Tim Kerr
Four-time 50-goal scorer and Flyers Hall of Famer.
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Tim Kerr was a Canadian right winger who spent 13 NHL seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and Hartford Whalers. A pure goal-scorer, he hit the 50-goal mark four times and ranks 10th all-time in goals per game among players with at least 200 goals (0.565). He entered the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1994.
Kerr went undrafted and signed with the Flyers in 1980. He could both fight and score, but it took three seasons to establish himself as a top sniper. After missing most of 1982–83 with knee trouble and a broken leg, he turned things around the next year. Starting in 1983–84, he strung together four straight 50-goal seasons—a team record—and set the NHL single-season mark for power-play goals with 34 in 1985–86.
In the 1985 playoffs, during a first-round series against the Rangers, Kerr scored four goals in 8:16 of the second period at Madison Square Garden, a single-game NHL record that still stands. The Flyers won 6–5 to sweep the best-of-five series. The next season, after being hospitalized with aseptic meningitis in September 1985, he recovered to post a career-high 58 goals. He matched that total the following year, finishing second in the league to Wayne Gretzky.
Injuries and bad luck limited his rise. A knee injury hampered him in the 1985 playoffs.
In 1987, a shoulder injury suffered in the second round kept him out of the final two series against Montreal and Edmonton. Over the next 14 months, he had five shoulder operations, missed nearly all of 1987–88, and was ineffective in Philly’s first-round loss to Washington. He bounced back to play 69 games and score 48 goals in 1988–89, earning the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, but never again played more than half a season.
Left exposed in the 1991 expansion draft, Kerr was claimed by San Jose and quickly traded to the Rangers. After one season with Hartford, he retired at age 33.
He finished with 370 goals in 655 regular-season games (0.56 per game), ranking ninth all-time in goals per game among players with at least 500 games. In the playoffs, his career shooting percentage of 20.3 (among players with 40+ playoff goals) is second all-time. He is one of 15 NHL players with four 50-goal seasons.
Personal life
On October 16, 1990, his wife Kathy died at age 30 from a fast-spreading infection, ten days after the birth of their daughter Kimberly.
Lore & Background
Kerr was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1980. Though initially a winger with hands that could bruise an opponent's face as well as beat an opposing goaltender, it took three seasons before he staked his reputation as a lethal sniper. He missed the majority of the 1982-83 season with knee issues and a broken leg, but turned things around starting in the 1983-84 season, beginning his team-record run of four consecutive 50-goal campaigns. In the process, he set the NHL single-season record for power play goals with 34 in the 1985–86 season.
During the first round of the '85 playoffs, against the New York Rangers, Kerr set a still-standing NHL single-game record by scoring four goals in a span of 8:16 in the second period of an eventual 6–5 victory at Madison Square Garden. The next season, in September 1985 he was hospitalized with aseptic meningitis at the outset, but recovered sufficiently to set a career best of 58 goals. The following year, Kerr again scored 58 goals, finishing second in the NHL to Wayne Gretzky.
Kerr's ascension into the ranks of NHL superstars was hindered by injuries and bad luck. In the 1985 playoffs, a knee injury hampered his ability to play in the final two rounds. In 1987, a shoulder injury cost him the entire final two series. He endured five shoulder operations in a 14-month period and missed all but a handful of the 1987-88 regular season.
He rebounded to play 69 games and score 48 goals in 1988-89, earning the Bill Masterton Trophy, but never again played more than half the schedule the rest of his career. He was left exposed in the 1991 expansion draft, claimed by the San Jose Sharks, and quickly dealt to the New York Rangers. One more season with the Hartford Whalers ensued, before his retirement at age 33.
Reader's Guide
Tim Kerr's significance lies in his extraordinary goal-scoring efficiency and his place among the NHL's elite marksmen. Despite being undrafted, he produced four consecutive 50-goal seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, a franchise record, and set the NHL single-season mark for power play goals (34 in 1985-86). His playoff record of four goals in 8:16 against the New York Rangers remains unmatched. Kerr ranks 9th all-time in goals per game (minimum 500 games played) with 0.56, and is 2nd all time in career shooting percentage (20.3) in NHL playoff history (among players with 40+ career goals).
He is one of fifteen players in NHL history with four 50-goal seasons. His career was marked by resilience: after a series of devastating injuries and the death of his wife, he won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1989 for perseverance and dedication. Though his time with the New York Rangers was brief, his legacy as a Flyers icon is cemented by his Hall of Fame induction and numerous franchise records, including most 50-goal seasons, most career power play goals (145), and most career hat tricks (17).
Career statistics and honours
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1976–77 | Windsor Royals | WOHL | 38 | 34 | 28 | 62 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1976–77 | Windsor Spitfires | OMJHL | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977–78 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 67 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978–79 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 57 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1979–80 | Kingston Canadians | OMJHL | 63 | 40 | 33 | 73 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 1979–80 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980–81 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 84 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 1981–82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 61 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 138 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1982–83 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 24 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983–84 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 54 | 39 | 93 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984–85 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 74 | 54 | 44 | 98 | 57 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 13 |
| 1985–86 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 58 | 26 | 84 | 79 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| 1986–87 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 58 | 37 | 95 | 57 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 1988–89 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 48 | 40 | 88 | 73 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 27 |
| 1989–90 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 40 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 27 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991–92 | New York Rangers | NHL | 32 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992–93 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 22 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 655 | 370 | 304 | 674 | 596 | 81 | 40 | 31 | 71 | 58 | ||
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Tim Kerr (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tim Kerr (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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