1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals for the third consecutive year, but they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep.

1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers
Campbell Conference champions
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Campbell
1975–76 record	51–13–16
Home record	36–2–2
Road record	15–11–14
Goals for	348 (1st)
Goals against	209 (3rd)
Team information
President	Joe Scott
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Fred Shero
Captain	Bobby Clarke
Alternate captains	None[lower-alpha 1]
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,077[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Richmond Robins Philadelphia Firebirds
Team leaders
Goals	Reggie Leach (61)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (89)
Points	Bobby Clarke (119)
Penalty minutes	Dave Schultz (307)
Plus/minus	Bobby Clarke (+83)
Wins	Wayne Stephenson (40)
Goals against average	Gary Inness (1.51)

Regular season

The Flyers recorded the best record in team history (points wise) with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76. They also tied the record set by the 1929–30 Boston Bruins for most consecutive home ice wins, with 20. The LCB line, featuring Reggie Leach at right-wing, Bobby Clarke at center, and Bill Barber at left-wing, set an NHL record for goals by a single line with 141 (Leach 61, Clarke 30, Barber 50). Clarke, on his way to a third Hart Trophy, set a club record for points in one season with 119.

The highlight of the season had no bearing on the season standings. On January 11 at the Spectrum, the Flyers, as part of the Super Series '76, played a memorable exhibition game against the Soviet Union's dominant Central Red Army team. As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit by Ed Van Impe on Valeri Kharlamov (whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous Summit Series '72). After some delay, the Soviets returned after they were warned that they would lose their salary for the entire series. The Flyers went on to win the game rather easily, 4–1, and were the only team to defeat the Red Army outright in the series. Head coach Fred Shero would proclaim, "Yes we are world champions. If they had won, they would have been world champions. We beat the hell out of a machine."[2]

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	51	13	16	348	209	118
New York Islanders	80	42	21	17	297	190	101
Atlanta Flames	80	35	33	12	262	237	82
New York Rangers	80	29	42	9	262	333	67

[3]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

Heading into the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked past Toronto in seven games and defeated Boston in five games, Game 5 featuring a five-goal outburst by Leach, the Riverton Rifle, to head to a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Flyers didn't come close to a third straight championship, as they ran into an up-and-coming dynasty in Montreal, and were swept in four straight games. Despite the loss, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring 19 goals in 16 playoff games.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1975–76 regular season
October: 7–1–2, 16 Points (Home: 5–0–0; Road: 2–1–2)
November: 9–2–4, 22 Points (Home: 8–1–2; Road: 1–1–2)
December: 6–3–2, 14 Points (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 3–2–2)
January: 8–4–2, 18 Points (Home: 4–0–0; Road: 4–4–2)
February: 10–0–4, 24 Points (Home: 7–0–1; Road: 3–0–3)
March: 9–2–2, 20 Points (Home: 7–0–0; Road: 2–2–2)
April: 2–1–0, 4 Points (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–0–0)
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1976 Stanley Cup playoffs
Quarterfinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – Flyers win 4–3
Semifinals vs. Boston Bruins – Flyers win 4–1
Stanley Cup Finals vs. Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–0
Legend:   Win   Loss

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.

				Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
16	Bobby Clarke	26	C	76	30	89	119	83	136	16	2	14	16	11	28
7	Bill Barber	23	LW	80	50	62	112	74	104	16	6	7	13	9	18
27	Reggie Leach	25	RW	80	61	30	91	73	41	16	19	5	24	14	8
26	Orest Kindrachuk	25	C	76	26	49	75	32	101	16	4	7	11	3	4
12	Gary Dornhoefer	32	RW	74	28	35	63	14	128	16	3	4	7	0	43
10	Mel Bridgman	20	C	80	23	27	50	22	86	16	6	8	14	1	31
11	Don Saleski	26	RW	78	21	26	47	33	68	16	6	5	11	8	47
18	Ross Lonsberry	28	LW	80	19	28	47	29	87	16	4	3	7	−3	2
19	Rick MacLeish	26	C	51	22	23	45	6	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Larry Goodenough	23	D	77	8	34	42	45	83	16	3	11	14	8	6
3	Tom Bladon	23	D	80	14	23	37	45	68	16	2	6	8	2	14
6	Andre Dupont	26	D	75	9	27	36	40	214	15	2	2	4	14	46
20	Jimmy Watson	23	D	79	2	34	36	65	66	16	1	8	9	11	6
8	Dave Schultz	26	LW	71	13	19	32	24	307	16	2	2	4	7	90
14	Joe Watson	32	D	78	2	22	24	56	28	16	1	1	2	−1	10
9	Bob Kelly	25	LW	79	12	8	20	3	125	16	0	2	2	1	44
15	Terry Crisp	32	C	38	6	9	15	6	28	10	0	5	5	4	2
2	Ed Van Impe	35	D	40	0	8	8	16	60	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Jack McIlhargey	23	D	57	1	2	3	11	205	15	0	3	3	5	41
21	Larry Wright	24	C	2	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Wayne Stephenson	31	G	66	0	0	0	N/A	11	8	0	0	0	N/A	0
1	Bernie Parent	30	G	11	0	0	0	N/A	2	8	0	0	0	N/A	0
30	Bobby Taylor	31	G	4	0	0	0	N/A	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Terry Murray	25	D	3	0	0	0	0	2	6	0	1	1	2	0
30	Gary Inness	26	G	2	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Jerome Mrazek	24	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Bob Sirois	21	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
17	Paul Holmgren	20	RW	1	0	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

• = 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.

			Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Wayne Stephenson	31	66	64	40	10	14	1774	164	2.58	.908	1	3,810:32	8	8	4	4	228	22	2.69	.904	0	490:52
1	Bernie Parent	30	11	10	6	2	2	259	24	2.35	.907	0	613:38	8	8	4	4	250	27	3.40	.892	0	476:33
30	Bobby Taylor	31	4	4	3	1	0	125	15	3.75	.880	0	240:00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Gary Inness	26	2	2	2	0	0	60	3	1.51	.950	0	119:32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Jerome Mrazek	24	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	9.55	.500	0	6:17	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Conn Smythe Trophy	Reggie Leach	[4]
	Hart Memorial Trophy	Bobby Clarke	[5]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Bill Barber (Left Wing)	[6]
		Bobby Clarke (Center)
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Reggie Leach (Right Wing)	[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bill Barber	[7][8]
		Bobby Clarke[lower-alpha 2]
		Andre Dupont
		Reggie Leach
		Rick MacLeish[lower-alpha 2]
		Fred Shero (Coach)
		Wayne Stephenson
		Jim Watson
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Jim Watson	[9]
Miscellaneous	Lionel Conacher Award	Bobby Clarke	[10]
	Lou Marsh Trophy	Bobby Clarke	[11]

Records

•    NHL record
•    Tied for NHL record

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1975–76 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Date(s)	Opponent	Ref
Games with an assist	Streak	12[lower-alpha 3]	Bobby Clarke	3/11/1976 – 4/3/1976	—	[12]
Goals scored	Season	61	Reggie Leach	—	—	[13]
Assists	Season	89[lower-alpha 4]	Bobby Clarke	—	—	[13]
Shots on goal	Season	380	Bill Barber	—	—	[13]
Assists per game	Season	1.17	Bobby Clarke	—	—	[14]
Penalties in minutes, playoffs	Game	42	Dave Schultz	4/22/1976	Toronto Maple Leafs	[15]
Penalties in minutes, playoffs	Series	116	Dave Schultz	—	Toronto Maple Leafs	[16]
Goals scored, playoffs	Game	5	Reggie Leach	5/6/1976	Boston Bruins	[15]
Assists, playoffs	Game	4[lower-alpha 5]	Bobby Clarke	5/6/1976	Boston Bruins	[15]
Games with a goal, playoffs	Streak	10	Reggie Leach	4/17/1976 – 5/9/1976	—	[15]
Goals scored, playoffs	Season	19	Reggie Leach	—	—	[17]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1975–76 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Opponent	Player(s)	Refs
Games won at home	Streak	20	1/4/1976 – 4/3/1976	—	—	[18][19]
Most wins at home	Season	36	—	—	—	[20]
Fewest losses at home	Season	2	—	—	—	[20]
Most points	Season	118	—	—	—	[21]
Best points percentage	Season	.738	—	—	—	[21]
Goals scored by a line	Season	141	—	—	Reggie Leach (61)	[12]
					Bill Barber (50)
					Bobby Clarke (30)
Points by a line	Season	322	—	—	Bobby Clarke (119)	[12]
					Bill Barber (112)
					Reggie Leach (91)
Penalties in minutes, playoffs	Game	107	4/15/1976	Toronto Maple Leafs	—	[22]
Fastest two goals, playoffs	Game	0:13	4/20/1976	Toronto Maple Leafs	Gary Dornhoefer	[22]
					Don Saleski
Goals scored, playoffs	Period	5[lower-alpha 6]	4/25/1976	Toronto Maple Leafs	—	[16]

Milestones

Franchise firsts

Milestone	Player	Details	Date	Ref
60-goal season	Reggie Leach	Even-strength goal at 10:06 of the second period against Ron Low	April 1, 1976	[23]
5-goal game, playoffs	Reggie Leach	1: Even-strength goal at 5:45 of the first period against Gilles Gilbert	May 6, 1976	[24]
		2: Even-strength goal at 2:02 of the second period against Gilbert
		3: Even-strength goal at 8:51 of the second period against Gilbert
		4: Even-strength goal at 17:09 of the second period against Gilbert
		5: Even-strength goal at 8:07 of the third period against Gilbert

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 28, 1975, the day after the deciding game of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 16, 1976, the day of the deciding game of the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals.[25]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 3, 1975	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1975	To Washington Capitals Bill Clement Don McLean 1st-round pick in 1975	[26]
December 15, 1975	To Philadelphia Flyers future considerations[lower-alpha 7]	To Washington Capitals Bob Sirois	[27]
March 9, 1976	To Philadelphia Flyers Gary Inness future considerations[lower-alpha 8]	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bobby Taylor Ed Van Impe	[28]

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency.

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
August 6, 1975	Dave Kelly	Providence College (HE)		[29]
September 10, 1975	Larry Wright	California Golden Seals		[30]
September 10, 1975	Wayne Schaab	Omaha Knights (CHL)		[30]
September 23, 1975	Terry Murray	California Golden Seals		[31]

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to contracts.

Date	Player	Term	Ref
June 6, 1975	Mel Bridgman (DP)	5-year	[32]
August 6, 1975	Bob Ritchie (DP)		[29]
September 5, 1975	Dave Schultz	5-year	[33]
September 16, 1975	Orest Kindrachuk	multi-year
March 7, 1976	Paul Holmgren (DP)	multi-year	[34]

NHL Intra-League Draft

The 1975 NHL Intra-League Draft was held on June 17, 1975.[35] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.[35] It cost $40,000 to make a claim.[35] The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.[35]

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 (*).

Date	Player	New team (league)	Via	Ref
June 2, 1975	Ted Harris	—	Retirement	[36]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the NHL's office in Montreal, Quebec, on June 3, 1975.[37] The Flyers traded their second-round pick, 36th overall, along with the rights to Randy Andreachuk to the St. Louis Blues for Wayne Stephenson on September 16, 1974.[38]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	1	Mel Bridgman	Center	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)	[lower-alpha 9]
3	54	Bob Ritchie	Left Wing	Canada	Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
4	72	Rick St. Croix	Goaltender	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
5	90	Gary Morrison	Forward	United States	University of Michigan (CCHA)
6	108	Paul Holmgren	Forward	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
7	126	Dana Decker	Left Wing	United States	Michigan Tech University (WCHA)
9	160	Viktor Khatulev	Defense	Latvia	Dynamo Riga (USSR)
10	175	Duffy Smith	Defense	Canada	Bowling Green State University (CCHA)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL[39][40] and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL.[41]

Notes

1. The alternate captain position was abolished from the 1975–76 season through the 1984–85 season.
2. Clarke did not play and was replaced by MacLeish.
3. Clarke tied this record during the 1977–78 season.
4. Clarke tied his assist total from the 1974–75 season.
5. Tied five times by five different players. See List of Philadelphia Flyers records.
6. Tied four times. See List of Philadelphia Flyers records.
7. The Capitals sent John Paddock to the Flyers on September 1, 1976, to complete trade.[27]
8. The Flyers later received the Penguins' 1977 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th-round picks to complete the trade.
9. The Flyers acquired the 1st overall pick from the Washington Capitals for Bill Clement, Don McLean and the Flyers' first-round pick, 18th overall, on June 3, 1975.[38]

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific

1. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
2. "Flyers History – Historic Moments". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
3. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
4. "Conn Smythe Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
5. "Hart Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
6. 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 230–32
7. "29th NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
8. "Flyers History – All-Star Game Representatives". P.Anson. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
9. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
10. Sufrin, Mel (1975-12-18). "Clarke named outstanding male athlete". Regina Leader-Post. p. 25. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
11. "Lou Marsh winners". Toronto Star. December 9, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
12. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 263
13. "NHL.com – Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
14. "Philadelphia Flyers Season Leaders – Hockey-Reference.com". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
15. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 350
16. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 349
17. "NHL.com – Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
18. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 259
19. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 260
20. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 244
21. "NHL.com – Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
22. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 348
23. "Flyers History – Philadelphia Flyer Goal Season List". P.Anson. Retrieved August 12, 2015. Goal List for Reggie Leach 1975–76 Season
24. "Flyers History – Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". P.Anson. Retrieved August 14, 2015. 6-May-76 Boston Bruins 3 @ Philadelphia Flyers 6
25. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
26. "Flyers Trade Clement For First Draft Choice" (PDF). UPI. Watertown Daily Times. June 4, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
27. "Robert Sirois – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
28. "Van Impe won't go to Pittsburgh after trade". AP. Chicago Tribune. March 10, 1976. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
29. "Philly Flyers Ink Ritchie and Kelly". AP. The Gettysburg Times. August 7, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
30. "no title". Bucks County Courier Times. September 11, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Cite uses generic title (help)
31. "Terry Murray – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
32. "NHL champion Flyers sign top draft choice". UPI. Pocono Record. June 7, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Schultz a rich fighter". AP. Brandon Sun. September 6, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
34. "Flyers Sign Holmgren". AP. Silver City Daily Press. March 8, 1976. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
35. Parsons, Mark (November 24, 2012). "1975 NHL Intra-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
36. "Harris named coach of North Stars". AP. Fergus Falls Daily Journal. June 2, 1975. Retrieved December 17, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
37. "1975 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
38. "1975 NHL Amateur Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
39. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
40. "AHL Season Overview: 1975–76". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
41. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.

External links

• Mulvoy, Mark (January 19, 1976). "This Was Détente, Philly Style". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 8, 2014.