1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers season

Off-season

In the off-season, the Flyers went looking for a new goaltender. They opted not to re-sign Sean Burke and Ron Hextall was about to enter his final season as a backup. They chose to sign former Florida Panther John Vanbiesbrouck over former Edmonton Oiler Curtis Joseph, who ended up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Regular season

Looking to put the previous year's disappointment behind them, the Flyers began the season 4–0–1. However, a quick 1–6–3 downturn caused the first casualties – as Trent Klatt was dealt to Vancouver and Shjon Podein was shipped to Colorado for Keith Jones. Jones scored a goal in his first game in orange and black, a 6–1 rout of New Jersey, keying a 6–1–0 run.

Turmoil continued, as, after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Devils on December 10 saw the Flyers blow a 4–1 lead, the decision was made to end the Chris Gratton experiment. He was dealt back to Tampa Bay along with Mike Sillinger for Mikael Renberg and Daymond Langkow, and the move paid immediate dividends. Philly topped Toronto, 3–0, spurring a 15-game unbeaten streak (10–0–5) during which the club matched a record by shutting out their opponents in four consecutive games (Islanders, Carolina, Nashville, Washington).

Another run, this time a 6–0–2 streak from January 18 to February 6, tied the Flyers atop the NHL standings with the Dallas Stars. That momentum did not last long, as the club went 1–4–1 after the All-Star break, including an inexplicable 4–3 loss in Los Angeles where the Kings scored three goals in the final minutes, including a 60-foot game-winner by Jozef Stumpel just before the final buzzer.

Following a win over Pittsburgh, the team suffered through a franchise-worst 12 games without a victory (0–8–4), broken up only by a rally from two goals down to Detroit on March 21. Eric Lindros, who was having an MVP-type season with 40 goals and 53 assists in 71 games, was felled and lost for the season by a collapsed lung sustained during a 2–1 win against the expansion Nashville Predators on April 1. It is said that if roommate Keith Jones had not intervened at the last minute, Lindros might have died on the plane ride back to Philadelphia.

The Flyers managed to lock up the five-seed on the final day of the season with a win over Boston.

John LeClair continued his goal-scoring streak with 43 on the year, matching Tim Kerr's team record of four straight seasons with 40 or more goals. He was one of only a handful of players to make it through the entire season, as general manager Bob Clarke made 12 trades involving NHL players throughout the regular season, including re-acquiring former Flyer Mark Recchi from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline.

Divisions: ATL - Atlantic Division, NE - Northeast Division, SE - Southeast Division

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division

Playoffs

Although Vanbiesbrouck allowed nine goals to Curtis Joseph's eleven allowed, the Flyers lost their first round series with Toronto in six games.

Skaters

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 17, 1998, the day after the deciding game of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 19, 1999, the day of the deciding game of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Entry level contracts

The following players — Flyers draft picks, undrafted free agents, and the unsigned draft picks of other teams — were signed by the Flyers to entry level contracts.

NHL Expansion Draft

The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 26, 1998. It featured one expansion team, the Nashville Predators, selecting players from the other 26 NHL teams. Each NHL team was allowed to protect either 1 goaltender, 5 defensemen, and 9 forwards OR 2 goaltenders, 3 defensemen, and 7 forwards. All first-year players were exempt. The Predators were provided a list of players they could select.

The Flyers protected the following players: goaltender Ron Hextall, defensemen Dave Babych, Eric Desjardins, Jeff Lank, Luke Richardson, Petr Svoboda, and Chris Therien, and forwards Rod Brind'Amour, Alexandre Daigle, Chris Gratton, Trent Klatt, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Mike Maneluk, Shjon Podein, and Mike Sillinger.

The Flyers made the following players available: goaltenders Sean Burke (unrestricted free agent), Neil Little, and Dominic Roussel (restricted free agent), defensemen Artem Anisimov (unsigned draft pick), Paul Coffey, Chris Joseph, Kjell Samuelsson (unrestricted free agent), Jeff Staples (restricted free agent), John Stevens, and Roman Zolotov (unsigned draft pick), and forwards Frank Bialowas, Bruce Coles, Craig Darby, John Druce, Paul Healey (restricted free agent), Patrik Juhlin, Dan Kordic, Daniel Lacroix (restricted free agent), Jan Lipiansky, Shawn McCosh, Jim Montgomery, Brantt Myhres (restricted free agent), and Joel Otto (unrestricted free agent).

NHL Waiver Draft

The 1998 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 5, 1998. 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.

The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Neil Little, defensemen Chris Joseph, Sergei Klimentiev, Jeff Lank, David MacIsaac, and John Stevens, and forwards Frank Bialowas, Bruce Coles, Mark Greig, Paul Healey, Patrik Juhlin, Daniel Lacroix, Shawn McCosh, Jim Montgomery, Richard Park, Peter White, and Jason Zent.

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 1998 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York, on June 27, 1998.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL.