# 1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 19th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs in five game to the New York Rangers.

## Regular season

The club began the year 12–2–0 (with both losses coming at home to New Jersey and Quebec), which included 10 consecutive wins until goaltender Pelle Lindbergh was killed in a car accident in the early hours of November 10.
Due to the tragedy, back-up Bob Froese became the de facto starter, and the club called up Darren Jensen for relief work. Froese suffered a groin injury in practice prior to the team's next game against the Edmonton Oilers, so Jensen got the start against the defending Stanley Cup champions at the Spectrum on November 14.
Following an emotional memorial service, the Flyers posted a spirited 5–3 win, featuring four goals in the third period to earn their 11th victory in a row. They went on to beat Hartford two days later to set a new franchise record for consecutive wins, then rallied from three-goals down to top the New York Islanders 5–4 in overtime the next day. The Islanders ended the streak two nights later in Uniondale, almost wasting a four-goal lead in an 8–6 decision.
Philly became the first club in the NHL to reach 30 wins, after a 4–0 shutout of the Washington Capitals on January 9, but began to falter in February and early March, losing four straight games and seeing the Capitals climb within striking distance. The Caps and Flyers each spent time in first place for the remainder of the schedule, but the orange and black took the division crown on the last day of the season (April 6) with a come-from-behind 5–3 home win after being down 2–0.
In a 7–3 loss to the Devils on March 8, Tim Kerr set an NHL record with his 29th power-play goal of the season, passing Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito's mark. He finished the year with 34, the league record to this day.
Propp had the best chance of his career to crack the 100-point mark, but that was derailed on March 6, when Buffalo Sabres forward Lindy Ruff caught him in the eye with a high stick. The incident cost Propp several games, and he finished with a team-high 97 points while also causing him to wear a visor for the remainder of his career.
Bob Clarke made a couple minor deals during the season, trading Ed Hospodar and the enigmatic Todd Bergen to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Richter and Bo Berglund on November 29. Neither player lasted beyond the season with the Flyers, while Hospodar returned in 1986–87. Also, Joe Paterson and Len Hachborn were sent in separate deals to the Los Angeles Kings, and Chico Resch was acquired from the Devils for a draft pick in early March.
Froese finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy. Mark Howe finished second in voting for the Norris Trophy and third in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP. Howe was named to the first NHL All-Star team and took home the NHL Plus-Minus Award – the defense pairing of Howe and Brad McCrimmon finished with a +85 and a +83 respectively – while Froese was named to the second NHL All-Star team and was the co-winner with Jensen of the William M. Jennings Trophy.

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 53 | 23 | 4 | 335 | 241 | 110 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 50 | 23 | 7 | 315 | 272 | 107 |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 39 | 29 | 12 | 327 | 284 | 90 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 36 | 38 | 6 | 280 | 276 | 78 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 34 | 38 | 8 | 313 | 305 | 76 |
| New Jersey Devils | 80 | 28 | 49 | 3 | 300 | 374 | 59 |
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
1985–86 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
New Jersey
—2−52−53−42−4−11−610−24−1
N.Y. Islanders
5−2—3−3−14−35−1−13−420−13−2
N.Y. Rangers
5−23−3−1—1−62−4−13−3−114−18−3
Philadelphia
4−33−46−1—6−0−15−224−10−1
Pittsburgh
4−2−11−5−14−2−10–6−1—1−610−21−4
Washington
6−14−33−3−12–56−1—21−13−1
Vs. Adams Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
New Jersey
0−31−21−21−22−15−10−0
N.Y. Islanders
1−0−21−22−11−21−26−7−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−10−31−22−0−10−2−15−8−2
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−11−1−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
1−22−0−11−20−2−11−1−15−7−3
Washington
2−0−11−1−12−0−12−0−13−010−1−4
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
New Jersey
2−12−0−11−21−21−27−7−1
N.Y. Islanders
0−2−13−00−2−11−1−13−07−5−3
N.Y. Rangers
0−33−01−21−1−12−17−7−1
Philadelphia
2−0−12−12−0−12−12−110−3−2
Pittsburgh
1−1−12−13−02−13−011−3−1
Washington
2−12−12−13−02−111−4−0
Vs. Smythe Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
New Jersey
0−2−10−32−12−12−16−8−1
N.Y. Islanders
1−1−10−1−22−11−1−12−0−16−4−5
N.Y. Rangers
1−22−12−13−02−110−5−0
Philadelphia
2−11−23−02−12−110−5−0
Pittsburgh
1−21−22−12−12−18−7−0
Washington
0−33−02−12−0−11−1−18−5−2 :

## Playoffs

Despite their regular season success, an emotionally exhausted Flyers team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in five games.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1985–86 regular season :
October: 7–2–0, 14 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 4–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 10New Jersey Devils5–60–1–00Recap
2October 12@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–21–1–02Recap
3October 13@ Washington Capitals4–22–1–04Recap
4October 17Quebec Nordiques1–22–2–04Recap
5October 19Minnesota North Stars7–33–2–06Recap
6October 20@ Chicago Black Hawks5–24–2–08Recap
7October 24Hartford Whalers3–05–2–010Recap
8October 27Vancouver Canucks7–46–2–012Recap
9October 30@ Montreal Canadiens5–47–2–014Recap :
November: 12–2–0, 24 points (home: 8–0–0; road: 4–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
10November 2@ Quebec Nordiques5–38–2–016Recap
11November 3Los Angeles Kings7–49–2–018Recap
12November 6@ New York Rangers5–210–2–020Recap
13November 7Chicago Black Hawks6–211–2–022Recap
14November 9Boston Bruins5–312–2–024Recap
15November 14Edmonton Oilers5–313–2–026Recap
16November 16@ Hartford Whalers5–214–2–028Recap
17November 17New York Islanders5–4 OT15–2–030Recap
18November 19@ New York Islanders6–815–3–030Recap
19November 21Hartford Whalers3–016–3–032Recap
20November 23@ Boston Bruins4–516–4–032Recap
21November 24Pittsburgh Penguins7–417–4–034Recap
22November 27Winnipeg Jets6–118–4–036Recap
23November 29@ Minnesota North Stars4–119–4–038Recap :
December: 9–6–0, 18 points (home: 5–1–0; road: 4–5–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
24December 1@ Winnipeg Jets1–219–5–038Recap
25December 3@ Detroit Red Wings1–419–6–038Recap
26December 5Toronto Maple Leafs3–619–7–038Recap
27December 7New York Rangers4–020–7–040Recap
28December 8@ New York Rangers1–320–8–040Recap
29December 10Boston Bruins7–421–8–042Recap
30December 12Montreal Canadiens6–322–8–044Recap
31December 14@ Detroit Red Wings6–423–8–046Recap
32December 17@ New Jersey Devils4–723–9–046Recap
33December 19New Jersey Devils6–324–9–048Recap
34December 21@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–225–9–050Recap
35December 22Pittsburgh Penguins3–2 OT26–9–052Recap
36December 27@ Vancouver Canucks6–127–9–054Recap
37December 28@ Calgary Flames6–528–9–056Recap
38December 31@ Edmonton Oilers3–428–10–056Recap :
January: 7–5–1, 15 points (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
39January 2@ Los Angeles Kings7–429–10–058Recap
40January 4@ St. Louis Blues1–229–11–058Recap
41January 9Washington Capitals4–030–11–060Recap
42January 11@ New Jersey Devils8–431–11–062Recap
43January 12Calgary Flames3–032–11–064Recap
44January 14New Jersey Devils3–233–11–066Recap
45January 17New York Islanders3–433–12–066Recap
46January 18@ Washington Capitals2–533–13–066Recap
47January 21@ New York Islanders3–733–14–066Recap
48January 23Detroit Red Wings5–234–14–068Recap
49January 25@ St. Louis Blues1–035–14–070Recap
50January 28@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–2 OT35–14–171Recap
51January 30@ New York Islanders4–835–15–171Recap :
February: 6–3–3, 15 points (home: 5–0–1; road: 1–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
52February 1@ Quebec Nordiques2–2 OT35–15–272Recap
53February 6St. Louis Blues4–336–15–274Recap
54February 8Minnesota North Stars3–3 OT36–15–375Recap
55February 9@ Chicago Black Hawks2–2 OT36–15–476Recap
56February 12@ Buffalo Sabres4–037–15–478Recap
57February 13New York Islanders6–338–15–480Recap
58February 15@ Montreal Canadiens3–538–16–480Recap
59February 17Winnipeg Jets8–439–16–482Recap
60February 20Los Angeles Kings5–340–16–484Recap
61February 22Washington Capitals3–141–16–486Recap
62February 27@ Calgary Flames4–741–17–486Recap
63February 28@ Vancouver Canucks1–341–18–486Recap :
March: 8–5–0, 16 points (home: 6–2–0; road: 2–3–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
64March 2@ Edmonton Oilers1–2 OT41–19–486Recap
65March 4Buffalo Sabres4–641–20–486Recap
66March 6Toronto Maple Leafs7–442–20–488Recap
67March 8@ New Jersey Devils3–742–21–488Recap
68March 9@ New York Rangers4–143–21–490Recap
69March 13Washington Capitals2–044–21–492Recap
70March 15@ Toronto Maple Leafs6–5 OT45–21–494Recap
71March 16New Jersey Devils4–146–21–496Recap
72March 20Pittsburgh Penguins5–147–21–498Recap
73March 22New York Rangers4–248–21–4100Recap
74March 23@ Washington Capitals5–648–22–4100Recap
75March 27Buffalo Sabres0–148–23–4100Recap
76March 29New York Rangers8–249–23–4102Recap :
April: 4–0–0, 8 points (home: 2–0–0; road: 2–0–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
77April 1New York Islanders4–250–23–4104Recap
78April 2@ New York Rangers3–251–23–4106Recap
79April 5@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–3 OT52–23–4108Recap
80April 6Washington Capitals5–353–23–4110Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1986 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. New York Rangers – Rangers win 3–2
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 9New York Rangers2–6Rangers lead 1–0Recap
2April 10New York Rangers2–1Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 12@ New York Rangers2–5Rangers lead 2–1Recap
4April 13@ New York Rangers7–1Series tied 2–2Recap
5April 15New York Rangers2–5Rangers win 3–2Recap :
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 |
| 26 | Brian Propp | LW | 72 | 40 | 57 | 97 | 24 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 4 |
| 12 | Tim Kerr | RW | 76 | 58 | 26 | 84 | −5 | 79 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −2 | 8 |
| 2 | Mark Howe | D | 77 | 24 | 58 | 82 | 85 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Ilkka Sinisalo | LW | 74 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 17 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Dave Poulin | C | 79 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 20 | 49 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −4 | 2 |
| 9 | Pelle Eklund | C | 70 | 15 | 51 | 66 | −4 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Ron Sutter | C | 75 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 26 | 159 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 10 | Brad McCrimmon | D | 80 | 13 | 43 | 56 | 83 | 85 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Murray Craven | LW | 78 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 24 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 25 | Peter Zezel | C | 79 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 27 | 76 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| 3 | Doug Crossman | D | 80 | 6 | 37 | 43 | −5 | 55 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Rich Sutter | RW | 78 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 28 | 199 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| 22 | Rick Tocchet | RW | 69 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 12 | 284 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 26 |
| 18 | Lindsay Carson | LW | 50 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 10 | 84 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 21 | Dave Brown | RW | 76 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 277 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 16 |
| 8 | Brad Marsh | D | 79 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | Derrick Smith | LW | 69 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 57 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 10 |
| 17 | Ed Hospodar‡ | D | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | Thomas Eriksson | D | 43 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −12 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Don Nachbaur | C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Bo Berglund† | RW | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Dave Richter† | D | 50 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 138 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 29 | Daryl Stanley | D | 33 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Bob Froese | G | 51 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 30 | Darren Jensen | G | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | Mike Stothers | D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Ross Fitzpatrick | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Kevin McCarthy | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Scott Mellanby | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Carl Mokosak | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Joe Paterson‡ | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Glenn Resch† | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 5 | Steve Smith | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 35 | Bob Froese | 51 | 47 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 1270 | 116 | 2.55 | .909 | 5 | 2,724 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 123 | 15 | 3.08 | .878 | 0 | 292 |
| 30 | Darren Jensen | 29 | 23 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 753 | 88 | 3.69 | .883 | 2 | 1,431 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 200 | 23 | 2.88 | .885 | 1 | 478 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Glenn Resch† | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 84 | 10 | 3.23 | .881 | 0 | 186 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.24 | .000 | 0 | 7 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Emery Edge Award | Mark Howe |
| League (annual) | NHL first All-Star team | Mark Howe (Defense) |
| League (annual) | NHL second All-Star team | Bob Froese (Goaltender) |
| League (annual) | William M. Jennings Trophy | Bob Froese |
| League (annual) | William M. Jennings Trophy | Darren Jensen |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Bob Froese |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mark Howe |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Mike Keenan (Coach) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Tim Kerr |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pelle Lindbergh |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Dave Poulin |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brian Propp |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Month | Bob Froese (March) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Bob Froese (December 29) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Bob Froese (January 9) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Bob Froese (March 17) |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Mark Howe |
| Team | Bobby Clarke Trophy | Mark Howe |
| Team | Class Guy Award | Murray Craven |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 1985–86 season was a 13-game winning streak from October 19 to November 17. On November 3, Tim Kerr set a team record (since tied multiple times) by scoring three powerplay goals in a game. Pelle Eklund's nine consecutive games with an assist from March 2 to March 20 is a team rookie record. Kerr's 34 powerplay goals on the season is an NHL record. Mark Howe's +87 plus/minus rating is a franchise single season high and his seven shorthanded goals tied the franchise record. Howe also set franchise marks for defenseman for goals scored (24) and points (82). Eklund set the team rookie record for assists (51). The team's 53 wins on the season tied the high mark set during the previous season. Their four ties during the season is the fewest in team history, while the one home tie and three road ties is tied for the fewest.
During the second period of game four of their division semifinal series against the New York Rangers, the Flyers tied a team record for most goals in a single playoff period (5) and set a team record for fastest five-goals scored in a playoff game, taking seven minutes and forty-eight seconds to do so.

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Pelle Eklund | October 10, 1985 | |
| First game | Scott Mellanby | March 22, 1986 | |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 31, 1985, the day after the deciding game of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 24, 1986, the day of the deciding game of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| October 11, 1985 (1985-10-11) | To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Seguin2nd-round pick in 1986 | To Los Angeles Kings Paul Guay4th-round pick in 1986 |
| November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Edmonton Oilers Ron Low |
| November 29, 1985 (1985-11-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Bo BerglundDave Richter | To Minnesota North Stars Todd BergenEd Hospodar |
| December 5, 1985 (1985-12-05) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Los Angeles Kings Len Hachborn |
| December 18, 1985 (1985-12-18) | To Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia's 4th-round pick in 1986 | To Los Angeles Kings Joe Paterson |
| March 11, 1986 (1986-03-11) | To Philadelphia Flyers Glenn Resch | To New Jersey Devils 3rd-round pick in 1986 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| July 19, 1985 (1985-07-19) | Kevin McCarthy | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency |
| July 26, 1985 (1985-07-26) | Jim Dobson | Quebec Nordiques | Free agency |
| July 26, 1985 (1985-07-26) | Carl Mokosak | Los Angeles Kings | Free agency |
| July 26, 1985 (1985-07-26) | Tim Tookey | Pittsburgh Penguins | Free agency |
| September 30, 1985 (1985-09-30) | Steve Martinson | Toledo Goaldiggers (IHL) | Free agency |
| October 7, 1985 (1985-10-07) | Dave Farrish | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency |
| October 8, 1985 (1985-10-08) | Florent Robidoux | Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) | Free agency |
| November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07) | Ron Low | Edmonton Oilers | Waivers |
| January 15, 1986 (1986-01-15) | John Kemp | Canadian National Team | Free agency |
| March 19, 1986 (1986-03-19) | Craig Berube | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 10, 1985 (1985-06-10) | Miroslav Dvorak | ESG Kassel (Germany) | Retirement |
| August 22, 1985 (1985-08-22) | Bill Barber | | Retirement |
| September 25, 1985 (1985-09-25) | Todd Bergen | Minnesota North Stars | Retirement |
| November 11, 1985 (1985-11-11) | Pelle Lindbergh | | Death |
| N/A | Tim Young | | Retirement |
| N/A | Jim Dobson | New York Rangers | Release |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| June 18, 1985 (1985-06-18) | Pelle Eklund | 2-year |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Ray Allison | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Ed Hospodar | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Brad Marsh | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Dave McLay | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | John Stevens | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Rich Sutter | |
| August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14) | Ron Sutter | |
| October 10, 1985 (1985-10-10) | Pelle Lindbergh | 6-year |
| November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07) | Jeff Chychrun | |
| March 13, 1986 (1986-03-13) | Scott Mellanby | |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1985 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, on June 15, 1985. The Flyers traded their tenth-round pick, 210th overall, to the Boston Bruins for Ian Armstrong on May 24, 1984.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 21 | Glen Seabrooke | Center | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 2 | 42 | Bruce Rendall | Left wing | Canada | Chatham Maroons (OPJHL) |
| 3 | 48 | Darryl Gilmour | Goaltender | Canada | Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) |
| 3 | 63 | Shane Whelan | Center | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4 | 84 | Paul Marshall | Defense | United States | Northwood School (N.Y.) |
| 5 | 105 | Daril Holmes | Right wing | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHL) |
| 6 | 126 | Ken Alexander | Defense | United States | Kitchener Rangers (OHL) |
| 7 | 147 | Tony Horacek | Left wing | Canada | Kelowna Wings (WHL) |
| 8 | 168 | Mike Cusack | Forward | United States | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) |
| 9 | 189 | Gord Murphy | Defense | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 11 | 231 | Rod Williams | Right wing | Canada | Kelowna Wings (WHL) |
| 12 | 252 | Paul Maurice | Defense | Canada | Windsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.