Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, an indoor arena they share with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. Part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the Flyers are the first of the expansion teams in the post-Original Six era to win the Stanley Cup, victorious in 1973–74 and again in 1974–75.
The Flyers' all-time points percentage of 56.8% is the fourth-best in the NHL, behind only the Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. Additionally, the Flyers have the most appearances in the conference finals of all 26 expansion teams, and they are second behind the St. Louis Blues for the most playoff appearances out of all expansion teams.
The Flyers have played their home games on Broad Street since their inception, first at the Spectrum from 1967 until 1996, and then at Xfinity Mobile Arena since 1996. The Flyers have had rivalries with several teams over the years. Historically, their biggest adversaries have been the New York Rangers, with an intense rivalry stretching back to the 1970s. They have also waged lengthy campaigns against the New York Islanders in the 1970s and 1980s, the Boston Bruins in the 1970s and 2010s, the Washington Capitals, since their days in the Patrick Division, as well as the New Jersey Devils, with whom they traded the Atlantic Division title every season between 1994–95 and 2006–07, and with their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is considered by many to be the best rivalry in the league.
History
NHL in Philadelphia before 1967
Prior to 1967, Philadelphia had only iced a team in the NHL in the 1930–31 season, when the financially struggling Pittsburgh Pirates relocated in 1930 as the Philadelphia Quakers, playing at The Arena at 46th and Market Streets. The club, garbed in orange and black like today's Flyers, was coached by J. Cooper Smeaton, who was to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame 30 years later, for his far more notable role as an NHL referee. Among the young Quakers' skaters in 1930–31 was another future Hall of Famer in 19-year-old rookie center Syd Howe. The Quakers' only "claim to fame" was to establish a single season NHL record for futility which has stood ever since, by compiling a dismal record of 4–36–4, still the fewest games ever won in a season by an NHL club. The Quakers quietly suspended operations after that single dreadful campaign to again leave the Can-Am League's Philadelphia Arrows as Philadelphia's lone hockey team. The Quakers' dormant NHL franchise was finally canceled by the league in 1936.In 1946, a group led by Montreal and Philadelphia sportsman Len Peto announced plans to put another NHL team in Philadelphia, to build a $2.5 million rink to seat 20,000 where the Phillies' former ballpark stood at Broad and Huntingdon Streets, and to acquire the franchise of the old Montreal Maroons. The latter was held by the Canadian Arena Company, owner of the Montreal Canadiens. However, Peto's group was unable to raise funding for the new arena project by the league-imposed deadline, and the NHL cancelled the Maroons franchise.
While attending a basketball game on November 29, 1964, at the Boston Garden, Ed Snider, 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 ice hockey team. 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, which chose the Philadelphia group – including Snider, Bill Putnam, Jerome Schiff and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jerry Wolman – over the Baltimore group.
On April 4, 1966, Putnam announced that there was going to be a name-the-team contest. Details of the contest were released on July 12. Snider's sister, Phyllis, thought that a name that fits well with Philadelphia was "Flyers." Instead of going through with the naming contest, Ed Snider took his sister's advice. The team name was announced on August 3.
Early years (1967–1971)
The new teams were hampered by restrictive rules that kept all major talent with the "Original Six" teams. In the 1967 NHL expansion draft, 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, Bill Sutherland, Ed Van Impe, Joe Watson, Lou Angotti, Leon Rochefort and Gary Dornhoefer. Having purchased the minor-league Quebec Aces, the team had a distinctly francophone flavor in its early years, with Parent, Rochefort, Andre Lacroix, Serge Bernier, Jean-Guy Gendron, Simon Nolet and Rosaire Paiement among others. Beginning play in 1967–68, the Philadelphia Flyers made their debut on October 11, 1967, losing 5–1 on the road to the California Seals. 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 intrastate rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1–0 on October 19. Lou Angotti was named the first captain in Flyers history, while Rochefort was the Flyers' top goal scorer after netting a total of 21 goals. With all six expansion teams grouped into the same division, the Flyers were able to win the division with a sub-.500 record despite being forced to play their last seven home games on the road due to a storm blowing parts of the Spectrum's roof off. However, playoff success did not come so quickly, as the Flyers were upset by St. Louis in a first-round, seven-game series.Angotti left the team in the off-season, being replaced by Van Impe as team captain. Led by Van Impe and the team-leading 24 goals of Andre Lacroix, the Flyers struggled during their sophomore season by finishing 15 games under.500. Despite their poor regular season showing in 1968–69, they made the playoffs. They again lost to St. Louis, this time being dispatched in a four-game sweep. Not wanting his team to be physically outmatched again, majority owner Ed Snider instructed general manager Bud Poile to acquire bigger, tougher players. While head coach Keith Allen soon after replaced Poile as general manager, this mandate eventually led to one of the most feared teams to ever take the ice in the NHL. The keystone of those teams was acquired when the Flyers took a chance on a 19-year-old diabetic from Flin Flon, Manitoba, Bobby Clarke, with their second draft pick, 17th overall, in the 1969 NHL amateur draft. Keeping to Snider's mandate, the team also drafted future enforcer Dave Schultz 52nd overall.
By the time training camp came around, it was clear that Clarke was the team's best player, and he quickly became a fan favorite. His 15 goals and 31 assists in his rookie season earned him a trip to the NHL All-Star Game. Despite his arrival, the team struggled in 1969–70, recording only 17 wins – the fewest in franchise history and set the NHL team record for most ties in a season. They lost the tiebreaker for the final playoff spot to the Oakland Seals, missing the playoffs for the first time.
On December 11, 1969, the Flyers introduced what became one of the team's best-known traditions: playing a recording of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before important games. The perception was that the team was more successful on these occasions, so the tradition grew. The move was initially done by Flyers Promotion Director Lou Scheinfeld as a way to defray national tensions at the time of the Vietnam War: Scheinfeld noticed that people regularly left their seats and walked around during the anthem, but showed more respect and often sang along to "God Bless America". As of the close of the 2016–17 season, the Flyers have a record of 100–29–5 when "God Bless America" was sung prior to Flyers home games.
In 1970–71, the Flyers had bounced back from the previous season and returned to the playoffs, but were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. Even though the team had improved their record in his second season behind the bench, head coach Vic Stasiuk was replaced by Fred Shero in the off-season. The team was involved in a three-way trade that sent Bernie Parent to the Toronto Maple Leafs while receiving Rick MacLeish from the Boston Bruins.
Broad Street Bullies (1971–1981)
The team began to shift to a more aggressive style of play while also dominating on offense during this time. Bobby Clarke continued to progress as he led the team in scoring in 1971–72 and 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 Pittsburgh 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 goaltender Doug Favell. The Flyers lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to Pittsburgh and missed the playoffs.As it turned out, it was the last time the Flyers missed the playoffs for 18 years. In the 1972–73 season the Flyers got rid of the mediocre expansion team label and instead became the intimidating "Broad Street Bullies", a nickname coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin on January 3, 1973, after a 3–1 brawling victory over the Atlanta Flames that led Chevalier to write in his game account, "The image of the fightin' Flyers spreading gradually around the NHL, and people are dreaming up wild nicknames. They're the Mean Machine, the Bullies of Broad Street and Freddy's Philistines." Cafone wrote the accompanying headline: "Broad Street Bullies Muscle Atlanta." That same month, Clarke was the youngest player in NHL history to be named team captain, replacing Ed Van Impe. Rick MacLeish became the first Flyer to score 50 goals in a season and the Flyers recorded their first winning season.
An overtime goal by Gary Dornhoefer in game five turned the tide of their first-round series with the Minnesota North Stars in the Flyers' favor, as the Flyers got their first playoff series win in six games. However, they were outmatched in the semifinals by the Montreal Canadiens, losing in five games. After the season, Clarke became the first expansion team player to be awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.