Division 1st Patrick 1985–86 record 53–23–4 Road record 20–17–3 | Conference 1st Wales Home record 33–6–1 Goals for 335 (4th) | |
The 1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 19th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs in five game to the New York Rangers.
Contents
Regular season
The club began the year 12–2–0 (with both losses coming at home to New Jersey and Quebec), which included 10 consecutive wins until goaltender Pelle Lindbergh was fatally injured in a car accident in the early hours of November 10.
Due to the tragedy, back-up Bob Froese became the de facto starter, and the club called up Darren Jensen for relief work. Froese suffered a groin injury in practice prior to the team's next game against the Edmonton Oilers, so Jensen got the start against the defending Stanley Cup champions at the Spectrum on November 14.
Following an emotional memorial service, the Flyers posted a spirited 5–3 win, featuring four goals in the third period to earn their 11th victory in a row. They went on to beat Hartford two days later to set a new franchise record for consecutive wins, then rallied from three-goals down to top the New York Islanders 5–4 in overtime the next day. The Islanders ended the streak two nights later in Uniondale, almost wasting a four-goal lead in an 8–6 decision.
Philly became the first club in the NHL to reach 30 wins, after a 4–0 shutout of the Washington Capitals on January 9, but began to falter in February and early March, losing four straight games and seeing the Capitals climb within striking distance. The Caps and Flyers each spent time in first place for the remainder of the schedule, but the orange and black took the division crown on the last day of the season (April 6) with a come-from-behind 5–3 home win.
In a 7–3 loss to the Devils on March 8, Tim Kerr set an NHL record with his 29th power-play goal of the season, passing Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito's mark. He finished the year with 34, the league record to this day.
Propp had the best chance of his career to crack the 100-point mark, but that was derailed on March 6, when Buffalo Sabres forward Lindy Ruff caught him in the eye with a high stick. The incident cost Propp several games, and he finished with a team-high 97 points while also causing him to wear a visor for the remainder of his career.
Bob Clarke made a couple minor deals during the season, trading Ed Hospodar and the enigmatic Todd Bergen to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Richter and Bo Berglund on November 29. Neither player lasted beyond the season with the Flyers, while Hospodar returned in 1986–87. Also, Joe Paterson and Len Hachborn were sent in separate deals to the Los Angeles Kings, and Chico Resch was acquired from the Devils for a draft pick in early March.
Froese finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy. Mark Howe finished second in voting for the Norris Trophy and third in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP. Howe was named to the first NHL All-Star Team and took home the NHL Plus-Minus Award — the defense pairing of Howe and Brad McCrimmon finished with a +85 and a +83 respectively — while Froese was named to the second NHL All-Star Team and was the co-winner with Jensen of the William M. Jennings Trophy.
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
Despite their regular season success, an emotionally exhausted Flyers team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in five games.
Skaters
Goaltenders
Records
Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 31, 1985, the day after the deciding game of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 24, 1986, the day of the deciding game of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals.
Trades
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 Waiver Draft
The 1985 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 7, 1985. Each NHL team placed 16 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select. First-year professional players were exempt. The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.
The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Bob Froese and Pelle Lindbergh, defensemen Doug Crossman, Thomas Eriksson, Ed Hospodar, Mark Howe, Brad Marsh, Brad McCrimmon, and Daryl Stanley, and forwards Dave Brown, Lindsay Carson, Murray Craven, Len Hachborn, Tim Kerr, Joe Paterson, Dave Poulin, Brian Propp, and Ilkka Sinisalo.
The Flyers left the following players unprotected: defensemen Kevin McCarthy and Mike Stothers, and forwards Ray Allison, Bill Barber, Jim Dobson, Ross Fitzpatrick, Al Hill, Steve Martinson, Carl Mokosak, and Don Nachbaur.
Waivers
The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.
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 1985 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on June 15, 1985.
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.