1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers season


The 1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 32nd season in the National Hockey League. The Flyers lost in the first round to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.

Off-season

In the off-season, the Flyers went looking for a new goaltender. They opted not to re-sign Sean Burke, and Ron Hextall was about to enter his final season as a backup. They chose to sign former Florida Panther John Vanbiesbrouck over former Edmonton Oilers goalie Curtis Joseph, who ended up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Regular season

Looking to put the previous year's disappointment behind them, the Flyers began the season 4–0–1. However, a quick 1–6–3 downturn caused the first casualties – as Trent Klatt was dealt to Vancouver and Shjon Podein was shipped to Colorado for Keith Jones. Jones scored a goal in his first game in orange and black, a 6–1 rout of New Jersey, keying a 6–1–0 run.
Turmoil continued, as, after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Devils on December 10 saw the Flyers blow a 4–1 lead, the decision was made to end the Chris Gratton experiment. He was dealt back to Tampa Bay along with Mike Sillinger for Mikael Renberg and Daymond Langkow, and the move paid immediate dividends. Philly topped Toronto, 3–0, spurring a 15-game unbeaten streak during which the club matched a record by shutting out their opponents in four consecutive games.
Another run, this time a 6–0–2 streak from January 18 to February 6, tied the Flyers atop the NHL standings with the Dallas Stars. That momentum did not last long, as the club went 1–4–1 after the All-Star break, including an inexplicable 4–3 loss in Los Angeles where the Kings scored three goals in the final minutes, including a 60-foot game-winner by Jozef Stumpel just before the final buzzer.
Following a win over Pittsburgh, the team suffered through a franchise-worst 12 games without a victory, broken up only by a rally from two goals down to Detroit on March 21. Eric Lindros, who was having an MVP-type season with 40 goals and 53 assists in 71 games, was felled and lost for the season by a collapsed lung sustained during a 2–1 win against the expansion Nashville Predators on April 1. It is said that if roommate Keith Jones had not intervened at the last minute, Lindros might have died on the plane ride back to Philadelphia.
The Flyers managed to lock up the five-seed on the final day of the season with a win over Boston.
John LeClair continued his goal-scoring streak with 43 on the year, matching Tim Kerr's team record of four straight seasons with 40 or more goals. He was one of only a handful of players to make it through the entire season, as general manager Bob Clarke made 12 trades involving NHL players throughout the regular season, including re-acquiring former Flyer Mark Recchi from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline.

Season standings

Playoffs

Although Vanbiesbrouck allowed nine goals to Curtis Joseph's eleven allowed, the Flyers lost their first round series with Toronto in six games.

Schedule and results

Preseason

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Individual

Team

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 17, 1998, the day after the deciding game of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 19, 1999, the day of the deciding game of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerPrevious team TermRef
July 6, 1998Marc BureauMontreal Canadiens3-year
July 7, 1998John VanbiesbrouckFlorida Panthers3-year
July 9, 1998Sergei KlimentievRochester Americans 2-year*
July 28, 1998Mark Eaton Notre Dame Fighting Irish 3-year*
August 3, 1998David MacIsaacPhiladelphia Phantoms 1-year*
August 4, 1998Mark GreigGrand Rapids Griffins 2-year*
August 4, 1998Jason ZentOttawa Senators2-year*
August 17, 1998Steve McLarenIndianapolis Ice 1-year*
August 24, 1998Richard ParkMighty Ducks of Anaheim1-year*
October 7, 1998Jody HullTampa Bay Lightning2-year

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to entry level contracts. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerTermRef
June 22, 1998Neil Little1-year*
June 25, 1998Eric Lindros1-year
July 15, 1998Paul Healey2-year*
July 15, 1998Ron Hextall1-year extension
July 15, 1998Jeff Lank2-year*
July 16, 1998Dmitri Tertyshny 2-year*
August 3, 1998Mike Maneluk1-year*
August 3, 1998John Stevens2-year*
August 13, 1998Trent Klatt1-year
August 14, 1998Rod Brind'Amour3-year
August 17, 1998Peter White3-year*
September 1, 1998Daniel Lacroix1-year
March 30, 1999Eric Desjardins4-year extension
May 10, 1999Mark Recchi5-year extension

NHL Expansion Draft

The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 26, 1998. It featured one expansion team, the Nashville Predators, selecting players from the other 26 NHL teams. Each NHL team was allowed to protect either 1 goaltender, 5 defensemen, and 10 forwards OR 2 goaltenders, 3 defensemen, and 7 forwards. All first-year players were exempt. The Predators were provided a list of players they could select.
StatusPlayers
ProtectedDave Babych, Rod Brind'Amour, Alexandre Daigle, Eric Desjardins, Chris Gratton, Ron Hextall, Trent Klatt, Jeff Lank, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Mike Maneluk, Shjon Podein, Luke Richardson, Mike Sillinger, Petr Svoboda, Chris Therien
UnprotectedArtem Anisimov, Frank Bialowas, Sean Burke, Paul Coffey, Bruce Coles, Craig Darby, John Druce, Paul Healey, Chris Joseph, Patrik Juhlin, Dan Kordic, Daniel Lacroix, Jan Lipiansky, Neil Little, Shawn McCosh, Jim Montgomery, Brantt Myhres, Joel Otto, Dominic Roussel, Kjell Samuelsson, Jeff Staples, John Stevens, Roman Zolotov
SelectionNashville Predators selected Craig Darby
Selection-

Waivers

The Flyers were not involved in any waivers transactions. The 1998 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 5, 1998. The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Ron Hextall and John Vanbiesbrouck, defensemen Dave Babych, Eric Desjardins, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson, Petr Svoboda, and Chris Therien, and forwards Rod Brind'Amour, Marc Bureau, Alexandre Daigle, Chris Gratton, Trent Klatt, Dan Kordic, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Mike Maneluk, Shjon Podein, Mike Sillinger, and Dainius Zubrus. The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Neil Little, defensemen Chris Joseph, Sergei Klimentiev, Jeff Lank, David MacIsaac, and John Stevens, and forwards Frank Bialowas, Bruce Coles, Mark Greig, Paul Healey, Patrik Juhlin, Daniel Lacroix, Shawn McCosh, Jim Montgomery, Richard Park, Peter White, and Jason Zent.

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerNew team ViaRef
August 6, 1998Jamie HewardNashville PredatorsFree agency
September 5, 1998Joel Otto—Retirement
September 11, 1998Sean BurkeFlorida PanthersFree agency
N/AJohn DruceHannover Scorpions Free agency
October 14, 1998Kjell SamuelssonTampa Bay LightningFree agency
February 10, 1999John Stevens*—Retirement

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York, on June 27, 1998. The Flyers traded their third-round pick, 81st overall, to the Vancouver Canucks for Dave Babych and the Flyers' fifth-round pick, 139th overall, on March 24, 1998.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeam Notes
122Simon GagneLeft WingCanadaQuebec Remparts
242Jason BeckettDefenseCanadaSeattle Thunderbirds
251Ian ForbesDefenseCanadaGuelph Storm
4109J. P. MorinDefenseCanadaDrummondville Voltigeurs
5124Francis BelangerLeft WingCanadaRimouski Océanic
5139Garrett ProsofskyCenterCanadaSaskatoon Blades
6168Antero NiittymakiGoaltenderFinlandTPS
7175Cam OndrikGoaltenderCanadaMedicine Hat Tigers
7195Tomas DivisekRight WingCzech RepublicHC Slavia Praha
8222Lubomir PistekRight WingSlovakiaBratislava Slovan
9243Petr HubacekCenterCzech RepublicBrno Kometa
9253Bruno St. JacquesDefenseCanadaBaie-Comeau Drakkar
9258Sergei SkrobotDefenseRussiaDynamo-2 Moscow

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL.