1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 21st season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Washington Capitals in seven games.

1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	4th Wales
1987–88 record	38–33–9
Home record	20–14–6
Road record	18–19–3
Goals for	292 (12th)
Goals against	292 (9th)
Team information
President	Jay Snider
General manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Dave Poulin
Alternate captains	Mark Howe Brad Marsh
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,405[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears Flint Spirits
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Tocchet (31)
Assists	Brian Propp (49)
Points	Murray Craven (70) Brian Propp (70)
Penalty minutes	Rick Tocchet (299)
Plus/minus	Kjell Samuelsson (+28)
Wins	Ron Hextall (30)
Goals against average	Ron Hextall (3.51)

Regular season

The season was one of many ups and downs. With Ron Hextall lost to an eight-game suspension to start the year after slashing Kent Nilsson in the Stanley Cup Finals, Tim Kerr lost indefinitely with a shoulder problem, and Brad McCrimmon traded to Calgary over a salary dispute, the club limped to a 3–6–2 record in October.

The free-fall continued until late November. After blowing a 4–1 lead into a 6–4 loss to the Islanders at home on November 21, the Flyers were at 6–13–3 and last in the division. However, just as quickly, the club rebounded with a 14-game unbeaten streak (12–0–2) from November 25 to December 26 – despite losing out to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Paul Coffey sweepstakes. The run was highlighted by Hextall becoming the first goaltender to shoot the puck into the opposing team's net on December 8, a game-winning two-man short tally by Murray Craven in Winnipeg on December 13, and a post-Christmas comeback win against the Capitals.

A 6–0–1 run through late February and early March saw Rick Tocchet post three hat tricks in a span of four games (Detroit, at Los Angeles, at Vancouver). On February 23, the club set a still-standing franchise road record with 11 goals in an amazing 11–6 win in Detroit, including a team-record 7 third-period tallies.

After a 7–3 win over the Canucks March 1, the Flyers finished the year in free-fall due to almost daily injuries, going 4–11–2, ending up the lower seed in a second-place tie with Washington. Kerr returned to the lineup finally on March 10, but was unable to find his range before the playoffs began.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
New York Islanders	80	39	31	10	308	267	88
Philadelphia Flyers	80	38	33	9	292	292	85
Washington Capitals	80	38	33	9	281	249	85
New Jersey Devils	80	38	36	6	295	296	82
New York Rangers	80	36	34	10	300	283	82
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	36	35	9	319	316	81

[2]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

In their first round playoff series with the Washington Capitals, the Flyers blew a 3–1 series lead as Washington forced a Game 7. They then blew a 3–0 lead in Game 7 as Washington won 5-4, in overtime.

Afterwards, general manager Bob Clarke fired head coach Mike Keenan citing a lack of enthusiasm from the club to continue playing for him.[3]

Schedule and results

Regular season

1987–88 regular season
October: 3–6–2, 8 Points (Home: 1–4–1; Road: 2–2–1)
November: 5–7–1, 11 Points (Home: 4–3–1; Road: 1–4–0)
December: 10–2–2, 22 Points (Home: 5–0–1; Road: 5–2–1)
January: 8–5–1, 17 Points (Home: 4–4–0; Road: 4–1–1)
February: 7–2–1, 15 Points (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 4–1–0)
March: 4–11–1, 9 Points (Home: 3–3–1; Road: 1–8–0)
April: 1–0–1, 3 Points (Home: 0–0–1; Road: 1–0–0)
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1988 Stanley Cup playoffs
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. Washington Capitals - Capitals win 4–3
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
32	Murray Craven	23	LW	72	30	46	76	25	58	7	2	5	7	1	4
26	Brian Propp	28	LW	74	27	49	76	8	76	7	4	2	6	2	8
22	Rick Tocchet	23	RW	65	31	33	64	3	299	5	1	4	5	−1	55
2	Mark Howe	32	D	75	19	43	62	23	62	7	3	6	9	7	4
25	Peter Zezel	22	C	69	22	35	57	7	42	7	3	2	5	0	7
19	Scott Mellanby	21	RW	75	25	26	51	−7	185	7	0	1	1	−6	16
20	Dave Poulin	29	C	68	19	32	51	17	32	7	2	6	8	5	4
23	Ilkka Sinisalo	29	RW	68	25	17	42	2	30	7	4	2	6	4	0
9	Pelle Eklund	24	C	71	10	32	42	−6	12	7	0	3	3	4	0
3	Doug Crossman	27	D	76	9	29	38	−1	43	7	1	1	2	−9	8
14	Ron Sutter	24	C	69	8	25	33	−9	146	7	0	1	1	−7	26
28	Kjell Samuelsson	29	D	74	6	24	30	28	184	7	2	5	7	8	23
24	Derrick Smith	23	LW	76	16	8	24	−20	104	7	0	0	0	−7	6
5	Kerry Huffman	20	D	52	6	17	23	−11	34	2	0	0	0	0	0
21	Dave Brown	25	RW	47	12	5	17	10	114	7	1	0	1	−4	27
44, 47	Willie Huber	30	D	10	4	9	13	−2	16	5	0	0	0	−3	2
8	Brad Marsh	29	D	70	3	9	12	−13	57	7	1	0	1	−8	8
18	Lindsay Carson	27	C	36	2	7	9	−4	37	—	—	—	—	—	—
7	Brian Dobbin	21	RW	21	3	5	8	−1	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Ron Hextall	23	G	62	1	6	7	N/A	104	7	0	2	2	N/A	30
6, 40	Greg Smyth	21	D	48	1	6	7	−2	192	5	0	0	0	1	38
10	Magnus Roupe	24	LW	33	2	4	6	−6	32	—	—	—	—	—	—
17, 34	Craig Berube	22	LW	27	3	2	5	1	108	—	—	—	—	—	—
12	Tim Kerr	28	RW	8	3	2	5	0	12	6	1	3	4	−2	4
18	Paul Lawless	23	LW	8	0	5	5	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	J. J. Daigneault	22	D	28	2	2	4	−8	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Don Nachbaur	29	C	20	0	4	4	2	61	2	0	0	0	−1	2
34, 48	Bill Root	28	D	24	1	2	3	3	16	2	0	0	0	0	2
36	Gordie Roberts	30	D	11	1	2	3	7	15	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Al Hill	32	LW	12	1	0	1	0	10	1	0	1	1	1	4
11	Glen Seabrooke	20	LW	6	0	1	1	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Nick Fotiu	35	LW	23	0	0	0	−9	40	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Mark Laforest	25	G	21	0	0	0	N/A	8	2	0	0	0	N/A	10
30	Wendell Young	24	G	6	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	David Fenyves	27	D	5	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Mitch Lamoureux	25	C	3	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
6, 40	Jeff Chychrun	21	D	3	0	0	0	−1	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	John Stevens	21	D	3	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Mike Stothers	25	D	3	0	0	0	−1	13	—	—	—	—	—	—
45	Mark Freer	19	C	1	0	0	0	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Mike Murray	21	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Steve Smith	24	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

			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
27	Ron Hextall	23	62	61	30	22	7	1816	208	3.51	.885	0	3,557:07	7	7	2	4	196	30	4.75	.847	0	379:02
33	Mark Laforest	25	21	14	5	9	2	476	60	3.72	.874	1	968:35	2	0	1	0	12	1	1.25	.917	0	48:04
30	Wendell Young	24	6	5	3	2	0	148	20	3.76	.865	0	319:19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Lester Patrick Trophy	Keith Allen	[4]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Ron Hextall[lower-alpha 1]	[5][6]
		Mark Howe
		Mike Keenan (Coach)
		Dave Poulin
		Kjell Samuelsson
	NHL Player of the Week	Ron Hextall (December 14)	[7]
		Mark Howe (December 28)	[8]
		Ron Hextall (January 18)	[9]
		Rick Tocchet (February 28)	[10]
		Rick Tocchet (March 10)	[11]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Mark Howe	[12]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Ron Hextall	[12]
	Class Guy Award	Rick Tocchet	[12]

Records

•    Tied for NHL record

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1987–88 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Date(s)	Opponent	Ref
Goals scored	Game	4[lower-alpha 2]	Rick Tocchet	2/27/1988	Los Angeles Kings	[13]
Penalties	Game	8	Don Nachbaur	3/19/1988	Pittsburgh Penguins	[14]
Powerplay goals scored by a defenseman	Season	8[lower-alpha 3]	Mark Howe	—	—	[15]
Goals against	Season	208	Ron Hextall	—	—	[16]
Goals scored by a goaltender	Season	1	Ron Hextall	—	—	[16]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1987–88 season

