1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 28th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers made the playoffs for the first time since 1989, also winning their division for the first time since 1987, and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing in six games to the New Jersey Devils.

Off-season

Bob Clarke was named president and general manager of the Flyers on June 15, 1994, replacing Russ Farwell.^[4] The Florida Panthers received the Flyers' 1994 second-round pick and cash, believed to be around $500,000,^[4] as compensation since Clarke had to be released from his contract.^[5] On June 24, Clarke hired Terry Murray to replace Terry Simpson as head coach.^[6] A former Flyers player, Murray had mostly recently coached the Cincinnati Cyclones of the International Hockey League after being fired midway through the 1993–94 season as the Washington Capitals head coach.^[6] Prior to the start of training camp, the team announced Eric Lindros was replacing Kevin Dineen as team captain.^[7]

The Flyers made three major player transactions during the off-season prior to the beginning of the 1994–95 NHL lockout. On June 29, the Flyers swapped defensemen with the Montreal Canadiens, sending Yves Racine to Montreal for Kevin Haller.^[8] On July 6, unrestricted free agent centerman Craig MacTavish, formerly of the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers, was signed to a two-year, $1.6 million contract.^[9] On September 22, the Flyers re-acquired goaltender Ron Hextall, whom they had traded in 1992 to the Quebec Nordiques in the Lindros trade, from the New York Islanders for goaltender Tommy Soderstrom.^[10]

Regular season

After a 3–6–1 start to the season, including a shutout loss to Ottawa on February 6, Clarke dealt high-scoring winger Mark Recchi to the Montreal Canadiens for Eric Desjardins, Gilbert Dionne and John LeClair. In the following game, at home against Florida, the team lost 3–0, but Lindros and LeClair was placed on a line with sophomore forward Mikael Renberg to form the "Legion of Doom" line, a mix of scoring talent and physical intimidation. The line registered its first point on Saturday, February 11, 1995, in a game against the New Jersey Devils at the Meadowlands. The line made an immediate impact, as it helped the Flyers defeat the Devils 3–1.

Less than two weeks later, on Thursday, February 23, Lindros recorded a hat trick in what would be his final game in Quebec City against the Nordiques, but the Flyers wasted a three-goal lead into a 6–6 tie. Two nights later in Montreal, LeClair blitzed his former club in his return with a hat-trick in a 7–0 rout which saw the Flyers score five times in the third period. LeClair's previous hat trick had come just 11 days earlier in a 5–2 Flyers' win at Tampa Bay. Lindros recorded two more hat tricks during the regular season, and both came in consecutive games; his second one on March 18 in a 4–3 Flyers' overtime win in Florida, and the third on March 20 in an 8–4 Flyers' win over the Montreal Canadiens. Josef Beranek had the other Flyers' regular-season hat trick in a 5–4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on February 2.

During the season, the Flyers had two long winning streaks: one was eight games from March 5–20, the other was nine games from April 2–22. The final contest in that streak, on April 22 at New Jersey, saw LeClair net the overtime winner which clinched the Atlantic Division. Even though it was scored 54 seconds into the overtime period, it would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored in the lockout-shortened regular season.^[11]

The end of the season saw Lindros go down with an eye injury in the penultimate game against the New York Rangers, as a shot he took ricocheted off Rangers defenseman Jeff Beukeboom and struck him in the face.

The playoff drought was finally over as the Flyers won their first division title in eight years and clinched the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Lindros, who scored 70 points, came in second to Jaromir Jagr by a tiebreaker in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, the NHL scoring championship, but was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP.

Season standings

^[12]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Playoffs

Lindros missed the first three games of the Flyers' Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Buffalo Sabres. Karl Dykhuis netted the overtime winner in Game 1 and the club took a 2–0 series lead on the road. Following a narrow Game 3 defeat at The Aud, Lindros returned and the reunited Legion led the club to a 4–2 win. In Game 5, Philly rolled to leads of 4–0 and 5–2 before closing with a 6–4 victory.

More overtime magic came in the semifinal series with the defending Stanley Cup champion Rangers, who upset the Nordiques in the first round. Game 1 at the Spectrum saw New York race out to a 3–1 lead, only to see the Flyers storm back to go up 4–3. A late goal from Pat Verbeek sent the game into an extra session, where Desjardins won it with a right-circle shot.

The next night, Brian Leetch recorded a hat-trick but Kevin Haller struck with under 30 seconds played in OT off a feed from Renberg to give the Flyers a 4–3 win and 2–0 series edge. The Flyers capitalized on multiple mistakes and turnovers in Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden, recording 5-2 and 4-1 victories to sweep the series.

The Flyers advanced to the conference finals against the Devils. Jersey controlled long stretches of the first two games, winning 4–1 in Game 1 and overcoming an early deficit with a four-goal blitz to take Game 2, 5–2. The Devils were on the verge of going up three games to none at the Meadowlands, but a Rod Brind'Amour floater in the third period and Lindros' wrister in overtime brought the Flyers back. Philly controlled Game 4 and coasted to a 4–2 win, but the Devils continued to use the neutral zone trap to control the Legion in Game 5. Although Dineen scored early in the third to tie the game, Claude Lemieux's 50-foot blast got by Hextall and gave New Jersey the shocking 3–2 win and left the Devils one win away from the Cup finals.

In Game 6, Jim Montgomery got the Flyers on the board early in the first period, but the Devils stormed back with four consecutive scores to ice the game and the series 4–2.

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Skaters

• 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.

				Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
88	Lindros, EricEric Lindros	21	C	46	29	41	70	27	60	12	4	11	15	7	8
19	Renberg, MikaelMikael Renberg	22	RW	47	26	31	57	20	20	15	6	7	13	5	6
10	LeClair, JohnJohn LeClair	25	LW	37	25	24	49	21	20	15	5	7	12	7	4
17	Brind'Amour, RodRod Brind'Amour	24	C	48	12	27	39	−4	33	15	6	9	15	5	8
37	Desjardins, EricEric Desjardins	25	D	34	5	18	23	10	12	15	4	4	8	13	10
3	Galley, GarryGarry Galley	31	D	33	2	20	22	0	20	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
2	Yushkevich, DmitriDmitri Yushkevich	23	D	40	5	9	14	−4	47	15	1	5	6	−2	12
11	Dineen, KevinKevin Dineen	31	RW	40	8	5	13	−1	39	15	6	4	10	2	18
6	Therien, ChrisChris Therien	23	D	48	3	10	13	8	38	15	0	0	0	−2	10
18	Fedyk, BrentBrent Fedyk	27	RW	30	8	4	12	−2	14	9	2	2	4	2	8
14	MacTavish, CraigCraig MacTavish	36	C	45	3	9	12	2	23	15	1	4	5	−3	20
42	Beranek, JosefJosef Beranek	25	C	14	5	5	10	3	2	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
25	Podein, ShjonShjon Podein	26	LW	44	3	7	10	−2	33	15	1	3	4	2	10
5	Haller, KevinKevin Haller	24	D	36	2	8	10	16	48	15	4	4	8	10	10
24	Dykhuis, KarlKarl Dykhuis	22	D	33	2	6	8	7	37	15	4	4	8	2	14
12	Juhlin, PatrikPatrik Juhlin	24	RW	42	4	3	7	−13	6	13	1	0	1	−1	2
45	Dionne, GilbertGilbert Dionne	24	LW	20	0	6	6	−1	2	3	0	0	0	−1	4
8	Recchi, MarkMark Recchi	26	RW	10	2	3	5	−6	12	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
9	DiMaio, RobRob DiMaio	26	LW	36	3	1	4	8	53	15	2	4	6	3	4
21	Brown, DaveDave Brown	32	RW	28	1	2	3	−1	53	3	0	0	0	0	0
44	Semenov, AnatoliAnatoli Semenov	32	C	26	1	2	3	−2	6	15	2	4	6	3	0
23	Svoboda, PetrPetr Svoboda	28	D	11	0	3	3	0	10	15	1	3	4	5	8
22	Montgomery, JimJim Montgomery	25	C	8	1	1	2	−2	6	7	1	0	1	2	2
22	Lamb, MarkMark Lamb	30	C	8	0	2	2	1	2	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
20	Zettler, RobRob Zettler	26	D	32	0	1	1	−3	34	1	0	0	0	1	2
27	Hextall, RonRon Hextall	30	G	31	0	1	1	-98 !N/A	34	15	0	1	1	-98 !N/A	4
8	Antoski, ShawnShawn Antoski	24	LW	25	0	0	0	0	61	13	0	1	1	1	10
15	Dupre, YanickYanick Dupre	22	LW	22	0	0	0	−7	8	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
30	Roussel, DominicDominic Roussel	24	G	19	0	0	0	-98 !N/A	6	1	0	0	0	-98 !N/A	0
34	McGill, RyanRyan McGill	25	D	12	0	0	0	0	13	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
28	Bowen, JasonJason Bowen	21	D	4	0	0	0	−2	0	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
23	Malgunas, StewartStewart Malgunas	24	D	4	0	0	0	−1	4	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—
37	Anderson, ShawnShawn Anderson	26	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-1 !—	-99 !—	-1 !—

Goaltenders

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 15, 1994, the day after the deciding game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 24, 1995, the day of the deciding game of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals.^[20]

Trades

Trade notes

• ^a Florida received the draft pick and cash as compensation for the Flyers hiring Clarke as president and general manager. Clarke, who had been serving as the vice president and general manager of the Panthers, had two years remaining on his contract.^[5]

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency.

Free agency notes

• ^a Signed for the remainder of the regular season.^[32]

Re-signed

The following players were re-signed by the Flyers.

Draft picks

The Flyers signed the following of their draft picks.

NHL Waiver Draft

The 1994–95 NHL Waiver Draft was held on January 18, 1995.^[36] Each NHL team placed 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.^[36] First-year professional players were exempt.^[36] The Flyers were not involved in any selections during the draft.^[36]

The Flyers left the following players unprotected:^[37] goaltenders Norm Foster and Scott LaGrand, defensemen Jeff Finley, Willie Huber, and Bob Wilkie, and forwards Al Conroy and Tracy Egeland.

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).

Draft picks

NHL Entry Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on June 28, 1994.^[46]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1994 and their NHL career regular season statistics

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	W	L	T	OT	GAA	Notes
3	62	Anisimov, ArtemArtem Anisimov	Defense	Russia	Itil Kazan (RUS)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
4	88	Magarrell, AdamAdam Magarrell	Defense	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
4	101	Vallee, SebastienSebastien Vallee	Left Wing	Canada	Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	[a]
6	140	Selivanov, AlexanderAlexander Selivanov	Right Wing	Russia	HC Spartak Moscow (RUS)	459	121	114	235	379	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
7	166	Forbes, ColinColin Forbes	Left Wing	Canada	Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)	311	33	28	61	213	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
8	192	Diener, DerekDerek Diener	Defense	Canada	Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
8	202	Giroux, RayRay Giroux	Defense	Canada	Powassan Hawks (NOJHL)	38	0.1 !0	13	13	22	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	[b]
9	218	Hedberg, JohanJohan Hedberg	Goaltender	Sweden	Leksands IF (Elitserien)	373	0.1 !0	10	10	96	161	143	14	22	2.82
10	244	Payette, AndreAndre Payette	Left Wing	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —
11	270	Lipiansky, JanJan Lipiansky	Forward	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —	& —

Draft notes^[47]

• The Flyers traded their first-round picks in 1993 and 1994 along with Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, the rights to Peter Forsberg, and $15 million to the Quebec Nordiques for the rights to Eric Lindros on June 30, 1992.
• The Flyers second-round pick, 36th overall, was given to the Florida Panthers as compensation for the Flyers hiring Bob Clarke as their general manager.
• ^a The Flyers traded Terry Carkner to the Detroit Red Wings for Yves Racine and the Red Wings' fourth-round pick, 101st overall, on October 5, 1993.
• The Flyers traded their fifth-round pick, 114th overall, and Greg Johnson to the Detroit Red Wings for Jim Cummins and the Red Wings' 1993 fourth-round pick on June 20, 1993.
• ^b The Flyers traded Pelle Eklund to the Dallas Stars for the Stars' eighth-round pick, 202nd overall, on March 21, 1994.

NHL Supplemental Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1994 NHL Supplemental Draft on June 28, 1994.^[48]

Players drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1994 Supplemental Draft and their NHL career regular season statistics

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	W	L	T	OT	GAA
1	10	Kirk Nielsen	Right Wing	United States	Harvard Crimson (ECAC)	6	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL^[2] and the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.^[3] Mitch Lamoureux led the Bears with 85 points as Hershey finished 2nd in their division and lost in six games to the Cornwall Aces in the first round.^[49] Johnstown finished 4th in their division and lost in the first round to the South Carolina Stingrays.

References

General

• hockeyDB.com: Roster and player statistics · Results and Schedule
• hockey-reference.com: Roster and Statistics · Schedule and Results
• Flyers History: Season Overview · Game Scores & Results · Playoff Results

Specific