# 1983–84 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1983–84 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 17th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). During the final season of the playing careers of Hockey Hall of Famers Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke, the Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Washington Capitals in a three-game sweep.

## Off-season

Bob McCammon replaced Keith Allen as general manager in the off-season, and retained his position as head coach. McCammon had received an offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins to become their general manager.

## Regular season

The youth of the team began to take over the reins from the old guard as Tim Kerr recorded his first 50-goal season. The team finished in third place.
The 1983–84 regular season saw Barber play his final games as he would officially announce his retirement following the next season after being unable to return from reconstructive knee surgery.

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 50 | 26 | 4 | 357 | 269 | 104 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 48 | 27 | 5 | 308 | 226 | 101 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 44 | 26 | 10 | 350 | 290 | 98 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 42 | 29 | 9 | 314 | 304 | 93 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 17 | 56 | 7 | 231 | 350 | 41 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 16 | 58 | 6 | 254 | 390 | 38 |
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.

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—0−71−5−10−73−40−5−24−28−3
N.Y. Islanders
7−0—3−44−36−14−324−11−0
N.Y. Rangers
5−1−14−3—4−35−23−3−121−12−2
Philadelphia
7−03−43−4—7−03−423−12−0
Pittsburgh
4−31−62−50–7—1−68−27−0
Washington
5−0−23−43−3−14–36–1—21−11−3
Vs. Adams Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
1−20−2−11−1−11−21−24−9−2
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−13−01−23−01−28−6−1
N.Y. Rangers
0−2−11−1−11−21−22−0−15−7−3
Philadelphia
1−1−10−31−22−0−12−0−16−6−3
Pittsburgh
0−30−32−10−2−10−32−12−1
Washington
1−20−2−12−13−01−27−7−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
2−12−11−20−30−35−10−0
N.Y. Islanders
3−01−22−0−11−1−12−19−4−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−13−01−1−12−11−29−5−1
Philadelphia
1−0−21−0−20−1−21−23−06−3−6
Pittsburgh
1−1−10−31−20−2−11−1−13−9−3
Washington
1−1−11−23−02−13−010−4−1
Vs. Smythe Division
1983–84 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−10−2−12−11−21−24−9−2
N.Y. Islanders
0−33−02−0−13−01−29−5−1
N.Y. Rangers
2−11−21−0−21−1−12−17−5−3
Philadelphia
2−12−0−12−11−22−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
0−1−20−31−21−21−23−10−2
Washington
2−11−23−02−12−110−5−0 :

## Playoffs

The Flyers were swept in three games for the second consecutive season, this time by the Washington Capitals.
After the loss, Flyers President Jay Snider informed Bob McCammon he could no longer continue as head coach. As GM, McCammon disagreed a change was needed, so he resigned from both positions altogether on April 25. On May 15, Bobby Clarke retired from playing and was named vice president and general manager of the team.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1983–84 regular season :
October: 9–3–1, 19 points (home: 5–1–1; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 6Washington Capitals4–11–0–02Recap
2October 8@ Montreal Canadiens6–32–0–04Recap
3October 9Pittsburgh Penguins7–13–0–06Recap
4October 13Winnipeg Jets4–34–0–08Recap
5October 15@ New York Islanders5–15–0–010Recap
6October 16@ New York Rangers4–55–1–010Recap
7October 20Boston Bruins3–3 OT5–1–111Recap
8October 22@ Washington Capitals1–45–2–111Recap
9October 23Toronto Maple Leafs8–56–2–113Recap
10October 25@ Quebec Nordiques4–27–2–115Recap
11October 27Quebec Nordiques4–38–2–117Recap
12October 29@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–19–2–119Recap
13October 30New York Islanders2–69–3–119Recap :
November: 5–5–2, 12 points (home: 2–2–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
14November 3Los Angeles Kings5–69–4–119Recap
15November 5@ St. Louis Blues6–79–5–119Recap
16November 6Hartford Whalers4–210–5–121Recap
17November 8@ New York Islanders1–410–6–121Recap
18November 12@ Toronto Maple Leafs5–311–6–123Recap
19November 13@ Winnipeg Jets2–311–7–123Recap
20November 17Minnesota North Stars5–5 OT11–7–224Recap
21November 20Pittsburgh Penguins5–4 OT12–7–226Recap
22November 23New York Islanders2–412–8–226Recap
23November 26@ Vancouver Canucks5–413–8–228Recap
24November 29@ Calgary Flames8–514–8–230Recap
25November 30@ Edmonton Oilers3–3 OT14–8–331Recap :
December: 6–3–3, 15 points (home: 3–2–1; road: 3–1–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
26December 3@ Pittsburgh Penguins6–315–8–333Recap
27December 4Hartford Whalers5–615–9–333Recap
28December 8Chicago Black Hawks3–216–9–335Recap
29December 10@ New Jersey Devils8–217–9–337Recap
30December 11Buffalo Sabres5–617–10–337Recap
31December 15Washington Capitals9–418–10–339Recap
32December 17@ Detroit Red Wings3–3 OT18–10–440Recap
33December 18Detroit Red Wings3–3 OT18–10–541Recap
34December 21@ Chicago Black Hawks3–3 OT18–10–642Recap
35December 22New Jersey Devils5–019–10–644Recap
36December 26@ Washington Capitals5–420–10–646Recap
37December 30@ New York Rangers3–620–11–646Recap :
January: 7–4–2, 16 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 4–2–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
38January 3@ Pittsburgh Penguins7–521–11–648Recap
39January 5Winnipeg Jets7–6 OT22–11–650Recap
40January 7@ Detroit Red Wings8–423–11–652Recap
41January 8Washington Capitals1–723–12–652Recap
42January 11@ Buffalo Sabres2–623–13–652Recap
43January 12New York Rangers1–223–14–652Recap
44January 14@ Quebec Nordiques3–3 OT23–14–753Recap
45January 17@ Montreal Canadiens6–424–14–755Recap
46January 19New Jersey Devils2–025–14–757Recap
47January 21New York Islanders7–126–14–759Recap
48January 25@ Los Angeles Kings5–227–14–761Recap
49January 27@ Vancouver Canucks0–427–15–761Recap
50January 29@ Chicago Black Hawks5–5 OT27–15–862Recap :
February: 7–5–2, 16 points (home: 5–2–2; road: 2–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
51February 2Montreal Canadiens2–2 OT27–15–963Recap
52February 4@ Boston Bruins5–827–16–963Recap
53February 5Toronto Maple Leafs7–028–16–965Recap
54February 9Edmonton Oilers4–329–16–967Recap
55February 11@ Washington Capitals3–629–17–967Recap
56February 12Vancouver Canucks5–629–18–967Recap
57February 16St. Louis Blues5–230–18–969Recap
58February 18New Jersey Devils4–331–18–971Recap
59February 19@ New York Rangers3–2 OT32–18–973Recap
60February 21Buffalo Sabres4–5 OT32–19–973Recap
61February 23Minnesota North Stars3–3 OT32–19–1074Recap
62February 25@ Hartford Whalers7–932–20–1074Recap
63February 26New York Islanders5–333–20–1076Recap
64February 29@ Edmonton Oilers5–334–20–1078Recap :
March: 10–5–0, 20 points (home: 7–0–0; road: 3–5–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
65March 1@ Calgary Flames1–534–21–1078Recap
66March 3@ St. Louis Blues3–434–22–1078Recap
67March 6@ New York Islanders2–534–23–1078Recap
68March 8Los Angeles Kings4–135–23–1080Recap
69March 10@ Minnesota North Stars3–435–24–1080Recap
70March 11Calgary Flames3–236–24–1082Recap
71March 14@ New York Rangers3–636–25–1082Recap
72March 15Boston Bruins6–337–25–1084Recap
73March 17New York Rangers6–438–25–1086Recap
74March 19@ New Jersey Devils4–339–25–1088Recap
75March 22Pittsburgh Penguins13–440–25–1090Recap
76March 24New York Rangers6–541–25–1092Recap
77March 25New Jersey Devils4–142–25–1094Recap
78March 28@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–343–25–1096Recap
79March 30@ New Jersey Devils6–244–25–1098Recap :
April: 0–1–0, 0 points (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
80April 1Washington Capitals1–444–26–1098Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1984 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. Washington Capitals – Capitals win 3–0
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 4@ Washington Capitals2–4Capitals lead 1–0Recap
2April 5@ Washington Capitals2–6Capitals lead 2–0Recap
3April 7Washington Capitals1–5Capitals win 3–0Recap :
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.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 12 | Tim Kerr | RW | 79 | 54 | 39 | 93 | 30 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |
| 26 | Brian Propp | LW | 79 | 39 | 53 | 92 | 49 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 6 |
| 20 | Dave Poulin | LW | 73 | 31 | 45 | 76 | 31 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 27 | Darryl Sittler | C | 76 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 13 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 7 |
| 16 | Bobby Clarke | C | 73 | 17 | 43 | 60 | 23 | 70 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 6 |
| 7 | Bill Barber | LW | 63 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 4 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Mark Howe | D | 71 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 30 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Ron Sutter | C | 79 | 19 | 32 | 51 | 4 | 101 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| 23 | Ilkka Sinisalo | LW | 73 | 29 | 17 | 46 | 22 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Thomas Eriksson | D | 68 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 28 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 0 |
| 3 | Doug Crossman | D | 78 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 23 | 63 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 11 | Len Hachborn | C | 38 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 7 |
| 9 | Miroslav Dvorak | D | 66 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 19 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 2 |
| 15 | Rich Sutter† | RW | 70 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 10 | 93 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 | Brad McCrimmon | D | 71 | 0 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| 29 | Glen Cochrane | D | 67 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 16 | 225 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Paul Holmgren‡ | RW | 52 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Rick MacLeish‡ | C | 29 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Ray Allison | RW | 37 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 11 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 8 | Brad Marsh | D | 77 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 24 | 83 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 25 | Paul Guay† | RW | 14 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |
| 22 | Ross Fitzpatrick | C | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Dave Brown | RW | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 28 | Daryl Stanley | D | 23 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 19 |
| 18 | Lindsay Carson | C | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 5 |
| 11 | Ron Flockhart‡ | 23 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Bob Froese | G | 48 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | G | 36 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 24 | Randy Holt | D | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Mark Taylor‡ | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Frank Bathe | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | GS | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Bob Froese | 48 | 46 | 28 | 13 | 7 | 1324 | 150 | 3.15 | .887 | 2 | 2,855 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 11 | 4.37 | .855 | 0 | 151 |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | 36 | 34 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 963 | 135 | 4.07 | .860 | 1 | 1,990 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 7.01 | .769 | 0 | 26 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Thomas Eriksson (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Tim Kerr |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brian Propp |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Pelle Lindbergh (October 11) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Tim Kerr (March 16) |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Miroslav Dvorak |
| Team | Class Guy Award | Dave Poulin |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 1983–84 season was the franchise high 350 goals scored on the season. On December 15 against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers scored three shorthanded goals during the game (tied for the team record) and three during the second period. On March 22 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers scored 13 goals, a franchise high which was tied seven months later. 1984 was the final year of Bobby Clarke's team record twelve consecutive years in the playoffs streak dating back to 1973.
The 1983–84 season was the final NHL seasons for three longtime Flyers — Clarke, Bill Barber, and Rick MacLeish — who hold several career records for the team. Clarke holds the regular season marks for seasons played (15, tied with Claude Giroux), games played (1,144), assists (852), and points (1,210). Clarke also holds the playoff marks for seasons played (13), games played (136), assists (77), and points (119). Barber holds the regular season mark for goals scored (420) and is tied for the playoff mark for goals scored (53) with MacLeish.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| 400th goal | Bill Barber | October 9, 1983 |
| First game | Len Hachborn | November 20, 1983 |
| First game | Daryl Stanley | February 16, 1984 |
| First game | Paul Guay | March 6, 1984 |
| 600th assist | Darryl Sittler | November 29, 1983 |
| 1000th game played | Darryl Sittler | January 8, 1984 |

### Franchise firsts

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| Overtime goal, regular season | Bobby Clarke | November 20, 1983 | |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 18, 1983, the day after the deciding game of the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 19, 1984, the day of the deciding game of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 8, 1983 (1983-06-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Doug Crossman2nd-round pick in 1984 | To Chicago Black Hawks Behn Wilson |
| September 9, 1983 (1983-09-09) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Hartford Whalers Tom Gorence |
| October 23, 1983 (1983-10-23) | To Philadelphia Flyers Rich Sutter2nd-round pick in 19843rd-round pick in 1984 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Andy BrickleyRon FlockhartMark Taylor1st-round pick in 19843rd-round pick in 1984 |
| January 5, 1984 (1984-01-05) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To St. Louis Blues Michel Larocque |
| January 8, 1984 (1984-01-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Detroit Red Wings Rick MacLeish |
| February 23, 1984 (1984-02-23) | To Philadelphia Flyers Rights to Paul Guay3rd-round pick in 1985 | To Minnesota North Stars Paul Holmgren |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 30, 1983 (1983-08-30) | Randy Holt | Washington Capitals | | Free agency |
| October 6, 1983 (1983-10-06) | Rick MacLeish | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year | Free agency |
| May 1, 1984 (1984-05-01) | Darren Jensen | Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) | multi-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| August 1, 1983 (1983-08-01) | John Paddock | New Jersey Devils | Free agency |
| August 15, 1983 (1983-08-15) | Bob Hoffmeyer | New Jersey Devils | Free agency |
| N/A | Gord Williams | | Retirement |
| October 1983 (1983-10) | Tom Gorence | Edmonton Oilers | Release |
| May 15, 1984 (1984-05-15) | Bobby Clarke | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| August 15, 1983 (1983-08-15) | Thomas Eriksson | multi-year |
| February 23, 1984 (1984-02-23) | Paul Holmgren | 2-year |
| May 9, 1984 (1984-05-09) | Todd Bergen | multi-year |
| May 9, 1984 (1984-05-09) | Dave Poulin | multi-year |
| May 9, 1984 (1984-05-09) | Rick Tocchet | multi-year |
| May 9, 1984 (1984-05-09) | Peter Zezel | multi-year |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1983 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, on June 8, 1983.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 2 | 41 | Peter Zezel | Center | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHL) |
| 3 | 44 | Derrick Smith | Left wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 4 | 81 | Allen Bourbeau | Center | United States | Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (Massachusetts) |
| 5 | 101 | Jerome Carrier | Defense | Canada | Verdun Juniors (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 121 | Rick Tocchet | Right wing | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 7 | 141 | Bob Mormina | Forward | Canada | Longueuil Chevaliers (QMJHL) |
| 8 | 161 | Pelle Eklund | Center | Sweden | AIK (Elitserien) |
| 9 | 181 | Robbie Nichols | Right wing | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 10 | 201 | Bill McCormack | Center | United States | Westminster School (Conn.) |
| 11 | 221 | Brian Jopling | Goaltender | United States | Williston Northampton School (Massachusetts) |
| 12 | 241 | Harold Duvall | Left wing | United States | Belmont Hill School (Massachusetts) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Springfield Indians of the AHL and the Toledo Goaldiggers of the IHL.