2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers season was the 54th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967.^[1] This was also the second season with head coach Alain Vigneault. On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Flyers played this season in the East Division and played against only the other teams in their new division during the regular season.

2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	6th East
2020–21 record	25–23–8
Home record	12–12–4
Road record	13–11–4
Goals for	163
Goals against	201
Team information
General manager	Chuck Fletcher
Coach	Alain Vigneault
Captain	Claude Giroux
Alternate captains	Sean Couturier Kevin Hayes Ivan Provorov Jakub Voracek
Arena	Wells Fargo Center
Minor league affiliate(s)	Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) Reading Royals (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Joel Farabee (20)
Assists	Jakub Voracek (34)
Points	Claude Giroux (43) James van Riemsdyk (43) Jakub Voracek (43)
Penalty minutes	Nicolas Aube-Kubel (44)
Plus/minus	Scott Laughton (+13)
Wins	Brian Elliott (15)
Goals against average	Brian Elliott (3.06)
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

On April 29, 2021, the Flyers were eliminated from playoff contention following a 5–3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.^[2]

Standings

Divisional standings

East Division

Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	56	37	16	3	29	196	156	+40	77
2	x – Washington Capitals	56	36	15	5	29	191	163	+28	77
3	x – Boston Bruins	56	33	16	7	25	168	136	+32	73
4	x – New York Islanders	56	32	17	7	24	156	128	+28	71
5	e – New York Rangers	56	27	23	6	24	177	157	+20	60
6	e – Philadelphia Flyers	56	25	23	8	17	163	201	−38	58
7	e – New Jersey Devils	56	19	30	7	15	145	194	−49	45
8	e – Buffalo Sabres	56	15	34	7	11	138	199	−61	37

Source: National Hockey League^[3]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.^[4]

