1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season

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
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 affiliations	Richmond Robins (AHL)[2] San Diego Gulls (WHL)[3] Jersey Devils (EHL)[3] Salem Rebels (EHL)[3]
Team leaders
Goals	Bobby Clarke (35)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (46)
Points	Bobby Clarke (81)
Penalties in minutes	Gary Dornhoefer (183)
Plus/minus	Bobby Clarke (+22)
Wins	Doug Favell (18)
Goals against average	Doug Favell (2.81)
<1970–71 1972–73>

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.

Off-season

The Flyers fired head coach Vic Stasiuk on May 27, 1971,^[4] after heavy criticism by Flyers players.^[5] On June 2, the Flyers hired Fred Shero to replace him.^[5] 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.^[5]

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.^[6] With identical records the playoff berth was determined by 'goals for' and went to the Penguins.

Season standings

West Division^[7]

		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

Skaters

• 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	Clarke, BobbyBobby Clarke	22	C	78	35	46	81	22	87
12	Dornhoefer, GaryGary Dornhoefer	28	RW	75	17	32	49	−15	183
17	Nolet, SimonSimon Nolet	30	RW	67	23	20	43	6	22
22	Foley, RickRick Foley	26	D	58	11	25	36	−16	168
9	Kelly, BobBob Kelly	21	LW	78	14	15	29	16	157
20	Johnson, JimJim Johnson	29	C	46	13	15	28	−21	12
21	Bernier, SergeSerge Bernier	24	C	44	12	11	23	−20	51
10, 15	Clement, BillBill Clement	21	C	49	9	14	23	−14	39
5	Hughes, BrentBrent Hughes	28	D	63	2	20	22	6	35
21	Flett, BillBill Flett	28	RW	31	11	10	21	5	26
4	Ashbee, BarryBarry Ashbee	32	D	73	6	14	20	2	75
11	Gendron, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Gendron	37	LW	56	6	13	19	−2	36
25	Potvin, JeanJean Potvin	22	D	29	3	12	15	−6	6
18	Lonsberry, RossRoss Lonsberry	24	LW	32	7	7	14	−9	22
7	Parizeau, MichelMichel Parizeau	23	LW	37	2	12	14	−6	10
18	Lesuk, BillBill Lesuk	25	LW	45	7	6	13	−14	31
2	Van Impe, EdEd Van Impe	31	D	73	4	9	13	−8	78
8	Morrison, LewLew Morrison	23	LW	58	5	5	10	−18	26
14	Watson, JoeJoe Watson	28	D	65	3	7	10	−17	38
24	Sarrazin, DickDick Sarrazin	26	RW	28	3	4	7	0	4
20	Joyal, EddieEddie Joyal	31	C	26	3	4	7	−13	8
3, 10	Brossart, WillieWillie Brossart	22	D	42	0	4	4	−7	12
19	MacLeish, RickRick MacLeish	22	C	17	1	2	3	−9	9
15	Mickey, LarryLarry Mickey	28	RW	14	1	2	3	−5	8
6	Hillman, WayneWayne Hillman	33	D	47	0	3	3	−16	21
23	Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	31	LW	14	1	1	2	−4	2
25	Plante, PierrePierre Plante	20	RW	24	1	0	1	−11	15
1	Favell, DougDoug Favell	26	G	54	0	1	1	N/A	32
10	Wright, LarryLarry Wright	20	C	27	0	1	1	−6	2
19, 23	Hale, LarryLarry Hale	30	D	6	0	1	1	−5	0
19, 24	MacSweyn, RalphRalph MacSweyn	29	D	2	0	1	1	0	0
30	Gamble, BruceBruce Gamble	33	G	24	0	0	0	N/A	2
3	Brown, LarryLarry Brown	24	D	12	0	0	0	−3	2
30	Taylor, BobbyBobby Taylor	27	G	6	0	0	0	N/A	0
24, 30, 34	McLeod, DonDon McLeod	25	G	4	0	0	0	N/A	0
3	Mair, JimJim Mair	25	D	2	0	0	0	−2	0
25	Schultz, DaveDave Schultz	22	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0
23	Drolet, ReneRene Drolet	27	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0
25	Saleski, DonDon Saleski	22	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltenders

			Regular season
No.	Player	Age	GP	W	L	T	SO	GA	SV%	GAA	MIN
1	Favell, DougDoug Favell	26	54	18	25	9	5	140	.916	2.81	2993
30	Gamble, BruceBruce Gamble	33	24	7	8	2	2	58	.913	2.93	1186
30	Taylor, BobbyBobby Taylor	27	6	1	2	2	0	16	.918	3.00	320
24, 30, 34	McLeod, DonDon McLeod	25	4	0	3	1	0	14	.863	4.64	181

Awards and records

Awards

League awards and honors

Award or honor	Recipient	Ref
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Bobby Clarke	[8]
Selected to NHL All-Star Game	Bobby Clarke	[9]
	Simon Nolet

Records

Team single season records

Record	Total
Losses on road	25

Team regular season single game records

Record	Total	Date and opponent
Most powerplay goals scored	6	January 9, 1972, vs. California Golden Seals (tied October 13, 1988, at Minnesota North Stars)

Team regular season streaks records

Record	Games	Date(s)
Longest road winless streak	19 (15 losses, 4 ties)	October 23, 1971, through January 27, 1972

Milestones

Franchise firsts^[10]

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	[11]

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.^[12]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 13, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Mickey	To Los Angeles Kings Larry Hillman	[13]
September 8, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To Portland Buckaroos (WHL) Cliff Schmautz	[14]
October 15, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Rick Foley	To Chicago Black Hawks Andre Lacroix	[15]
November 16, 1971	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Keenan	To Buffalo Sabres Larry Mickey	[16]
January 28, 1972	To Philadelphia Flyers Bill Flett Eddie Joyal Ross Lonsberry Jean Potvin	To Los Angeles Kings Serge Bernier Jim Johnson Bill Lesuk	[17]

Signings

Free agency

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

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Contract details	Ref
July 1971	Orest Kindrachuk	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)		[18]
September 11, 1971	Bob Hurlburt	Quebec Aces (AHL)

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

Date	Player	Contract details	Ref
August 16, 1971	Bruce Gamble		[19]
September 2, 1971	Larry Brown		[20]
September 2, 1971	Bob Kelly		[20]
September 2, 1971	Rick MacLeish		[20]
September 5, 1971	Jim Johnson		[21]
September 5, 1971	Lew Morrison		[21]
September 5, 1971	Joe Watson		[21]
September 7, 1971	Gary Dornhoefer		[22]
September 7, 1971	Wayne Hillman		[22]
September 7, 1971	Danny Schock		[22]
September 7, 1971	Frank Spring		[22]
September 7, 1971	Ed Van Impe		[22]
September 8, 1971	Serge Bernier		[14]
September 8, 1971	Jean-Guy Gendron		[14]
September 8, 1971	Bill Lesuk		[14]
September 8, 1971	Larry Mickey		[14]
September 10, 1971	Andre Lacroix
October 7, 1971	Doug Favell
March 20, 1972	Bobby Clarke	5 years, $500,000 extension	[23]

Draft picks

The Flyers signed the following of their draft picks.

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Draft	Contract details	Ref
August 7, 1971	Pierre Plante	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)	1971 1st-round pick	2 years	[23]
N/A	Glen Irwin	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)	1971 3rd-round pick	2 years	[23]
N/A	Don McCulloch	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)	1971 5th-round pick	2 years	[23]
N/A	Larry Wright	Regina Pats (WCHL)	1971 1st-round pick	2 years	[23]

NHL Intra-League Draft

The 1971 NHL Intra-League Draft was held on June 8, 1971.^[24][25] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.^[24] It cost $40,000 to make a claim.^[24]

Selections involving the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1971 NHL Intra-League Draft^{[24][26][27][28]}

Round	Pick	Player	Selected by	Selected from	Notes
1	7	Larry Brown	Philadelphia Flyers	New York Rangers	Flyers removed Larry Hillman from protected list
2	14	Frank Spring	Philadelphia Flyers	Boston Bruins	Flyers removed Garry Peters from protected list Bruins claimed Peters in lieu of cash

NHL Reverse Draft

The 1971 NHL Reverse Draft was held on June 9, 1971.^[29] The Reverse Draft featured American Hockey League (AHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) teams selecting unprotected players from NHL teams.^[29] It cost $15,000 to make a claim.^[29]

Selections involving the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1971 NHL Reverse Draft^[29][30]

Player	Selected by	Selected from	Notes
Don McLeod	Quebec Aces (AHL)	Detroit Red Wings	Played 4 games with Flyers during 1971–72 season

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.

Date	Player	Claimed by	Claimed from	Ref
December 8, 1971	Michel Parizeau	Philadelphia Flyers	St. Louis Blues	[31]
January 28, 1972	Larry Brown	Los Angeles Kings	Philadelphia Flyers	[32]

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
September 20, 1971	Keith Wright	—	Release
February 9, 1972	Bruce Gamble*	—	Retirement	Suffered career-ending heart attack during game	[33]

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.^[34]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1971 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	8	Wright, LarryLarry Wright	Center	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)	106	4	8	12	19	& —	& —	& —	& —
1	9	Plante, PierrePierre Plante	Right Wing	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)	599	125	172	297	599	& —	& —	& —	& —	^[a]
3	36	Irwin, GlenGlen Irwin	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
4	50	Scharf, TedTed Scharf	Right Wing	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
5	64	McCulloch, DonDon McCulloch	Defense	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
6	78	Bilodeau, YvonYvon Bilodeau	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
7	92	Gerrard, BobbyBobby Gerrard	Right Wing	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
8	106	Mrazek, JeromeJerome Mrazek	Goaltender	Canada	Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs (WCHA)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.00

Draft notes^[35]

• ^a 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.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL,^[2][36] the San Diego Gulls of the WHL,^[3] and the Jersey Devils and Salem Rebels of the EHL.^[3]

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