1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers season

1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers
Wales Conference Champions
Patrick Division Champions
Division 1st Patrick
Conference 1st Wales
1986–87 record 46–26–8
Home record 29–9–2
Road record 17–17–6
Goals for 310 (4th)
Goals against 245 (2nd)
Team information
General Manager Bob Clarke
Coach Mike Keenan
Captain Dave Poulin
Alternate captains Mark Howe
Brad Marsh
Arena Spectrum
Average attendance 17,212[1]
Minor league affiliations Hershey Bears (AHL)[2]
Kalamazoo Wings (IHL)[3]
Team leaders
Goals Tim Kerr (58)
Assists Dave Poulin (45)
Points Tim Kerr (95)
Penalties in minutes Rick Tocchet (288)
Plus/minus Mark Howe (+57)
Wins Ron Hextall (37)
Goals against average Bob Froese (2.67)
<1985–86 1987–88>

The 1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 20th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals but lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

Regular season

With the previous Spring's upset loss to the Rangers fresh on their minds, the Flyers got off to a 6–0–0 start to the season, and only lost road games to the Islanders and Penguins in an 8–2–0 October.

Goaltender Ron Hextall made his professional debut on opening night, October 9, and held Edmonton to one goal in a 2–1 victory, and only improved from there, being named NHL Rookie of the Month for October and November.

Things began to click for the club as a whole in November as Brad McCrimmon returned from his suspension over a contract dispute and the emergence of Hextall forced Bob Froese into a back-up role. In the first two months of the season, only the Penguins challenged the Flyers' grip on the top spot in the division, actually starting the year 7–0–0 and topping Philly on October 25 but fading by the end of November.

Brian Propp scored four goals in a 7–1 win over St. Louis on December 2, but three games later he was lost for two months after suffering a serious knee injury against the Oilers. Froese was dealt to the New York Rangers for Kjell Samuelsson on December 18 and later that same night routing the Islanders 9–4 which saw Poulin and Kerr record three-goal games. The record reached 25–7–2 on December 21 after a 7–6 comeback win over the Blues, but during the next game in Buffalo, Ilkka Sinisalo went down with a knee injury and the team lost four in a row on a holiday road trip (Sabres, Canucks, Oilers, Kings).

A seven-game unbeaten streak in January put the Flyers at 31–11–3, three points ahead of the Oilers for best record in the NHL, but injuries began to put a strain on the ranks. With Propp, Sinisalo, Mark Howe, and Ron Sutter all suffering through long-term problems, plus minor injuries cropping up, the team sputtered late, going 15–15–5 over the remainder of the schedule.

February 1 saw the Flyers routed 8–4 in Toronto, part of another four-game losing string before the break for Rendez-vous '87. Home defeats to the Rangers (6–1 on March 12), Kings (5–2 on March 19) and Detroit (5–1 on March 28) followed. An 9–5 home loss on the season's final day to the New York Islanders was no indication of the memorable playoff run to come.

Twice within a span of one week in late January, the Flyers engaged in bench-clearing brawls. The first came in a 3–1 loss to the Islanders at home on January 18 which cost head coach Keenan a one-game suspension. Oddly enough, the second occurred during the game Keenan was suspended for, a 4–3 setback to the Devils at the Meadowlands January 24. That fracas, which came after the final buzzer, saw Hextall pummel Devils goaltender Alain Chevrier among several other battles.

The Flyers captured a third-straight Patrick Division title and Hextall became the third Flyers goaltender to win the Vezina, joining Bernie Parent and Pelle Lindbergh.

Season standings

Patrick Division
  GP W L T GF GA PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 80 46 26 8 310 245 100
Washington Capitals 80 38 32 10 285 278 86
New York Islanders 80 35 33 12 279 281 82
New York Rangers 80 34 38 8 307 323 76
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 30 38 12 297 290 72
New Jersey Devils 80 29 45 6 293 368 64

[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 gained revenge on the New York Rangers by beating them in six games, as well as surviving a tough seven-game test from a gritty New York Islanders club. By the time the Flyers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in six to win the Wales Conference and return to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers had again been decimated by injuries, including losing Tim Kerr for the remainder of the playoffs. As a result, the Flyers lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Edmonton Oilers in seven tough, hard-fought games. Hextall was voted playoff MVP, the second such time a Flyer won the Conn Smythe Trophy despite being on the losing team, the other being Reggie Leach in 1976.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1986–87 regular season

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

Playoffs

1987 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:       Win       Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Age Pos GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
12 Kerr, TimTim Kerr 27 RW 75 58 37 95 38 57 12 8 5 13 3 2
25 Zezel, PeterPeter Zezel 21 C 71 33 39 72 21 71 25 3 10 13 6 10
20 Poulin, DaveDave Poulin 28 C 75 25 45 70 47 53 15 3 3 6 1 14
26 Propp, BrianBrian Propp 27 LW 53 31 36 67 39 45 26 12 16 28 11 10
2 Howe, MarkMark Howe 31 D 69 15 43 58 57 37 26 2 10 12 14 4
9 Eklund, PellePelle Eklund 23 C 72 14 41 55 −2 2 26 7 20 27 11 2
22 Tocchet, RickRick Tocchet 22 RW 69 21 28 49 16 288 26 11 10 21 7 72
32 Craven, MurrayMurray Craven 22 LW 77 19 30 49 1 38 12 3 1 4 −4 9
3 Crossman, DougDoug Crossman 26 D 78 9 31 40 18 29 26 4 14 18 0 31
10 McCrimmon, BradBrad McCrimmon 27 D 71 10 29 39 45 52 26 3 5 8 9 30
24 Smith, DerrickDerrick Smith 22 LW 71 11 21 32 −4 34 26 6 4 10 3 26
19 Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby 20 RW 71 11 21 32 8 94 24 5 5 10 7 46
23 Sinisalo, IlkkaIlkka Sinisalo 28 LW 42 10 21 31 14 8 18 5 1 6 −6 4
14 Sutter, RonRon Sutter 23 C 39 10 17 27 10 69 16 1 7 8 −3 12
18 Carson, LindsayLindsay Carson 26 LW 71 11 15 26 −2 141 24 3 5 8 3 22
15 Daigneault, J. J.J. J. Daigneault 21 D 77 6 16 22 12 56 9 1 0 1 −1 0
8 Marsh, BradBrad Marsh 28 D 77 2 9 11 9 124 26 3 4 7 2 16
21 Brown, DaveDave Brown 24 RW 62 7 3 10 −7 274 26 1 2 3 1 59
28 Samuelsson, KjellKjell Samuelssondagger 28 D 46 1 6 7 −9 86 26 0 4 4 4 25
27 Hextall, RonRon Hextall 22 G 66 0 6 6 N/A 104 26 0 1 1 N/A 43
11 Seabrooke, GlenGlen Seabrooke 19 C 10 1 4 5 2 2
17 Hospodar, EdEd Hospodar 27 D 45 2 2 4 −8 136 5 0 0 0 0 2
7 Dobbin, BrianBrian Dobbin 20 RW 12 2 1 3 2 14
29 Stanley, DarylDaryl Stanley 24 D 33 1 2 3 6 76 13 0 0 0 −3 9
42 Nachbaur, DonDon Nachbaur 28 C 23 0 2 2 1 87 7 1 1 2 2 15
28, 36 Hill, AlAl Hill 31 LW 7 0 2 2 1 4 9 2 1 3 2 0
41 Stevens, JohnJohn Stevens 20 D 6 0 2 2 0 14
37 Freer, MarkMark Freer 18 C 1 0 1 1 1 0
33 Resch, GlennGlenn Resch 38 G 17 0 0 0 N/A 0 2 0 0 0 N/A 0
5 Huffman, KerryKerry Huffman 19 D 9 0 0 0 5 2
34 Berube, CraigCraig Berube 21 LW 7 0 0 0 2 57 5 0 0 0 0 17
35 Froese, BobBob Froesedouble-dagger 28 G 3 0 0 0 N/A 0
37 Tookey, TimTim Tookey 26 C 2 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 3 4 1 2
36 McCarthy, KevinKevin McCarthy 29 D 2 0 0 0 −1 0
5 Smith, SteveSteve Smith 23 D 2 0 0 0 −2 6
44 Stothers, MikeMike Stothers 24 D 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 1 7
36 Allison, RayRay Allison 27 RW 2 0 0 0 −2 0
6 Chychrun, JeffJeff Chychrun 20 D 1 0 0 0 0 4
40 Smyth, GregGreg Smyth 20 D 1 0 0 0 −2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
34 Gillis, JereJere Gillis 30 LW 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goaltenders

Regular season Playoffs
No. Player Age GP W L T SO GA SV% GAA MIN GP W L SO GA SV% GAA MIN
27 Hextall, RonRon Hextall 22 66 37 21 6 1 190 .902 3.00 3799 26 15 11 2 71 .908 2.77 1540
33 Resch, GlennGlenn Resch 38 17 6 5 2 0 42 .904 2.91 867 2 0 0 0 1 .917 1.67 36
35 Froese, BobBob Froesedouble-dagger 28 3 3 0 0 0 8 .909 2.67 180

Awards and records

Awards

League awards and honors
Award or honor Recipient Notes Ref
Conn Smythe Trophy Ron Hextall [5]
Frank Selke Trophy Dave Poulin [6]
NHL All-Rookie Team Ron Hextall (Goaltender) [7]
NHL First All-Star Team Ron Hextall (Goaltender) [8]
Mark Howe (Defense)
NHL Player of the Month Ron Hextall (October) [9]
NHL Player of the Week Peter Zezel (January 12) [10]
NHL Rookie of the Month Ron Hextall (October) [11]
Ron Hextall (November) [12]
NHL Second All-Star Team Tim Kerr (Right Wing) [8]
Selected to Rendez-vous '87 Ron Hextall Did not play [13][14]
Mark Howe Voted starting Defenseman but did not play
Tim Kerr Did not play
Dave Poulin Played both games
Vezina Trophy Ron Hextall [15]
Team awards[16]
Award Recipient
Barry Ashbee Trophy Mark Howe
Bobby Clarke Trophy Ron Hextall
Class Guy Award Glenn Resch

Records

Individual single season records
Record Total Player
Games played, playoffs 26** Dave Brown
Doug Crossman
Pelle Eklund
Ron Hextall
Mark Howe
Brad Marsh
Brad McCrimmon
Brian Propp
Kjell Samuelsson
Derrick Smith
Rick Tocchet
Games played by a goaltender, playoffs 26** Ron Hextall
Assists, playoffs 20 Pelle Eklund
Points by a defenseman, playoffs 18 Doug Crossman
(tied by Chris Pronger in 2009–10)
Shots on goal, playoffs 104 Brian Propp
Wins, playoffs 15 Ron Hextall
Losses, playoffs 11 Ron Hextall
Minutes played by a goaltender, playoffs 1540 Ron Hextall
Shots against, playoffs 768 Ron Hextall
Goals against, playoffs 71 Ron Hextall
Team single season records
Record Total
Shorthanded goals 22
Games played, playoffs 26**
Wins, playoffs 15
Wins on road, playoffs 8
Losses, playoffs 11**
Losses at home, playoffs 6
Goals for, playoffs 85
Goals against, playoffs 73
Penalties in minutes, playoffs 714
Individual regular season single game records
Record Player Total Date and opponent
Goals Tim Kerr
Brian Propp
4 November 20, 1986 vs. Chicago Blackhawks
December 2, 1986 vs. St. Louis Blues
(tied 14 times)
Powerplay goals Tim Kerr 4 November 20, 1986 vs. Chicago Blackhawks
(tied three times)
Individual post season single game records
Record Player Total Date and opponent
Assists Brian Propp 4 May 26, 1987 vs. Edmonton Oilers
(tied five times)
Team regular season single game records
Record Total Date and opponent
Fastest two goals 7 seconds apart December 2, 1986 vs. St. Louis Blues
(goals scored by Dave Brown and Brian Propp)
(tied December 27, 1988 vs. Washington Capitals)
Fastest two shorthanded goals 26 seconds apart November 6, 1986 at New Jersey Devils
(goals scored by Murray Craven and Mark Howe)
Team post season single game records
Record Total Date and opponent
Goals, one period 5 April 9, 1987 vs. New York Rangers
(tied four times)

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 25, 1986, the day after the deciding game of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 31, 1987, the day of the deciding game of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals.[17]

Trades

Date Details Ref
June 6, 1986 To Philadelphia Flyers
J.J. Daigneault
2nd-round pick in 1986
5th-round pick in 1987
To Vancouver Canucks
Dave Richter
Rich Sutter
Vancouver's 3rd-round pick in 1986
[18]
June 21, 1986 To Philadelphia Flyers
2nd-round pick in 1987
To Quebec Nordiques
2nd-round pick in 1986
[19]
June 21, 1986 To Philadelphia Flyers
Mike Murray
To New York Islanders
5th-round pick in 1986
[19]
October 30, 1986 To Philadelphia Flyers
Dominic Campedelli
To Montreal Canadiens
Andre Villeneuve
[20]
December 18, 1986 To Philadelphia Flyers
Kjell Samuelsson
2nd-round pick in 1989
To New York Rangers
Bob Froese
[21]
March 9, 1987 To Philadelphia Flyers
Jeff Brubaker
To Edmonton Oilers
Dominic Campedelli
[22]

Signings

Free agency

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

Date Player Previous team (league) Contract details Notes Ref
June 12, 1986 Ed Hospodar Minnesota North Stars 1 year Option for second year [23]
June 30, 1986 Mitch Lamoureux Pittsburgh Penguins [24]
October 1986 Jere Gillis Vancouver Canucks [25]
October 7, 1986 Mark Freer Peterborough Petes (OHL) [26]
October 7, 1986 Mike MacWilliam New Westminster Bruins (WHL) [27]

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

Date Player Contract details Ref
June 1, 1986 Glenn Resch 1 year, $225,000 [28]
August 18, 1986 Steve Smith [29]
October 21, 1986 Ron Hextall multi-year extension [30]
October 29, 1986 Brad McCrimmon 1 year [31]

Draft picks

The Flyers signed the following of their draft picks.

Date Player Previous team (league) Draft Contract details Ref
October 8, 1986 Kerry Huffman Guelph Platers (OHL) 1986 1st-round pick multi-year [32]

NHL Waiver Draft

The 1986 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 6, 1986.[33] Each NHL team placed 17 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.[33] First-year professional players were exempt.[33] The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.[33]

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 Notes Ref
June 12, 1986 Thomas Eriksson Djurgardens IF (SHL) Free agency Retired from NHL [23]
July 23, 1986 Carl Mokosak Pittsburgh Penguins Free agency [34]
N/A Bo Berglund AIK IF (Sweden Division 1) Free agency [35]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec on June 21, 1986.[36]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1986 and their NHL career regular season statistics
Round Pick Player Position Nationality Team (league) GP G A Pts PIM W L T GAA Notes
1 20 Huffman, KerryKerry Huffman Defense  Canada Guelph Platers (OHL) 401 37 108 145 361 &
&
&
&
2 23 Seppo, JukkaJukka Seppo Center  Finland Vasa Sport (Mestis) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
[a]
2 28 Hawley, KentKent Hawley Center  Canada Ottawa 67's (OHL) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
[b]
4 83 Bar, MarkMark Bar Defense  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
[c]
6 125 Scheifele, SteveSteve Scheifele Right Wing  United States Stratford Cullitons (OPJHL) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
7 146 Wahlsten, SamiSami Wahlsten Forward  Finland TPS Turku (SM-liiga) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
8 167 Baron, MurrayMurray Baron Defense  Canada Vernon Lakers (BCJHL) 988 35 94 129 1309 &
&
&
&
9 184 Rude, BlaineBlaine Rude Forward  United States Fergus Falls High School (N. Dakota) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
10 209 Sabol, ShaunShaun Sabol Defense  United States St. Paul Vulcans (USHL) 2 0 0 0 0 &
&
&
&
11 230 Lawrence, BrettBrett Lawrence Right Wing  United States Rochester Junior Americans &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
12 251 Stephano, DanDan Stephano Goaltender  United States Northwood School (N.Y.) &
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
&
Draft notes[37]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL[2][38] and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.[3]

References

General
Specific
  1. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  4. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. "Conn Smythe Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  6. "Frank J. Selke Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  7. 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 233
  8. 1 2 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 230–32
  9. Morganti, Al (November 6, 1986). "Flyers Are Trying To Deal Idle, Unhappy Froese". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  10. "Sports Digest". UPI. January 12, 1987. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  11. Didinger, Ray (November 12, 1986). "Sticking With It For The Hextall Family, Hockey Has Long Been A Way Of Life". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  12. "Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ron Hextall, who posted a 9-1-2...". UPI. December 3, 1986. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  13. "Legends of Hockey – Time Capsule – Pro Classics: Rendez Vous 1987 Team Roster". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  14. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  15. "Vezina Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  16. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  17. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  18. Greenberg, Jay (June 7, 1986). "Flyers Trade Rich Sutter Daigneault, Draft Choices Obtained From Vancouver". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  19. 1 2 Morganti, Al (June 22, 1986). "Flyers Pick Defenseman In 1st Round". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  20. "Transactions". The Gettysburg Times. October 31, 1986. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  21. Morganti, Al (December 19, 1986). "Froese Dealt For Rangers Defenseman". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  22. Morganti, Al (March 10, 1987). "Flyers Aren't Out To Make Any Trading-deadline Deal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  23. 1 2 Greenberg, Jay (June 13, 1986). "Flyers Add, Subtract". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  24. "Mitch Lamoureux - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  25. "Jere Gillis - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  26. "Mark Freer - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  27. "Michael MacWilliam - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  28. Greenberg, Jay (June 2, 1986). "Flyers, Resch Agree To Give It Another Try". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  29. Kern, Mike (August 19, 1986). "Spurs' Coach Offers Taste Of Life In Nba". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  30. Juliano, Joe (October 22, 1986). "Flyers Will Be Facing 'Penguins Fever'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  31. Greenberg, Jay (October 30, 1986). "Flyers, Mccrimmon Reach Compromise". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  32. Juliano, Joe (October 9, 1986). "No. 1 Pick Huffman Signs And Is On Opening Roster". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  33. 1 2 3 4 Parsons, Mark (November 30, 2013). "1986 NHL Waiver Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  34. "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. July 24, 1986. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  35. Bo Berglund's biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved March 30, 2015
  36. "1986 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  37. "1986 NHL Entry Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  38. "AHL Season Overview: 1986–87". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
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