2020–21 regular season[5]
January: 7–2–1 (home: 5–1–0 ; road: 2–1–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 1 January 13 Pittsburgh 3–6 Philadelphia Hart 0 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 January 15 Pittsburgh 2–5 Philadelphia Hart 0 2–0–0 4 Recap 3 January 18 Buffalo 6–1 Philadelphia Hart 0 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 January 19 Buffalo 0–3 Philadelphia Elliott 0 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 January 21 Philadelphia 4–5 Boston SO Hart 0 3–1–1 7 Recap 6 January 23 Philadelphia 1–6 Boston Hart 0 3–2–1 7 Recap 7 January 26 Philadelphia 5–3 New Jersey Elliott 0 4–2–1 9 Recap 8 January 28 Philadelphia 3–1 New Jersey Hart 0 5–2–1 11 Recap 9 January 30 NY Islanders 2–3 Philadelphia OT Hart 0 6–2–1 13 Recap 10 January 31 NY Islanders 3–4 Philadelphia OT Elliott 0 7–2–1 15 Recap
February: 4–2–2 (home: 1–1–2 ; road: 3–1–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 11 February 3 Boston 4–3 Philadelphia OT Hart 0 7–2–2 16 Recap 12 February 5 Boston 2–1 Philadelphia Elliott 0 7–3–2 16 Recap 13 February 7 Philadelphia 7–4 Washington Hart 0 8–3–2 18 Recap — February 9 Philadelphia – Washington Postponed due to COVID-19.[6] Rescheduled for April 13.[7] — February 11 New Jersey – Philadelphia Postponed due to COVID-19.[8] Rescheduled for April 25.[9] — February 13 New Jersey – Philadelphia Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for May 10.[9] — February 14 Philadelphia – NY Rangers Postponed due to COVID-19.[10] Rescheduled for April 22.[7] 14 February 18 NY Rangers 3–2 Philadelphia SO Hart 0 8–3–3 19 Recap 15 February 21 Philadelphia 3–7 Boston Hart 0 (outdoors) 8–4–3 19 Recap 16 February 24 NY Rangers 3–4 Philadelphia Elliott 0 9–4–3 21 Recap 17 February 27 Philadelphia 3–0 Buffalo Elliott 0 10–4–3 23 Recap 18 February 28 Philadelphia 3–0 Buffalo Hart 0 11–4–3 25 Recap
March: 6–10–1 (home: 2–5–1 ; road: 4–5–0) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 19 March 2 Philadelphia 2–5 Pittsburgh Hart 2,800 11–5–3 25 Recap 20 March 4 Philadelphia 4–3 Pittsburgh Elliott 2,800 12–5–3 27 Recap 21 March 6 Philadelphia 3–4 Pittsburgh Elliott 2,800 12–6–3 27 Recap 22 March 7 Washington 3–1 Philadelphia Hart 3,023 12–7–3 27 Recap 23 March 9 Buffalo 4–5 Philadelphia SO Elliott 2,838 13–7–3 29 Recap 24 March 11 Washington 5–3 Philadelphia Elliott 2,807 13–8–3 29 Recap 25 March 13 Washington 5–4 Philadelphia Hart 3,083 13–9–3 29 Recap 26 March 15 Philadelphia 5–4 NY Rangers OT Hart 1,639 14–9–3 31 Recap 27 March 17 Philadelphia 0–9 NY Rangers Elliott 1,723 14–10–3 31 Recap 28 March 18 Philadelphia 4–3 NY Islanders Hart 1,400 15–10–3 33 Recap 29 March 20 Philadelphia 1–6 NY Islanders Hart 1,400 15–11–3 33 Recap 30 March 22 NY Islanders 2–1 Philadelphia OT Elliott 2,820 15–11–4 34 Recap 31 March 23 New Jersey 4–3 Philadelphia Hart 2,882 15–12–4 34 Recap 32 March 25 NY Rangers 8–3 Philadelphia Hart 2,854 15–13–4 34 Recap 33 March 27 NY Rangers 1–2 Philadelphia Elliott 3,069 16–13–4 36 Recap 34 March 29 Philadelphia 4–3 Buffalo OT Elliott 0 17–13–4 38 Recap 35 March 31 Philadelphia 1–6 Buffalo Elliott 0 17–14–4 38 Recap
April: 5–7–3 (home: 2–3–1 ; road: 3–4–2) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 36 April 3 Philadelphia 2–3 NY Islanders SO Hart 1,400 17–14–5 39 Recap 37 April 5 Philadelphia 3–2 Boston OT Elliott 2,191 18–14–5 41 Recap 38 April 6 Boston 4–2 Philadelphia Hart 2,638 18–15–5 41 Recap 39 April 8 Philadelphia 2–3 NY Islanders SO Hart 1,400 18–15–6 42 Recap 40 April 10 Boston 2–3 Philadelphia Elliott 3,025 19–15–6 44 Recap 41 April 11 Buffalo 5–3 Philadelphia Hart 3,250 19–16–6 44 Recap 42 April 13 Philadelphia 1–6 Washington Elliott 0 19–17–6 44 Recap 43 April 15 Philadelphia 2–1 Pittsburgh SO Hart 4,672 20–17–6 46 Recap 44 April 17 Washington 6–3 Philadelphia Lyon 3,430 20–18–6 46 Recap 45 April 18 NY Islanders 1–0 Philadelphia OT Elliott 3,603 20–18–7 47 Recap 46 April 22 Philadelphia 3–2 NY Rangers Elliott 1,800 21–18–7 49 Recap 47 April 23 Philadelphia 1–4 NY Rangers Lyon 1,800 21–19–7 49 Recap 48 April 25 New Jersey 3–4 Philadelphia SO Elliott 3,651 22–19–7 51 Recap 49 April 27 Philadelphia 4–6 New Jersey Elliott 3,600 22–20–7 51 Recap 50 April 29 Philadelphia 3–5 New Jersey Lyon 3,600 22–21–7 51 Recap
May: 3–2–1 (home: 2–2–0 ; road: 1–0–1) Game Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap 51 May 1 New Jersey 4–1 Philadelphia Elliott 2,683 22–22–7 51 Recap 52 May 3 Pittsburgh 2–7 Philadelphia Lyon 2,542 23–22–7 53 Recap 53 May 4 Pittsburgh 7–3 Philadelphia Elliott 2,961 23–23–7 53 Recap 54 May 7 Philadelphia 4–2 Washington Elliott 2,133 24–23–7 55 Recap 55 May 8 Philadelphia 1–2 Washington OT Lyon 2,133 24–23–8 56 Recap 56 May 10 New Jersey 2–4 Philadelphia Elliott 3,882 25–23–8 58 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)   Postponement

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular season^[11]

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
James van Riemsdyk	56	17	26	43	2	14
Claude Giroux	54	16	27	43	−4	12
Jakub Voracek	53	9	34	43	−12	18
Sean Couturier	45	18	23	41	−4	8
Joel Farabee	55	20	18	38	0	28
Travis Konecny	50	11	23	34	−5	26
Kevin Hayes	55	12	19	31	−2	22
Ivan Provorov	56	7	19	26	4	28
Scott Laughton	53	9	11	20	13	39
Shayne Gostisbehere	41	9	11	20	−2	6
Travis Sanheim	55	3	12	15	−22	23
Oskar Lindblom	50	8	6	14	−9	9
Nicolas Aube-Kubel	50	3	9	12	−3	44
Philippe Myers	44	1	10	11	−10	22
Erik Gustafsson‡	24	1	9	10	−2	0
Nolan Patrick	52	4	5	9	−30	20
Michael Raffl‡	34	3	5	8	−5	26
Wade Allison	14	4	3	7	1	4
Justin Braun	53	1	5	6	0	18
Robert Hagg	34	2	3	5	−3	18
Nate Prosser	6	1	1	2	−7	0
Samuel Morin	20	1	0	1	−7	37
Connor Bunnaman	18	0	1	1	−6	2
Jackson Cates	4	0	1	1	−3	0
Andy Andreoff	6	0	0	0	−6	9
Mark Friedman‡	4	0	0	0	−2	4
David Kase	1	0	0	0	0	0
Carsen Twarynski	7	0	0	0	−3	2
Tanner Laczynski	5	0	0	0	1	0
Morgan Frost	2	0	0	0	0	0
Maxim Sushko	2	0	0	0	−1	0
Egor Zamula	2	0	0	0	1	0
Cameron York	3	0	0	0	−1	0

Goaltenders

Regular season^[12]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Brian Elliott	30	26	1,607:43	15	9	2	82	3.06	738	.889	2	0	1	0
Carter Hart	27	25	1,456:19	9	11	5	89	3.67	721	.877	1	0	0	2
Alex Lyon	6	5	324:09	1	3	1	18	3.33	169	.893	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Flyers. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Oskar Lindblom	[13]
League (in-season)	NHL East Star of the Month	James van Riemsdyk (January)	[14]
	NHL Second Star of the Week	Travis Konecny (January 18)	[15]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Ivan Provorov	[16]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Sean Couturier	[16]
	Gene Hart Memorial Award	Sean Couturier	[16]
	Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy	Joel Farabee	[16]
	Toyota Cup	Claude Giroux	[16]
	Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award	James van Riemsdyk	[16]

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

Among the team records set during the 2020–21 season was the Flyers giving up seven goals during the second period against the New York Rangers on March 17.

