The 1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers season was the franchise's second season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the quarterfinals to the St. Louis Blues for the second consecutive season.
Off-season The Flyers coaxed Dick Cherry, who they selected in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, out of retirement by agreeing to a three-year contract.
Lou Angotti, the Flyers first captain, was involved in a three-team trade. The Flyers traded Angotti to the St. Louis Blues for Darryl Edestrand and Gerry Melnyk and the Blues subsequently traded Angotti to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Melnyk suffered a heart attack in training camp and retired to become a scout for the team.
The Flyers claimed veteran defenseman Allan Stanley in the reverse draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Regular season Defenseman Ed Van Impe was named Angotti's replacement as captain in November.
Led by Van Impe and the team-leading 24 goals of Andre Lacroix, the Flyers struggled finishing 15 games under .500.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Playoffs Despite the poor regular season showing, they made the playoffs; however, they were manhandled by St. Louis in a four-game sweep. Not wanting his team to be physically outmatched again, owner Ed Snider instructed general manager Bud Poile to acquire bigger, tougher players going forward.
Schedule and results
Regular season
| 1 || October 13 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Parent || 14,011 || 0–1–0 || 0 ||
| 2 || October 16 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Favell || 15,906 || 0–2–0 || 0 ||
| 3 || October 17 || 3–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Parent || 9,862 || 1–2–0 || 2 ||
| 4 || October 24 || 3–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 8,933 || 1–2–1 || 3 ||
| 5 || October 26 || 2–6 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 6,597 || 1–3–1 || 3 ||
| 6 || October 27 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals || Favell || 1,892 || 1–3–2 || 4 ||
| 7 || October 30 || 1–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,754 || 1–4–2 || 4 ||
| 8 || October 31 || 1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Parent || 9,429 || 1–5–2 || 4 ||
| 9 || November 2 || 3–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 16,470 || 2–5–2 || 6 ||
| 10 || November 3 || 3–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 12,431 || 3–5–2 || 8 ||
| 11 || November 6 || 1–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Parent || 13,744 || 3–6–2 || 8 ||
| 12 || November 7 || 0–8 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Favell || 9,164 || 3–7–2 || 8 ||
| 13 || November 9 || 3–0 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 7,284 || 4–7–2 || 10 ||
| 14 || November 13 || 3–4 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars || Favell || 10,918 || 4–8–2 || 10 ||
| 15 || November 14 || 4–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Parent || 10,192 || 5–8–2 || 12 ||
| 16 || November 17 || 3–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 9,125 || 6–8–2 || 14 ||
| 17 || November 21 || 0–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 11,269 || 6–9–2 || 14 ||
| 18 || November 23 || 1–2 || align="left"| Oakland Seals || Favell || 11,932 || 6–10–2 || 14 ||
| 19 || November 24 || 1–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 9,086 || 6–11–2 || 14 ||
| 20 || November 27 || 2–5 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Favell || 11,380 || 6–12–2 || 14 ||
| 21 || November 30 || 0–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 15,314 || 6–13–2 || 14 ||
| 22 || December 1 || 3–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Parent || 13,039 || 6–13–3 || 15 ||
| 23 || December 4 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 5,847 || 6–14–3 || 15 ||
| 24 || December 6 || 0–4 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals || Favell || 3,166 || 6–15–3 || 15 ||
| 25 || December 8 || 4–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,329 || 6–15–4 || 16 ||
| 26 || December 12 || 0–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 8,531 || 6–16–4 || 16 ||
| 27 || December 14 || 0–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 16,584 || 6–17–4 || 16 ||
| 28 || December 15 || 3–1 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Parent || 12,731 || 7–17–4 || 18 ||
| 29 || December 17 || 8–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Parent || 6,986 || 8–17–4 || 20 ||
| 30 || December 19 || 5–5 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 8,394 || 8–17–5 || 21 ||
| 31 || December 21 || 2–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 7,108 || 9–17–5 || 23 ||
| 32 || December 22 || 1–2 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals || Favell || 1,829 || 9–18–5 || 23 ||
| 33 || December 25 || 2–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Favell || 9,545 || 9–18–6 || 24 ||
| 34 || December 27 || 3–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Parent || 11,935 || 9–18–7 || 25 ||
| 35 || December 29 || 1–2 || align="left"| Oakland Seals || Parent || 12,767 || 9–19–7 || 25 ||
| 36 || January 2 || 2–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks || Favell || 13,290 || 9–19–8 || 26 ||
| 37 || January 4 || 1–1 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 6,329 || 9–19–9 || 27 ||
| 38 || January 5 || 2–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 11,274 || 9–19–10 || 28 ||
| 39 || January 8 || 4–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Favell || 16,331 || 9–19–11 || 29 ||
| 40 || January 9 || 1–3 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Parent || 10,147 || 9–20–11 || 29 ||
| 41 || January 11 || 4–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 12,462 || 10–20–11 || 31 ||
| 42 || January 15 || 3–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 13,184 || 10–21–11 || 31 ||
| 43 || January 16 || 0–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 12,728 || 10–22–11 || 31 ||
| 44 || January 18 || 3–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Favell || 14,558 || 10–23–11 || 31 ||
| 45 || January 19 || 3–1 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Parent || 13,949 || 11–23–11 || 33 ||
| 46 || January 23 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks || Parent || 18,500 || 11–23–12 || 34 ||
| 47 || January 25 || 3–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 16,884 || 11–24–12 || 34 ||
| 48 || January 26 || 5–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 10,987 || 12–24–12 || 36 ||
| 49 || January 30 || 0–12 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks || Favell || 13,005 || 12–25–12 || 36 ||
| 50 || February 1 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Parent || 5,866 || 12–25–13 || 37 ||
| 51 || February 2 || 2–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 13,294 || 12–26–13 || 37 ||
| 52 || February 4 || 0–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings || Parent || 8,375 || 12–27–13 || 37 ||
| 53 || February 8 || 5–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins || Parent || 14,659 || 12–28–13 || 37 ||
| 54 || February 9 || 3–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Parent || 5,723 || 12–28–14 || 38 ||
| 55 || February 12 || 3–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks || Parent || 17,800 || 12–28–15 || 39 ||
| 56 || February 13 || 1–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 9,362 || 12–29–15 || 39 ||
| 57 || February 15 || 0–3 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks || Parent || 14,558 || 12–30–15 || 39 ||
| 58 || February 16 || 3–2 || align="left"| Oakland Seals || Parent || 11,104 || 13–30–15 || 41 ||
| 59 || February 19 || 1–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 15,072 || 13–31–15 || 41 ||
| 60 || February 22 || 1–4 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 17,304 || 13–32–15 || 41 ||
| 61 || February 23 || 1–9 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings || Parent || 14,361 || 13–33–15 || 41 ||
| 62 || February 27 || 1–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 11,935 || 13–33–16 || 42 ||
| 63 || March 1 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 9,534 || 13–33–17 || 43 ||
| 64 || March 2 || 4–4 || align="left"| @ Oakland Seals || Parent || 4,484 || 13–33–18 || 44 ||
| 65 || March 6 || 5–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 9,428 || 14–33–18 || 46 ||
| 66 || March 8 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 16,485 || 14–33–19 || 47 ||
| 67 || March 9 || 5–3 || align="left"| Oakland Seals || Parent || 13,885 || 15–33–19 || 49 ||
| 68 || March 13 || 2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Parent || 14,558 || 16–33–19 || 51 ||
| 69 || March 15 || 2–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 14,662 || 16–33–20 || 52 ||
| 70 || March 16 || 2–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks || Parent || 17,000 || 16–34–20 || 52 ||
| 71 || March 20 || 5–2 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 12,582 || 17–34–20 || 54 ||
| 72 || March 22 || 5–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars || Parent || 14,664 || 18–34–20 || 56 ||
| 73 || March 23 || 4–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 14,558 || 19–34–20 || 58 ||
| 74 || March 27 || 4–2 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 11,669 || 20–34–20 || 60 ||
| 75 || March 29 || 3–3 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins || Parent || 11,039 || 20–34–21 || 61 ||
| 76 || March 30 || 1–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 5,738 || 20–35–21 || 61 ||
Legend:
Playoffs
| 1 || April 2 || 2–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Parent || 15,156 || Blues lead 1–0 ||
| 2 || April 3 || 0–5 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 15,261 || Blues lead 2–0 ||
| 3 || April 5 || 0–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 14,558 || Blues lead 3–0 ||
| 4 || April 6 || 1–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Parent || 10,995 || Blues win 4–0 ||
Legend:
Player statistics
Scoring 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. Player Regular season Playoffs 7 C 75 24 32 56 −12 4 4 0 0 0 −5 0 11 LW 74 20 35 55 −8 65 4 0 0 0 −5 6 21 RW 54 16 30 46 −7 14 4 0 0 0 −5 0 20 C 69 17 27 44 −5 20 3 0 0 0 −4 2 9 RW 65 14 21 35 −7 10 3 0 0 0 −2 0 12 RW 60 8 16 24 −20 80 4 0 1 1 0 20 10 LW 63 10 13 23 −11 23 2 D 68 7 12 19 −13 112 1 0 0 0 −1 17 17 D 67 3 16 19 −24 28 4 0 0 0 −8 10 6 D 64 4 13 17 −4 28 3 0 1 1 0 4 8 LW 48 7 9 16 −13 36 4 0 0 0 −4 2 5 D 71 9 6 15 −11 18 4 1 0 1 −2 4 22 C 59 8 7 15 −25 195 15 C 66 8 6 14 −20 49 4 1 1 2 0 16 14 RW 35 4 10 14 −10 8 4 D 66 1 13 14 −6 70 4 0 0 0 −5 0 10 LW 12 7 3 10 5 4 4 1 1 2 −4 0 3 D 60 2 8 10 −21 14 4 0 0 0 −5 0 19 LW 21 3 3 6 −4 51 19 RW 27 2 4 6 −14 52 23 LW 19 0 5 5 −11 25 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 D 24 0 4 4 4 6 4 0 0 0 −4 4 23 C 12 0 3 3 −1 4 4 0 0 0 −2 0 22 RW 5 0 2 2 −1 0 4 0 1 1 −2 0 14 LW 7 0 1 1 −4 22 19 C 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 G 21 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 16 LW 2 0 0 0 −2 0 30 G 58 0 0 0 8 3 0 0 0 0 24 D 9 0 0 0 −3 6
Goaltending Player Regular season Playoffs 30 Bernie Parent 58 56 17 23 16 2009 151 2.70 .925 1 3,357 3 3 0 3 94 12 4.01 .872 0 180 1 Doug Favell 21 20 3 12 5 731 71 3.58 .903 1 1,191 1 1 0 1 36 5 5.00 .861 0 60
Awards and records
Awards TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(in-season) NHL All-Star Game selection Bernie Parent Ed Van Impe
Records
Among the franchise records set during the 1968–69 season, the Flyers had two tie-related streaks. They tied four games in a row from January 2 to January 8, which was matched during the 1991–92 season, and they tied four road games in a row from March 1 to March 15.2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 259 On January 30, they allowed 12 goals against to the Chicago Black Hawks, a single game franchise high.2016–2017 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide, p. 261 Their six road wins on the season is tied for the fewest in franchise history with the 1969–70 team.
Milestones