 || 3–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Parent || 9,862 || 1–2–0 || 2 || |- | 4 || October 24 || 3–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 8,933 || 1–2–1 || 3 || |- | 5 || October 26 || 2–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 6,597 || 1–3–1 || 3 || |- | 6 || October 27 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals || Favell || 1,892 || 1–3–2 || 4 || |- | 7 || October 30 || 1–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,754 || 1–4–2 || 4 || |- | 8 || October 31 || 1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Parent || 9,429 || 1–5–2 || 4 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 2 || 2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 15,156 || Blues lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 3 || 0–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 15,261 || Blues lead 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 5 || 0–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 14,558 || Blues lead 3–0 || |- | 4 || April 6 || 1–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,995 || Blues win 4–0 ||

| 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

Among the franchise records set during the 1968–69 season, the Flyers had two tie-related streaks. They tied four games in a row from January 2 to January 8, which was matched during the 1991–92 season, and they tied four road games in a row from March 1 to March 15. On January 30, they allowed 12 goals against to the Chicago Black Hawks, a single game franchise high. Their six road wins on the season is tied for the fewest in franchise history with the 1969–70 team.

Milestones

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 12, 1968, the day after the deciding game of the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 4, 1969, the day of the deciding game of the 1969 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

NHL amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1968 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 13, 1968.

NHL special internal amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1968 NHL special internal amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 13, 1968. Sponsored players aged 20 before May 31, 1968, who played as amateurs during the 1967–68 season were eligible for selection.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, the Seattle Totems of the WHL, and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.

Notes

References

References

1. "All Time Team Attendance". Flyers History.
2. (May 28, 1968). "Ends Retirement". [[Amarillo Globe-Times]].
3. (June 12, 1968). "Flyers Trade Angotti To Protect Kennedy". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
4. (October 8, 1968). "Sports Beat". Independent.
5. (June 14, 1968). "Quebec Drafts Allan Stanley from Toronto". [[Ottawa Journal]].
6. (November 6, 1968). "Ed Van Impe Named Captain of Flyers". [[The Mercury (Pennsylvania).
7. "Philadelphia Flyers – History – Hall of Fame – Ed Snider". Philadelphia Flyers.
8. "1968-69 Philadelphia Flyers Schedule and Results".
9. "22nd NHL All-Star Game". [[National Hockey League.
10. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 259
11. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 261
12. "Philadelphia Flyers: Year-by-Year Record".
13. "1968-69 NHL Debuts".
14. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions.
15. {{Hockey-Reference. s/stratar01. Art Stratton, retrieved February 13, 2016
16. (May 21, 1968). "Flyers Acquire Penalty King". [[Winnipeg Free Press]].
17. (June 14, 1968). "Flyers have their ace waiting in Quebec City". The Province.
18. (August 22, 1968). "Flyers, Penguins in Lend-lease Player Agreement". [[Lebanon Daily News]].
19. (October 19, 1968). "Americans Re-Group For Drills". Democrat and Chronicle.
20. {{Hockey-Reference. m/millaal01. Al Millar, retrieved February 13, 2016
21. {{Hockey-Reference. w/wrighke01. Keith Wright, retrieved February 13, 2016
22. (December 3, 1968). "Flyers Trade Bradley". Standard-Speaker.
23. (March 3, 1969). "Flyers, Leafs Swap". The Times Record.
24. Parsons, Mark. (October 26, 2012). "1968 NHL Intra-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia.
25. "1968 NHL Intraleague Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.
26. (June 13, 1968). "Montreal Loses Goalie in NHL Player Draft". [[Playground Daily News]].
27. Parsons, Mark. (June 3, 2012). "1968 Reverse Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia.
28. {{Hockey-Reference. t/taylobo02. Bobby Taylor, retrieved February 13, 2016
29. (September 19, 1968). "NHL Teams Flex Muscles, Howe in Form Again". [[Ottawa Journal]].
30. Chevalier, Jack. (January 4, 1969). "Flyers Obtain Stankiewicz From Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
31. "Flyers A-Z: Zeidel, Larry".
32. (December 19, 1968). "Flyers Shift Two Players". [[The Daily American]].
33. (September 21, 1968). "Selby inks two-season Philly pact". The Montreal Star.
34. (October 6, 1968). "Flyers Sign Pair". The San Francisco Examiner.
35. (October 9, 1968). "Flyers Sign Players". [[Delaware County Daily Times]].
36. (October 10, 1968). "Flyers Stronger, Deeper Open 2d Season Sunday". Courier-Post.
37. (October 12, 1968). "Flyers Use Mediator". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
38. (October 14, 1968). "Plante Scores Shutout After 2-Year Absence". The Times-Transcript.
39. (October 19, 1968). "Flyers Sign Rookie". New Pittsburgh Courier.
40. (October 16, 1968). "Flyers Sign LaCroix, Ship Out 2 Veterans". Courier-Post.
41. "1968 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.
42. (June 14, 1968). "Lindsay among 10 western draftees". [[The StarPhoenix.
43. (June 8, 1967). "Kelly still in spotlight; minor draft overshadowed". [[The StarPhoenix.
44. {{Hockey-Reference. w/wilsodu01. Dunc Wilson, retrieved February 13, 2016
45. "AHL Franchise Statistics". Flyers History.
46. "AHL Season Overview: 1968–69". Flyers History.
47. "Non-AHL Affiliates". Flyers History.