1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers season

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
Goals against	225
Team information
General manager	Bud Poile (Oct-Dec) Keith Allen
Coach	Vic Stasiuk
Captain	Ed Van Impe
Alternate captains	Dick Cherry
Arena	The Spectrum
Average attendance	13,372
Team leaders
Goals	Gary Dornhoefer (26)
Assists	André 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 (2.79)

The 1969–70 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 3rd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers finished 5th in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

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. They also drafted two other players that became significant in the team's rise, Don Saleski and Dave Schultz.

The Flyers wore the same jersey design as in the 1967-68 season.

Regular Season

By the time training camp came around it was clear that Bobby Clarke was NHL calibre and he quickly became a fan favorite. It took Clarke a few games to show his worth, he was -2 in his first game and didn't score until his 7th game, the tying goal during the 3-3 tie against the New York Rangers. An injury to Phil Goyette resulted in him playing in the 1970 NHL All-Star Game. Despite his 15 goals and 31 assists, the team struggled in 1969–70, recording a franchise worst in wins with 17.

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 to 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.

Earl Heiskala and Fern Rivard stick-swing, January 4, 1970.

General manager Bud Poile was fired on December 19, 1969. Keith Allen was named his replacement on December 22.

During the second period of the January 4, 1970 game against the Minnesota North Stars, Earl Heiskala had a run-in with North Stars goalie Fern Rivard. Both swung their sticks at each other but no penalties were called. Several minutes later, tempers flared by Minnesota's bench and Hieskala and Barry Gibbs fought. Within moments, everyone on the ice was involved, including goalies Rivard and Doug Favell. Punches were traded with the North Stars bench, Hieskala and Gibbs were ejected and the Flyers won 3-1.

Barry Gibbs ends the Flyers playoffs hopes, April 4, 1970.

The Flyers were battling for a playoff spot with the Oakland Seals and Minnesota with six games left in the season. They held a 5 point lead on the Seals and 6 points on the North Stars. They went on a five game losing streak, including a loss to Oakland. Philadelphia's last game was on April 4, 1970 against Minnesota. The North Stars and Seals were tied with the Flyers with 58 points and Minnesota had a game in hand. In a very tight defensive game, goalies Bernie Parent and Gump Worsley battled with neither surrendering a goal in the first two periods. Nearly eight minutes into the third period, a soft shot from center ice by Minnesota defenseman Barry Gibbs beat a surprised Parent. Worsley made a incredible save with less than 25 seconds left and the game ended 1-0, clinching a playoff spot for the North Stars.

Oakland lost their last game but had more wins than the Flyers and gained the final playoff spot. The Flyers missed the playoffs for the first time and set an NHL record for the most ties in one season with 24.

Final Standings

West Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	224	179	86
Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	182	238	64
Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	224	257	60
Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	169	243	58
Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	197	225	58
Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	150	168	290	38

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1969	0-4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	0–1–0
2	T	October 15, 1969	3-3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	0–1–1
3	T	October 19, 1969	1-1	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	0–1–2
4	W	October 22, 1969	4-3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	1–1–2
5	T	October 23, 1969	2-2	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	1–1–3
6	T	October 26, 1969	0-0	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	1–1–4
7	T	October 30, 1969	3-3	New York Rangers (1969–70)	1–1–5
8	L	November 1, 1969	0-8	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	1–2–5
9	W	November 2, 1969	6-2	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	2–2–5
10	L	November 6, 1969	1-4	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	2–3–5
11	T	November 9, 1969	2-2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	2–3–6
12	L	November 12, 1969	2-4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	2–4–6
13	L	November 15, 1969	2-4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	2–5–6
14	W	November 20, 1969	3-2	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	3–5–6
15	L	November 22, 1969	3-5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	3–6–6
16	L	November 23, 1969	2-3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	3–7–6
17	T	November 26, 1969	1-1	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	3–7–7
18	L	November 27, 1969	4-6	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	3–8–7
19	T	November 29, 1969	2-2	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	3–8–8
20	T	November 30, 1969	3-3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	3–8–9
21	W	December 3, 1969	7-1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	4–8–9
22	T	December 5, 1969	2-2	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	4–8–10
23	L	December 7, 1969	1-4	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	4–9–10
24	W	December 11, 1969	6-3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	5–9–10
25	L	December 13, 1969	3-5	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	5–10–10
26	L	December 14, 1969	1-4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	5–11–10
27	T	December 17, 1969	2-2	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	5–11–11
28	L	December 20, 1969	0-3	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	5–12–11
29	W	December 21, 1969	4-0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	6–12–11
30	W	December 25, 1969	3-1	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	7–12–11
31	T	December 27, 1969	2-2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	7–12–12
32	L	December 28, 1969	4-5	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	7–13–12
33	L	January 1, 1970	3-4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	7–14–12
34	L	January 3, 1970	1-6	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	7–15–12
35	W	January 4, 1970	3-1	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	8–15–12
36	T	January 7, 1970	2-2	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	8–15–13
37	W	January 8, 1970	4-1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	9–15–13
38	T	January 10, 1970	2-2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	9–15–14
39	W	January 13, 1970	3-1	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	10–15–14
40	T	January 15, 1970	4-4	New York Rangers (1969–70)	10–15–15
41	L	January 17, 1970	3-5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	10–16–15
42	L	January 18, 1970	4-6	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	10–17–15
43	T	January 22, 1970	3-3	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	10–17–16
44	W	January 24, 1970	6-0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	11–17–16
45	W	January 25, 1970	2-0	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	12–17–16
46	T	January 28, 1970	2-2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	12–17–17
47	L	January 29, 1970	3-4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	12–18–17
48	L	January 31, 1970	0-5	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	12–19–17
49	L	February 1, 1970	2-5	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	12–20–17
50	L	February 5, 1970	1-5	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	12–21–17
51	T	February 7, 1970	4-4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	12–21–18
52	W	February 8, 1970	5-3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	13–21–18
53	T	February 12, 1970	3-3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	13–21–19
54	L	February 14, 1970	3-4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	13–22–19
55	W	February 15, 1970	7-1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	14–22–19
56	L	February 17, 1970	2-4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	14–23–19
57	T	February 18, 1970	3-3	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	14–23–20
58	L	February 21, 1970	3-5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	14–24–20
59	L	February 26, 1970	2-3	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	14–25–20
60	W	February 28, 1970	6-2	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	15–25–20
61	T	March 1, 1970	4-4	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	15–25–21
62	T	March 4, 1970	2-2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	15–25–22
63	T	March 7, 1970	5-5	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	15–25–23
64	L	March 8, 1970	2-3	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	15–26–23
65	L	March 12, 1970	2-4	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	15–27–23
66	W	March 14, 1970	5-3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	16–27–23
67	L	March 15, 1970	1-2	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	16–28–23
68	T	March 19, 1970	2-2	New York Rangers (1969–70)	16–28–24
69	L	March 21, 1970	0-2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	16–29–24
70	W	March 22, 1970	3-2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	17–29–24
71	L	March 25, 1970	2-3	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	17–30–24
72	L	March 26, 1970	2-3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	17–31–24
73	L	March 28, 1970	1-2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	17–32–24
74	L	April 1, 1970	1-4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1969–70)	17–33–24
75	L	April 2, 1970	0-1	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	17–34–24
76	L	April 4, 1970	0-1	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	17–35–24

Playoffs

• The Flyers did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

				Regular Season
#	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
7	Lacroix, AndreAndre Lacroix	24	C	74	22	36	58	−6	14
12	Dornhoefer, GaryGary Dornhoefer	26	RW	65	26	29	55	2	96
20	Johnson, JimJim Johnson	27	C	72	18	30	48	1	17
16	Clarke, BobbyBobby Clarke	20	C	76	15	31	46	1	68
11	Gendron, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Gendron	35	LW	71	23	21	44	8	54
17	Nolet, SimonSimon Nolet	28	RW	56	22	22	44	12	36
10	Sutherland, BillBill Sutherland	35	LW	51	15	17	32	−2	30
3	Hillman, LarryLarry Hillman	32	D	76	5	26	31	−9	73
9	Fleming, RegReg Fleming	33	LW	65	9	18	27	−4	134
24	Ball, TerryTerry Ball	25	D	61	7	18	25	−7	20
8	Morrison, LewLew Morrison	21	RW	66	9	10	19	−3	19
15	Peters, GarryGarry Peters	27	C	59	6	10	16	−9	69
19	Heiskala, EarlEarl Heiskala	27	LW	65	8	7	15	−15	171
14	Watson, JoeJoe Watson	26	D	54	3	11	14	0	28
23	Hale, LarryLarry Hale	28	D	53	1	9	10	−4	28
2	Van Impe, EdEd Van Impe	29	D	65	0	10	10	−1	117
6	Hillman, WayneWayne Hillman	31	D	68	3	5	8	−9	69
5	Cherry, DickDick Cherry	32	D	68	3	4	7	−24	23
30	Parent, BernieBernie Parent	24	G	62	0	3	3	-98 N/A	14
21	Sarrazin, DickDick Sarrazin	24	RW	18	1	1	2	−2	4
18	Paiement, RosaireRosaire Paiement	24	RW	9	1	1	2	−2	4
21	Bernier, SergeSerge Bernier	22	C	1	0	1	1	−1	0
4 4, 21	MacSweyn, RalphRalph MacSweyn	27	D	17	0	0	0	−7	4
21	Edestrand, DarrylDarryl Edestrand	24	D	2	0	0	0	−1	6
1	Wilson, DuncDunc Wilson	21	G	1	0	0	0	-98 N/A	0
1	Favell, DougDoug Favell	24	G	15	0	0	0	-98 N/A	2

Goaltenders

			Regular Season
#	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

NHL
Award	Recipient
All-Star Game representative	Bobby Clarke Bernie Parent

Records

Flyers player
Player	Record	Mark
Bernie Parent	Losses, one season	29

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions before/during the 1969–70 season.

Trades

May 14, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To St. Louis Blues Ron Buchanan
May 14, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Wayne Hillman	To Minnesota North Stars John Miszuk
June 6, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Reg Fleming	To New York Rangers Don Blackburn Leon Rochefort
June 10, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers cash	To Minnesota North Stars Bob Barlow
June 12, 1969	To Philadelphia Flyers Jean-Guy Gendron	To Montreal Canadiens cash

Additions and Subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Vic Stasiuk Quebec (AHL) signed as Coach (5/19) Bob Barlow Vancouver (WHL) intra-league draft (6/10) Larry Hillman Montreal intra-league draft (6/11) Jim Mair Johnstown (EHL) free agency (9/29) Keith Allen — promoted to GM (12/18)

Subtractions Player New team Via Roger Pelletier Quebec (AHL) intra-league draft (6/6) Bob Barlow Vancouver (WHL) intra-league draft (6/10) Jean-Guy Gendron Montreal intra-league draft (6/11) Bob Sneddon Springfield (AHL) reverse draft (6/12) Allan Stanley — retirement (9/23) Bud Poile — resigned as GM (12/18)

Draft Picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec.

Rnd	#	Player	Position	Nationality	Drafted From
1	6	Bob Currier	Center	Canada	Cornwall Royals (CJAHL)
2	17	Bobby Clarke	Center	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3	28	Willie Brossart	Defenseman	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, the Flint Generals of the IHL, and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.

Trivia

• Flyers who recorded a hat trick this season include:
  • Andre Lacroix during the 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 22, 1969.
  • Jim Johnson during the 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on December 3, 1969.
  • Andre Lacroix during the 6-3 win over Toronto on December 11, 1969.
  • Gary Dornhoefer during the 4-1 win over Los Angeles on January 8, 1970.
  • Simon Nolet during the 5-5 tie with the Boston Bruins on March 7, 1970.

Gallery

Bob Barlow's 1st NHL goal, October 11, 1969.

Bobby Orr sets up Derek Sanderson for the game winner, December 28, 1969.

Pre-season @ Quebec City

See Also

• 1969–70 NHL season

References

• General: 1969–70 Flyers season on FlyersHistory.net

Philadelphia Flyers
Team	History • Players • Award Winners • Records • Seasons • Draft Picks • The Spectrum • Wachovia Center
Head Coaches	Allen • Stasiuk • Shero • McCammon • Quinn • McCammon • Keenan • Holmgren • Dineen • Simpson • Murray • Cashman • Neilson • Ramsay • Barber • Hitchcock • Stevens • Laviolette • Berube • Hakstol • Vigneault
Division titles	1967-68, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1979-80, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2003-04
Conference Championships	1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1979-80, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1996-97
Stanley Cups	1973-74, 1974-75
Affiliates	Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL), Reading Royals (ECHL)