1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers season

1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	2nd Atlantic
Conference	3rd Eastern
1997–98 record	42–29–11
Home record	24–11–6
Road record	18–18–5
Goals for	242 (3rd)
Goals against	193 (5th)
Team information
General Manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Wayne Cashman (Oct-Mar) Roger Neilson (Mar-Apr)
Captain	Eric Lindros
Alternate captains	Rod Brind'Amour Eric Desjardins
Arena	CoreStates Center
Average attendance	19,519[1]
Team leaders
Goals	John LeClair (51)
Assists	Eric Lindros (42)
Points	John LeClair (89)
Penalties in minutes	Dan Kordic (210)
Plus/minus	John LeClair (+30)
Wins	Ron Hextall (21)
Goals against average	Ron Hextall (2.17)
<1996–97	1998–99>

The 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 31st season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The man picked to replace Terry Murray, Wayne Cashman, was deemed ill-suited for the job as the Flyers played inconsistently throughout the 1997–98 season and so Roger Neilson was hired in March to take over the head coaching duties. John LeClair was able to score at least 50 goals for the third consecutive year (netting 51), the first time for an American-born player, and Sean Burke was acquired at the trade deadline to shore up the ever-worsening goaltending situation. In a season in which the Flyers — despite a hard fall to the Detroit Red Wings the previous year — were heavily favored to repeat as Eastern champs and return to the Finals, they never came close, as they were dominated in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres in five games.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	82	48	23	11	225	166	107
2	Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	29	11	242	193	95
3	Washington Capitals	82	40	30	12	219	202	92
4	New York Islanders	82	30	41	11	212	225	71
5	New York Rangers	82	25	39	18	197	231	68
6	Florida Panthers	82	24	43	15	203	256	63
7	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	17	55	10	151	269	44

Game log

      Win (2 points)       Loss (0 points)       Tie (1 point)

1997–98 Game Log
October: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 1 Florida 1 – 3 Philadelphia Hextall 19,381 1–0–0 2
November: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts November 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
December: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts December 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
January: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts January 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
February: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts February 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
March: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts March 1 0 – 0 0–0–0
April: 0–0–0 (Home: 0–0–0; Road: 0–0–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts April 1 0 – 0 0–0–0

Playoffs

Game log

      Win       Loss

1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. Buffalo - Sabres win 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 April 22 Buffalo 3 – 2 Philadelphia Burke 19,610 Sabres lead 1–0 2 April 24 Buffalo 2 – 3 Philadelphia Burke 19,734 Series tied 1–1 3 April 27 Philadelphia 1 – 6 Buffalo Burke 18,595 Sabres lead 2–1 4 April 29 Philadelphia 1 – 4 Buffalo Burke 18,595 Sabres lead 3–1 5 May 1 Buffalo 3 – 2 Philadelphia OT Burke 19,798 Sabres win 4–1

Player stats

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position (C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing); GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalties in minutes; = Joined team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only. = Left team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

