2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season

Updated on Dec 07, 2024

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Division N/A Atlantic 2004–05 record Did not play Coach Ken Hitchcock		Conference N/A Eastern General Manager Bob Clarke Captain Keith Primeau

The 2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 38th season in the National Hockey League (NHL), however its games were canceled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The other 29 teams did not play either due to the labor dispute.

Off-season

After being defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003–04, the Flyers prepared for the looming labor unrest that was to come. While team captain Keith Primeau was re-signed to a four-year contract worth $17 million prior to hitting the free agent market, leading scorer Mark Recchi was not — general manager Bob Clarke said he would not re-sign Recchi until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place — and instead signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 9.

Unsigned 2001 first-round draft pick R. J. Umberger, whose NHL rights had previously been held by the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, signed with the Flyers as an unrestricted free agent on June 16. The Flyers signed free agent right wingers Mike Knuble of the Boston Bruins and Turner Stevenson of the New Jersey Devils to three-year contracts after the free agency period began. On July 13 undrafted free agent forward Tony Voce, who played four seasons at Boston College, became the first native of Philadelphia to sign with the Flyers.

NHL lockout

The lockout started on September 16, 2004 and those Flyers with two-way contracts were sent down to the Phantoms. Those Flyers with NHL-only contracts either sat out or played in another league.

Player activity

The following is a list of Flyers with NHL-only contracts and whether they were active during the lockout. Vladimir Malakhov and Alexei Zhamnov are not included since their contracts expired prior to the lockout.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. Both teams were their league's champions.

Philadelphia Phantoms

With the Flyers season canceled, many players who would normally be in orange and black were in purple, orange, and black instead. Joni Pitkanen and Todd Fedoruk had spent the entirety of the previous season with the Flyers and over a dozen others on the Phantoms roster had previously spent time in the NHL. Led by mid-season acquisition Jon Sim's 35 goals and R. J. Umberger's 65 points, the Phantoms finished second in their division with a record of 48–25–3–4. Reinforced by the arrivals of top junior prospects Jeff Carter and Mike Richards to the team, the Phantoms defeated the Norfolk Admirals in six games, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in five games, and the Providence Bruins in six games to reach the finals. Holding the Chicago Wolves to four goals the entire series, the Phantoms swept the series and won the Calder Cup. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.

Trenton Titans

Trenton finished second in their division and after defeating the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in three games, the Reading Royals in four games, and the Alaska Aces in seven games, the Titans defeated the Florida Everblades in six games to win the Kelly Cup.

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 2004, the day after the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, through February 16, 2005, the day the 2004–05 season was officially canceled.

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.

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement.

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 26–27, 2004.

Draft notes

The Flyers traded their first-round pick, 25th overall, their 2005 third-round pick, and Jeff Woywitka to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike Comrie on December 16, 2003.

^a The Flyers traded Roman Cechmanek to the Los Angeles Kings for the Kings' second-round pick, 41st overall, on May 28, 2003. The Flyers traded the Kings' pick, Jim Vandermeer, and the rights to Colin Fraser to the Chicago Blackhawks for Alexei Zhamnov and the Blackhawks' fourth-round pick, 101st overall, on February 19, 2004.

The Flyers traded their second-round pick, 60th overall, the Atlanta Thrashers' 2003 third-round pick, and Guillaume Lefebvre to the Phoenix Coyotes for Tony Amonte on March 10, 2003.

^b The Flyers traded Eric Chouinard to the Minnesota Wild for the Wild's fifth-round pick, 144th overall, on December 17, 2003.

^c The Flyers traded Eric Weinrich to the St. Louis Blues for the Blues' fifth-round pick, 149th overall, on February 9, 2004.

The Flyers traded their fifth-round pick, 158th overall, their sixth-round pick, 188th overall, and the San Jose Sharks' sixth-round pick, 191st overall, to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Lightning's 2005 third-round pick on June 27, 2004.

^d The Flyers traded their 2003 seventh-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for the Florida Panthers' sixth-round pick, 170th overall, on June 22, 2003.

^e The Flyers traded Marty Murray to the Carolina Hurricanes for the Hurricanes' sixth-round pick, 171st overall, on June 21, 2003.

The Flyers traded their seventh-round pick, 221st overall, and their 2003 fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for Dmitri Yushkevich on March 1, 2003.

^f The Flyers traded Chris Therien to the Dallas Stars for the Phoenix Coyotes' eight-round pick, 232nd overall, and the Stars' 2005 third-round pick on March 8, 2004.

^g The Flyers traded their 2003 eighth and ninth-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Lightning's seventh, 227th overall, and ninth-round picks, 291st overall, on June 22, 2003. The Flyers traded the Lightning's seventh-round pick to the New York Islanders for Mattias Timander on January 22, 2004.

References

2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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