1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 18th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in five games to the Edmonton Oilers.

1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers
Wales Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Wales
1984–85 record	53–20–7
Home record	32–4–4
Road record	21–16–3
Goals for	348 (4th)
Goals against	241 (3rd)
Team information
President	Jay Snider
General manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Dave Poulin
Alternate captains	None[lower-alpha 1]
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	16,951[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears Kalamazoo Wings
Team leaders
Goals	Tim Kerr (54)
Assists	Brian Propp (54)
Points	Tim Kerr (98)
Penalty minutes	Dave Brown (165)
Plus/minus	Brad McCrimmon (+52)
Wins	Pelle Lindbergh (40)
Goals against average	Bob Froese (2.39)

Off-season

Bob Clarke's first move as general manager was hiring Mike Keenan as head coach.[2] Second-year player Dave Poulin was named team captain.[3]

Regular season

On October 18 they tied a franchise record for most goals in one game, after a 13–2 rout of the Vancouver Canucks at the Spectrum. They recorded another 10-plus goal contest on March 10 against Pittsburgh, crushing the Penguins 11–4. In addition, the team snapped the Edmonton Oilers' then NHL record 12–0–3 unbeaten streak to start the year with a 7–5 win on November 11. Four days later, they paid tribute to the recently retired Bobby Clarke on Bobby Clarke Night with a 6–1 win over the Hartford Whalers.

Although the club got off to a hot 16–4–4 start, they faltered in December, losing four straight games and five of six prior to Christmas. With the team's slate of games thin throughout January, the Washington Capitals surged to the top of the Patrick Division although the Flyers kept winning consistently.

After trailing the division-leading Capitals by 11 points in early February, the Flyers clinched the division title on March 28 and finished 12 points ahead of Washington, reeling off an incredible 24–4–0 record after February 9. The game that kicked off the stretch, on February 9 at the Capital Centre, saw Tim Kerr score four goals but Brian Propp won it, 5-4, with two seconds remaining in regulation. The club set a franchise record with 11 straight wins from March 5–24.

One season before the President's Trophy was created to reward the NHL club with the most points, the Flyers finished the season with 113, four ahead of eventual Cup champion Edmonton. They also recorded their second-highest single-season goal total (tied with 1975–76, and two fewer than the previous season) and allowed the third-fewest goals behind Washington and Buffalo.

Twice during the season two players recorded hat tricks in the same game. Propp and Ilkka Sinisalo turned the trick in the Vancouver rout, while Poulin and Kerr teamed up for six goals in a wild 9–6 win over Washington on March 7.

Goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, who led the league with 40 wins, won the Vezina Trophy.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Philadelphia Flyers	80	53	20	7	348	241	113
Washington Capitals	80	46	25	9	322	240	101
New York Islanders	80	40	34	6	345	312	86
New York Rangers	80	26	44	10	295	345	62
New Jersey Devils	80	22	48	10	264	346	54
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	24	51	5	276	385	53

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

The Flyers rolled through the playoffs by sweeping the New York Rangers in three games, defeating the New York Islanders in five, and beating the Quebec Nordiques in six to return to the Stanley Cup Finals. Though they defeated the defending champion Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 by a score of 4–1 at home, Edmonton won the next four games and the series.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1984–85 regular season
October: 6–2–2, 15 Points (Home: 3–0–1; Road: 3–2–1)
November: 8–2–2, 18 Points (Home: 6–2–1; Road: 2–0–1)
December: 7–6–1, 15 Points (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–5–0)
January: 8–4–1, 17 Points (Home: 5–0–0; Road: 3–4–1)
February: 8–3–1, 17 Points (Home: 6–1–1; Road: 2–2–0)
March: 13–3–0, 26 Points (Home: 7–0–0; Road: 6–3–0)
April: 3–0–0, 6 Points (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 2–0–0)
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1985 Stanley Cup playoffs
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. New York Rangers - Flyers win 3–0
Patrick Division Finals vs. New York Islanders - Flyers win 4–1
Wales Conference Finals vs. Quebec Nordiques - Flyers win 4–2
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Edmonton Oilers - Oilers win 4–1
Legend:   Win   Loss

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						Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
12	Tim Kerr	25	RW	74	54	44	98	29	57	12	10	4	14	7	13
26	Brian Propp	25	LW	76	43	54	97	46	43	19	8	10	18	2	6
20	Dave Poulin	26	C	73	30	44	74	43	59	11	3	5	8	−1	6
23	Ilkka Sinisalo	26	RW	70	36	37	73	32	16	19	6	1	7	−1	0
32	Murray Craven	20	LW	80	26	35	61	45	30	19	4	6	10	6	11
25	Peter Zezel	19	C	65	15	46	61	22	26	19	1	8	9	−5	28
2	Mark Howe	29	D	73	18	39	57	51	31	19	3	8	11	11	6
14	Ron Sutter	21	C	73	16	29	45	13	94	19	4	8	12	−1	28
10	Brad McCrimmon	25	D	66	8	35	43	52	81	11	2	1	3	5	15
18	Lindsay Carson	24	C	77	20	19	39	0	123	17	0	3	3	0	24
24	Derrick Smith	20	LW	77	17	22	39	28	31	19	2	5	7	3	16
22	Rick Tocchet	20	RW	75	14	25	39	6	181	19	3	4	7	−1	72
27	Thomas Eriksson	25	D	72	10	29	39	24	36	9	0	0	0	−1	6
3	Doug Crossman	24	D	80	4	33	37	31	65	19	4	6	10	−3	38
11, 36	Len Hachborn	23	C	40	5	17	22	16	23	4	0	3	3	0	0
8	Brad Marsh	26	D	77	2	18	20	42	91	19	0	6	6	1	65
9	Miroslav Dvorak	33	D	47	3	14	17	12	4	13	0	1	1	−1	4
19, 42	Todd Bergen	21	C	14	11	5	16	9	4	17	4	9	13	7	8
15	Rich Sutter	21	LW	56	6	10	16	0	89	11	3	0	3	−2	10
21	Dave Brown	22	RW	57	3	6	9	−3	165	11	0	0	0	−1	59
6	Tim Young	29	C	20	2	6	8	2	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
17	Ed Hospodar	25	D	50	3	4	7	7	130	18	1	1	2	4	69
29	Glen Cochrane	27	D	18	0	3	3	−4	100	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Ray Allison	25	RW	11	1	1	2	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	2
34	Ross Fitzpatrick	24	C	5	1	0	1	−3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Bob Froese	26	G	17	0	1	1	N/A	2	4	0	0	0	N/A	2
34	Paul Guay	21	RW	2	0	1	1	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Pelle Lindbergh	25	G	65	0	0	0	N/A	4	18	0	1	1	N/A	0
6, 28	Joe Paterson	24	LW	6	0	0	0	−1	31	17	3	4	7	−2	70
5	Steve Smith	21	D	2	0	0	0	2	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Mike Stothers	22	D	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
30, 33	Darren Jensen	24	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

			Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Pelle Lindbergh	25	65	63	40	17	7	1926	194	3.02	.899	2	3,848:58	18	18	12	6	487	42	2.50	.914	3	1,006:43
35	Bob Froese	26	17	16	13	2	0	427	37	2.39	.913	1	927:24	4	1	0	1	73	11	4.51	.849	0	146:19
30, 33	Darren Jensen	24	1	1	0	1	0	30	7	7.00	.767	0	60:00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Jack Adams Award	Mike Keenan	[5]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Pelle Lindbergh (Goaltender)	[6]
	Vezina Trophy	Pelle Lindbergh	[7]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Mark Howe[lower-alpha 2]	[8][9][10]
		Tim Kerr
		Pelle Lindbergh
	NHL Player of the Month	Pelle Lindbergh (March)[lower-alpha 3]	[11]
	NHL Player of the Week	Pelle Lindbergh (November 19)	[12]
		Ilkka Sinisalo (March 11)[lower-alpha 4]	[13]
		Pelle Lindbergh (April 9)[lower-alpha 5]	[14]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Brad McCrimmon	[15]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Pelle Lindbergh	[15]
	Class Guy Award	Brad Marsh	[15]

Records

•    NHL record
•    Tied for NHL record

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1984–85 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Date(s)	Opponent	Ref
Goals scored	Period	3[lower-alpha 6]	Tim Kerr	10/25/1984	St. Louis Blues	[16]
Goals scored	Game	4[lower-alpha 7]	Tim Kerr	10/25/1984	St. Louis Blues	[17]
				1/17/1985	Detroit Red Wings
				2/9/1985	Washington Capitals
Shorthanded goals	Season	7[lower-alpha 8]	Brian Propp	—	—	[18]
Hat tricks	Season	5	Tim Kerr	—	—	[17]
Fastest three goals scored by one player, playoffs	Game	3:24	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Fastest four goals scored by one player, playoffs	Game	8:16	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Goals scored, playoffs	Period	4	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Powerplay goals scored, playoffs	Period	3	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Assists, playoffs	Period	3[lower-alpha 9]	Peter Zezel	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Points, playoffs	Period	4	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Powerplay goals scored, playoffs	Game	3	Tim Kerr	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Points by a rookie, playoffs	Game	4[lower-alpha 10]	Peter Zezel	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[19]
Assists, playoffs	Period	3[lower-alpha 9]	Tim Kerr	4/21/1985	New York Islanders	[19]
Powerplay goals scored by a defenseman, playoffs	Season	3[lower-alpha 11]	Doug Crossman	—	—	[20]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1984–85 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Opponent	Refs
Goals scored	Game	13[lower-alpha 12]	10/18/1984	Vancouver Canucks	[21]
Shorthanded goals scored	Season	3[lower-alpha 13]	12/15/1984	Washington Capitals	[21]
			1/13/1985	Calgary Flames
Most wins	Season	53[lower-alpha 14]	—	—	[22]
Fewest road ties	Season	3[lower-alpha 15]	—	—	[23]
Goals scored	Period	5	4/13/1985	New York Rangers	[24]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 20, 1984, the day after the deciding game of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 30, 1985, the day of the deciding game of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals.[25]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
May 24, 1984	To Philadelphia Flyers Ian Armstrong	To New Jersey Devils 10th-round pick in 1985	[26]
September 27, 1984	To Philadelphia Flyers future considerations	To New Jersey Devils Sam St. Laurent	[27]
October 10, 1984	To Philadelphia Flyers Murray Craven Joe Paterson	To Detroit Red Wings Darryl Sittler	[28]
March 12, 1985	To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd-round pick in 1986[lower-alpha 16]	To Vancouver Canucks Glen Cochrane	[30][31]

Free agency

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

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
July 25, 1984	Ed Hospodar	Hartford Whalers		[32]
September 30, 1984	Nick Kypreos	North Bay Centennials (OHL)		[33]
October 4, 1984	Don Nachbaur	Los Angeles Kings		[34]
October 8, 1984	Al Hill	Maine Mariners (AHL)		[35]
October 15, 1984	Tim Young	Winnipeg Jets	1-year	[36]
November 22, 1984	Craig Piette	University of Wisconsin–River Falls (NAIA)		[37][38]

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 17, 1984	Doug Crossman		[39]
August 17, 1984	Len Hachborn		[39]
August 17, 1984	Brad McCrimmon		[39]
September 22, 1984	Tim Kerr	multi-year	[40]
February 17, 1985	Lindsay Carson

Waivers

The Flyers were not involved in any waivers transactions. The 1984 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 9, 1984.[41] The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Gil Hudon and skaters Don Nachbaur and Brian Tutt.[42]

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
N/A	Frank Bathe	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 17]	[43]
N/A	Randy Holt	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 18]	[43]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 9, 1984.[44] The Flyers selection of Petr Rucka in the eleventh-round, 226th overall, was voided since Rucka had already been selected by the Calgary Flames in the tenth-round.[45]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
2	22	Greg Smyth	Defense	Canada	London Knights (OHL)	[lower-alpha 19]
2	27	Scott Mellanby	Right Wing	Canada	Henry Carr Secondary School (Toronto)	[lower-alpha 20]
2	37	Jeff Chychrun	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
3	43	Dave McLay	Forward	Canada	Kelowna Wings (WHL)	[lower-alpha 19]
3	47	John Stevens	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)	[lower-alpha 21]
4	79	David Hanson	Center	United States	Grand Forks High School (N. Dakota)
5	100	Brian Dobbin	Right Wing	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
6	121	John Dzikowski	Center	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
7	142	Tom Allen	Defense	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
8	163	Luke Vitale	Forward	Canada	Henry Carr Secondary School (Toronto)
9	184	Billy Powers	Forward	United States	Matignon High School (Mass.)
10	204	Daryn Fersovich	Forward	Canada	St. Albert Saints (AJHL)
12	245	Juraj Bakos	Defense	Slovakia	HC Kosice (Czech)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL[46][47] and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.[48]

Notes

1. The alternate captain position was abolished from the 1975–76 season through the 1984–85 season.
2. Did not play
3. Co-winner with Winnipeg Jets' Brian Hayward
4. Co-winner with St. Louis Blues' Rick Wamsley
5. Co-winner with St. Louis Blues' Joe Mullen
6. Tied nine times by eight different players.
7. Tied thirteen times by eight different players.
8. Tied by Mark Howe during the 1985–86 season and Mike Richards during the 2008–09 season.
9. Tied four times by four different players.
10. Tied by Sean Couturier during the 2011–12 season.
11. Tied mark set by Tom Bladon during the 1973–74 season and subsequently tied by Chris Pronger during the 2009–10 season.
12. Tied mark set during the 1983–84 season.
13. Tied during the 1995–96 season.
14. Tied during the 1985–86 season.
15. Tied during the 1985–86 and 1987–88 seasons.
16. The Flyers initially received a 1985 3rd-round pick from Vancouver, but the deal was altered when Canucks' team doctors discovered Cochrane's right knee had not fully recovered from surgery the previous year.[29]
17. No official announcement
18. No official announcement
19. The Flyers first-round pick, 16th overall, was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Andy Brickley, Ron Flockhart, Mark Taylor, and the Flyers' third-round pick for Rich Sutter and the Penguins' 1984 second and third-round picks on October 23, 1983.[45]
20. The Flyers traded Behn Wilson to the Chicago Black Hawks for Doug Crossman and the Black Hawks' second-round pick, 27th overall, on June 8, 1983.[45]
21. The Flyers received the Hartford Whalers' third-round pick, 47th overall, as compensation for an earlier trade involving Fred Arthur, who retired before his contract expired.[45]

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. Shope, Dan (May 25, 1984). "Flyers Name Mike Keenan As Head Coach". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
3. Shope, Dan (October 12, 1984). "Kerr's Late Goal Gives Flyers Tie". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
4. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225.
5. "Jack Adams Award". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
6. 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 230–32
7. "Vezina Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
8. "37th NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
9. "Wales Conference add Flyers' Howe". Philadelphia Daily News. February 5, 1985. p. 77.
10. Cataldi, Angelo (February 12, 1985). "Shoulder keeps Howe out of All-Star Clash". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1.
11. "Lindbergh, Hayward named top players". The Lewiston Daily Sun. April 10, 1985. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
12. "Philadelphia Flyers' goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, who posted two wins..." UPI. November 19, 1984. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
13. "Left wing Ilkka Sinasalo of the Philadelphia Flyers and..." UPI. March 11, 1985. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
14. "St. Louis right wing Joey Mullen and Philadelphia goaltender..." UPI. April 9, 1985. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
15. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
16. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 264
17. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 263
18. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
19. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 350
20. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
21. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 261
22. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
23. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 244
24. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 349
25. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
26. "1983 NHL Entry Draft -- Ian Armstrong". Hockey Draft Central. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
27. "Sports Briefs". UPI. August 28, 1984. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
28. Shope, Dan (October 11, 1984). "Sittler Sent To Red Wings". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
29. "Cochrane deal is resolved". Philadelphia Daily News. March 29, 1985. p. 124.
30. Baker, Chris (March 13, 1985). "The NHL / Chris Baker : Kings Get Tiger Williams in Trade". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
31. "Glen Cochrane - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
32. "The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to the terms of..." UPI. July 25, 1984. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
33. "Nick Kypreos - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
34. "Donald Nachbaur - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
35. "Alan Hill - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
36. "Young signed by Flyers". AP. The Gettysburg Times. October 16, 1984. Retrieved December 13, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
37. "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. November 24, 1984. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
38. "Bruised Flyers meet Black Hawks tonight". Courier-Post. November 27, 1984. p. 32. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
39. "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. August 18, 1984. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
40. "SPORTS PEOPLE; Comings and Goings". The New York Times. September 23, 1984. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
41. Parsons, Mark (November 30, 2013). "1984 NHL Waiver Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
42. "The following is a team by team list of..." UPI. October 5, 1984. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
43. Shope, Dan (October 14, 1984). "Can Flyers Maintain Enthusiasm For 6 Months?". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
44. "1984 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
45. "1984 NHL Entry Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
46. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
47. "AHL Season Overview: 1984–85". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
48. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.