1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' fifth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.

1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	5th West
1971–72 record	26–38–14
Home record	19–13–7
Road record	7–25–7
Goals for	200 (14th)
Goals against	236 (7th)
Team information
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Fred Shero
Captain	Ed Van Impe
Alternate captains	Larry Brown (Oct.–Jan.) Jean-Guy Gendron
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	14,379[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Richmond Robins San Diego Gulls Jersey Devils Salem Rebels
Team leaders
Goals	Bobby Clarke (35)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (46)
Points	Bobby Clarke (81)
Penalty minutes	Gary Dornhoefer (183)
Plus/minus	Bobby Clarke (+22)
Wins	Doug Favell (18)
Goals against average	Doug Favell (2.81)
← 1970–71 1972–73 →

Off-season

The Flyers fired head coach Vic Stasiuk on May 27, 1971,^[2] after heavy criticism by Flyers players.^[3] On June 2, the Flyers hired Fred Shero to replace him.^[3] In the previous two seasons Shero had guided two teams to league championships, the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League and the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League.^[3]

Regular season

Bobby Clarke continued to progress as he led the team in goals (35), assists (46), and points (81) in 1971–72 and he became the first Flyer to win an NHL award, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. However, in the season's final game, the Flyers needed a win or a tie against the second-year Buffalo Sabres to beat out the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot. The score was tied late in the game, but with just four seconds on the clock, former Flyer Gerry Meehan took a shot from just inside the blue line that eluded Flyers goalie Doug Favell.^[4] With identical records, the playoff berth went to the Penguins because Philly lost the season series 2–3–1.

Season standings

West Division^[5]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	46	17	15	256	166	+90	107
2	Minnesota North Stars	78	37	29	12	212	191	+21	86
3	St. Louis Blues	78	28	39	11	208	247	−39	67
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	26	38	14	220	258	−38	66
5	Philadelphia Flyers	78	26	38	14	200	236	−36	66
6	California Golden Seals	78	21	39	18	216	288	−72	60
7	Los Angeles Kings	78	20	49	9	206	305	−99	49

Record vs. opponents

Vs. West Division 1971–72 NHL records[6] Team CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total California — 1–4–1 3–2–1 1–4–1 2–4 2–2–2 0–3–3 9–19–8 Chicago 4–1–1 — 5–1 5–1 3–2–1 5–0–1 6–0 28–5–3 Los Angeles 2–3–1 1–5 — 0–6 2–3–1 1–4–1 2–4 8–25–3 Minnesota 4–1–1 1–5 6–0 — 3–1–2 4–2 4–2 22–11–3 Philadelphia 4–2 2–3–1 3–2–1 1–3–2 — 2–3–1 1–2–3 13–15–8 Pittsburgh 2–2–2 0–5–1 4–1–1 2–4 3–2–1 — 3–3 14–17–5 St. Louis 3–0–3 0–6 4–2 2–4 2–1–3 3–3 — 14–16–6

Vs. East Division 1971–72 NHL records Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYR TOR VAN Total California 2–4 3–0–3 2–2–2 0–3–3 1–4–1 2–3–1 2–4 12–20–10 Chicago 1–4–1 3–2–1 5–0–1 1–2–3 1–2–3 4–0–2 3–2–1 18–12–12 Los Angeles 1–4–1 3–2–1 2–3–1 0–5–1 0–6 1–4–1 5–0–1 12–24–6 Minnesota 0–5–1 2–2–2 4–2 1–4–1 3–1–2 2–2–2 3–2–1 15–18–9 Philadelphia 0–6 2–2–2 2–3–1 2–3–1 0–6 2–2–2 5–1 13–23–6 Pittsburgh 1–2–3 1–2–3 2–4 1–4–1 1–3–2 2–4 4–2 12–21–9 St. Louis 1–4–1 4–1–1 3–2–1 1–4–1 1–5 2–4 2–3–1 14–23–5

Schedule and results

1971–72 regular season[7]
October: 5–4–1, 11 points (home: 3–1–0; road: 2–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 1 October 9 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 12 @ Vancouver Canucks 2–3 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 13 @ California Golden Seals 5–4 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 16 @ Los Angeles Kings 1–0 2–2–0 4 Recap 5 October 21 Los Angeles Kings 0–7 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 23 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 3–5 2–4–0 4 Recap 7 October 24 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 3–4–0 6 Recap 8 October 28 Vancouver Canucks 3–2 4–4–0 8 Recap 9 October 30 @ St. Louis Blues 4–4 4–4–1 9 Recap 10 October 31 Montreal Canadiens 5–3 5–4–1 11 Recap
November: 2–7–3, 7 points (home: 2–4–2; road: 0–3–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 11 November 3 @ Chicago Black Hawks 0–3 5–5–1 11 Recap 12 November 5 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–5 5–6–1 11 Recap 13 November 7 Minnesota North Stars 0–3 5–7–1 11 Recap 14 November 11 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 6–7–1 13 Recap 15 November 13 Detroit Red Wings 3–6 6–8–1 13 Recap 16 November 14 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 6–8–2 14 Recap 17 November 18 Los Angeles Kings 2–0 7–8–2 16 Recap 18 November 20 @ Montreal Canadiens 2–2 7–8–3 17 Recap 19 November 21 Minnesota North Stars 1–1 7–8–4 18 Recap 20 November 24 Boston Bruins 1–2 7–9–4 18 Recap 21 November 25 @ Boston Bruins 2–4 7–10–4 18 Recap 22 November 28 New York Rangers 2–4 7–11–4 18 Recap
December: 4–7–1, 9 points (home: 4–2–1; road: 0–5–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 23 December 2 Detroit Red Wings 1–1 7–11–5 19 Recap 24 December 4 @ Minnesota North Stars 1–3 7–12–5 19 Recap 25 December 5 California Golden Seals 3–0 8–12–5 21 Recap 26 December 9 New York Rangers 0–5 8–13–5 21 Recap 27 December 11 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–6 8–14–5 21 Recap 28 December 12 Montreal Canadiens 4–1 9–14–5 23 Recap 29 December 15 @ New York Rangers 2–6 9–15–5 23 Recap 30 December 16 Buffalo Sabres 5–0 10–15–5 25 Recap 31 December 19 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–4 10–16–5 25 Recap 32 December 25 @ Boston Bruins 1–5 10–17–5 25 Recap 33 December 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–1 11–17–5 27 Recap 34 December 29 @ New York Rangers 1–5 11–18–5 27 Recap
January: 3–8–3, 9 points (home: 3–2–1; road: 0–6–2) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 35 January 1 @ St. Louis Blues 4–4 11–18–6 28 Recap 36 January 2 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–6 11–19–6 28 Recap 37 January 6 St. Louis Blues 2–3 11–20–6 28 Recap 38 January 8 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 2–2 11–20–7 29 Recap 39 January 9 California Golden Seals 10–3 12–20–7 31 Recap 40 January 11 @ Detroit Red Wings 0–5 12–21–7 31 Recap 41 January 15 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 12–22–7 31 Recap 42 January 16 Los Angeles Kings 3–3 12–22–8 32 Recap 43 January 20 Chicago Black Hawks 3–2 13–22–8 34 Recap 44 January 22 @ Los Angeles Kings 2–4 13–23–8 34 Recap 45 January 23 @ California Golden Seals 1–3 13–24–8 34 Recap 46 January 27 @ Boston Bruins 2–4 13–25–8 34 Recap 47 January 29 Boston Bruins 2–4 13–26–8 34 Recap 48 January 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 14–26–8 36 Recap
February: 5–6–3, 13 points (home: 2–1–1; road: 3–5–2) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 49 February 3 Detroit Red Wings 5–4 15–26–8 38 Recap 50 February 5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 16–26–8 40 Recap 51 February 6 St. Louis Blues 2–2 16–26–9 41 Recap 52 February 8 @ Vancouver Canucks 3–1 17–26–9 43 Recap 53 February 9 @ California Golden Seals 2–3 17–27–9 43 Recap 54 February 12 @ Minnesota North Stars 1–5 17–28–9 43 Recap 55 February 13 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–4 17–28–10 44 Recap 56 February 16 @ Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 17–28–11 45 Recap 57 February 17 Boston Bruins 1–4 17–29–11 45 Recap 58 February 19 @ Montreal Canadiens 1–3 17–30–11 45 Recap 59 February 20 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 18–30–11 47 Recap 60 February 23 @ New York Rangers 3–4 18–31–11 47 Recap 61 February 26 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 18–32–11 47 Recap 62 February 27 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–1 19–32–11 49 Recap
March: 7–5–2, 16 points (home: 5–3–1; road: 2–2–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 63 March 2 Minnesota North Stars 3–0 20–32–11 51 Recap 64 March 4 St. Louis Blues 6–2 21–32–11 53 Recap 65 March 5 Montreal Canadiens 0–4 21–33–11 53 Recap 66 March 8 @ Vancouver Canucks 6–5 22–33–11 55 Recap 67 March 9 @ Los Angeles Kings 5–3 23–33–11 57 Recap 68 March 11 @ St. Louis Blues 2–4 23–34–11 57 Recap 69 March 13 @ Montreal Canadiens 1–2 23–35–11 57 Recap 70 March 16 Buffalo Sabres 3–3 23–35–12 58 Recap 71 March 18 New York Rangers 3–5 23–36–12 58 Recap 72 March 23 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 23–37–12 58 Recap 73 March 25 California Golden Seals 3–0 24–37–12 60 Recap 74 March 26 Vancouver Canucks 4–1 25–37–12 62 Recap 75 March 28 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–2 25–37–13 63 Recap 76 March 30 Buffalo Sabres 3–1 26–37–13 65 Recap
April: 0–1–1, 1 points (home: 0–0–1; road: 0–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Points Recap 77 April 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 26–37–14 66 Recap 78 April 2 @ Buffalo Sabres 2–3 26–38–14 66 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Bobby Clarke	C	78	35	46	81	22	87
12	Gary Dornhoefer	RW	75	17	32	49	−15	183
17	Simon Nolet	RW	67	23	20	43	6	22
22	Rick Foley†	D	58	11	25	36	−16	168
9	Bob Kelly	LW	78	14	15	29	16	157
20	Jim Johnson‡	C	46	13	15	28	−21	12
21	Serge Bernier‡	C	44	12	11	23	−20	51
10[a]	Bill Clement	C	49	9	14	23	−14	39
5	Brent Hughes	D	63	2	20	22	6	35
21	Bill Flett†	RW	31	11	10	21	5	26
4	Barry Ashbee	D	73	6	14	20	2	75
11	Jean-Guy Gendron	LW	56	6	13	19	−2	36
25	Jean Potvin†	D	29	3	12	15	−6	6
18	Ross Lonsberry†	LW	32	7	7	14	−9	22
7	Michel Parizeau†	LW	37	2	12	14	−6	10
18	Bill Lesuk‡	LW	45	7	6	13	−14	31
2	Ed Van Impe	D	73	4	9	13	−8	78
8	Lew Morrison	LW	58	5	5	10	−18	26
14	Joe Watson	D	65	3	7	10	−17	38
20	Eddie Joyal†	C	26	3	4	7	−13	8
24	Dick Sarrazin	RW	28	3	4	7	0	4
3	Willie Brossart	D	42	0	4	4	−7	12
19	Rick MacLeish	C	17	1	2	3	−9	9
15	Larry Mickey‡	RW	14	1	2	3	−5	8
6	Wayne Hillman	D	47	0	3	3	−16	21
23	Larry Keenan†	LW	14	1	1	2	−4	2
25	Pierre Plante	RW	24	1	0	1	−11	15
1	Doug Favell	G	54	0	1	1		32
19[b]	Larry Hale	D	6	0	1	1	−5	0
19	Ralph MacSweyn	D	2	0	1	1	0	0
10	Larry Wright	C	27	0	1	1	−6	2
3	Larry Brown‡	D	12	0	0	0	−3	2
23	Rene Drolet	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0
30	Bruce Gamble‡	G	24	0	0	0		2
3	Jim Mair	D	2	0	0	0	−2	0
24[c]	Don McLeod	G	4	0	0	0		0
25	Don Saleski	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	0
25	Dave Schultz	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0
30	Bobby Taylor	G	6	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
1	Doug Favell	54	52	18	25	9	1655	140	2.81	.915	5	2,985
30	Bruce Gamble‡	24	18	7	8	2	659	58	2.94	.912	2	1,184
30	Bobby Taylor	6	5	1	2	2	193	16	3.00	.917	0	320
24[c]	Don McLeod	4	3	0	3	1	109	14	4.65	.872	0	181

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	Bobby Clarke	[8]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bobby Clarke	[9]
		Simon Nolet

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

Among the team records set during the 1971–72 season was a 19-game winless streak on the road (15 losses and 4 ties) from October 23 to January 27.^[10] On October 31, Simon Nolet became the first Flyer to score three goals in a single period and four points in a single period, both franchise regular season records that have been matched but not exceeded several times, the earliest instance occurring on March 9, 1972, by Bill Flett for the goals record and Flett and Bobby Clarke for the points record.^[11][12] On January 9, the Flyers scored six power play goals during a game against the California Golden Seals, a mark which was later matched during the 1988–89 season.^[13]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Pierre Plante	October 9, 1971	[14]
	Larry Wright
	Bill Clement	December 11, 1971
	Don Saleski	January 11, 1972
	Dave Schultz	January 20, 1972
	Bobby Taylor	February 16, 1972
	Rene Drolet	April 2, 1972

Franchise firsts

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
30-goal season	Bobby Clarke	March 13, 1972	[15]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 19, 1971, the day after the deciding game of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 11, 1972, the day of the deciding game of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals.^[16]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 13, 1971 (1971-06-13)	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Mickey	To Los Angeles Kings Larry Hillman	[17]
September 8, 1971 (1971-09-08)	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To Portland Buckaroos (WHL) Cliff Schmautz	[18]
October 15, 1971 (1971-10-15)	To Philadelphia Flyers Rick Foley	To Chicago Black Hawks Andre Lacroix	[19]
November 16, 1971 (1971-11-16)	To Philadelphia Flyers Larry Keenan	To Buffalo Sabres Larry Mickey	[20]
January 28, 1972 (1972-01-28)	To Philadelphia Flyers Bill Flett Eddie Joyal Ross Lonsberry Jean Potvin	To Los Angeles Kings Serge Bernier Larry Brown Jim Johnson Bill Lesuk	[21]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Via	Ref
June 8, 1971 (1971-06-08)	Larry Brown	New York Rangers	Intra-league draft	[22][23][24]
	Frank Spring	Boston Bruins	Intra-league draft	[22][24][23][25]
June 9, 1971 (1971-06-09)	Don McLeod	Detroit Red Wings	Reverse draft[d]	[26][27]
July 1971 (1971-07)	Orest Kindrachuk	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)	Free agency	[28]
September 11, 1971 (1971-09-11)	Bob Hurlburt	Quebec Aces (AHL)	Free agency
December 8, 1971 (1971-12-08)	Michel Parizeau	St. Louis Blues	Waivers	[29]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via	Ref
June 8, 1971 (1971-06-08)	Garry Peters	Boston Bruins	Intra-league draft	[22][23][30]
September 20, 1971 (1971-09-20)	Keith Wright		Release
February 9, 1972 (1972-02-09)	Bruce Gamble		Retirement[e]	[31]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
August 7, 1971 (1971-08-07)	Pierre Plante	2-year	[32]
August 16, 1971 (1971-08-16)	Bruce Gamble		[33]
September 2, 1971 (1971-09-02)	Larry Brown		[34]
	Bob Kelly		[34]
	Rick MacLeish		[34]
September 5, 1971 (1971-09-05)	Jim Johnson		[35]
	Lew Morrison		[35]
	Joe Watson		[35]
September 7, 1971 (1971-09-07)	Gary Dornhoefer		[36]
	Wayne Hillman		[36]
	Danny Schock		[36]
	Frank Spring		[36]
	Ed Van Impe		[36]
September 8, 1971 (1971-09-08)	Serge Bernier		[18]
	Jean-Guy Gendron		[18]
	Bill Lesuk		[18]
	Larry Mickey		[18]
September 10, 1971 (1971-09-10)	Andre Lacroix
October 7, 1971 (1971-10-07)	Doug Favell
March 20, 1972 (1972-03-20)	Bobby Clarke	5-year extension	[32]
N/A	Glen Irwin	2-year	[32]
	Don McCulloch	2-year	[32]
	Larry Wright	2-year	[32]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1971 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 10, 1971.^[37]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	8	Larry Wright	Center	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
1	9	Pierre Plante	Right wing	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QMJHL)	[f]
3	36	Glen Irwin	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
4	50	Ted Scharf	Right wing	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
5	64	Don McCulloch	Defense	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
6	78	Yvon Bilodeau	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
7	92	Bobby Gerrard	Right wing	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
8	106	Jerome Mrazek	Goaltender	Canada	University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL,^[39][40] the San Diego Gulls of the WHL,^[41] and the Jersey Devils and Salem Rebels of the EHL.^[41]

Notes

1. Clement wore number 15 through January 16.
2. Hale wore number 23 in his first four games.
3. McLeod wore number 30 in his first two games.
4. McLeod was claimed by the Quebec Aces, the Flyers' AHL affiliate.
5. Gamble suffered a career-ending heart attack during a game played on February 8, 1972.
6. The Flyers acquired the 9th overall pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Bruce Gamble and Mike Walton for Bernie Parent and the Flyers' second-round pick, 22nd overall, on January 31, 1971.^[38]