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1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season

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Division
  
1st Patrick

1975–76 record
  
51–13–16

Road record
  
15–11–14

Conference
  
1st Campbell

Home record
  
36–2–2

Goals for
  
348 (1st)

The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the third consecutive year, but they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.

Contents

Regular season

The Flyers recorded the best record in team history (points wise) with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76. They also tied the record set by the 1929–30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20. The LCB line, featuring Reggie Leach at right-wing, Bobby Clarke at center, and Bill Barber at left-wing, set an NHL record for goals by a single line with 141 (Leach 61, Clarke 30, Barber 50). Clarke, on his way to a third Hart Trophy, set a club record for points in one season with 119.

The highlight of the season had no bearing on the season standings. On January 11 at the Spectrum, the Flyers, as part of the Super Series '76, played a memorable exhibition game against the Soviet Union's dominant Central Red Army team. As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit by Ed Van Impe on Valeri Kharlamov (whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous Summit Series '72). After some delay, the Soviets returned after they were warned that they would lose their salary for the entire series. The Flyers went on to win the game rather easily, 4–1, and were the only team to defeat the Red Army outright in the series. Head coach Fred Shero would proclaim, "Yes we are world champions. If they had won, they would have been world champions. We beat the hell out of a machine."

Season standings

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

Heading into the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked past Toronto in seven games and defeated Boston in five games, Game 5 featuring a five-goal outburst by Leach, the Riverton Rifle, to head to a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Flyers didn't come close to a third straight championship, as they ran into an up-and-coming dynasty in Montreal, and were swept in four straight games. Despite the loss, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 19 goals in 16 playoff games.

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.

    • Goaltenders

  • = 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.

    • Records

  •    NHL record
  •    Tied for NHL record
    • Record notes
  • a Clarke later tied this record during the 1977–78 season.
  • b Clarke tied his assist total from the 1974–75 season.
  • c Tied five times by five different players.
  • d Tied four times.

    • Transactions

    The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 28, 1975, the day after the deciding game of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 16, 1976, the day of the deciding game of the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals.

    Trades

    Trade notes
  • a The Capitals sent John Paddock to the Flyers on September 1, 1976, to complete trade.
  • b The Flyers later received the Penguins' 1977 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th-round picks to complete the trade.

    • Free agency

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

    Re-signed

    The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

    Draft picks

    The Flyers signed the following of their draft picks.

    NHL Intra-League Draft

    The 1975 NHL Intra-League Draft was held on June 17, 1975. Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select. It cost $40,000 to make a claim. The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.

    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 (*).

    Draft picks

    Philadelphia's picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the NHL's office in Montreal, Quebec, on June 3, 1975.

    Draft notes
  • a The Flyers acquired the 1st overall pick from the Washington Capitals for Bill Clement, Don McLean and the Flyers' first-round pick, 18th overall, on June 3, 1975.
  • The Flyers traded their second-round pick, 36th overall, along with the rights to Randy Andreachuk to the St. Louis Blues for Wayne Stephenson on September 16, 1974.

    • Farm teams

    The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL.

    References

    1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA