1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 12th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	2nd Patrick
Conference	2nd Campbell
1978–79 record	40–25–15
Home record	26–10–4
Road record	14–15–11
Goals for	281 (8th)
Goals against	248 (3rd)
Team information
President	Joe Scott
General manager	Keith Allen
Coach	Bob McCammon (fired)[lower-alpha 1] Pat Quinn[lower-alpha 1]
Captain	Bobby Clarke
Alternate captains	None[lower-alpha 2]
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,077[2]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Maine Mariners Milwaukee Admirals Jersey Aces
Team leaders
Goals	Bill Barber (34) Reggie Leach (34)
Assists	Bobby Clarke (57)
Points	Bill Barber (87)
Penalty minutes	Behn Wilson (197)
Plus/minus	Blake Dunlop (+27)
Wins	Wayne Stephenson (20)
Goals against average	Robbie Moore (1.77)

Off-season

Head coach Fred Shero, who had one more year left on his contract, submitted a letter of resignation on May 22, 1978,[3] stating that the Flyers needed a change whether they realized it or not. Flyers management had previously heard rumors about Shero wanting to leave Philadelphia and re-join the New York Rangers organization, and refused to accept his letter of resignation.[4] Shero then signed a $250,000, five-year contract with the Rangers to be their new head coach and general manager, believing he no longer had a contractual agreement to the Flyers.[5] A few weeks after signing Shero, the Rangers gave the Flyers their first-round pick (7th overall) in the 1978 draft and cash as compensation, allowing the Rangers to avoid tampering charges.[4] Bob McCammon, who had just coached the Flyers' first year American Hockey League Maine Mariners farm club to a Calder Cup title, was named Shero's replacement on July 6.[6]

The Flyers acquired the 6th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins for three veterans from their Stanley Cup championship teams — Tom Bladon, Orest Kindrachuk and Ross Lonsberry — on the eve of the draft. The trade gave the Flyers three first-round picks and they selected defenseman Behn Wilson and forwards Ken Linseman and Dan Lucas.

Two other longtime Flyers also left the team during the off-season. Gary Dornhoefer retired and Joe Watson was traded to the Colorado Rockies.

Regular season

After an eight-game winless streak in January that saw the team drop to last place in the division, McCammon and assistant coach Terry Crisp were fired.[1] Replacing him was Shero's previous assistant coach Pat Quinn, who had replaced McCammon as head coach in Maine.[1] While McCammon returned to Maine and coached the Mariners to a second consecutive Calder Cup title, the Flyers rallied under Quinn and finished in 2nd place.

On February 17, 1979, Bernie Parent suffered a career-ending eye injury in a game against the New York Rangers.[7] An errant stick entered the right eye hole of his mask, causing permanent damage to his vision.[7] After hospitalization, including the complete loss of sight for two weeks, Parent recovered and eventually regained sight, although not at the level required to resume his playing career.[7]

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
New York Islanders	80	51	15	14	358	214	116
Philadelphia Flyers	80	40	25	15	281	248	95
New York Rangers	80	40	29	11	316	292	91
Atlanta Flames	80	41	31	8	327	280	90

Playoffs

Matched-up against the Vancouver Canucks in the preliminary round, the Flyers won the series in three games. The Flyers' season came to an end against Shero's Rangers in a five-game quarterfinal loss.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1978–79 regular season
October: 3–4–2, 8 Points (Home: 2–3–0; Road: 1–1–2)
November: 9–4–2, 20 Points (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 5–3–1)
December: 7–5–2, 16 Points (Home: 6–1–0; Road: 1–4–2)
January: 3–4–5, 11 Points (Home: 2–1–3; Road: 1–3–2)
February: 5–2–2, 12 Points (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 2–0–2)
March: 11–4–2, 24 Points (Home: 7–1–0; Road: 4–3–2)
April: 2–2–0, 4 Points (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 0–1–0)
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1979 Stanley Cup playoffs
Preliminary Round vs. Vancouver Canucks – Flyers win 2–1
Quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–1
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
7	Bill Barber	26	LW	79	34	46	80	19	22	8	3	4	7	−1	10
16	Bobby Clarke	29	C	80	16	57	73	12	68	8	2	4	6	−8	8
10	Mel Bridgman	23	C	76	24	35	59	14	184	8	1	2	3	−7	17
19	Rick MacLeish	29	LW	71	26	32	58	4	47	7	0	1	1	−5	0
27	Reggie Leach	28	RW	76	34	20	54	−3	20	8	5	1	6	−9	0
3	Behn Wilson	20	D	80	13	36	49	13	197	5	1	0	1	−6	8
32	Blake Dunlop	25	C	66	20	28	48	27	16	8	1	1	2	−5	4
2	Bob Dailey	25	D	70	9	30	39	21	63	8	1	2	3	0	14
9	Bob Kelly	28	LW	77	7	31	38	15	132	8	1	1	2	−5	10
17	Paul Holmgren	23	RW	57	19	10	29	2	168	8	1	5	6	6	22
26	Ken Linseman	20	C	30	5	20	25	16	23	8	2	6	8	1	22
20	Jimmy Watson	26	D	77	9	13	22	11	52	8	0	2	2	−5	2
5	Rick Lapointe	23	D	77	3	18	21	15	53	7	0	1	1	−4	14
22	Tom Gorence	21	RW	42	13	6	19	16	10	7	3	1	4	−5	0
29	Barry Dean	23	LW	30	4	13	17	−1	20	—	—	—	—	—	—
11	Don Saleski	29	RW	35	11	5	16	3	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
28, 43	Dennis Ververgaert	25	RW	37	9	7	16	−4	6	3	0	2	2	−1	2
15, 37	Al Hill	23	LW	31	5	11	16	5	28	7	1	0	1	−2	2
8	Dave Hoyda	21	LW	67	3	13	16	2	138	3	0	0	0	0	0
6	Andre Dupont	29	D	77	3	9	12	21	135	8	0	0	0	−6	17
23	Paul Evans	24	C	44	6	5	11	−3	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Yves Preston	22	LW	9	3	1	4	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31, 38	Frank Bathe	24	D	21	1	3	4	9	76	6	1	0	1	4	12
28	Drew Callander	22	C	15	2	1	3	−1	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Kevin McCarthy	21	D	22	1	2	3	2	21	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Bernie Parent	33	G	36	0	2	2	N/A	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Danny Lucas	20	LW	6	1	0	1	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Wayne Stephenson	34	G	40	0	1	1	N/A	2	4	0	0	0	N/A	5
39	Robbie Moore	24	G	5	0	1	1	N/A	0	5	0	1	1	N/A	2
24	Terry Murray	28	D	5	0	0	0	0	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Pete Peeters	21	G	5	0	0	0	N/A	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Rick St. Croix	24	G	2	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Glen Cochrane	21	D	1	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
25	Norm Barnes	25	D	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	0	0	0	−2	0

Goaltending

• = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) 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	34	40	36	20	10	5	946	122	3.36	.871	2	2,181:40	4	3	0	3	90	16	4.63	.822	0	207:33
1	Bernie Parent	33	36	36	16	12	7	834	89	2.71	.893	4	1,970:45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Pete Peeters	21	5	4	1	2	1	109	16	3.47	.853	0	276:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Robbie Moore	24	5	3	3	0	1	96	7	1.77	.927	2	237:18	5	5	3	2	123	18	4.06	.854	0	266:12
30	Rick St. Croix	24	2	1	0	1	1	53	6	3.08	.887	0	117:00	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL Second All-Star Team	Bill Barber (Left Wing)	[8]
League (in-season)	Challenge Cup selection	Bill Barber	[9]
		Bobby Clarke
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Bob Dailey	[10]
	Class Guy Award	Bernie Parent	[10]

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1978–79 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Date(s)	Opponent	Ref
Penalties in minutes	Game	55	Frank Bathe	3/11/1979	Los Angeles Kings	[11]
Points by a rookie defenseman	Season	49	Behn Wilson	—	—	[12]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1978–79 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Opponent	Player(s)	Refs
Fastest three goals	Game	0:35	3/1/1979	Boston Bruins	Behn Wilson	[13]
					Blake Dunlop
					Al Hill
Goals against	Period	6[lower-alpha 3]	4/24/1979	New York Rangers	—	[14]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 26, 1978, the day after the deciding game of the 1978 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 21, 1979, the day of the deciding game of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals.[15]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 2, 1978[lower-alpha 4]	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1978 cash	To New York Rangers Fred Shero	[16]
June 14, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1978 future considerations[lower-alpha 5]	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom Bladon Orest Kindrachuk Ross Lonsberry	[17]
June 15, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 1979	To Colorado Rockies 2nd-round pick in 1978
June 15, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers 10th-round pick in 1978 11th-round pick in 1978	To Buffalo Sabres cash
June 15, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers 12th-round pick in 1978	To Chicago Black Hawks cash
August 31, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To Colorado Rockies Joe Watson	[18]
December 29, 1978	To Philadelphia Flyers Dennis Ververgaert	To Vancouver Canucks Drew Callander Kevin McCarthy	[19]
March 3, 1979	To Philadelphia Flyers future considerations	To Colorado Rockies Don Saleski	[20]

Free agency

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

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
September 1978	M. F. Schurman	Spokane Flyers (WIHL)		[21]
October 9, 1978	Yves Preston	Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)		[22]
November 7, 1978	Robbie Moore	University of Western Ontario (OUAA)		[23]
November 20, 1978	Reid Bailey	Port Huron Flags (IHL)		[24]

Waivers

The Flyers were not involved in any waivers transactions. The 1978 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 9, 1978.[25] The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Bernie Parent and Wayne Stephenson, defensemen Bob Dailey, Andre Dupont, Rick Lapointe, Kevin McCarthy, Terry Murray, and Jimmy Watson, and forwards Bill Barber, Mel Bridgman, Drew Callander, Bobby Clarke, Barry Dean, Blake Dunlop, Paul Holmgren, Dave Hoyda, Bob Kelly, Reggie Leach, Rick MacLeish, and Don Saleski.[26]

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
N/A	Gary Dornhoefer	—	Retirement	[27]
July 19, 1978	Brian Burke	—	Retirement
July 22, 1978	Mike Korney	St. Louis Blues	Free agency	[28]

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 15, 1978.[29]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	6	Behn Wilson	Defense	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)	[lower-alpha 6]
1	7	Ken Linseman	Forward	Canada	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)	[lower-alpha 7]
1	14	Dan Lucas	Wing	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
2	33	Mike Simurda	Right Wing	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
3	37	Gord Salt	Right Wing	Canada	Michigan Tech University (WCHA)	[lower-alpha 8]
3	50	Glen Cochrane	Defense	Canada	Victoria Cougars (WCHL)
4	67	Russ Wilderman	Center	Canada	Seattle Breakers (WCHL)
5	83	Brad Tamblyn	Defense	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
6	100	Mark Taylor	Forward	Canada	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
7	117	Mike Ewanouski	Right Wing	United States	Boston College (HE)
8	126	Jerry Price	Goaltender	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WCHL)	[lower-alpha 6]
8	134	Darre Switzer	Left Wing	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
9	151	Greg Francis	Defense	Canada	St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
10	167	Rick Berard	Defense	Canada	Saint Mary's University (CIAU)	[lower-alpha 9]
10	168	Don Lucia	Defense	United States	University of Notre Dame (CCHA)
11	182	Mike Berge	Forward	United States	University of North Dakota (WCHA)	[lower-alpha 9]
11	183	Ken Moore	Goaltender	United States	Clarkson University (ECAC)
12	195	Jim Olson	Right Wing	United States	St. Paul Vulcans (USHL)	[lower-alpha 10]
12	198	Anton Stastny	Forward	Slovakia	Slovan ChZJD Bratislava (CFIHL)	[lower-alpha 11]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Maine Mariners of the AHL,[32][33] the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL,[34] and the Jersey Aces of the NEHL.[34]

Notes

1. McCammon was fired on January 30 and replaced by Quinn. Crisp was also fired.[1]
2. The alternate captain position was abolished from the 1975–76 season through the 1984–85 season.
3. Tied during 1988–89 season.
4. The Flyers received the draft pick and cash as compensation for the Rangers hiring Shero as general manager and head coach.[16]
5. The Flyers later received the Penguins' 1978 8th-round pick.
6. The Flyers acquired the 6th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins along with future considerations (Penguins' eighth-round pick, 126th overall) for Tom Bladon, Ross Lonsberry and Orest Kindrachuk on June 14, 1978.[30]
7. The Flyers received the 7th overall pick from the New York Rangers in exchange for the right to hire head coach Fred Shero on June 2, 1978.[30]
8. The Flyers traded Harvey Bennett to the Minnesota North Stars for Blake Dunlop and the North Stars' third-round pick, 37th overall, on October 28, 1977.[30]
9. The Flyers traded cash to the Buffalo Sabres for the Sabres' tenth and eleventh-round picks on June 15, 1978.[30]
10. The Flyers traded cash to the Chicago Black Hawks for the Black Hawks' twelfth-round pick, 195th overall, on June 15, 1978.[30]
11. Draft pick was ruled invalid after it was determined Stastny was too young to be drafted.[31]

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. "Flyers Ax Coach McCammon, Name Quinn as Replacement". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 31, 1979. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
2. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
3. Juliano, Joe (November 25, 1990). "Fred Shero, Ex-flyers Coach, Dead". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 8, 2014. he announced his resignation on May 22, 1978
4. Karabell, Eric (2008), The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, debatable questions for die-hard fans, Sourcebooks Inc., pp. 235, ISBN 978-1-4022-1412-7
5. Kirshenbaum, Jerry (1978-11-20). "A Revival Is A Smash Off Broadway". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
6. "Flyers hire McCammon". AP. The Free Lance–Star. July 7, 1978. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
7. "Parent's eye injury forces his retirement". AP. Lakeland Ledger. June 1, 1979. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
8. 2014–15 NHL Official Guide & Record Book, p. 230–32
9. "Legends of Hockey – Time Capsule – Pro Classics: Challenge Cup 1979 NHL All-Star Team Roster". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
10. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
11. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 264
12. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 263
13. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 262
14. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 349
15. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
16. "Rangers hire Shero for reported $200,000". AP. Chicago Tribune. June 2, 1978. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
17. "Flyers Trade Three Veterans to Penguins". AP. Kane Republican. June 15, 1978. Retrieved December 14, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Joe Watson – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
19. "Dennis Ververgaert – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
20. "Donald Saleski – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
21. "Maynard Schurman – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
22. "Yves Preston – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
23. "Robert Moore – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
24. "Reid Bailey – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
25. Parsons, Mark (November 8, 2013). "1978 NHL Waiver Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
26. "Winnipeg Free Press, Oct 7, 1978, p.189". October 7, 1978. Retrieved April 4, 2019 – via newspaperarchive.com.
27. Gary Dornhoefer biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved December 14, 2014
28. "Mike Korney – Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
29. "1978 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
30. "1978 NHL Amateur Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
31. "1978 NHL Amateur Draft – Anton Stastny". Hockey Draft Central. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
32. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
33. "AHL Season Overview: 1978–79". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
34. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.