1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' third season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, setting a team record for fewest wins and an NHL record for most ties.

1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers
Division	5th West
1969–70 record	17–35–24
Home record	11–14–13
Road record	6–21–11
Goals for	197 (9th)
Goals against	225 (7th)
Team information
President	Bill Putnam Joe Scott
General Manager	Bud Poile (fired)[lower-alpha 1] Keith Allen[lower-alpha 1]
Coach	Vic Stasiuk
Captain	Ed Van Impe
Alternate captains	Dick Cherry
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	13,372[2]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Quebec Aces Flint Generals Jersey Devils
Team leaders
Goals	Gary Dornhoefer (26)
Assists	Andre Lacroix (36)
Points	Andre Lacroix (58)
Penalty minutes	Earl Heiskala (171)
Plus/minus	Simon Nolet (+12)
Wins	Bernie Parent (13)
Goals against average	Bernie Parent (2.80)

Off-season

On May 20, 1969, Keith Allen was named vice president and assistant general manager of the team and replaced as head coach by Vic Stasiuk.[3] Stasiuk spent the previous two seasons as the head coach of the Quebec Aces, the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate.[3]

The Flyers took a chance when they selected a 19-year-old diabetic from Flin Flon, Manitoba, named Bobby Clarke with their second draft pick, 17th overall, in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft.

Regular season

By the time training camp came around it was clear that Clarke was the best player on the team, and he quickly became a fan favorite. His 15 goals and 31 assists earned him a trip to the NHL All-Star Game.

On December 11, 1969, the Flyers introduced what became one of the team's best-known traditions: playing a recording of Kate Smith singing God Bless America instead of The Star-Spangled Banner before important games. The perception was that the team was more successful on these occasions, so the tradition grew. The move was initially done by Flyers promotion director Lou Scheinfeld as a way to defray national tensions at the time of the Vietnam War: Scheinfeld noticed that people regularly left their seats and walk around during the anthem, but showed more respect and often sang along to "God Bless America". To this day, the team plays the song before major playoff games, currently with Lauren Hart (daughter of Hall of Fame Flyers broadcast announcer Gene Hart) performing the first part of the song, a recording of Smith singing the second part, and Lauren Hart joining the recording for the finale. As of the close of the 2013–14 Flyers season, the Flyers have a record of 96–28–4 when God Bless America is sung prior to home games.[4]

General manager Bud Poile was fired on December 19.[1] Keith Allen was named his replacement on December 22.[1]

The team struggled in 1969–70 recording a franchise worst (as of completion of the 2013–14 season) in wins (17). Even with such a bad output, the Flyers had a seven-point lead on the Oakland Seals with six games to play. However, the Flyers lost their last six games and Oakland made up the deficit. They lost the tiebreaker for the final playoff spot to Oakland, missing the playoffs for the first time.

Season standings

West Division[5]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	224	179	+45	86
2	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	182	238	−56	64
3	Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	224	257	−33	60
4	Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	169	243	−74	58
5	Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	197	225	−28	58
6	Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	10	168	290	−122	38

Schedule and results

Regular season

1969–70 regular season
October: 1–1–5, 7 Points (Home: 0–0–4; Road: 1–1–1) Game October Opponent Score Record Points 1 11 @ Minnesota North Stars 0–4 0–1–0 0 2 15 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 0–1–1 1 3 19 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 0–1–2 2 4 22 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 1–1–2 4 5 23 Detroit Red Wings 2–2 1–1–3 5 6 26 St. Louis Blues 0–0 1–1–4 6 7 30 New York Rangers 3–3 1–1–5 7
November: 2–7–4, 8 Points (Home: 2–2–3; Road: 0–5–1) Game November Opponent Score Record Points 8 1 @ St. Louis Blues 0–8 1–2–5 7 9 2 Minnesota North Stars 6–2 2–2–5 9 10 6 Montreal Canadiens 1–4 2–3–5 9 11 9 Oakland Seals 2–2 2–3–6 10 12 12 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–4 2–4–6 10 13 15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 2–4 2–5–6 10 14 20 Los Angeles Kings 3–2 3–5–6 12 15 22 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 3–6–6 12 16 23 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 3–7–6 12 17 26 Detroit Red Wings 1–1 3–7–7 13 18 27 @ Boston Bruins 4–6 3–8–7 13 19 29 @ New York Rangers 2–2 3–8–8 14 20 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 3–8–9 15
December: 4–5–3, 11 Points (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 1–2–3) Game December Opponent Score Record Points 21 3 @ Los Angeles Kings 7–1 4–8–9 17 22 5 @ Oakland Seals 2–2 4–8–10 18 23 7 St. Louis Blues 1–4 4–9–10 18 24 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–3 5–9–10 20 25 13 Boston Bruins 3–5 5–10–10 20 26 14 @ Chicago Black Hawks 1–4 5–11–10 20 27 17 @ New York Rangers 2–2 5–11–11 21 28 20 @ St. Louis Blues 0–3 5–12–11 21 29 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–0 6–12–11 23 30 25 Oakland Seals 3–1 7–12–11 25 31 27 @ Montreal Canadiens 2–2 7–12–12 26 32 28 Boston Bruins 4–5 7–13–12 26
January: 5–6–5, 15 Points (Home: 3–3–2; Road: 2–3–3) Game January Opponent Score Record Points 33 1 @ Los Angeles Kings 3–4 7–14–12 26 34 3 Detroit Red Wings 1–6 7–15–12 26 35 4 Minnesota North Stars 3–1 8–15–12 28 36 7 @ St. Louis Blues 2–2 8–15–13 29 37 8 Los Angeles Kings 4–1 9–15–13 31 38 10 Oakland Seals 2–2 9–15–14 32 39 13 @ Oakland Seals 3–1 10–15–14 34 40 15 New York Rangers 4–4 10–15–15 35 41 17 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–5 10–16–15 35 42 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 10–17–15 35 43 22 @ Boston Bruins 3–3 10–17–16 36 44 24 @ Minnesota North Stars 6–0 11–17–16 38 45 25 St. Louis Blues 2–0 12–17–16 40 46 28 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 12–17–17 41 47 29 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–4 12–18–17 41 48 31 Chicago Black Hawks 0–5 12–19–17 41
February: 3–6–3, 9 Points (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 1–4–2) Game February Opponent Score Record Points 49 1 Montreal Canadiens 2–5 12–20–17 41 50 5 @ Boston Bruins 1–5 12–21–17 41 51 7 @ Chicago Black Hawks 4–4 12–21–18 42 52 8 @ Detroit Red Wings 5–3 13–21–18 44 53 12 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 13–21–19 45 54 14 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 3–4 13–22–19 45 55 15 Los Angeles Kings 7–1 14–22–19 47 56 17 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 14–23–19 47 57 18 @ New York Rangers 3–3 14–23–20 48 58 21 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–5 14–24–20 48 59 26 Chicago Black Hawks 2–3 14–25–20 48 60 28 Minnesota North Stars 6–2 15–25–20 50
March: 2–7–4, 8 Points (Home: 1–2–3; Road: 1–5–1) Game March Opponent Score Record Points 61 1 Los Angeles Kings 4–4 15–25–21 51 62 4 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–2 15–25–22 52 63 7 Boston Bruins 5–5 15–25–23 53 64 8 Chicago Black Hawks 2–3 15–26–23 53 65 12 @ St. Louis Blues 2–4 15–27–23 53 66 14 @ Los Angeles Kings 5–3 16–27–23 55 67 15 @ Oakland Seals 1–2 16–28–23 55 68 19 New York Rangers 2–2 16–28–24 56 69 21 @ Montreal Canadiens 0–2 16–29–24 56 70 22 Oakland Seals 3–2 17–29–24 58 71 25 @ Oakland Seals 2–3 17–30–24 58 72 26 @ Los Angeles Kings 2–3 17–31–24 58 73 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 17–32–24 58
April: 0–3–0, 0 Points (Home: 0–2–0; Road: 0–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Record Points 74 1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 17–33–24 58 75 2 St. Louis Blues 0–1 17–34–24 58 76 4 Minnesota North Stars 0–1 17–35–24 58
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing

				Regular season
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
7	Andre Lacroix	24	C	74	22	36	58	−6	14
12	Gary Dornhoefer	26	RW	65	26	29	55	2	96
20	Jim Johnson	27	C	72	18	30	48	1	17
16	Bobby Clarke	20	C	76	15	31	46	1	68
11	Jean-Guy Gendron	35	LW	71	23	21	44	8	54
17	Simon Nolet	28	RW	56	22	22	44	12	36
10	Bill Sutherland	35	LW	51	15	17	32	−2	30
3	Larry Hillman	32	D	76	5	26	31	−9	73
9	Reg Fleming	33	LW	65	9	18	27	−4	134
24	Terry Ball	25	D	61	7	18	25	−7	20
8	Lew Morrison	21	RW	66	9	10	19	−3	19
15	Garry Peters	27	C	59	6	10	16	−9	69
19	Earl Heiskala	27	LW	65	8	7	15	−15	171
14	Joe Watson	26	D	54	3	11	14	0	28
23	Larry Hale	28	D	53	1	9	10	−4	28
2	Ed Van Impe	29	D	65	0	10	10	−1	117
6	Wayne Hillman	31	D	68	3	5	8	−9	69
5	Dick Cherry	32	D	68	3	4	7	−24	23
30	Bernie Parent	24	G	62	0	3	3	N/A	14
21	Dick Sarrazin	24	RW	18	1	1	2	−2	4
18	Rosaire Paiement	24	RW	9	1	1	2	−2	4
21	Serge Bernier	22	C	1	0	1	1	−1	0
4, 21	Ralph MacSweyn	27	D	17	0	0	0	−7	4
1	Doug Favell	24	G	15	0	0	0	N/A	2
21	Darryl Edestrand	24	D	2	0	0	0	−1	6
1	Dunc Wilson	21	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0

Goaltending

			Regular season
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
30	Bernie Parent	24	62	62	13	29	20	2159	171	2.80	.921	3	3,668:19
1	Doug Favell	24	15	13	4	5	4	516	43	3.15	.917	1	818:00
1	Dunc Wilson	21	1	1	0	1	0	26	3	3.02	.885	0	59:35

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bobby Clarke	[6]
		Bernie Parent

Records

•    NHL record
•    Tied for NHL record

Individual

Franchise player records set during the 1969–70 season

Record	Type	Total	Player	Ref
Most losses	Season	29[lower-alpha 2]	Bernie Parent	[7]
Most ties	Season	20	Bernie Parent	[7]

Team

Franchise team records set during the 1969–70 season

Record	Type	Total	Date(s)	Ref
Games tied at home	Streak	4	10/19/1969 – 10/30/1969	[8]
Fewest wins	Season	17	—	[9]
Fewest wins at home	Season	6[lower-alpha 3]	—	[10]
Most ties	Season	24	—	[9]
Most ties on road	Season	13	—	[10]

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 5, 1969, the day after the deciding game of the 1969 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 10, 1970, the day of the deciding game of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals.[11]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
May 14, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To St. Louis Blues Ron Buchanan	[12]
May 14, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Wayne Hillman	To Minnesota North Stars John Miszuk	[13]
June 7, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Reg Fleming	To New York Rangers Don Blackburn Leon Rochefort	[14]
June 10, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers $30,000 cash future considerations	To Minnesota North Stars Bob Barlow	[15]
June 12, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Jean-Guy Gendron	To Montreal Canadiens 7th-round pick in 1969	[16]

Signings

Free agency

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

Date	Player	Previous team (league)	Term	Ref
September 29, 1969	Jim Mair	Johnstown Jets (EHL)		[17]

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Amateur Draft, signed to contracts.

Date	Player	Term	Ref
July 24, 1969	Andre Lacroix	2-year	[18]
August 21, 1969	Serge Bernier		[19]
August 21, 1969	Gerry Meehan		[19]
October 1, 1969	Bobby Clarke (DP)		[20]

Drafts

Inter-League

The 1969 NHL Inter-League Draft was held on June 10, 1969.[21] The draft featured NHL teams selecting players from American Hockey League (AHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) teams. It cost $15,000 to make a claim.[21]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
June 10, 1969	Bob Barlow	from Vancouver Canucks (WHL)	[15][21]

Intra-League

The 1969 NHL Intra-League Draft was held on June 11, 1969.[22][23] Each NHL team placed 14 skaters and 2 goaltenders on a protected list from which the other teams could not select.[22] It cost $30,000 to make a claim.[22] The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Doug Favell and Bernie Parent, and skaters Serge Bernier, Mike Byers, Reg Fleming, Jean-Guy Gendron, Wayne Hillman, Jim Johnson, Andre Lacroix, Ralph MacSweyn, Gerry Meehan, Rosaire Paiement, Dick Sarrazin, Bill Sutherland, Ed Van Impe, and Joe Watson.[22]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
June 11, 1969	Larry Hillman[lower-alpha 4]	from Montreal Canadiens	[22][24]
June 11, 1969	Jean-Guy Gendron[lower-alpha 5]	to Montreal Canadiens	[22][24]

Reverse

The 1969 NHL Reverse Draft was held on June 12, 1969.[25] The Reverse Draft featured American Hockey League (AHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) teams selecting unprotected players from NHL teams.[25] It cost $15,000 to make a claim.[25]

Date	Player	Team	Ref
June 12, 1969	Rene Drolet	to Quebec Aces (AHL)	[25][26]
June 12, 1969	Jean Lapointe	to Hershey Bears (AHL)	[25][27]
June 12, 1969	Bob Sneddon	to Springfield Kings (AHL)	[25][28]
June 12, 1969	Roger Pelletier	to Quebec Aces (AHL)	[25][29]

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 (*).

Date	Player	New team (league)	Via	Ref
N/A	Myron Stankiewicz	—	Retirement	[30]
N/A	Larry Zeidel	—	Retirement	[31]
September 24, 1969	Allan Stanley	—	Retirement	[32]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, on June 11, 1969.[33] During the draft, the Flyers traded their seventh-round pick, 75th overall, to the Montreal Canadiens in order to re-acquire Jean-Guy Gendron, who Montreal had selected from the Flyers earlier in the day during the Inter-League Draft.[34]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)
1	6	Bob Currier	Center	Canada	Cornwall Royals (CJAHL)
2	17	Bobby Clarke	Center	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3	28	Willie Brossart	Defense	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
4	40	Michel Belhumeur	Goaltender	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QJHL)
5	52	Dave Schultz	Left Wing	Canada	Sorel Eperviers (QJHL)
6	64	Don Saleski	Right Wing	Canada	Regina Pats (SJHL)
8	81	Claude Chartre	Center	Canada	Drummondville Rangers (QJHL)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL,[35][36] the Flint Generals of the IHL,[37] and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.[37]

Notes

1. Poile was fired on December 19. Allen was named his replacement on December 22.[1]
2. Tied by Antero Niittymaki during the 2006–07 season.
3. Tied total from the 1968–69 season.
4. The Flyers removed Jean-Guy Gendron from their protected list after selecting Hillman.
5. The Canadiens claimed Gendron in lieu of cash.

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

Specific

1. "Allen Named General Manager Of Flyers as Successor to Poile". The New York Times. December 22, 1969. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
2. "All Time Team Attendance". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
3. "PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NAME STASIUK COACH". Chicago Tribune. May 20, 1969. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
4. FlyersHistory.com webpage with complete Kate Smith record Archived 2019-04-20 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 12, 2014
5. "1969–1970 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
6. "23rd NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
7. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
8. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 259
9. "NHL.com - Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
10. 2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 244
11. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
12. Ron Buchanan at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved February 13, 2016
13. "FLYERS ACQUIRE HILLMAN". UPI. McKinney Courier-Gazette. May 15, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "no title". AP. Ottawa Journal. June 9, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Cleveland Bids for NHL Berth". The Daily Telegram. June 11, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Habs Grab Doyle, Rangers Take Jarry In Junior Draft". CP. Ottawa Journal. June 13, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Jim Mair at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved February 13, 2016
18. "no title". UPI. Marysville Journal-Tribune. July 25, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "no title". UPI. Ottawa Journal. August 22, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Bob inks contract". CP. Brandon Sun. October 2, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
21. Parsons, Mark (October 20, 2012). "1969 NHL Inter-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
22. Parsons, Mark (October 21, 2012). "1969 NHL Intra-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
23. "Black Hawks Pick Up Players". AP. Panama City News-Herald. June 12, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "1969 NHL Intraleague Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
25. Parsons, Mark (October 21, 2012). "1969 NHL Reverse Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
26. Rene Drolet at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved February 13, 2016
27. "Eliteprospects.com – Jean Lapointe". eliteprospects. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
28. Bob Sneddon at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved February 13, 2016
29. Roger Pelletier at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved February 13, 2016
30. Myron Stankiewicz biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved March 11, 2015
31. Larry Zeidel biography at Legends of Hockey, retrieved March 11, 2015
32. "Stanley Retires". UPI. Ottawa Journal. September 25, 1969. Retrieved December 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "1969 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
34. "1969 NHL Amateur Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
35. "AHL Franchise Statistics". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
36. "AHL Season Overview: 1969–70". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
37. "Non-AHL Affiliates". P. Anson. Flyers History. Retrieved October 26, 2013.