Record	Type	Total	Refs
Fewest road ties	Season	3[lower-alpha 4]	[17]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 1, 1987, the day after the deciding game of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 26, 1988, the day of the deciding game of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals.[18]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 13, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Mark Laforest	To Detroit Red Wings 2nd-round pick in 1987	[19]
June 13, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 1989	To Vancouver Canucks Vancouver's 5th-round pick in 1987	[20]
July 21, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers future considerations	To New York Rangers Jeff Brubaker	[21]
August 26, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1989 3rd-round pick in 1988	To Calgary Flames Brad McCrimmon	[22]
August 31, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers Wendell Young 3rd-round pick in 1990	To Vancouver Canucks Darren Jensen Daryl Stanley	[23]
December 4, 1987	To Philadelphia Flyers 5th-round pick in 1989	To Toronto Maple Leafs Mike Stothers	[24][25]
January 22, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Paul Lawless	To Hartford Whalers Lindsay Carson	[26]
February 9, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Gordie Roberts	To Minnesota North Stars 4th-round pick in 1988 or 1989[lower-alpha 5]	[27]
March 1, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers Willie Huber	To Vancouver Canucks Paul Lawless Vancouver's 5th-round pick in 1989	[28]
March 8, 1988	To Philadelphia Flyers 4th or 5th-round pick in 1989[lower-alpha 6]	To St. Louis Blues Gordie Roberts	[29]

Free agency

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

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
July 21, 1987	Don Biggs	Edmonton Oilers		[21]
August 19, 1987	Mark Lofthouse	Los Angeles Kings		[31]
October 30, 1987	Nick Fotiu	Calgary Flames	1-year	[32]
April 20, 1988	Michael Boyce	Merrimack College (NCAA)		[33]

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
November 17, 1987	Ron Hextall	multi-year	[34]

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions. They were involved in three selections during the 1987 NHL Waiver Draft, which was held on October 5, 1987.[35][36] The Flyers left the following players unprotected: Ray Allison, Thomas Eriksson, Ross Fitzpatrick, Al Hill, Ed Hospodar, Mitch Lamoureux, Mark Lofthouse, Kevin Maxwell, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Smith, and Tim Tookey.[37]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
October 5, 1987	Tim Tookey	to Los Angeles Kings	[36]
October 5, 1987	Ed Hospodar	to Buffalo Sabres	[36]
October 5, 1987	David Fenyves[lower-alpha 7]	from Buffalo Sabres	[36]
November 26, 1987	Bill Root	from St. Louis Blues	[38]

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 1987	Glenn Resch	—	Retirement[lower-alpha 8]	[19][39]
October 3, 1987	Steve Martinson	Detroit Red Wings	Free agency	[40]
N/A	Jere Gillis	Brunico SG (Serie A)	Free agency	[41]

Draft picks

NHL Entry Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on June 13, 1987.[42] The Flyers traded their second-round pick, 41st overall, to the Detroit Red Wings for Mark Laforest on June 13, 1987.[43]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	20	Darren Rumble	Defense	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2	30	Jeff Harding	Right Wing	Canada	St. Michael's Buzzers (Toronto)	[lower-alpha 9]
3	62	Martin Hostak	Right Wing	Czech Republic	Sparta Praha (Czech)
4	83	Tomaz Eriksson	Left Wing	Sweden	Djurgardens IF (Elitserien)
5	104	Bill Gall	Defense	United States	New Hampton School (N.H.)
6	125	Tony Link	Defense	United States	Dimond High School (Alaska)
7	146	Marc Strapon	Defense	United States	Hayward High School (Wisconsin)
8	167	Darryl Ingham	Right Wing	Canada	University of Manitoba (CIAU)
9	188	Bruce MacDonald	Right Wing	United States	Loomis Chaffee School (Conn.)
10	209	Steve Morrow	Defense	United States	Westminster School (Conn.)
11	230	Darius Rusnak	Center	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
12	251	Dale Roehl	Goaltender	United States	Minnetonka High School (Minn.)

