# 1981–82 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1981–82 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 15th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the Patrick Division Semifinals to the New York Rangers in four games.

## Regular season

The Flyers were unable to reach a long-term contract with team captain Mel Bridgman for the second consecutive off-season. Prior to opening night head coach Pat Quinn replaced Bridgman as captain with Bill Barber. On November 11, Bridgman was traded to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Brad Marsh.
Darryl Sittler was acquired in January from Toronto.
After winning only six games in a span of 29 games, head coach Pat Quinn and assistant coach Bob Boucher were fired on March 19. Bobby Clarke was also relieved of his duties as an assistant coach. Replacing Quinn was Bob McCammon, who had been coaching the Maine Mariners ever since being replaced as Flyers coach by Quinn in 1979.

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 54 | 16 | 10 | 385 | 250 | 118 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 39 | 27 | 14 | 316 | 306 | 92 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 38 | 31 | 11 | 325 | 313 | 87 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 310 | 337 | 75 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 26 | 41 | 13 | 319 | 338 | 65 |
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
1981–82 NHL records
Team
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
N.Y. Islanders
—6−26−1−16−27−0−125−5−2
N.Y. Rangers
2−6—4−2−24−3−13−2−313−13−6
Philadelphia
1−6−12−4−2—5−2−13−4−111−16−5
Pittsburgh
2−63−4−12–5–1—5−2−112−17−3
Washington
0−7−12−3−34–3–12–5–1—8−18−6
Vs. Adams Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
N.Y. Islanders
1−21−22−0−12−11−1−17−6−2
N.Y. Rangers
1−22−0−11−1−11−21−1−16−6−3
Philadelphia
2−12−13−01−21−1−19−5−1
Pittsburgh
1−1−11−22−0−11−23−08−5−2
Washington
0−30−32−12−10−2−14−10−1
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
WIN
Total
N.Y. Islanders
3−03−02−0−12−0−13−02−115−1−2
N.Y. Rangers
3−02−12−12−0−11−1−11−1−111−4−3
Philadelphia
1−1−12−0−11−1−13−02−11−210−5−3
Pittsburgh
0−1−21−21−21−20−1−22−15−9−4
Washington
1−21−0−20−2−12−12−12−18−7−3
Vs. Smythe Division
1981–82 NHL records
Team
CGY
COL
EDM
LAK
VAN
Total
N.Y. Islanders
1−0−22−0−11−1−11−22−17−4−4
N.Y. Rangers
2−0−12−0−10−32−13−09−4−2
Philadelphia
3−02−11−22−0−10−2−18−5−2
Pittsburgh
0−1−23−00−31−1−12−0−16−5−4
Washington
3−01−20−2−11−1−11−1−16−6−3 :

## Playoffs

After a third-place finish the Flyers lost in four games to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. For the first time in since 1971, they failed to make it past the first round.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1981–82 regular season :
October: 8–2–1, 17 points (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 9Detroit Red Wings2–20–0–11Recap
2October 11Pittsburgh Penguins8–21–0–13Recap
3October 14@ Washington Capitals5–42–0–15Recap
4October 15Washington Capitals5–23–0–17Recap
5October 18Minnesota North Stars3–24–0–19Recap
6October 22Quebec Nordiques3–25–0–111Recap
7October 24@ St. Louis Blues6–36–0–113Recap
8October 25@ Detroit Red Wings4–17–0–115Recap
9October 27@ Montreal Canadiens2–117–1–115Recap
10October 29Pittsburgh Penguins6–48–1–117Recap
11October 31Vancouver Canucks4–88–2–117Recap :
November: 4–8–0, 8 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 1–6–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
12November 1@ Buffalo Sabres2–68–3–117Recap
13November 5New York Rangers2–68–4–117Recap
14November 7@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–78–5–117Recap
15November 12Hartford Whalers5–39–5–119Recap
16November 14@ Toronto Maple Leafs0–49–6–119Recap
17November 15New York Islanders5–410–6–121Recap
18November 18@ New York Rangers2–510–7–121Recap
19November 21@ Washington Capitals4–1010–8–121Recap
20November 22Washington Capitals2–310–9–121Recap
21November 24Toronto Maple Leafs6–311–9–123Recap
22November 26@ Boston Bruins3–112–9–125Recap
23November 28@ Minnesota North Stars3–512–10–125Recap :
December: 10–3–0, 20 points (home: 5–1–0; road: 5–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
24December 1Winnipeg Jets2–113–10–127Recap
25December 3Calgary Flames6–114–10–129Recap
26December 5@ Detroit Red Wings5–215–10–131Recap
27December 6St. Louis Blues8–216–10–133Recap
28December 9@ Pittsburgh Penguins4–117–10–135Recap
29December 12New York Rangers3–517–11–135Recap
30December 16@ New York Rangers7–318–11–137Recap
31December 17Buffalo Sabres2–119–11–139Recap
32December 20Pittsburgh Penguins3–120–11–141Recap
33December 23@ Chicago Black Hawks7–621–11–143Recap
34December 26@ New York Islanders2–421–12–143Recap
35December 28@ Calgary Flames7–422–12–145Recap
36December 30@ Edmonton Oilers5–722–13–145Recap :
January: 6–6–3, 15 points (home: 4–2–0; road: 2–4–3)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
37January 2@ St. Louis Blues5–323–13–147Recap
38January 5Los Angeles Kings5–324–13–149Recap
39January 7New York Islanders4–524–14–149Recap
40January 9@ New York Islanders1–324–15–149Recap
41January 10Colorado Rockies5–425–15–151Recap
42January 14Edmonton Oilers8–226–15–153Recap
43January 16@ Montreal Canadiens4–227–15–155Recap
44January 17Boston Bruins7–328–15–157Recap
45January 19@ Quebec Nordiques2–228–15–258Recap
46January 21Montreal Canadiens2–428–16–258Recap
47January 23@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–528–16–359Recap
48January 26@ Colorado Rockies4–728–17–359Recap
49January 27@ Los Angeles Kings4–428–17–460Recap
50January 30@ Vancouver Canucks2–428–18–460Recap
51January 31@ Edmonton Oilers4–728–19–460Recap :
February: 4–6–2, 10 points (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–4–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
52February 4Minnesota North Stars3–328–19–561Recap
53February 6@ Quebec Nordiques3–428–20–561Recap
54February 7Pittsburgh Penguins5–429–20–563Recap
55February 11Buffalo Sabres6–430–20–565Recap
56February 13@ New York Islanders2–830–21–565Recap
57February 14Los Angeles Kings6–431–21–567Recap
58February 18New York Islanders4–731–22–567Recap
59February 20@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–631–23–567Recap
60February 21Boston Bruins0–131–24–567Recap
61February 24@ Winnipeg Jets2–631–25–567Recap
62February 27@ Calgary Flames9–832–25–569Recap
63February 28@ Vancouver Canucks3–332–25–670Recap :
March: 5–5–4, 14 points (home: 4–2–2; road: 1–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
64March 2Winnipeg Jets6–732–26–670Recap
65March 4New York Rangers4–432–26–771Recap
66March 6@ Chicago Black Hawks1–432–27–771Recap
67March 7Washington Capitals7–133–27–773Recap
68March 10@ New York Rangers5–533–27–874Recap
69March 11Colorado Rockies5–134–27–876Recap
70March 13@ Washington Capitals3–634–28–876Recap
71March 17@ New York Rangers2–534–29–876Recap
72March 18Chicago Black Hawks4–434–29–977Recap
73March 20@ Hartford Whalers5–235–29–979Recap
74March 21Hartford Whalers5–336–29–981Recap
75March 25Washington Capitals3–436–30–981Recap
76March 27@ Washington Capitals4–436–30–1082Recap
77March 28New York Rangers3–137–30–1084Recap :
April: 1–1–1, 3 points (home: 1–0–1; road: 0–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
78April 1New York Islanders3–337–30–1185Recap
79April 3@ New York Islanders3–637–31–1185Recap
80April 4Toronto Maple Leafs7–138–31–1187Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1982 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. New York Rangers – Rangers win 3–1
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 7@ New York Rangers4–1Flyers lead 1–0Recap
2April 8@ New York Rangers3–7Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 10New York Rangers3–4Rangers lead 2–1Recap
4April 11New York Rangers5–7Rangers win 3–1Recap :
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 |
| 14 | Ken Linseman | C | 79 | 24 | 68 | 92 | 6 | 275 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 6 |
| 26 | Brian Propp | LW | 80 | 44 | 47 | 91 | 19 | 117 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| 7 | Bill Barber | LW | 80 | 45 | 44 | 89 | 4 | 85 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Ron Flockhart | C | 72 | 33 | 39 | 72 | 18 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| 16 | Bobby Clarke | C | 62 | 17 | 46 | 63 | 28 | 154 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 19 | Ray Allison | RW | 51 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 13 | 104 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 12 | Tim Kerr | RW | 61 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 6 | 138 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Reggie Leach | RW | 66 | 26 | 21 | 47 | 2 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Ilkka Sinisalo | LW | 66 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 18 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Behn Wilson | D | 59 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 6 | 135 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Darryl Sittler† | C | 35 | 14 | 18 | 32 | −1 | 50 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 6 |
| 17 | Paul Holmgren | RW | 41 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 10 | 183 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 6 |
| 24 | Bob Hoffmeyer† | D | 57 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 13 | 142 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| 8 | Brad Marsh† | D | 66 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 17 | 106 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 15 | Al Hill | LW | 41 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −4 | 58 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 25 | Greg Adams | LW | 33 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Glen Cochrane | D | 63 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 329 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Mark Botell | D | 32 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Tom Gorence | RW | 66 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −17 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 10 | Mel Bridgman‡ | C | 9 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Jimmy Watson | D | 76 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 99 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| 6 | Fred Arthur | D | 74 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −8 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 2 | Bob Dailey | D | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Frank Bathe | D | 28 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 68 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Lindsay Carson | C | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −15 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Pete Peeters | G | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 24 | Steve Smith | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Rick St. Croix | G | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 35 | Reid Bailey | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| 8 | Thomas Eriksson | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Dave Michayluk | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Gary Morrison | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Mark Taylor | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Gord Williams | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### 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 |
| 33 | Pete Peeters | 44 | 44 | 23 | 18 | 3 | 1242 | 160 | 3.72 | .871 | 0 | 2,582 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 106 | 17 | 4.65 | .840 | 0 | 219 |
| 30 | Rick St. Croix | 29 | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 861 | 112 | 3.89 | .870 | 0 | 1,726 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3.11 | .875 | 0 | 19 |
| 31 | Pelle Lindbergh | 8 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 290 | 35 | 4.39 | .879 | 0 | 478 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Bill Barber |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Brian Propp |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Pete Peeters (December 7) |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Frank Bathe |
| Team | Class Guy Award | Bobby Clarke |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 1981–82 season was the one minute and twenty-two seconds it took to score the fastest four goals in team history on October 11. Ron Flockhart set two records during the season. On December 6, Flockhart scored two goals eight seconds apart, the fastest two goals by one player in team history. From February 4 to February 20, Flockhart went eight consecutive games with a goal, the longest such streak for a rookie in team history. The Flyers set the franchise season marks for most powerplay goals allowed (102) and tied the mark for fewest shutouts (0).

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Ilkka Sinisalo | October 9, 1981 |
| First game | Lindsay Carson | October 9, 1981 |
| First game | Pelle Lindbergh | November 1, 1981 |
| First game | Steve Smith | November 5, 1981 |
| First game | Mark Botell | November 24, 1981 |
| First game | Mark Taylor | December 20, 1981 |
| First game | Dave Michayluk | December 28, 1981 |
| First game | Gord Williams | February 24, 1982 |
| 400th goal | Darryl Sittler | March 18, 1982 |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 22, 1981, the day after the deciding game of the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 16, 1982, the day of the deciding game of the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 3, 1981 (1981-07-03) | To Philadelphia Flyers Ray AllisonFred Arthur1st-round pick in 19823rd-round pick in 1982 | To Hartford Whalers Don GillenRick MacLeishBlake Wesley1st-round pick in 19822nd-round pick in 19823rd-round pick in 1982 |
| November 11, 1981 (1981-11-11) | To Philadelphia Flyers Brad Marsh | To Calgary Flames Mel Bridgman |
| January 20, 1982 (1982-01-20) | To Philadelphia Flyers Darryl Sittler | To Toronto Maple Leafs Rich CostelloHartford's 2nd-round pick in 1982Future considerations |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| June 18, 1981 (1981-06-18) | Bob Froese | Saginaw Gears (IHL) | Free agency |
| October 9, 1981 (1981-10-09) | Daryl Stanley | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) | Free agency |
| November 22, 1981 (1981-11-22) | Bob Hoffmeyer | Maine Mariners (AHL) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 29, 1981 (1981-06-29) | Robbie Moore | Minnesota North Stars | Free agency |
| August 11, 1981 (1981-08-11) | Dave Logan | Toronto Maple Leafs | Free agency |
| N/A | Yves Preston | Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) | Free agency |
| October 5, 1981 (1981-10-05) | Terry Murray | Washington Capitals | Waiver draft |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| June 11, 1981 (1981-06-11) | Brian Tutt | |
| June 16, 1981 (1981-06-16) | Dan Held | |
| August 18, 1981 (1981-08-18) | Tom Gorence | multi-year |
| August 21, 1981 (1981-08-21) | Mel Bridgman | multi-year |
| September 29, 1981 (1981-09-29) | Reggie Leach | multi-year |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1981 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, on June 10, 1981.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 16 | Steve Smith | Defense | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 2 | 37 | Rich Costello | Forward | United States | Natick High School (Massachusetts) |
| 3 | 47 | Barry Tabobondung | Defense | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 3 | 58 | Ken Strong | Forward | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 4 | 65 | Dave Michayluk | Left wing | Canada | Regina Pats (WHL) |
| 4 | 79 | Ken Latta | Right wing | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 5 | 100 | Justin Hanley | Center | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHL) |
| 6 | 121 | Andre Villeneuve | Defense | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 137 | Vladimir Svitek | Forward | Czechoslovakia | HC Košice (CZE) |
| 7 | 142 | Gil Hudon | Goaltender | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (SJHL) |
| 8 | 163 | Steve Taylor | Left wing | United States | Providence College (HE) |
| 9 | 184 | Len Hachborn | Center | Canada | Brantford Alexanders (OHL) |
| 10 | 205 | Steve Tsujiura | Center | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Maine Mariners of the AHL and the Toledo Goaldiggers of the IHL.