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07)	To Tampa Bay Lightning 4th-round pick in 2020 (116th overall) 5th-round pick in 2020 (147th overall)	To Philadelphia Flyers DET 4th-round pick in 2020 (94th overall)	[17]
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07)	To Nashville Predators MTL 7th-round pick in 2020 (202nd overall) 7th-round pick in 2020 (209th overall)	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 2020 (135th overall)	[18]
April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12)	To Montreal Canadiens Erik Gustafsson[a]	To Philadelphia Flyers STL 7th-round pick in 2022	[19]
April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12)	To Washington Capitals Michael Raffl[b]	To Philadelphia Flyers VGK 5th-round pick in 2021	[20]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10)	Derrick Pouliot	St. Louis Blues	1-year	Free agency	[21]
October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12)	Erik Gustafsson	Calgary Flames	1-year	Free agency	[22]
March 24, 2021 (2021-03-24)	Max Willman	Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)	2-year	Free agency	[23]
April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13)	Jackson Cates	University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCHC)	2-year	Free agency	[24]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Term	Via	Ref
October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)	Derek Grant	Anaheim Ducks	3-year	Free agency	[25]
	Nathan Noel[c]			Contract expiration	[27]
	Tyler Pitlick	Arizona Coyotes	2-year	Free agency	[28]
October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10)	Nate Thompson	Winnipeg Jets	1-year	Free agency	[29]
	Andy Welinski	Anaheim Ducks	1-year	Free agency	[30]
November 2, 2020 (2020-11-02)	Kurtis Gabriel	San Jose Sharks	1-year	Free agency	[31]
January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)	Reece Willcox	Florida Everblades (ECHL)	1-year	Free agency	[32]
February 24, 2021 (2021-02-24)	Mark Friedman	Pittsburgh Penguins		Waivers	[33]
May 25, 2021 (2021-05-25)	David Kase	HC Sparta Praha (ELH)	2-year	Free agency	[34]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12)	Zayde Wisdom	3-year	Entry-level	[35]
October 14, 2020 (2020-10-14)	Tyson Foerster	3-year	Entry-level	[36]
October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)	Nolan Patrick	1-year	Re-signing	[37]
December 8, 2020 (2020-12-08)	Philippe Myers	3-year	Extension	[38]
December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18)	Mason Millman	3-year	Entry-level	[39]
March 31, 2021 (2021-03-31)	Cameron York	3-year	Entry-level	[40]
April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12)	Scott Laughton	5-year	Extension	[41]
May 5, 2021 (2021-05-05)	Elliot Desnoyers	3-year	Entry-level	[42]
	Olle Lycksell	2-year	Entry-level	[42]
June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)	Samuel Ersson	3-year	Entry-level	[43]
June 8, 2021 (2021-06-08)	Felix Sandstrom	1-year	Extension	[44]
June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14)	German Rubtsov	1-year	Extension	[45]
	Linus Sandin	1-year	Extension	[45]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Below are the Philadelphia Flyers' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	23	Tyson Foerster	RW	Canada	Barrie Colts (OHL)
2	54	Emil Andrae	D	Sweden	HV71 J20 (J20 SuperElit)
4	94	Zayde Wisdom	RW	Canada	Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
5	135	Elliot Desnoyers	LW	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
6	178	Connor McClennon	RW	Canada	Winnipeg Ice (WHL)

Notes

1. The Flyers retained 50% of Gustafsson's remaining salary.
2. The Flyers retained 25% of Raffl's remaining salary.
3. Noel was inactive during the 2020–21 season.^[26]

References

• "Philadelphia Flyers 2020–21 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
• "2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
• "Flyers History - Season Overview : 2020–21". Flyers History. FlyersAlumni.net. Retrieved April 4, 2022.

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31. "Sharks Sign Forward Kurtis Gabriel". San Jose Sharks. November 2, 2020.
32. ECHL (January 5, 2021). "Everblades sign Reece Willcox". Twitter. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
33. "Penguins Claim Defenseman Mark Friedman Off Waivers From Philadelphia". Pittsburgh Penguins. February 24, 2021.
34. [e-mail], TRIMA NEWS, s r o. "Z Philadelphie do Sparty. David Kaše se vrací do extraligy a posílí Pražany". Pražská Drbna - zprávy z Prahy (in Czech). Retrieved May 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
35. "Flyers sign Zayde Wisdom to entry-level contract". Philadelphia Flyers. October 12, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
36. "Flyers sign RW Tyson Foerster to entry-level contract". nhl.com. National Hockey League. October 14, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
37. "Flyers center Nolan Patrick accepts Qualifying Offer". National Hockey League. Philadelphia Flyers. October 16, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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39. "Flyers sign defenseman Mason Millman to entry-level contract". Philadelphia Flyers. December 18, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
40. "Flyers sign defenseman Cam York to three-year entry-level contract". Philadelphia Flyers. March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
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