#	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
				Regular season						Playoffs
10	LeClair, JohnJohn LeClair	28	LW	82	51	36	87	30	32	5	1	1	2	-4	08 !8
17	Brind'Amour, RodRod Brind'Amour	27	LW	82	36	38	74	-2	54	5	2	2	4	2	07 !7
88	Lindros, EricEric Lindros	24	C	63	30	41	71	14	134	5	1	2	3	-3	17
55	Gratton, ChrisChris Gratton	22	C	82	22	40	62	11	159	5	2	0	2	-1	10
20	Klatt, TrentTrent Klatt	27	RW	82	14	28	42	2	16	5	0	0	0	-6	00 !0
44	Niinimaa, JanneJanne Niinimaa	22	D	66	3	31	34	6	56	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
09 !9	Zubrus, DainiusDainius Zubrus	19	RW	69	8	25	33	29	42	5	0	1	1	2	04 !4
37	Desjardins, EricEric Desjardins	28	D	77	6	27	33	11	36	5	0	1	1	-3	00 !0
77	Coffey, PaulPaul Coffey	36	D	57	2	27	29	3	30	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
19	Daigle, AlexandreAlexandre Daigle	22	RW	37	9	17	26	-1	6	5	0	2	2	0	00 !0
25	Podein, ShjonShjon Podein	29	RW	82	11	13	24	8	53	5	0	0	0	-1	10
11	Sillinger, MikeMike Sillinger	26	C	27	11	11	22	3	16	3	1	0	1	1	00 !0
12	Forbes, ColinColin Forbes	21	LW	63	12	7	19	2	59	5	0	0	0	2	02 !2
06 !6	Therien, ChrisChris Therien	26	D	78	3	16	19	5	80	5	0	1	1	-1	04 !4
45	Prospal, VaclavVaclav Prospal	22	C	41	5	13	18	-10	17	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
23	Svoboda, PetrPetr Svoboda	31	D	56	3	15	18	19	83	3	0	1	1	-1	04 !4
15	Falloon, PatPat Falloon	25	RW	30	5	7	12	3	8	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
29	Otto, JoelJoel Otto	36	C	68	3	4	7	-2	78	5	0	0	0	-1	00 !0
03 !3	McGillis, DanDan McGillis	25	D	13	1	5	6	-4	35	5	1	2	3	0	10
22	Richardson, LukeLuke Richardson	28	D	81	2	3	5	7	139	5	0	0	0	-3	00 !0
32	Lacroix, DanielDaniel Lacroix	28	C	56	1	4	5	0	135	4	0	0	0	0	04 !4
26	Druce, JohnJohn Druce	31	RW	23	1	2	3	0	2	2	0	0	0	-1	02 !2
28	Samuelsson, KjellKjell Samuelsson	39	D	49	0	3	3	9	28	1	0	0	0	1	00 !0
21	Kordic, DanDan Kordic	26	LW	61	1	1	2	-4	210	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
24	Joseph, ChrisChris Joseph	28	D	15	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	02 !2
14	Darby, CraigCraig Darby	25	C	3	1	0	1	0	0	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	33	G	46	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	10	1	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	00 !0
30	Snow, GarthGarth Snow	28	G	29	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	18	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
18	Myhres, BranttBrantt Myhres	23	RW	23	0	0	0	-1	169	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—
33	Burke, SeanSean Burke	31	G	11	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	0	5	0	0	0	-0.1 !N/A	00 !0
44	Babych, DaveDave Babych	36	D	6	0	0	0	2	12	5	1	0	1	2	04 !4
38	Healey, PaulPaul Healey	22	RW	4	0	0	0	0	12	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-0.1 !—	-01 !—

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GA = Goals against; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average; MIN = Minutes played; = Joined team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only. = Left team via trade or waivers during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

#	Player	Age	GP	W	L	T	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN	GP	W	L	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN
			Regular season									Playoffs
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	33	46	21	17	7	4	97	.911	2.17	2688	1	0	0	0	01 !1	.875	3.00	020 !20
30	Snow, GarthGarth Snow	28	29	14	9	4	1	67	.902	2.43	1651	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-01 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-001 !—
33	Burke, SeanSean Burke	31	11	7	3	0	1	27	.913	2.56	632	5	1	4	0	17	.860	3.60	283

Awards and records

Awards

NHL
Award	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	John LeClair Eric Lindros
NHL First All-Star Team	John LeClair (LW)
NHL Player of the Week	John LeClair (November 10)
Team
Award	Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy	Eric Desjardins
Bobby Clarke Trophy	John LeClair
Class Guy Award	Trent Klatt
Pelle Lindbergh Memorial	Colin Forbes

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 1997–98 season.

Trades

Date	Details
June 18, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers rights to Martin Cerven	To Edmonton Oilers 7th-round pick in 1997
June 21, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 1998	To Dallas Stars 3rd-round pick in 1997
August 20, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 1998 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 1999 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 2000 Philadelphia's 1st-round pick in 2001	To Tampa Bay Lightning Karl Dykhuis Mikael Renberg
October 15, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Brantt Myhres	To Edmonton Oilers Jason Bowen
October 21, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Maneluk	To Ottawa Senators cash
January 17, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Alexandre Daigle	To Ottawa Senators Pat Falloon Vaclav Prospal 2nd-round pick in 1998
February 5, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Sillinger	To Florida Panthers 5th-round pick in 1998
March 4, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Sean Burke	To Vancouver Canucks Garth Snow
March 9, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Roger Neilson (Head coach)	To St. Louis Blues 6th-round pick in 1999
March 24, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Dave Babych 6th-round pick in 1998	To Vancouver Canucks 3rd-round pick in 1998
March 24, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Dan McGillis 2nd-round pick in 1998	To Edmonton Oilers Janne Niinimaa

Other transactions

Date	Player	Team (League)	Notes
Signed via free agency
June 9, 1997	Andy Delmore	Fredericton (AHL)
July 10, 1997	Jamie Heward	Toronto (NHL)
July 14, 1997	Luke Richardson	Edmonton (NHL)	5 years, $12.6 million
August 14, 1997	Chris Gratton	Tampa Bay (NHL)	5 years, $16.5 million
September 1, 1997	Chris Joseph	Vancouver (NHL)	1 year
October 16, 1997	Brantt Myhres	Tampa Bay (NHL)	1 year
May 18, 1998	Ryan Bast	Saint John (AHL)	2 years, $1.85 million
Retirement
August 25, 1997	Dale Hawerchuk	—
Lost on waivers
September 28, 1998	Scott Daniels	New Jersey (NHL)	Waiver draft
Re-signed
June 12, 1997	Jim Montgomery	—	3 years
June 18, 1997	Kjell Samuelsson	—	1 year
July 15, 1997	Neil Little	—	1 year
July 15, 1997	Craig Darby	—	2 years
August 3, 1997	Dan Kordic	—	2 years
August 19, 1997	Garth Snow	—	1 year, $675K
September 12, 1997	Chris Therien	—	3 years
December 17, 1997	Eric Lindros	—	2 year extension
Signed to Entry Level contracts
July 9, 1997	Jean-Marc Pelletier	Rimouski (QMJHL)	Drafted 30th overall, 1997

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.^[2]

Rnd	#	Player	Position	Nationality	Drafted from
2	30	Jean-Marc Pelletier	Goaltender	United States	Cornell University (ECAC)
2	50	Pat Kavanagh	Right Wing	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3	62	Kris Mallette	Defenseman	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
4	103	Mikhail Chernov	Defenseman	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (RUS)
6	158	Jordon Flodell	Defenseman	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
7	164	Todd Fedoruk	Left Wing	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
8	214	Marko Kauppinen	Defenseman	Finland	JYP HT Juniors (FIN)
9	240	Par Styf	Defenseman	Sweden	Modo Jrs. (SWE)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL.^[3]

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season

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

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Philadelphia Flyers Franchise Award winners Broadcasters Captains Coaches Comcast Spectacor Draft picks General Managers Players Records Roster Seasons Lore 1967 NHL expansion 1967 NHL Expansion Draft 1976 Flyers-Red Army game 2010 NHL Winter Classic 2012 NHL Winter Classic Broad Street Bullies Curse of Billy Penn Devils–Flyers rivalry Ed Snider Battle of Pennsylvania Flyers–Rangers rivalry Flyers–Senators brawl Gene Hart "God Bless America" Kate Smith Lauren Hart Legion of Doom Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Arenas Spectrum (1967–96) Wells Fargo Center (1996–present) Affiliates Adirondack Phantoms (AHL) Trenton Titans (ECHL) Media CSN Philadelphia Comcast Network Philadelphia 610 WIP

1997–98 NHL season by team Northeast Division Boston • Buffalo • Carolina • Montreal • Ottawa • Pittsburgh Atlantic Division Florida • New Jersey • NY Islanders • NY Rangers • Philadelphia • Tampa Bay • Washington Central Division Chicago • Dallas • Detroit • Phoenix • St. Louis • Toronto Pacific Division Anaheim • Calgary • Colorado • Edmonton • L.A.• San Jose • Vancouver See also 1997 NHL Entry Draft • Stanley Cup Playoffs • Stanley Cup Finals