1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.

1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	5th West
1971–72 record	26–38–14
Home record	19–13–7
Road record	7–25–7
Goals for	200 (14th)
Goals against	236 (7th)
Team information
President	Joe Scott
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Fred Shero
Captain	Ed Van Impe
Alternate captains	Jean-Guy Gendron
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	14,379[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Richmond Robins San Diego Gulls Jersey Devils Salem Rebels
Team leaders
Goals	Bobby Clarke (35)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (46)
Points	Bobby Clarke (81)
Penalty minutes	Gary Dornhoefer (183)
Plus/minus	Bobby Clarke (+22)
Wins	Doug Favell (18)
Goals against average	Doug Favell (2.81)

Off-season

The Flyers fired head coach Vic Stasiuk on May 27, 1971,[2] after heavy criticism by Flyers players.[3] On June 2, the Flyers hired Fred Shero to replace him.[3] In the previous two seasons Shero had guided two teams to league championships, the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League and the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League.[3]

Regular season

Bobby Clarke continued to progress as he led the team in goals (35), assists (46), and points (81) in 1971–72 and he became the first Flyer to win an NHL award, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. However, in the season's final game, the Flyers needed a win or a tie against the second-year Buffalo Sabres to beat out the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot. The score was tied late in the game, but with just four seconds on the clock, former Flyer Gerry Meehan took a shot from just inside the blue line that eluded Flyers goalie Doug Favell.[4] With identical records the playoff berth was determined by 'goals for' and went to the Penguins.

Season standings

West Division[5]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	46	17	15	256	166	+90	107
2	Minnesota North Stars	78	37	29	12	212	191	+21	86
3	St. Louis Blues	78	28	39	11	208	247	−39	67
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	26	38	14	220	258	−38	66
5	Philadelphia Flyers	78	26	38	14	200	236	−36	66
6	California Golden Seals	78	21	39	18	216	288	−72	60
7	Los Angeles Kings	78	20	49	9	206	305	−99	49

Schedule and results

Regular season

1971–72 regular season
October: 5–4–1, 11 Points (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 2–3–1)
November: 2–7–3, 7 Points (Home: 2–4–2; Road: 0–3–1)
December: 4–7–1, 9 Points (Home: 4–2–1; Road: 0–5–0)
January: 3–8–3, 9 Points (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 0–6–2)
February: 5–6–3, 13 Points (Home: 2–1–1; Road: 3–5–2)
March: 7–5–2, 16 Points (Home: 5–3–1; Road: 2–2–1)
April: 0–1–1, 1 Points (Home: 0–0–1; Road: 0–1–0)
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

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.

				Regular season
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Bobby Clarke	22	C	78	35	46	81	22	87
12	Gary Dornhoefer	28	RW	75	17	32	49	−15	183
17	Simon Nolet	30	RW	67	23	20	43	6	22
22	Rick Foley	26	D	58	11	25	36	−16	168
9	Bob Kelly	21	LW	78	14	15	29	16	157
20	Jim Johnson	29	C	46	13	15	28	−21	12
21	Serge Bernier	24	C	44	12	11	23	−20	51
10, 15	Bill Clement	21	C	49	9	14	23	−14	39
5	Brent Hughes	28	D	63	2	20	22	6	35
21	Bill Flett	28	RW	31	11	10	21	5	26
4	Barry Ashbee	32	D	73	6	14	20	2	75
11	Jean-Guy Gendron	37	LW	56	6	13	19	−2	36
25	Jean Potvin	22	D	29	3	12	15	−6	6
18	Ross Lonsberry	24	LW	32	7	7	14	−9	22
7	Michel Parizeau	23	LW	37	2	12	14	−6	10
18	Bill Lesuk	25	LW	45	7	6	13	−14	31
2	Ed Van Impe	31	D	73	4	9	13	−8	78
8	Lew Morrison	23	LW	58	5	5	10	−18	26
14	Joe Watson	28	D	65	3	7	10	−17	38
24	Dick Sarrazin	26	RW	28	3	4	7	0	4
20	Eddie Joyal	31	C	26	3	4	7	−13	8
3, 10	Willie Brossart	22	D	42	0	4	4	−7	12
19	Rick MacLeish	22	C	17	1	2	3	−9	9
15	Larry Mickey	28	RW	14	1	2	3	−5	8
6	Wayne Hillman	33	D	47	0	3	3	−16	21
23	Larry Keenan	31	LW	14	1	1	2	−4	2
25	Pierre Plante	20	RW	24	1	0	1	−11	15
1	Doug Favell	26	G	54	0	1	1	N/A	32
10	Larry Wright	20	C	27	0	1	1	−6	2
19, 23	Larry Hale	30	D	6	0	1	1	−5	0
19, 24	Ralph MacSweyn	29	D	2	0	1	1	0	0
30	Bruce Gamble	33	G	24	0	0	0	N/A	2
3	Larry Brown	24	D	12	0	0	0	−3	2
30	Bobby Taylor	27	G	6	0	0	0	N/A	0
24, 30, 34	Don McLeod	25	G	4	0	0	0	N/A	0
3	Jim Mair	25	D	2	0	0	0	−2	0
25	Dave Schultz	22	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0
23	Rene Drolet	27	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0
25	Don Saleski	22	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltending

			Regular season
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Doug Favell	26	54	52	18	25	9	1655	140	2.81	.915	5	2,984:44
30	Bruce Gamble	33	24	18	7	8	2	659	58	2.94	.912	2	1,184:18
30	Bobby Taylor	27	6	5	1	2	2	193	16	3.00	.917	0	319:45
24, 30, 34	Don McLeod	25	4	3	0	3	1	109	14	4.65	.872	0	180:45

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Bobby Clarke	[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bobby Clarke	[7]
		Simon Nolet

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1971–72 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Date(s)	Opponent	Ref
Goals scored	Period	3[lower-alpha 1]	Bill Flett	3/9/1972	Los Angeles Kings	[8]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1971–72 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Opponent	Player(s)	Refs
Powerplay goals scored	Game	6[lower-alpha 2]	1/9/1972	California Golden Seals	—	[9]
Games winless on road	Streak	19[lower-alpha 3]	10/23/1971 – 1/27/1972	—	—	[10]
Fastest goal from start of period	Game	0:08[lower-alpha 2]	3/2/1972	Minnesota North Stars	Bob Kelly	[11]
Most losses on road	Season	25	—	—	—	[12]

Milestones

Franchise firsts[13]

Milestone	Player	Details	Date	Ref
30-goal season	Bobby Clarke	Even-strength goal at 1:37 of the first period against Ken Dryden	March 13, 1972	[14]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 19, 1971, the day after the deciding game of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 11, 1972, the day of the deciding game of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals.[15]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 13, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Mickey	To Los Angeles Kings Larry Hillman	[16]
September 8, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To Portland Buckaroos (WHL) Cliff Schmautz	[17]
October 15, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Rick Foley	To Chicago Black Hawks Andre Lacroix	[18]
November 16, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Keenan	To Buffalo Sabres Larry Mickey	[19]
January 28, 1972	To Philadelphia Flyers Bill Flett Eddie Joyal Ross Lonsberry Jean Potvin	To Los Angeles Kings Serge Bernier Jim Johnson Bill Lesuk	[20]

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency.

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
July 1971	Orest Kindrachuk	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)		[21]
September 11, 1971	Bob Hurlburt	Quebec Aces (AHL)

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to contracts.

Date	Player	Term	Ref
August 7, 1971	Pierre Plante (DP)	2-year	[22]
August 16, 1971	Bruce Gamble		[23]
September 2, 1971	Larry Brown		[24]
September 2, 1971	Bob Kelly		[24]
September 2, 1971	Rick MacLeish		[24]
September 5, 1971	Jim Johnson		[25]
September 5, 1971	Lew Morrison		[25]
September 5, 1971	Joe Watson		[25]
September 7, 1971	Gary Dornhoefer		[26]
September 7, 1971	Wayne Hillman		[26]
September 7, 1971	Danny Schock		[26]
September 7, 1971	Frank Spring		[26]
September 7, 1971	Ed Van Impe		[26]
September 8, 1971	Serge Bernier		[17]
September 8, 1971	Jean-Guy Gendron		[17]
September 8, 1971	Bill Lesuk		[17]
September 8, 1971	Larry Mickey		[17]
September 10, 1971	Andre Lacroix
October 7, 1971	Doug Favell
March 20, 1972	Bobby Clarke	5-year extension	[22]
N/A	Glen Irwin (DP)	2-year	[22]
N/A	Don McCulloch (DP)	2-year	[22]
N/A	Larry Wright (DP)	2-year	[22]

Intra-League

The 1971 NHL Intra-League Draft was held on June 8, 1971.[27][28] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.[27] It cost $40,000 to make a claim.[27]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
June 8, 1971	Larry Brown[lower-alpha 4]	from New York Rangers	[27][29]
June 8, 1971	Frank Spring[lower-alpha 5]	from Boston Bruins	[27][29][30]
June 8, 1971	Garry Peters[lower-alpha 6]	to Boston Bruins	[27][29][31]

Reverse

The 1971 NHL Reverse Draft was held on June 9, 1971.[32] The Reverse Draft featured American Hockey League (AHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) teams selecting unprotected players from NHL teams.[32] It cost $15,000 to make a claim.[32]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
June 9, 1971	Don McLeod	from Detroit Red Wings[lower-alpha 7]	[33]

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.

Date	Player	Team	Ref
December 8, 1971	Michel Parizeau	from St. Louis Blues	[34]
January 28, 1972	Larry Brown	to Los Angeles Kings	[35]

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).

Date	Player	New team (league)	Via	Ref
September 20, 1971	Keith Wright	—	Release
February 9, 1972	Bruce Gamble*	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 8]	[36]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 10, 1971.[37]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	8	Larry Wright	Center	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
1	9	Pierre Plante	Right Wing	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)	[lower-alpha 9]
3	36	Glen Irwin	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
4	50	Ted Scharf	Right Wing	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
5	64	Don McCulloch	Defense	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
6	78	Yvon Bilodeau	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
7	92	Bobby Gerrard	Right Wing	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
8	106	Jerome Mrazek	Goaltender	Canada	University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL,[39][40] the San Diego Gulls of the WHL,[41] and the Jersey Devils and Salem Rebels of the EHL.[41]

Notes

1. Tied nine times by eight different players. See List of Philadelphia Flyers records.
2. Tied during the 1988–89 season.
3. 15 losses and 4 ties.
4. The Flyers removed Larry Hillman from their protected list after selecting Brown.
5. The Flyers removed Garry Peters from their protected list after selecting Spring.
6. The Bruins claimed Peters in lieu of cash.
7. Claimed by the Quebec Aces, the Flyers' AHL affiliate.
8. Gamble suffered a career-ending heart attack during game played on February 9, 1972.
9. The Flyers acquired the 9th overall pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Bruce Gamble and Mike Walton for Bernie Parent and the Flyers' second-round pick, 22nd overall, on January 31, 1971.[38]

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific

1. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
2. "Flyers Fire Coach Vic Stasiuk". Chicago Tribune. May 28, 1971. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
3. "NHL Flyers Name Shero New Coach". AP. The Schenectady Gazette. June 3, 1971. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
4. "Flyers History – Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
5. "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
6. "Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
7. "25th NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
8. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 264
9. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 261
10. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 259
11. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 262
12. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 244
13. "Flyers History – All-Time Firsts". P.Anson. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
14. "Flyers History – Philadelphia Flyer Goal Season List". P.Anson. Retrieved August 12, 2015. Goal List for Bobby Clarke 1971–72 Season
15. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
16. "Flyers deal defenseman". UPI. Delaware County Daily Times. June 14, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Flyers Sign Four Skaters". UPI. El Paso Herald-Post. September 9, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "no title". Brandon Sun. October 16, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Cite uses generic title (help)
19. "Flyers Get Keenan". UPI. The Logansport Press. November 17, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "'We had to do something:' Allen". UPI. Delaware County Daily Times. January 29, 1972. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Orest Kindrachuk – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
22. "Flyers sign Clarke to 5-year contract". Delaware County Daily Times. March 21, 1972. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Flyers Sign Goalie Bruce Gamble". AP. The Gettysburg Times. August 17, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Philly Flyers Sign 3 More". AP. The Gettysburg Times. September 3, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Flyers Sign 10 Players". AP. The Gettysburg Times. September 6, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Flyers sign 5, to open practice". UPI. Delaware County Daily Times. July 1, 1975. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
27. Parsons, Mark (August 6, 2012). "1971 NHL Intra-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
28. "no title". Independent. June 9, 1971. Retrieved December 18, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Cite uses generic title (help)
29. "1971 NHL Intraleague Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
30. "Frank Spring – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
31. "Garry Peters – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
32. "Canadians Likely To Get A New Coach...In Addition To Players". Kokomo Tribune. June 10, 1971. p. 33. Retrieved July 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Don McLeod – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
34. "Michel Parizeau – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
35. "Larry Brown – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
36. Bruce Gamble biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved March 22, 2015
37. "1971 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
38. "1971 NHL Amateur Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
39. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
40. "AHL Season Overview: 1971–72". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
41. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.