2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers season



The 2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 40th season in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The 2006–07 NHL season turned out to be the worst in franchise history. Having lost Michal Handzus in a trade with Chicago, Kim Johnsson to free agency and Eric Desjardins and team captain Keith Primeau to retirement in the off-season, the Flyers found themselves without many leaders to guide the team. Peter Forsberg replaced Primeau as team captain, but a chronic foot injury had him in and out of the lineup throughout the season and limited his effectiveness. Eight games into the regular season and with a record of 1–6–1, General Manager Bob Clarke resigned and head coach Ken Hitchcock was fired. Assistant coach John Stevens replaced Hitchcock and assistant general manager Paul Holmgren took on Clarke's responsibilities on an interim basis.

The changes did little to improve the Flyers fortunes in 2006–07 as setting franchise records for futility became the norm. They had several multiple-game losing streaks including a franchise worst 10–game losing streak and a 12–game home losing streak that stretched from November 29 to February 10. Ultimately, the Flyers finished with a 22–48–12 record, the most losses in franchise history and the worst record in the league. They also set the NHL record for the biggest points drop off in the standings in a one-year span (101 points in 2005–06 to 56 points in 2006–07, a difference of 45 points).

With the team clearly on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, Holmgren set his sights on rebuilding the team and preparing for the future. Forsberg, unwilling to commit to playing next season, was traded to Nashville for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, and 2007 1st and 3rd-round draft picks. Veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for prospect defenseman Braydon Coburn and disappointing off-season acquisition Kyle Calder was sent to Detroit via Chicago in exchange for defenseman Lasse Kukkonen. The Flyers also acquired goaltender Martin Biron from Buffalo for a 2007 2nd-round pick. Given wide praise for his efforts, the Flyers gave Holmgren a two-year contract and removed the interim label from his title.

Playoffs
The Flyers did not qualify for the post-season.

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; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 2006–07 season.

Draft picks
The Philadelphia's picks at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. After an early season coaching change from Craig Berube, who joined the Flyers as an assistant, to Kjell Samuelsson, the Phantoms struggled finishing sixth in their division and missing the playoffs. Trenton finished 4th in their division and made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs before losing to the Dayton Bombers in their last season as a Flyers affiliate. Following the 2006–07 ECHL season the Titans were re-named the Trenton Devils by their new owners, the New Jersey Devils.