1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 23rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1971–72 season and only the third time in franchise history.

Regular season

The 1989–90 season was one of the most turbulent in franchise history.

Goaltender Ron Hextall had to sit out the first 12-games of the schedule, sentenced after cementing his folk-hero status in the city by crowning Chris Chelios in the waning minutes of Game 6 of the Wales Conference Finals in May. Unfortunately, the layoff plus contract disputes cost him practice time in training camp, and he was felled by groin injuries three separate times during the season.

An ugly 1–6–1 start was reversed despite injuries to Hextall, Brian Propp, Tim Kerr, Mark Howe and others with the team atop the weakened Patrick Division after a win in Montreal just before Christmas.

Little used Tony Horacek posted a hat trick in a 6–3 win in Los Angeles over the Kings on December 30, but the team suffered through a dismal 10-game winless stretch thereafter (0–7–3) from December 31 through January 23. Previous inconsistent play plus the slide cost Dave Poulin his captaincy on December 15,^[3] then forced his trade to Boston for former Flyer Ken Linseman.^[4] The move did not work, and despite breaking the skid with an 8–6 win against the Jets, Holmgren accused his club of quitting during a 7–2 loss at Washington on January 28 - a defeat which put them three points behind the Capitals in last place.

Newly acquired back-up Pete Peeters had his only season highlight with a 3–0 shutout over Toronto on February 15, but he finished the season 1–13–5. On February 28 in Vancouver, the team was lucky to pull out a 7–7 tie after blowing a 5–2 first-period lead. In the interim, Wells was dealt to the Sabres for unknown winger and future NHL referee Kevin Maguire.

Following an inspired win in Calgary on March 1, Propp was traded to the Bruins, and a four-goal game by Mark Messier in a 5–3 loss to Edmonton two days later triggered a four-game losing streak. The nadir of the late-season collapse came on March 17 in Quebec, as the Flyers allowed three third-period goals to drop a 6–3 decision to the Nordiques (who went on to win all of 12 games that year). Inexplicably, with the Islanders and Penguins also taking late-season dives, the Flyers were still alive for the final playoff spot in the division.

A 5–3 home win over Pittsburgh on March 22 got the team within one point of fourth, but they limped to the end of the schedule with an 0–3–2 record. A 6–2 road loss to the Islanders on March 31 eliminated them from the postseason.

It marked the first time in franchise history that the team finished in last place in any division since its 1967 inception.

Among the bright spots, Tocchet led the team with 37 goals and 96 points. Seven players scored 20-or-more goals. Kerr was limited to 40 games but managed 24 goals and 48 points.

General manager Bob Clarke, having been with the Flyers organization since he was drafted in 1969, was fired on April 16.^[5]

Season standings

^[6]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.

Divisions: PTK – Patrick, ADM – Adams

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

Regular season

Player statistics

Skaters

• 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
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
22	Tocchet, RickRick Tocchet	25	RW	75	37	59	96	4	196
32	Craven, MurrayMurray Craven	25	LW	76	25	50	75	2	42
10	Bullard, MikeMike Bullard	28	C	70	27	37	64	0	67
9	Eklund, PellePelle Eklund	26	LW	70	23	39	62	7	16
12	Kerr, TimTim Kerr	30	RW	40	24	24	48	−3	34
14	Sutter, RonRon Sutter	26	C	75	22	26	48	2	104
23	Sinisalo, IlkkaIlkka Sinisalo	31	RW	59	23	23	46	6	26
3	Murphy, GordGord Murphy	22	D	75	14	27	41	−7	95
26	Propp, BrianBrian Propp	30	LW	40	13	15	28	3	31
2	Howe, MarkMark Howe	34	D	40	7	21	28	22	24
25	Acton, KeithKeith Acton	31	C	69	13	14	27	−2	80
19	Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby	23	RW	57	6	17	23	−4	77
28	Samuelsson, KjellKjell Samuelsson	31	D	66	5	17	22	20	91
29	Carkner, TerryTerry Carkner	23	D	63	4	18	22	−8	169
11	Latal, JiriJiri Latal	22	D	32	6	13	19	4	6
7	Wells, JayJay Wells	30	D	59	3	16	19	4	129
17	Berube, CraigCraig Berube	24	LW	74	4	14	18	−7	291
20	Poulin, DaveDave Poulin	31	C	28	9	8	17	5	12
18	Linseman, KenKen Linseman	31	C	29	5	9	14	−7	30
5	Huffman, KerryKerry Huffman	22	D	43	1	12	13	−3	34
21	Horacek, TonyTony Horacek	22	LW	48	5	5	10	6	117
24	Smith, DerrickDerrick Smith	25	LW	55	3	6	9	−15	32
6	Chychrun, JeffJeff Chychrun	23	D	79	2	7	9	−12	250
15	Sulliman, DougDoug Sulliman	30	RW	28	3	4	7	4	0
8	Baron, MurrayMurray Baron	22	D	16	2	2	4	−1	12
46	Biggs, DonDon Biggs	24	C	11	2	0	2	−4	8
18	Dobbin, BrianBrian Dobbin	23	RW	9	1	1	2	1	11
35	Wregget, KenKen Wregget	25	G	51	0	2	2	-98 !N/A	12
36	Lacombe, NormandNormand Lacombe	25	RW	18	0	2	2	0	7
20	Maguire, KevinKevin Maguire	27	RW	5	1	0	1	−1	6
33	Peeters, PetePete Peeters	32	G	24	0	1	1	-98 !N/A	2
42	Nachbaur, DonDon Nachbaur	31	C	2	0	1	1	1	0
26	Fenyves, DavidDavid Fenyves	29	D	12	0	0	0	−6	4
34	Harding, JeffJeff Harding	20	RW	9	0	0	0	−1	18
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	25	G	8	0	0	0	-98 !N/A	14
30	Hoffort, BruceBruce Hoffort	23	G	7	0	0	0	-98 !N/A	2
7	Fisher, CraigCraig Fisher	19	C	2	0	0	0	0	0
37	Freer, MarkMark Freer	21	C	2	0	0	0	0	0
47	Sabol, ShaunShaun Sabol	23	D	2	0	0	0	0	0
20	Barrie, LenLen Barrie	20	C	1	0	0	0	−2	0
45	Jensen, ChrisChris Jensen	26	RW	1	0	0	0	−1	2

Goaltenders

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 26, 1989, the day after the deciding game of the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 24, 1990, the day of the deciding game of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals.^[11]

Trades

Trade notes

• ^a The Oilers had the choice of year.^[19] The Oilers chose the 1990 draft pick.

Signings

Free agency

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

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

Draft picks

The Flyers signed the following of their draft picks.

NHL Waiver Draft

The 1989 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 2, 1989.^[33][34] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.^[33] First-year professional players were exempt.^[33]

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 (*).

Draft picks

NHL Entry Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota on June 17, 1989.^[37]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1989 and their NHL career regular season statistics

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	W	L	T	GAA	Notes
2	33	Johnson, GregGreg Johnson	Center	Canada	Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL)	785	145	224	369	345	& —	& —	& —	& —
2	34	Juhlin, PatrikPatrik Juhlin	Left Wing	Sweden	Vasteras IK (Elitserien)	56	7	6	13	23	& —	& —	& —	& —	[a]
4	72	Simpson, ReidReid Simpson	Left Wing	Canada	Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)	301	18	18	36	838	& —	& —	& —	& —	[b]
6	117	Eriksson, NiklasNiklas Eriksson	Right Wing	Sweden	Leksands IF (Elitserien)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
7	138	Callahan, JohnJohn Callahan	Center	United States	Belmont Hill School (Mass.)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
8	159	Sears, SverreSverre Sears	Defense	United States	Belmont Hill School (Mass.)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
9	180	Wisser, GlenGlen Wisser	Forward	United States	Philadelphia Junior Flyers (Jr. B)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
10	201	Kummu, AlAl Kummu	Defense	Canada	Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
11	222	Brait, MattMatt Brait	Defense	United States	St. Michael's Buzzers (MetJHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
12	243	Pollio, JamesJames Pollio	Left Wing	United States	Vermont Academy (Vermont)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —

Draft notes^[38]

• The Flyers' first-round pick, 12th overall, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with the Calgary Flames' first-round pick, 21st overall, for Ken Wregget on March 6, 1989.
• ^a The Flyers traded Bob Froese to the New York Rangers for Kjell Samuelsson and Rangers' second-round pick, 34th overall, on December 18, 1986.
• The Flyers traded their third-round pick, 54th overall, and Greg Smyth to the Quebec Nordiques for Terry Carkner on July 25, 1988.
• ^b The Flyers traded Gordie Roberts to the St. Louis Blues for the Blues' fifth-round pick, later upgraded to the Blues' fourth-round pick, 72nd overall, on March 8, 1988
• The Flyers traded their fourth-round pick, 75th overall, to the Minnesota North Stars for Gordie Roberts on February 9, 1988.
• The Flyers traded the Toronto Maple Leafs' fifth-round pick, 87th overall, to the Minnesota North Stars for Moe Mantha on December 8, 1988.
• The Flyers traded their fifth-round pick, 96th overall, to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Al Secord on February 7, 1989.

NHL Supplemental Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1989 NHL Supplemental Draft.^[39][40]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1989 Supplemental Draft and their NHL career regular season statistics

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	W	L	T	GAA
2	17	Jamie Baker	Defense	United States	Windsor Lancers (CIAU)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL.^[2][41]

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

Specific