NHL Supplemental Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft.[44][45]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)
2	21	David Whyte	Left Wing	United States	Boston College (HE)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL[46] and the Flint Spirits of the IHL.[47] Led by the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award winner as coach of the year (John Paddock), the Eddie Shore Award winner as top defenseman (Dave Fenyves), and the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as top goaltender (Wendell Young), Hershey finished first in their division and swept their way through the playoffs with a 12–0 record to a Calder Cup championship. Young was given the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.[48] In their only season as a Flyers affiliate, Flint finished fourth in the playoffs and lost in the finals to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles in six games.

Notes

1. Voted starting Goaltender
2. Tied fifteen times by eight different players. See List of Philadelphia Flyers records
3. Tied by Eric Desjardins during the 1999–2000 season and Shayne Gostisbehere during the 2015–16 season.
4. Tied mark set during the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons.
5. The Flyers had the choice of which year to send to Minnesota.[27] The Flyers chose the 1989 draft pick.
6. The Flyers would receive St. Louis' 4th-round pick if the Blues advanced past the first round of the playoffs,[29] which they did.[30]
7. The Sabres removed Fenyves from their protected list after they claimed Hospodar and the Flyers claimed Fenyves in lieu of cash.
8. No official announcement
9. The Flyers acquired a second-round pick, 30th overall, from the Quebec Nordiques for a 1986 second-round pick on June 21, 1986.[43]

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. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
3. Fleischman, Bill (May 12, 1988). "'Toughest Decision' Dumps Flyer Coach". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
4. "Lester Patrick Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
5. "39th NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
6. "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
7. "BRIEFS". The Pantagraph. December 15, 1987. Retrieved August 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "FOR THE RECORD". The Washington Post. December 29, 1987. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
9. "Sports Digest". UPI. January 18, 1988. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
10. Fachet, Robert (March 1, 1988). "ARLEDGE SAYS NHL SHOULD SEND PROS". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
11. Parrillo, Ray (March 11, 1988). "Flyers Overcome The Caps, 5-2". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
12. "Flyers History – Team Awards". P.Anson. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
13. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 263
14. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 264
15. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
16. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
17. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 244
18. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
19. Morganti, Al (June 14, 1987). "Flyers Acquire Goalie Laforest From The Red Wings". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
20. 2014–2015 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 271
21. "Flyers Sign Center Biggs, Deal Brubaker To Rangers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 22, 1987. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
22. Fleischman, Bill (August 27, 1987). "Mccrimmon Isn't Caught Off Guard But Ex-flyer Refutes Clarke, Says He Didn't Request Trade". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
23. Greenberg, Jay (September 1, 1987). "Trade To Canucks Might Be Good Break For Jensen". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
24. "Michael Stothers - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
25. Missanelli, M. G. (June 22, 1988). "Flyers Trade For Stothers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
26. Miles, Gary (January 23, 1988). "Flyers Trade Carson For Whalers' Lawless". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
27. Parrillo, Ray (February 10, 1988). "Flyers Acquire Roberts From Stars". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
28. Parrillo, Ray (March 2, 1988). "Flyers Trade For Canucks' Huber". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
29. Greenberg, Jay (March 9, 1988). "Roberts Shipped To St. Louis". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
30. "1988 NHL Playoff Summary". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
31. "One-game Football Playoff On Ncaa Officials' Minds". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 20, 1987. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
32. Greenberg, Jay (October 31, 1987). "Flyers Acquire Fotiu". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
33. "Paper Reports Tulane To Reinstate Basketball". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 21, 1988. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
34. Greenberg, Jay (November 18, 1987). "Hextall Agrees To New Deal". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
35. Parsons, Mark (November 30, 2013). "1987 NHL Waiver Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
36. Morganti, Al (October 6, 1987). "Hospodar Taken By Sabres". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
37. Morganti, Al (October 5, 1987). "Hospodar Could Be Lost In Nhl Waiver Draft". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
38. "William Root - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
39. Hofmann, Rich (June 1, 1988). "Final Number: Resch Sings Hextall's Praises". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
40. "Steve Martinson - Notes". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
41. Jere Gillis biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved March 30, 2015
42. "1987 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
43. "1987 NHL Entry Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
44. "1987 NHL Supplemental Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
45. "1987 NHL Supplemental Draft -- Round 2 Selections". HockeyDraftCentral.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
46. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
47. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
48. "AHL Season Overview: 1987–88". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.