1999 – 2000 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1999 – 2000 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers ' 33rd season in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . One of the most tumultuous seasons in franchise history , 1999 – 2000 , actually started in July three months prior to the start of the regular season . In the span of a few days , longtime broadcaster Gene Hart died due to illness and defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny , coming off his rookie season , was fatally injured in a freak boating accident . The season itself was no better as head coach Roger Neilson was diagnosed with bone cancer , forcing him to step aside in February 2000 to undergo treatment . The team was left in the hands of interim coach Craig Ramsay for the rest of the season . In January , longtime Flyer and fan favorite Rod Brind ' Amour was shipped to Carolina for Keith Primeau , with the intention of acquiring a big center to complement Eric Lindros . Meanwhile , the strife between Flyers management ( particularly GM Bob Clarke ) and Lindros , continued to worsen . Less than a month after Ramsay took over , Lindros suffered his second concussion of the season . He played several games after the initial hit and afterwards criticized the team ' s training staff for failing to initially diagnose the concussion after it happened . It was after this that the Flyers ' organization decided to strip Lindros of the captaincy on March 27 and sew the " C " on the sweater of defenseman Eric Desjardins . With Lindros out indefinitely , the Flyers rallied to overcome the distractions and a 15 - point deficit in the standings to win the Atlantic Division and the No . 1 seed in the East on the last day of the regular season . They easily defeated their first round opponent , Buffalo , in five games . Primeau ' s goal in the fifth overtime of Game 4 against the team ' s second - round opponent , Pittsburgh , turned that series in the Flyers ' favor as they won in six games , coming back from a 2 – 0 series deficit . After dropping Game 1 to New Jersey in the Eastern Conference Finals , the Flyers peeled off three straight wins to take a 3 – 1 series lead . But New Jersey refused to give up . After New Jersey won Game 5 , Lindros returned to the lineup for the first time since March for Game 6 in another losing effort . Early in Game 7 , Lindros was on the receiving end of a controversial hit by Scott Stevens , giving him another concussion and leaving the Philadelphia crowd deflated . Without Lindros , the Flyers lost the decisive game by a score of 2 – 1 . It was the 2nd time in franchise history the team lost a series after being up 3 games to 1 . To add insult to injury , New Jersey went on to win the Stanley Cup . Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; PIM = Penalties in minutes " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Flyers . Stats reflect time with the Flyers only . Traded mid - season Bold / italics denotes franchise record Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; T = Ties ; GA = Goals Against ; SO = Shutouts ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; GAA = Goals Against Average " Transactions . The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before / during the 1999 – 2000 season . Draft picks . Philadelphia ' s picks at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft in Boston , Massachusetts . Farm teams . The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL .