# 1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 22nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the Wales Conference Finals to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.

## Regular season

With Mike Keenan's firing, the reins were handed off to Paul Holmgren, who presided over a club in flux with young players promoted to larger roles. The defense underwent a major overhaul, as Brad Marsh was claimed in the waiver draft by Toronto, and Doug Crossman was dealt to Los Angeles for Jay Wells. Gord Murphy and Jeff Chychrun cracked the lineup on the back line as well.
Tim Kerr was fully healed from his shoulder surgeries and subsequent infections, while Rick Tocchet, Scott Mellanby, Murray Craven, Pelle Eklund and Peter Zezel were counted on to carry the offense. After a promising 5–1–0 start, a 4–15–1 slide cost Zezel his job, shipped off to St. Louis for Mike Bullard after Thanksgiving.
Following the deal, the Flyers went 13–2–1 to climb back over .500 and into solid playoff footing. However, youth and constant inconsistency derailed much progress to the top of the standings, and the team never went higher than three games above even. Mark Laforest was replaced in March as backup by Maple Leafs castoff Ken Wregget with the team reeling.
On the last day of the season, they fell 6–5 in overtime to the Penguins and into fourth place, as Mario Lemieux scored into an empty net. If the Flyers had scored using the extra attacker, they would have leapt over the Rangers into third place in the Patrick Division. Despite their mediocre record, their positive goal differential was a positive indicator that the team still had some life left.
The Flyers finished the regular season with the league's best power-play percentage, at 26.70% (98 for 367).

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 41 | 29 | 10 | 305 | 259 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 40 | 33 | 7 | 347 | 349 | 87 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 37 | 35 | 8 | 310 | 307 | 82 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 36 | 36 | 8 | 307 | 285 | 80 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 27 | 41 | 12 | 281 | 325 | 66 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 28 | 47 | 5 | 265 | 325 | 61 |
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
#### Vs. Wales Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | NJD | NYI | NYR | PHI | PIT | WSH | Total |
| New Jersey | — | 1–4–2 | 4–3 | 2–5 | 1–4–2 | 4–3 | 12–19–4 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 4–1–2 | — | 2–5 | 1–5–1 | 2–4–1 | 3–4 | 12–19–4 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 3–4 | 5–2 | — | 3–3–1 | 3–3–1 | 3–2–2 | 17–14–4 |
| Philadelphia | 5–2 | 5–1–1 | 3–3–1 | — | 3–4 | 3–4 | 19–14–2 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–1–2 | 4–2–1 | 3–3–1 | 4–3 | — | 4–3 | 19–12–4 |
| Washington | 3–4 | 4–3 | 2–3–2 | 4–3 | 3–4 | — | 16–17–2 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | BOS | BUF | HFD | MTL | QUE | Total |
| New Jersey | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–11–1 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–9–0 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 0–1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–10–2 |
| Philadelphia | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 0–1–2 | 2–1 | 6–6–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–9–1 |
| Washington | 1–1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–1 | 10–2–3 |

#### Vs. Campbell Conference

1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CHI | DET | MIN | STL | TOR | Total |
| New Jersey | 2–1 | 2–0–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 9–4–2 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–11–0 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 2–0–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1–1 | 8–5–2 |
| Philadelphia | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 8–7–0 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–0 | 2–0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 9–4–2 |
| Washington | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–1 | 2–1 | 8–4–3 |
1988–89 NHL records :
| Team | CGY | EDM | LAK | VAN | WIN | Total |
| New Jersey | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1–2 | 1–1–1 | 0–1–2 | 3–7–5 |
| N.Y. Islanders | 0–2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–8–1 |
| N.Y. Rangers | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 9–6–0 |
| Philadelphia | 0–3 | 0–1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–0–1 | 3–9–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 7–8–0 |
| Washington | 0–2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 7–6–2 |

## Playoffs

Facing the first-place Washington Capitals in the first round, the Flyers pulled off the upset in six games. Ron Hextall managed to score another empty-net goal in the waning moments of Game 5, becoming the first NHL goalie to score a goal in the playoffs. The Flyers then came back from a 3 games to 2 deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games to make the Wales Conference Finals before bowing out to the Montreal Canadiens in six games. This would be the Flyers last playoff appearance until 1995.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1988–89 regular season :
October: 6–5–0, 12 points (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 6New Jersey Devils4–11–0–02Recap
2October 9Buffalo Sabres4–3 OT2–0–04Recap
3October 13@ Minnesota North Stars7–63–0–06Recap
4October 15@ Los Angeles Kings4–14–0–08Recap
5October 18@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–44–1–08Recap
6October 20Quebec Nordiques5–25–1–010Recap
7October 22@ Hartford Whalers6–85–2–010Recap
8October 23Calgary Flames4–5 OT5–3–010Recap
9October 26@ New York Rangers3–45–4–010Recap
10October 27New York Islanders5–26–4–012Recap
11October 29New York Rangers5–66–5–012Recap :
November: 4–11–1, 9 points (home: 3–5–1; road: 1–6–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
12November 1@ New Jersey Devils2–36–6–012Recap
13November 3Vancouver Canucks2–56–7–012Recap
14November 4@ Detroit Red Wings4–37–7–014Recap
15November 6Pittsburgh Penguins5–48–7–016Recap
16November 9@ New York Rangers3–58–8–016Recap
17November 10Calgary Flames2–3 OT8–9–016Recap
18November 12Detroit Red Wings4–58–10–016Recap
19November 15New York Rangers3–3 OT8–10–117Recap
20November 17St. Louis Blues1–38–11–117Recap
21November 19@ Quebec Nordiques5–68–12–117Recap
22November 20New Jersey Devils7–19–12–119Recap
23November 22Los Angeles Kings1–69–13–119Recap
24November 24@ Boston Bruins1–2 OT9–14–119Recap
25November 26@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–49–15–119Recap
26November 27@ Buffalo Sabres3–79–16–119Recap
27November 29Boston Bruins5–110–16–121Recap :
December: 11–2–1, 23 points (home: 6–0–1; road: 5–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
28December 1Montreal Canadiens2–2 OT10–16–222Recap
29December 3@ New Jersey Devils5–311–16–224Recap
30December 4New Jersey Devils6–212–16–226Recap
31December 6@ Washington Capitals3–412–17–226Recap
32December 8Pittsburgh Penguins4–313–17–228Recap
33December 10Chicago Blackhawks6–414–17–230Recap
34December 15Washington Capitals4–115–17–232Recap
35December 17@ Toronto Maple Leafs7–116–17–234Recap
36December 18Winnipeg Jets5–117–17–236Recap
37December 22@ New York Islanders4–218–17–238Recap
38December 23Hartford Whalers5–419–17–240Recap
39December 27@ Washington Capitals3–419–18–240Recap
40December 29@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–220–18–242Recap
41December 31@ Buffalo Sabres3–221–18–244Recap :
January: 5–5–1, 11 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
42January 3@ New York Islanders4–122–18–246Recap
43January 5@ Minnesota North Stars3–522–19–246Recap
44January 7@ St. Louis Blues4–722–20–246Recap
45January 10Minnesota North Stars3–223–20–248Recap
46January 12Quebec Nordiques7–224–20–250Recap
47January 15Detroit Red Wings4–824–21–250Recap
48January 17@ Vancouver Canucks3–524–22–250Recap
49January 20@ Edmonton Oilers1–1 OT24–22–351Recap
50January 21@ Winnipeg Jets7–325–22–353Recap
51January 26Washington Capitals0–125–23–353Recap
52January 28New York Islanders7–426–23–355Recap :
February: 5–7–0, 10 points (home: 2–5–0; road: 3–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
53February 2Pittsburgh Penguins3–526–24–355Recap
54February 5@ Washington Capitals3–127–24–357Recap
55February 9Edmonton Oilers1–327–25–357Recap
56February 11@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–427–26–357Recap
57February 12Vancouver Canucks2–327–27–357Recap
58February 14New York Rangers3–128–27–359Recap
59February 16Montreal Canadiens4–728–28–359Recap
60February 18@ New York Islanders2–328–29–359Recap
61February 19New York Islanders5–429–29–361Recap
62February 22@ New York Rangers6–430–29–363Recap
63February 24@ New Jersey Devils6–231–29–365Recap
64February 27Calgary Flames3–631–30–365Recap :
March: 5–5–4, 14 points (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–4–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
65March 1@ Winnipeg Jets4–4 OT31–30–466Recap
66March 4@ Los Angeles Kings2–631–31–466Recap
67March 7Edmonton Oilers4–4 OT31–31–567Recap
68March 9@ New York Islanders4–4 OT31–31–668Recap
69March 11Chicago Blackhawks7–232–31–670Recap
70March 12@ Hartford Whalers3–3 OT32–31–771Recap
71March 16St. Louis Blues3–4 OT32–32–771Recap
72March 18@ Boston Bruins3–632–33–771Recap
73March 19Toronto Maple Leafs8–633–33–773Recap
74March 22@ Chicago Blackhawks3–234–33–775Recap
75March 24@ Washington Capitals1–634–34–775Recap
76March 25New York Rangers6–135–34–777Recap
77March 27@ New Jersey Devils3–535–35–777Recap
78March 30Washington Capitals5–436–35–779Recap :
April: 0–1–1, 1 points (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–0–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
79April 1@ Montreal Canadiens2–2 OT36–35–880Recap
80April 2Pittsburgh Penguins5–6 OT36–36–880Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1989 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. Washington Capitals – Flyers win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 5@ Washington Capitals2–3 OTCapitals lead 1–0Recap
2April 6@ Washington Capitals3–2Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 8Washington Capitals3–4 OTCapitals lead 2–1Recap
4April 9Washington Capitals5–2Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 11@ Washington Capitals8–5Flyers lead 3–2Recap
6April 13Washington Capitals4–3Flyers win 4–2Recap :
Patrick Division Finals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – Flyers win 4–3
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 17@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Penguins lead 1–0Recap
2April 19@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTPenguins lead 2–1Recap
4April 23Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 25@ Pittsburgh Penguins7–10Penguins lead 3–2Recap
6April 27Pittsburgh Penguins6–2Series tied 3–3Recap
7April 29@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Flyers win 4–3Recap :
Wales Conference Finals vs. Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–2
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1May 1@ Montreal Canadiens3–1Flyers lead 1–0Recap
2May 3@ Montreal Canadiens0–3Series tied 1–1Recap
3May 5Montreal Canadiens1–5Canadiens lead 2–1Recap
4May 7Montreal Canadiens0–3Canadiens lead 3–1Recap
5May 9@ Montreal Canadiens2–1 OTCanadiens lead 3–2Recap
6May 11Montreal Canadiens2–4Canadiens win 4–2Recap :
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 | 69 | 48 | 40 | 88 | −4 | 73 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 1 | 27 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet | RW | 66 | 45 | 36 | 81 | −1 | 183 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 69 |
| 26 | Brian Propp | LW | 77 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 16 | 37 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 8 | 14 |
| 9 | Pelle Eklund | LW | 79 | 18 | 51 | 69 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −4 | 2 |
| 19 | Scott Mellanby | RW | 76 | 21 | 29 | 50 | −13 | 183 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 28 |
| 10 | Mike Bullard† | C | 54 | 23 | 26 | 49 | 1 | 60 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 32 |
| 14 | Ron Sutter | C | 55 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 25 | 80 | 19 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 51 |
| 29 | Terry Carkner | D | 78 | 11 | 32 | 43 | −6 | 149 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 28 |
| 2 | Mark Howe | D | 52 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 7 | 45 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 10 |
| 32 | Murray Craven | LW | 51 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 4 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 20 | Dave Poulin | C | 69 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 4 | 49 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 16 |
| 3 | Gord Murphy | D | 75 | 4 | 31 | 35 | −3 | 68 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| 24 | Derrick Smith | LW | 74 | 16 | 14 | 30 | −4 | 43 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | Jay Wells | D | 67 | 2 | 19 | 21 | −3 | 184 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 51 |
| 25 | Peter Zezel‡ | C | 26 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −13 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Kjell Samuelsson | D | 68 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 140 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 24 |
| 25 | Keith Acton† | C | 25 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 64 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| 15 | Doug Sulliman | RW | 52 | 6 | 6 | 12 | −8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Moe Mantha† | D | 30 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −5 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Kerry Huffman | D | 29 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Ron Hextall | G | 64 | 0 | 8 | 8 | | 113 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 28 |
| 23 | Ilkka Sinisalo | RW | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
| 6 | Jeff Chychrun | D | 80 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 245 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 65 |
| 33 | Mark Laforest | G | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Craig Berube | LW | 53 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −15 | 199 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
| 21 | Dave Brown‡ | RW | 53 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −8 | 199 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | Magnus Roupe‡ | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Don Nachbaur | C | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Al Secord† | RW | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −7 | 38 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 31 |
| 18 | Brian Dobbin | RW | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 39 | David Fenyves | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Mark Freer | C | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Glen Seabrooke | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 49 | Marc D'Amour | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Jeff Harding | RW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Ken Wregget† | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 16 |

### Goaltending

* † = 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 | 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 |
| 27 | Ron Hextall | 64 | 63 | 30 | 28 | 6 | 1855 | 202 | 3.23 | .891 | 0 | 3,756 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 445 | 49 | 3.32 | .890 | 0 | 886 |
| 33 | Mark Laforest | 17 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 497 | 64 | 4.12 | .871 | 0 | 933 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Ken Wregget† | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73 | 13 | 6.01 | .822 | 0 | 130 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 138 | 10 | 2.23 | .928 | 0 | 268 |
| 49 | Marc D'Amour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy | Tim Kerr |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Rick Tocchet |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Tim Kerr (February 27) |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Kjell Samuelsson |
| Team | Bobby Clarke Trophy | Ron Hextall |
| Team | Class Guy Award | Ron Sutter |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 1988–89 season was a trio of powerplay goal records on October 13. Brian Propp tied a team record by scoring three of the Flyers six powerplay goals in the game (also tied for the team record), including four overall by the team in the second period, which set the team record for a single period. From March 1 to March 19, Rick Tocchet scored a goal in a team record nine consecutive games. On March 7, Tim Kerr scored eight seconds into the start of a game, the fastest in team history. Ron Hextall set an NHL record for most penalty minutes (113) by a goaltender in a single season. The Flyers set a team record for most powerplay goals (98) and tied another for fewest shutouts (0).
During game five of the division final playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers allowed six goals during the first period, tying a team record, and ten goals during the game, setting a team record that was later tied. Pelle Eklund tied an NHL playoff record during the game for fastest goal from the start of a period, scoring six second into the second period. Kerr set team records for most goals (10), points (15), and powerplay goals (5) during the series. The Flyers also set records during the series for most shorthanded goals (4) and most penalties (94). In game one of the conference finals against the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers tied a team record for most shorthanded goals scored (2).
Tim Kerr set a team record during the playoffs for most powerplay goals scored (8) while Mark Howe's 15 assists is a franchise high among defensemen. The seven shorthanded goals scored and 610 penalty minutes by the team are franchise playoff highs.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Gord Murphy | October 6, 1988 | |
| First game | Jeff Harding | December 6, 1988 | |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 27, 1988, the day after the deciding game of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 25, 1989, the day of the deciding game of the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 21, 1988 (1988-06-21) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Stothers | To Toronto Maple Leafs Bill Root |
| July 25, 1988 (1988-07-25) | To Philadelphia Flyers Terry Carkner | To Quebec Nordiques Greg Smyth3rd-round pick in 1989 |
| September 1, 1988 (1988-09-01) | To Philadelphia Flyers 3rd-round pick in 1990 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Wendell Young7th-round pick in 1990 |
| September 28, 1988 (1988-09-28) | To Philadelphia Flyers Chris Jensen | To New York Rangers Michael Boyce |
| September 29, 1988 (1988-09-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Jay Wells | To Los Angeles Kings Doug Crossman |
| November 7, 1988 (1988-11-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers Scott Sandelin | To Montreal Canadiens J. J. Daigneault |
| November 29, 1988 (1988-11-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Mike Bullard | To St. Louis Blues Peter Zezel |
| December 8, 1988 (1988-12-08) | To Philadelphia Flyers Moe Mantha | To Minnesota North Stars Toronto's 5th-round pick in 1989 |
| December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10) | To Philadelphia Flyers Steven Fletcher | To Winnipeg Jets Future considerations |
| February 7, 1989 (1989-02-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers Al Secord | To Toronto Maple Leafs 5th-round pick in 1989 |
| February 7, 1989 (1989-02-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers Keith Acton6th-round pick in 1991 | To Edmonton Oilers Dave Brown |
| March 6, 1989 (1989-03-06) | To Philadelphia Flyers Ken Wregget | To Toronto Maple Leafs 1st-round pick in 1989Calgary's 1st-round pick in 1989 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 21, 1988 (1988-06-21) | Jocelyn Perreault | Sherbrooke Canadiens (AHL) | Free agency |
| September 30, 1988 (1988-09-30) | Marc D'Amour | Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) | Free agency |
| October 3, 1988 (1988-10-03) | Doug Sulliman | New Jersey Devils | Waiver draft |
| May 16, 1989 (1989-05-16) | Bill Armstrong | Western Michigan University (CCHA) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 21, 1988 (1988-06-21) | Kevin McCarthy | | Retirement |
| July 14, 1988 (1988-07-14) | Steve Smith | Calgary Flames | Free agency |
| October 3, 1988 (1988-10-03) | Brad Marsh | Toronto Maple Leafs | Waiver draft |
| October 10, 1988 (1988-10-10) | Nick Fotiu | Edmonton Oilers | Free agency |
| 1989 (1989) | Magnus Roupe | Färjestad BK (Elitserien) | Release |
| N/A | Willie Huber | | Retirement |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 25, 1988 (1988-07-25) | Terry Carkner | 3-year |
| September 1, 1988 (1988-09-01) | Jeff Harding | |
| September 1, 1988 (1988-09-01) | Bruce Rendall | |
| September 12, 1988 (1988-09-12) | Scott Mellanby | 3-year |
| September 12, 1988 (1988-09-12) | Rick Tocchet | 4-year |
| September 27, 1988 (1988-09-27) | Claude Boivin | |
| October 24, 1988 (1988-10-24) | Tim Kerr | 4-year |
| March 7, 1989 (1989-03-07) | Murray Baron | |
| May 19, 1989 (1989-05-19) | Ilkka Sinisalo | 2-year |

## Draft picks
### NHL entry draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1988 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, on June 11, 1988.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 14 | Claude Boivin | Left wing | Canada | Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 35 | Pat Murray | Left wing | Canada | Michigan State University (CCHA) |
| 3 | 56 | Craig Fisher | Left wing | Canada | Oshawa Legionaires (MetJHL) |
| 3 | 63 | Dominic Roussel | Goaltender | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 77 | Scott LaGrand | Goaltender | United States | Hotchkiss School (Conn.) |
| 5 | 98 | Edward O'Brien | Left wing | United States | Cushing Academy (Massachusetts) |
| 6 | 119 | Gord Frantti | Defense | United States | Calumet High School (Mich.) |
| 7 | 140 | Jamie Cooke | Right wing | Canada | Bramalea Blues (MetJHL) |
| 8 | 161 | Johan Salle | Defense | Sweden | Malmö IF (Elitserien) |
| 9 | 182 | Brian Arthur | Defense | Canada | Etobicoke Capitals (CJBHL) |
| 10 | 203 | Jeff Dandreta | Right wing | United States | Cushing Academy (Massachusetts) |
| 11 | 224 | Scott Billey | Right wing | United States | Madison Capitols (USHL) |
| 12 | 245 | Dragomir Kadlec | Defense | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Jihlava (TCH) |

### NHL supplemental draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1988 NHL supplemental draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 2 | 19 | Paul Connell | Goaltender | United States | Bowling Green State University (CCHA) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL.