1993–94 record 35–39–10 Road record 16–19–7 | Home record 19–20–3 Goals for 294 | |
The 1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 27th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). For the fifth consecutive season, the Flyers failed to make the playoffs.This marked the last season of the only time the flyers missed the playoffs consecutive years as of 2017
Contents
Off-season
Jay Snider stepped down as President, forcing his father Ed Snider to take over day-to-day operations. Mike Eaves was hired to replace Ken Hitchcock, who left to become the head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL, as an assistant coach under new head coach Terry Simpson. Simpson named Kevin Dineen captain, and made Eric Lindros an alternate captain to groom him for a leadership role.
Regular season
This season began on a brighter note, as the club raced out to an 11–3–0 record. A loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 6 signaled a sharp downturn, however. Lindros went down with his second knee injury in as many years and soon after, the Penguins routed the Flyers 11–5 in Pittsburgh.
Other lowlights on the slide included a 6–0 loss in Calgary, and an 8–0 defeat in the club's first-ever road game against the Dallas Stars in early January. Lindros netted an impressive hat trick in an 8–3 win over the Blues later in the month, but an 0–6–1 slide placed the team out of playoff contention.
Despite Simpson's efforts to employ a defensive system akin to the yet-to-be unleashed neutral zone trap, the team continued to crack with Dominic Roussel and Tommy Soderstrom in net. Soderstrom struggled with heart ailments and bad luck all season, winning just six games. After climbing within three points of eighth-seeded Washington in late March, the Flyers finished the year 2–5–3 and rested in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the expansion Florida Panthers.
Mark Recchi recorded 107 points (40 goals, 67 assists) and Lindros 97 (44 goals, 53 assists). Rod Brind'Amour improved with another 97 (35 goals, 62 assists) and Mikael Renberg set a Flyers rookie record with 82 points. Philadelphia had the best shooting percentage of all 26 teams, scoring 294 goals on only 2,409 shots (12.2%). Offense was generated as the Flyers had four 30-goal scorers for the second-straight season and averaged 3.5 goals per game, but they still failed to clinch a playoff berth, again falling four points short of the final playoff spot.
After the season, the elder Snider had decided he had seen enough of Russ Farwell as GM, and began courting Bob Clarke to leave his GM post with the Florida Panthers to return to Philadelphia. Farwell's last move as GM was firing Simpson after a lackluster season.
Season standings
Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Skaters
Goaltenders
Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 1993, the day after the deciding game of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 14, 1994, the day of the deciding game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.
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 Expansion Draft
The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 24, 1993. It featured two expansion teams, the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, selecting players from the other 24 NHL teams. Each NHL team was allowed to protect 1 goaltender, 5 defensemen, and 9 forwards and all first-year players were exempt. The two selecting teams were provided a list of players they could select.
The Flyers protected the following players: goaltender Dominic Roussel, defensemen Terry Carkner, Garry Galley, Greg Hawgood, Dan Kordic, and Ryan McGill, and forwards Josef Beranek, Claude Boivin, Rod Brind'Amour, Dave Brown, Jim Cummins, Kevin Dineen, Pelle Eklund, Brent Fedyk, and Mark Recchi.
The Flyers made the following players available: goaltender Yanick Degrace, defensemen Bill Armstrong, Shawn Cronin, Corey Foster, Willie Huber, Gord Hynes, Steve Morrow, Ric Nattress, Lance Pitlick, Toni Porkka, and Bob Wilkie, and forwards Keith Acton, Len Barrie, Al Conroy, Jamie Cooke, Eric Dandenault, Daniel Dore, Andrei Lomakin, Glenn Mulvenna, Pat Murray, Dave Snuggerud, and Wes Walz.
NHL Waiver Draft
The 1993 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 3, 1993. Each NHL team placed 18 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.
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 (*).
NHL Entry Draft
Philadelphia's picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City on June 26–27, 1993.
NHL Supplemental Draft
Philadelphia's picks at the 1993 NHL Supplemental Draft.
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.