Philadelphia Flyers

The Broad Street Bullies: first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. They are the second NHL team to represent Philadelphia, with the first team, the Philadelphia Quakers, only playing one season in 1930–31. The team plays its home games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, an indoor arena they share with the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Part of the 1967 NHL expansion, the Flyers are the first of the expansion teams in the post-Original Six era to win the Stanley Cup, victorious in 1973–74 and again in 1974–75. Since their two Stanley Cup victories, they have been in the Final five other times, most recently in 2010.

Quick Facts

Draft year: 2008
Draft pick overall: 178th
Flyers debut date: April 22, 2011
Flyers contract extension date: April 17, 2013
Flyers extension value: $1.5 million
Flyers ext term years: 2
Bruins trade date: Following the 2014–15 season
Bruins trade return: third-round pick in the 2017 NHL entry draft

Lore & Background

The Flyers play their home games on Broad Street, first at the Spectrum from 1967 until 1996, and then at Xfinity Mobile Arena since 1996. Their association with Broad Street, along with the players consistently brawling with other teams, earned them the nickname 'Broad Street Bullies' during the 1970s.

Reader's Guide

The Flyers' history includes the Philadelphia Quakers, who played one season in the NHL after the Pittsburgh Pirates relocated in 1930. The Quakers' only season established a single season NHL record for futility, compiling a dismal record of 4–36–4. The Quakers suspended operations after that season. In 1946, a group led by Len Peto announced plans to put another NHL team in Philadelphia, but the group was unable to raise funding.

While attending a basketball game on November 29, 1964, at the Boston Garden, Ed Snider observed a crowd of Boston Bruins fans lining up to purchase tickets to see a last-place ice hockey team. He began making plans for a new arena upon hearing the NHL was looking to expand. Snider formed a group made up of himself, Bill Putnam, Jerome Schiff and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jerry Wolman. On April 4, 1966, Putnam announced a name-the-team contest.

Snider's sister, Phyllis, thought that a name that fits well with Philadelphia was 'Flyers'. The team name was announced on August 3. Among the Flyers' 20 selections in the 1967 NHL expansion draft were goaltender Bernie Parent, Ed Van Impe, and Gary Dornhoefer. Their debut in 1967–68 occurred on October 11, 1967, losing 5–1 to the California Seals.

The Flyers won their division with a sub-.500 record despite being forced to play their last seven home games on the road due to a storm blowing parts of the Spectrum's roof off. The Flyers were defeated by the St. Louis Blues in the first round in seven games. Van Impe was named team captain in the offseason. In the 1969 playoffs, they lost to St. Louis again, this time in a four-game sweep.

Majority owner Ed Snider instructed general manager Bud Poile to acquire bigger, tougher players. In the 1969 draft, they selected Bobby Clarke at 17th overall. The team also drafted enforcer Dave Schultz. Clarke's 15 goals and 31 assists in his rookie season earned him a trip to the NHL All-Star Game.

However, the team struggled in 1969–70, recording only 17 wins — the fewest in franchise history — while also setting the NHL record for most ties in a season (24). They missed the playoffs for the first time. On December 11, 1969, the Flyers introduced playing a recording of Kate Smith singing 'God Bless America' instead of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' with specific games.