2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers season

Off-season

Craig Ramsay retained the head coaching position as Roger Neilson was not asked to return, which became a matter of some controversy.

Regular season

Without Eric Lindros, who sat out the entire season awaiting a trade, while also suffering through John LeClair's 66-game absence and Brian Boucher's early erratic play in goal, the club went into an early tailspin. The team began the year 3–6–4 and at one point had six regulars out of the lineup. Keith Jones, who never fully recovered from the prior knee problems despite surgery last season, was forced to retire eight games into the schedule.

Not wanting to bank on the inexperience of Maxime Ouellet, the team recalled Roman Cechmanek, a former star goalie in the Czech Republic, from the Philadelphia Phantoms in early November and the move paid off as he recorded a pair of shutouts in his first three games. The Flyers won six in a row prior to Thanksgiving to climb above .500, but Ramsay's inability to rally the troops cost him his job. After being badly outplayed in early December losses to Ottawa (5–3) and Detroit (5–1), he was replaced by former Flyer great Bill Barber with the team sinking at 12–12–4.

Barber's high-energy, old-time hockey approach struck a chord, and the club went unbeaten in his first eight games behind the bench (5–0–3). Philly ran off an 8–2–1 stretch at the turn of the new year, then after a five-game win streak after the All-Star break found themselves atop the Atlantic Division.

Unfortunately, injuries and poor play followed. Simon Gagne was lost with a shoulder injury in a scoreless tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning in late February. In the middle of a 1–4–1 stretch in late March, Keith Primeau suffered a leg injury and missed the rest of the regular season. Despite faltering down the stretch, the Flyers finished with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Primeau led the team with 34 goals and Mark Recchi posted team-best 50 assists and 77 points. Dan McGillis and Eric Desjardins formed a potent offensive duo on the back line, combining for 29 goals and 97 points. Cechmanek recorded a franchise rookie record 10 shutouts and finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy.

The Flyers were the most disciplined team in the League, with just 314 power-play opportunities against.

Season standings

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Playoffs

The Flyers lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabres in six games.

Skaters

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 11, 2000, the day after the deciding game of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 9, 2001, the day of the deciding game of the 2001 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 2000 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 23, 2000. It featured two expansion teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, selecting players from the other NHL teams except for the Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators. 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 and second-year players were exempt. The two teams were provided a list of players they could select.

The Flyers protected the following players: goaltender Brian Boucher, defensemen Andy Delmore, Eric Desjardins, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson, and Chris Therien, and forwards Mark Greig, Daymond Langkow, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Kent Manderville, Gino Odjick, Keith Primeau, Paul Ranheim, and Mark Recchi.

The Flyers made the following players available: goaltenders Per-Ragnar Bergkvist (unsigned draft pick), Neil Little, and John Vanbiesbrouck, defensemen Artem Anisimov (unsigned draft pick), Adam Burt (unrestricted free agent), Jeff Lank (unrestricted free agent), Dean Melanson, and Ulf Samuelsson, and forwards Craig Berube (unrestricted free agent), Travis Brigley (restricted free agent), Martin Cervan (restricted free agent), Jody Hull (unrestricted free agent), Mark Janssens, Keith Jones, Mike Maneluk (unrestricted free agent), Steve McLaren (unrestricted free agent), Jim Montgomery (restricted free agent), Sean O'Brien (unrestricted free agent), Ruslan Shafikov (unsigned draft pick), Radovan Somik (unsigned draft pick), Martin Streit (unsigned draft pick), Rick Tocchet (unrestricted free agent), Steve Washburn (restricted free agent), Peter White, Todd White (unrestricted free agent), and Valeri Zelepukin (unrestricted free agent).

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.

NHL Waiver Draft

The 2000 NHL Waiver Draft was held on September 29, 2000. 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 protected the following players: goaltenders Brian Boucher and Roman Cechmanek, defensemen Eric Desjardins, Chris McAllister, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson, Michal Sykora, and Chris Therien, and forwards Jody Hull, Daymond Langkow, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Kent Manderville, Gino Odjick, Keith Primeau, Paul Ranheim, Mark Recchi, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, and Peter White.

The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Neil Little, defensemen Dean Melanson, Ulf Samuelsson, and Brad Tiley, and forwards Mark Greig, Keith Jones, Steve McLaren, Rob Murray, Michel Picard, Derek Plante, and Steve Washburn.

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 2000 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta on June 24–25, 2000.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL.