# 1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' second season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the quarterfinals to the St. Louis Blues for the second consecutive season.

## Off-season

The Flyers coaxed Dick Cherry, who they selected in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, out of retirement by agreeing to a three-year contract.
Lou Angotti, the Flyers first captain, was involved in a three-team trade. The Flyers traded Angotti to the St. Louis Blues for Darryl Edestrand and Gerry Melnyk and the Blues subsequently traded Angotti to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Melnyk suffered a heart attack in training camp and retired to become a scout for the team.
The Flyers claimed veteran defenseman Allan Stanley in the reverse draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

## Regular season

Defenseman Ed Van Impe was named Angotti's replacement as captain in November.
Led by Van Impe and the team-leading 24 goals of Andre Lacroix, the Flyers struggled finishing 15 games under .500.

### Season standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | St. Louis Blues | 76 | 37 | 25 | 14 | 204 | 157 | +47 | 88 |
| 2 | Oakland Seals | 76 | 29 | 36 | 11 | 219 | 251 | −32 | 69 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 76 | 20 | 35 | 21 | 174 | 225 | −51 | 61 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Kings | 76 | 24 | 42 | 10 | 185 | 260 | −75 | 58 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 76 | 20 | 45 | 11 | 189 | 252 | −63 | 51 |
| 6 | Minnesota North Stars | 76 | 18 | 43 | 15 | 189 | 270 | −81 | 51 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Playoffs

Despite the poor regular season showing, they made the playoffs; however, they were manhandled by St. Louis in a four-game sweep. Not wanting his team to be physically outmatched again, owner Ed Snider instructed general manager Bud Poile to acquire bigger, tougher players going forward.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1968–69 regular season :
October: 1–5–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 0–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 13Philadelphia2–3BostonParent14,0110–1–00Recap
2October 16Philadelphia1–3New YorkFavell15,9060–2–00Recap
3October 17Pittsburgh0–3PhiladelphiaParent9,8621–2–02Recap
4October 24Minnesota3–3PhiladelphiaParent8,9331–2–13Recap
5October 26Philadelphia2–6Los AngelesFavell6,5971–3–13Recap
6October 27Philadelphia2–2OaklandFavell1,8921–3–24Recap
7October 30Philadelphia1–4St. LouisParent10,7541–4–24Recap
8October 31New York2–1PhiladelphiaParent9,4291–5–24Recap :
November: 5–8–0 (home: 3–5–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
9November 2Philadelphia3–2TorontoParent16,4702–5–26Recap
10November 3Montreal2–3PhiladelphiaParent12,4313–5–28Recap
11November 6Philadelphia1–7BostonParent13,7443–6–28Recap
12November 7St. Louis8–0PhiladelphiaFavell9,1643–7–28Recap
13November 9Philadelphia3–0PittsburghFavell7,2844–7–210Recap
14November 13Philadelphia3–4MinnesotaFavell10,9184–8–210Recap
15November 14Boston2–4PhiladelphiaParent10,1925–8–212Recap
16November 17Los Angeles1–3PhiladelphiaParent9,1256–8–214Recap
17November 21Montreal3–0PhiladelphiaParent11,2696–9–214Recap
18November 23Oakland2–1PhiladelphiaFavell11,9326–10–214Recap
19November 24Los Angeles3–1PhiladelphiaParent9,0866–11–214Recap
20November 27Detroit5–2PhiladelphiaFavell11,3806–12–214Recap
21November 30Philadelphia0–1St. LouisParent15,3146–13–214Recap :
December: 3–6–5 (home: 1–2–3; road: 2–4–2)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
22December 1Philadelphia3–3DetroitParent13,0396–13–315Recap
23December 4Philadelphia1–3Los AngelesParent5,8476–14–315Recap
24December 6Philadelphia0–4OaklandFavell3,1666–15–315Recap
25December 8St. Louis4–4PhiladelphiaParent10,3296–15–416Recap
26December 12Toronto1–0PhiladelphiaParent8,5316–16–416Recap
27December 14Philadelphia0–1MontrealParent16,5846–17–416Recap
28December 15Philadelphia3–1New YorkParent12,7317–17–418Recap
29December 17Pittsburgh2–8PhiladelphiaParent6,9868–17–420Recap
30December 19Minnesota5–5PhiladelphiaParent8,3948–17–521Recap
31December 21Philadelphia2–1Los AngelesFavell7,1089–17–523Recap
32December 22Philadelphia1–2OaklandFavell1,8299–18–523Recap
33December 25New York2–2PhiladelphiaFavell9,5459–18–624Recap
34December 27Philadelphia3–3DetroitParent11,9359–18–725Recap
35December 29Oakland2–1PhiladelphiaParent12,7679–19–725Recap :
January: 3–6–5 (home: 2–4–2; road: 1–2–3)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
36January 2Chicago2–2PhiladelphiaFavell13,2909–19–826Recap
37January 4Philadelphia1–1PittsburghFavell6,3299–19–927Recap
38January 5Toronto2–2PhiladelphiaParent11,2749–19–1028Recap
39January 8Philadelphia4–4TorontoFavell16,3319–19–1129Recap
40January 9New York3–1PhiladelphiaParent10,1479–20–1129Recap
41January 11Philadelphia4–2MinnesotaParent12,46210–20–1131Recap
42January 15Philadelphia3–4St. LouisFavell13,18410–21–1131Recap
43January 16Montreal4–0PhiladelphiaParent12,72810–22–1131Recap
44January 18Boston5–3PhiladelphiaFavell14,55810–23–1131Recap
45January 19Detroit1–3PhiladelphiaParent13,94911–23–1133Recap
46January 23Philadelphia2–2ChicagoParent18,50011–23–1234Recap
47January 25Philadelphia3–6MontrealParent16,88411–24–1234Recap
48January 26Pittsburgh3–5PhiladelphiaFavell10,98712–24–1236Recap
49January 30Chicago12–0PhiladelphiaFavell13,00512–25–1236Recap :
February: 1–8–4 (home: 1–4–1; road: 0–4–3)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
50February 1Philadelphia2–2PittsburghParent5,86612–25–1337Recap
51February 2Minnesota3–2PhiladelphiaParent13,29412–26–1337Recap
52February 4Detroit2–0PhiladelphiaParent8,37512–27–1337Recap
53February 8Philadelphia5–6BostonParent14,65912–28–1337Recap
54February 9Philadelphia3–3New YorkParent5,72312–28–1438Recap
55February 12Philadelphia3–3ChicagoParent17,80012–28–1539Recap
56February 13St. Louis2–1PhiladelphiaParent9,36212–29–1539Recap
57February 15Chicago3–0PhiladelphiaParent14,55812–30–1539Recap
58February 16Oakland2–3PhiladelphiaParent11,10413–30–1541Recap
59February 19Philadelphia1–3St. LouisParent15,07213–31–1541Recap
60February 22Philadelphia1–4MontrealParent17,30413–32–1541Recap
61February 23Philadelphia1–9DetroitParent14,36113–33–1541Recap
62February 27Toronto1–1PhiladelphiaParent11,93513–33–1642Recap :
March: 7–2–5 (home: 6–0–1; road: 1–2–4)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
63March 1Philadelphia2–2Los AngelesParent9,53413–33–1743Recap
64March 2Philadelphia4–4OaklandParent4,48413–33–1844Recap
65March 6Los Angeles1–5PhiladelphiaParent9,42814–33–1846Recap
66March 8Philadelphia2–2TorontoParent16,48514–33–1947Recap
67March 9Oakland3–5PhiladelphiaParent13,88515–33–1949Recap
68March 13Boston1–2PhiladelphiaParent14,55816–33–1951Recap
69March 15Philadelphia2–2MinnesotaParent14,66216–33–2052Recap
70March 16Philadelphia2–6ChicagoParent17,00016–34–2052Recap
71March 20Minnesota2–5PhiladelphiaParent12,58217–34–2054Recap
72March 22Philadelphia5–1MinnesotaParent14,66418–34–2056Recap
73March 23St. Louis3–4PhiladelphiaParent14,55819–34–2058Recap
74March 27Los Angeles2–4PhiladelphiaParent11,66920–34–2060Recap
75March 29Pittsburgh3–3PhiladelphiaParent11,03920–34–2161Recap
76March 30Philadelphia1–2PittsburghFavell5,73820–35–2161Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1969 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Quarterfinals vs. St. Louis Blues – Blues win 4–0
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 2Philadelphia2–5St. LouisParent15,156Blues lead 1–0Recap
2April 3Philadelphia0–5St. LouisFavell15,261Blues lead 2–0Recap
3April 5St. Louis3–0PhiladelphiaParent14,558Blues lead 3–0Recap
4April 6St. Louis4–1PhiladelphiaParent10,995Blues win 4–0Recap :
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 |
| 7 | Andre Lacroix | C | 75 | 24 | 32 | 56 | −12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
| 11 | Jean-Guy Gendron | LW | 74 | 20 | 35 | 55 | −8 | 65 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 6 |
| 21 | Dick Sarrazin | RW | 54 | 16 | 30 | 46 | −7 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
| 20 | Jim Johnson | C | 69 | 17 | 27 | 44 | −5 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 9 | Leon Rochefort | RW | 65 | 14 | 21 | 35 | −7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 12 | Gary Dornhoefer | RW | 60 | 8 | 16 | 24 | −20 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 | Brit Selby‡ | LW | 63 | 10 | 13 | 23 | −11 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Ed Van Impe | D | 68 | 7 | 12 | 19 | −13 | 112 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 17 |
| 17 | Larry Hale | D | 67 | 3 | 16 | 19 | −24 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −8 | 10 |
| 6 | Allan Stanley | D | 64 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Don Blackburn | LW | 48 | 7 | 9 | 16 | −13 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 2 |
| 5 | Dick Cherry | D | 71 | 9 | 6 | 15 | −11 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 22 | Forbes Kennedy‡ | C | 59 | 8 | 7 | 15 | −25 | 195 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Garry Peters | C | 66 | 8 | 6 | 14 | −20 | 49 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 14 | Simon Nolet | RW | 35 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −10 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | John Miszuk | D | 66 | 1 | 13 | 14 | −6 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
| 10 | Bill Sutherland† | LW | 12 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −4 | 0 |
| 3 | Joe Watson | D | 60 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −21 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 0 |
| 19 | Earl Heiskala | LW | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −4 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Rosaire Paiement | RW | 27 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −14 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Myron Stankiewicz† | LW | 19 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −11 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Ralph MacSweyn | D | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |
| 23 | Gerry Meehan† | C | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 22 | Mike Byers† | RW | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| 14 | Pat Hannigan‡ | LW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Serge Bernier | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Doug Favell | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 16 | Claude LaForge | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Bernie Parent | G | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 24 | Larry Zeidel‡ | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 30 | Bernie Parent | 58 | 56 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 2009 | 151 | 2.70 | .925 | 1 | 3,357 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 12 | 4.01 | .872 | 0 | 180 |
| 1 | Doug Favell | 21 | 20 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 731 | 71 | 3.58 | .903 | 1 | 1,191 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 5 | 5.00 | .861 | 0 | 60 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient | Ref |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Bernie Parent | |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Ed Van Impe | |

### Records

Among the franchise records set during the 1968–69 season, the Flyers had two tie-related streaks. They tied four games in a row from January 2 to January 8, which was matched during the 1991–92 season, and they tied four road games in a row from March 1 to March 15. On January 30, they allowed 12 goals against to the Chicago Black Hawks, a single game franchise high. Their six road wins on the season is tied for the fewest in franchise history with the 1969–70 team.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Larry Hale | October 13, 1968 |
| First game | Earl Heiskala | October 13, 1968 |
| First game | Dick Sarrazin | November 27, 1968 |
| First game | Serge Bernier | February 27, 1969 |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 12, 1968, the day after the deciding game of the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 4, 1969, the day of the deciding game of the 1969 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| May 20, 1968 (1968-05-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Earl Heiskala | To Seattle Totems (WHL) Loan of Bob CourcyLoan of Ray LaRoseFuture considerations |
| June 11, 1968 (1968-06-11) | To Philadelphia Flyers Darryl EdestrandGerry Melnyk | To St. Louis Blues Lou AngottiIan Campbell |
| June 13, 1968 (1968-06-13) | To Philadelphia Flyers Brian Bradley | To Seattle Totems (WHL) cash |
| August 21, 1968 (1968-08-21) | To Philadelphia Flyers Loan of Bobby Rivard | To Pittsburgh Penguins cash |
| October 1968 (1968-10) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Vancouver Canucks (WHL) Al Millar |
| December 1968 (1968-12) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Quebec Aces (AHL) Keith Wright |
| December 2, 1968 (1968-12-02) | To Philadelphia Flyers Bob Sneddon | To Chicago Black Hawks Brian Bradley |
| March 2, 1968 (1968-03-02) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Vancouver Canucks (WHL) Pat Hannigan |
| March 2, 1968 (1968-03-02) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike ByersGerry MeehanBill Sutherland | To Toronto Maple Leafs Forbes KennedyBrit Selby |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12) | Ron Buchanan | Boston Bruins | Intra-league draft |
| June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12) | Larry Hale | Minnesota North Stars | Intra-league draft |
| June 13, 1968 (1968-06-13) | Allan Stanley | Toronto Maple Leafs | Reverse draft |
| September 1968 (1968-09) | Bobby Taylor | Calgary Spurs (AJHL) | Free agency |
| September 18, 1968 (1968-09-18) | Jean Lapointe | Laval Saints (QMJHL) | Free agency |
| September 18, 1968 (1968-09-18) | Bill McEwan | | Free agency |
| January 16, 1969 (1969-01-16) | Myron Stankiewicz | St. Louis Blues | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12) | Jean Gauthier | Boston Bruins | Intra-league draft |
| June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12) | Fern Rivard | Minnesota North Stars | Intra-league draft |
| June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12) | Bill Sutherland | Minnesota North Stars | Intra-league draft |
| June 13, 1968 (1968-06-13) | Jim Morrison | Baltimore Clippers (AHL) | Reverse draft |
| June 13, 1968 (1968-06-13) | Ed Hoekstra | Denver Spurs (WHL) | Reverse draft |
| October 7, 1968 (1968-10-07) | Gerry Melnyk | | Retirement |
| December 13, 1968 (1968-12-13) | Larry Zeidel | | Release |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| May 27, 1968 (1968-05-27) | Dick Cherry | 3-year |
| September 18, 1968 (1968-09-18) | Dunc Wilson | |
| September 21, 1968 (1968-09-21) | Brit Selby | 2-year |
| October 5, 1968 (1968-10-05) | Ralph MacSweyn | |
| October 5, 1968 (1968-10-05) | Bobby Rivard | |
| October 8, 1968 (1968-10-08) | Forbes Kennedy | |
| October 8, 1968 (1968-10-08) | Garry Peters | |
| October 9, 1968 (1968-10-09) | Gary Dornhoefer | |
| October 9, 1968 (1968-10-09) | Jim Johnson | |
| October 9, 1968 (1968-10-09) | Rosaire Paiement | |
| October 12, 1968 (1968-10-12) | Larry Hale | 1-year |

## Draft picks
### NHL amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1968 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 13, 1968.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 8 | Lew Morrison | Right wing | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |

### NHL special internal amateur draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1968 NHL special internal amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 13, 1968. Sponsored players aged 20 before May 31, 1968, who played as amateurs during the 1967–68 season were eligible for selection.
| Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) | NHL rights |
| Dunc Wilson | Goaltender | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) | Boston Bruins |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, the Seattle Totems of the WHL, and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.