# 1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1978–79 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 12th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

## Off-season

Head coach Fred Shero, who had one more year left on his contract, submitted a letter of resignation on May 22, 1978, stating that the Flyers needed a change whether they realized it or not. Flyers management had previously heard rumors about Shero wanting to leave Philadelphia and re-join the New York Rangers organization, and refused to accept his letter of resignation. Shero then signed a $250,000, five-year contract with the Rangers to be their new head coach and general manager, believing he no longer had a contractual agreement to the Flyers. A few weeks after signing Shero, the Rangers gave the Flyers their first-round pick (7th overall) in the 1978 draft and cash as compensation, allowing the Rangers to avoid tampering charges. Bob McCammon, who had just coached the Flyers' first year American Hockey League Maine Mariners farm club to a Calder Cup title, was named Shero's replacement on July 6.
The Flyers acquired the 6th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins for three veterans from their Stanley Cup championship teams – Tom Bladon, Orest Kindrachuk and Ross Lonsberry – on the eve of the draft. The trade gave the Flyers three first-round picks and they selected defenseman Behn Wilson and forwards Ken Linseman and Dan Lucas.
Two other longtime Flyers also left the team during the off-season. Gary Dornhoefer retired and Joe Watson was traded to the Colorado Rockies.

## Regular season

After an eight-game winless streak in January that saw the team drop to last place in the division, McCammon and assistant coach Terry Crisp were fired. Replacing him was Shero's previous assistant coach Pat Quinn, who had replaced McCammon as head coach in Maine. While McCammon returned to Maine and coached the Mariners to a second consecutive Calder Cup title, the Flyers rallied under Quinn and finished in 2nd place.
On February 17, 1979, Bernie Parent suffered a career-ending eye injury in a game against the New York Rangers. An errant stick entered the right eye hole of his mask, causing permanent damage to his vision. After hospitalization, including the complete loss of sight for two weeks, Parent recovered and eventually regained sight, although not at the level required to resume his playing career.

### Season standings

Patrick Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| New York Islanders | 80 | 51 | 15 | 14 | 358 | 214 | 116 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 80 | 40 | 25 | 15 | 281 | 248 | 95 |
| New York Rangers | 80 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 316 | 292 | 91 |
| Atlanta Flames | 80 | 41 | 31 | 8 | 327 | 280 | 90 |

### Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Atlanta
—2–64–3–14–410–13–1
N.Y. Islanders
6–2—5–35–1–216–6–2
N.Y. Rangers
3–4–13–5—2–3–38–12–4
Philadelphia
4–41–5–23–2–3—8–11–5
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Atlanta
2–1–24–04–12–212–4–2
N.Y. Islanders
3–24–0–13–0–24–014–2–3
N.Y. Rangers
4–04–13–24–015–3–0
Philadelphia
1–33–0–14–12–1–110–5–2
Vs. Adams Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Atlanta
1–32–2–11–2–14–18–8–2
N.Y. Islanders
2–1–21–2–13–13–19–5–3
N.Y. Rangers
2–32–1–11–2–12–2–17–8–3
Philadelphia
3–1–13–0–22–22–2–110–5–4
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Atlanta
3–0–12–21–33–0–12–1–111–6–3
N.Y. Islanders
3–0–12–0–23–11–0–33–112–2–6
N.Y. Rangers
1–1–23–13–12–21–1–210–6–4
Philadelphia
2–0–24–00–3–13–13–0–112–4–4 :

## Playoffs

Matched-up against the Vancouver Canucks in the preliminary round, the Flyers won the series in three games. The Flyers' season came to an end against Shero's Rangers in a five-game quarterfinal loss.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1978–79 regular season :
October: 3–4–2, 8 points (home: 2–3–0; road: 1–1–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
1October 12@ New York Rangers3–30–0–11Recap
2October 14@ Detroit Red Wings3–11–0–13Recap
3October 15Montreal Canadiens2–31–1–13Recap
4October 19Pittsburgh Penguins3–12–1–15Recap
5October 21@ Toronto Maple Leafs0–22–2–15Recap
6October 22Atlanta Flames2–52–3–15Recap
7October 24@ New York Islanders4–42–3–26Recap
8October 26Toronto Maple Leafs5–03–3–28Recap
9October 29Vancouver Canucks2–53–4–28Recap :
November: 9–4–2, 20 points (home: 4–1–1; road: 5–3–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
10November 1@ Atlanta Flames0–33–5–28Recap
11November 2Buffalo Sabres3–33–5–39Recap
12November 4@ Boston Bruins7–34–5–311Recap
13November 5Colorado Rockies6–45–5–313Recap
14November 8@ Los Angeles Kings5–36–5–315Recap
15November 10@ Colorado Rockies2–26–5–416Recap
16November 12@ Vancouver Canucks4–07–5–418Recap
17November 16Chicago Black Hawks3–47–6–418Recap
18November 18@ New York Islanders2–87–7–418Recap
19November 19Detroit Red Wings4–38–7–420Recap
20November 22@ Buffalo Sabres3–29–7–422Recap
21November 24Minnesota North Stars4–310–7–424Recap
22November 25@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–111–7–426Recap
23November 28@ Montreal Canadiens0–311–8–426Recap
24November 30St. Louis Blues3–012–8–428Recap :
December: 7–5–2, 16 points (home: 6–1–0; road: 1–4–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
25December 2@ Boston Bruins3–512–9–428Recap
26December 3Toronto Maple Leafs7–213–9–430Recap
27December 7New York Rangers2–513–10–430Recap
28December 9Boston Bruins9–214–10–432Recap
29December 10@ New York Rangers4–015–10–434Recap
30December 14Pittsburgh Penguins2–116–10–436Recap
31December 16@ Atlanta Flames2–716–11–436Recap
32December 17St. Louis Blues4–117–11–438Recap
33December 19@ Washington Capitals4–417–11–539Recap
34December 21Washington Capitals5–218–11–541Recap
35December 23@ Chicago Black Hawks2–518–12–541Recap
36December 26@ Detroit Red Wings2–218–12–642Recap
37December 28New York Rangers6–519–12–644Recap
38December 30@ St. Louis Blues3–619–13–644Recap :
January: 3–4–5, 11 points (home: 2–1–3; road: 1–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
39January 4New York Islanders3–220–13–646Recap
40January 6@ New York Islanders1–520–14–646Recap
41January 7Los Angeles Kings3–021–14–648Recap
42January 9@ Washington Capitals5–222–14–650Recap
43January 11Detroit Red Wings3–322–14–751Recap
44January 14New York Islanders1–122–14–852Recap
45January 16@ Atlanta Flames0–522–15–852Recap
46January 18Buffalo Sabres4–422–15–953Recap
47January 20@ Montreal Canadiens5–522–15–1054Recap
48January 21@ New York Rangers5–522–15–1155Recap
49January 27@ Minnesota North Stars1–322–16–1155Recap
50January 29Montreal Canadiens3–722–17–1155Recap :
February: 5–2–2, 12 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–0–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
51February 1New York Islanders1–422–18–1155Recap
52February 4Atlanta Flames7–423–18–1157Recap
53February 14@ Toronto Maple Leafs2–223–18–1258Recap
54February 15Boston Bruins5–324–18–1260Recap
55February 17New York Rangers2–424–19–1260Recap
56February 18Minnesota North Stars3–225–19–1262Recap
57February 20@ Vancouver Canucks3–325–19–1363Recap
58February 23@ Colorado Rockies5–326–19–1365Recap
59February 24@ Los Angeles Kings4–327–19–1367Recap :
March: 11–4–2, 24 points (home: 7–1–0; road: 4–3–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
60March 1@ Boston Bruins4–427–19–1468Recap
61March 3@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–427–20–1468Recap
62March 4@ Buffalo Sabres6–128–20–1470Recap
63March 6Colorado Rockies5–029–20–1472Recap
64March 8Chicago Black Hawks1–529–21–1472Recap
65March 10@ Pittsburgh Penguins2–329–22–1472Recap
66March 11Los Angeles Kings6–330–22–1474Recap
67March 14@ Chicago Black Hawks4–031–22–1476Recap
68March 15Atlanta Flames5–432–22–1478Recap
69March 17Buffalo Sabres5–333–22–1480Recap
70March 18St. Louis Blues5–334–22–1482Recap
71March 21@ Minnesota North Stars3–734–23–1482Recap
72March 23@ Atlanta Flames4–135–23–1484Recap
73March 25Washington Capitals7–436–23–1486Recap
74March 27@ New York Rangers4–436–23–1587Recap
75March 29Vancouver Canucks5–037–23–1589Recap
76March 31@ St. Louis Blues4–238–23–1591Recap :
April: 2–2–0, 4 points (home: 2–1–0; road: 0–1–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreRecordPointsRecap
77April 1New York Rangers7–339–23–1593Recap
78April 5New York Islanders1–339–24–1593Recap
79April 7@ New York Islanders2–939–25–1593Recap
80April 8Atlanta Flames4–240–25–1595Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1979 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Preliminary Round vs. Vancouver Canucks – Flyers win 2–1
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 10Vancouver Canucks2–3Canucks lead 1–0Recap
2April 12@ Vancouver Canucks6–4Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 14Vancouver Canucks7–2Flyers win 2–1Recap :
Quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–1
GameDateOpponentScoreSeriesRecap
1April 16New York Rangers3–2 OTFlyers lead 1–0Recap
2April 18New York Rangers1–7Series tied 1–1Recap
3April 20@ New York Rangers1–5Rangers lead 2–1Recap
4April 22@ New York Rangers0–6Rangers lead 3–1Recap
5April 24New York Rangers3–8Rangers win 4–1Recap :
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 |
| 7 | Bill Barber | LW | 79 | 34 | 46 | 80 | 19 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −1 | 10 |
| 16 | Bobby Clarke | C | 80 | 16 | 57 | 73 | 12 | 68 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −8 | 8 |
| 10 | Mel Bridgman | C | 76 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 14 | 184 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −7 | 17 |
| 19 | Rick MacLeish | LW | 71 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 4 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 0 |
| 27 | Reggie Leach | RW | 76 | 34 | 20 | 54 | −3 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −9 | 0 |
| 3 | Behn Wilson | D | 80 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 13 | 197 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −6 | 8 |
| 32 | Blake Dunlop | C | 66 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 27 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 4 |
| 2 | Bob Dailey | D | 70 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 21 | 63 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| 9 | Bob Kelly | LW | 77 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 15 | 132 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 10 |
| 17 | Paul Holmgren | RW | 57 | 19 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 168 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| 26 | Ken Linseman | C | 30 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 16 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 22 |
| 20 | Jimmy Watson | D | 77 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 11 | 52 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 2 |
| 5 | Rick Lapointe | D | 77 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 15 | 53 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 14 |
| 22 | Tom Gorence | RW | 42 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −5 | 0 |
| 29 | Barry Dean | LW | 30 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −1 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Don Saleski‡ | RW | 35 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Dennis Ververgaert† | RW | 37 | 9 | 7 | 16 | −4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 37 | Al Hill | LW | 31 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| 8 | Dave Hoyda | LW | 67 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 138 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Andre Dupont | D | 77 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 135 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 17 |
| 23 | Paul Evans | C | 44 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −3 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Yves Preston | LW | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Frank Bathe | D | 21 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 76 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| 28 | Drew Callander‡ | C | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Kevin McCarthy‡ | D | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Bernie Parent | G | 36 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Danny Lucas | LW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Robbie Moore† | G | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 |
| 35 | Wayne Stephenson | G | 40 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 5 |
| 44 | Glen Cochrane | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Terry Murray | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Pete Peeters | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Rick St. Croix | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Norm Barnes | D | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) 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 | Wayne Stephenson | 40 | 36 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 946 | 122 | 3.36 | .871 | 2 | 2,182 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 90 | 16 | 4.63 | .822 | 0 | 208 |
| 1 | Bernie Parent | 36 | 36 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 834 | 89 | 2.71 | .893 | 4 | 1,971 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Robbie Moore† | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 7 | 1.77 | .927 | 2 | 237 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 123 | 18 | 4.06 | .854 | 0 | 266 |
| 33 | Pete Peeters | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 109 | 16 | 3.47 | .853 | 0 | 277 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | Rick St. Croix | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 6 | 3.08 | .887 | 0 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL second All-Star team | Bill Barber (Left wing) |
| League (in-season) | Challenge Cup selection | Bill Barber |
| League (in-season) | Challenge Cup selection | Bobby Clarke |
| Team | Barry Ashbee Trophy | Bob Dailey |
| Team | Class Guy Award | Bernie Parent |

### Records

Among the team records set during the 1978–79 season was Behn Wilson scoring 49 points, the most for a rookie defenseman in club history. Wilson, along with Blake Dunlop and Al Hill, combined to score three goals in 35 seconds during the second period of a March 1 game against the Boston Bruins, tied for the fastest three goals in team history. On March 11, Frank Bathe received a club record 55 penalty minutes during a March 11 game against the Los Angeles Kings. During the fifth and final game of their quarterfinal playoff series loss to the New York Rangers, the Flyers six goals against during the third period is a team record. The five shorthanded goals they allowed during the series is also a single playoff series high.
The 1978–79 season was the final season of Bernie Parent's career, who hold several career records for the team. Parent holds the regular season marks for most ties (102), shutouts (50), and minutes played (28,215). He also holds the playoff marks for seasons played (7, tied with Ron Hextall), shutouts (6), and save percentage (.916).

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Paul Evans | October 12, 1978 |
| First game | Ken Linseman | October 12, 1978 |
| First game | Danny Lucas | October 12, 1978 |
| First game | Behn Wilson | October 12, 1978 |
| First game | Glen Cochrane | November 24, 1978 |
| First game | Yves Preston | December 14, 1978 |
| First game | Pete Peeters | December 17, 1978 |
| First game | Tom Gorence | January 4, 1979 |
| First game | Robbie Moore | March 6, 1979 |

## Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 26, 1978, the day after the deciding game of the 1978 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 21, 1979, the day of the deciding game of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 2, 1978 (1978-06-02) | To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1978cash | To New York Rangers Fred Shero |
| June 14, 1978 (1978-06-14) | To Philadelphia Flyers 1st-round pick in 1978Future considerations | To Pittsburgh Penguins Tom BladonOrest KindrachukRoss Lonsberry |
| June 15, 1978 (1978-06-15) | To Philadelphia Flyers 2nd-round pick in 1979 | To Colorado Rockies 2nd-round pick in 1978 |
| June 15, 1978 (1978-06-15) | To Philadelphia Flyers 10th-round pick in 197811th-round pick in 1978 | To Buffalo Sabres cash |
| June 15, 1978 (1978-06-15) | To Philadelphia Flyers 12th-round pick in 1978 | To Chicago Black Hawks cash |
| August 31, 1978 (1978-08-31) | To Philadelphia Flyers cash | To Colorado Rockies Joe Watson |
| December 29, 1978 (1978-12-29) | To Philadelphia Flyers Dennis Ververgaert | To Vancouver Canucks Drew CallanderKevin McCarthy |
| March 3, 1979 (1979-03-03) | To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations | To Colorado Rockies Don Saleski |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Via |
| September 1978 (1978-09) | M. F. Schurman | Spokane Flyers (WIHL) | Free agency |
| October 9, 1978 (1978-10-09) | Yves Preston | Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) | Free agency |
| November 7, 1978 (1978-11-07) | Robbie Moore | University of Western Ontario (OUAA) | Free agency |
| November 20, 1978 (1978-11-20) | Reid Bailey | Port Huron Flags (IHL) | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via | Ref |
| July 19, 1978 (1978-07-19) | Brian Burke | | Retirement | |
| July 22, 1978 (1978-07-22) | Mike Korney | St. Louis Blues | Free agency | |

## Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1978 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 15, 1978.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team (league) |
| 1 | 6 | Behn Wilson | Defense | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 1 | 7 | Ken Linseman | Forward | Canada | Birmingham Bulls (WHA) |
| 1 | 14 | Dan Lucas | Wing | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA) |
| 2 | 33 | Mike Simurda | Right wing | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 3 | 37 | Gord Salt | Right wing | Canada | Michigan Tech University (WCHA) |
| 3 | 50 | Glen Cochrane | Defense | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 4 | 67 | Russ Wilderman | Center | Canada | Seattle Breakers (WCHL) |
| 5 | 83 | Brad Tamblyn | Defense | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |
| 6 | 100 | Mark Taylor | Forward | Canada | University of North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 7 | 117 | Mike Ewanouski | Right wing | United States | Boston College (HE) |
| 8 | 126 | Jerry Price | Goaltender | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WCHL) |
| 8 | 134 | Darre Switzer | Left wing | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 9 | 151 | Greg Francis | Defense | Canada | St. Lawrence University (ECAC) |
| 10 | 167 | Rick Berard | Defense | Canada | Saint Mary's University (CIAU) |
| 10 | 168 | Don Lucia | Defense | United States | University of Notre Dame (CCHA) |
| 11 | 182 | Mike Berge | Forward | United States | University of North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 11 | 183 | Ken Moore | Goaltender | United States | Clarkson University (ECAC) |
| 12 | 195 | Jim Olson | Right wing | United States | St. Paul Vulcans (USHL) |
| 12 | 198 | Anton Šťastný | Forward | Czechoslovakia | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava (CFIHL) |

## Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Maine Mariners of the AHL, the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL, and the Jersey Aces of the NEHL.