In June, the Flyers made a trade which sent the first round draft pick they had acquired in the Peter Forsberg trade back to the Nashville Predators for the rights to negotiate with impending unrestricted free agentsKimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. Both were signed to six-year contracts. Due to having the NHL's worst record during the 2006–07 season, the Flyers had the best chance to claim the first overall pick in the draft lottery. However, the Chicago Blackhawks won the lottery and jumped up to the first overall selection, relegating the Flyers to the 2nd overall pick. After much speculation as to whether the Flyers would trade the pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Flyers stayed put and selected New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk. The Flyers wasted no time in addressing their free agent needs. On July 1, the Flyers signed Buffalo Sabres center Danny Briere to an eight-year, $52 million contract. Continuing to revamp their defensive core, defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Geoff Sanderson were traded to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Jason Smith and forward Joffrey Lupul. Smith was named Flyers captain on October 1.
Regular season
The season began in the image of the Broad Street Bullies era, with multiple-game suspensions handed out to five separate players, the most serious being 20- and 25-game suspensions to Steve Downie and Jesse Boulerice, respectively, for two separate incidents. A 7–3 start in October and a 9–3–1 January run had the Flyers near the top of both the division and conference standings. However, a disastrous ten-game losing streak in February, reminiscent of such a streak the previous season, nearly derailed the Flyers' season. An 8–3–4 run in March coupled with two vital wins over the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins over the final weekend of the regular season put the Flyers back in the playoffs as the sixth seed and set for a first round matchup with the Washington Capitals.
Divisional standings
Conference standings
Playoffs
After taking a three games to one series lead over Washington, the Capitals won Games 5 and 6 to force a Game 7 in Washington. The Flyers won the series in overtime on Joffrey Lupul's power play goal. The Flyers then drew a matchup with the heavily-favored Montreal Canadiens in the second round. Despite being outshot the majority of the series, the Flyers upset Montreal in five games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2003–04 to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before the start of the series, the Flyers suffered a fatal blow when it was learned that defenseman Kimmo Timonen was out with a blood clot in his ankle. Coupled with a gruesome facial injury to Braydon Coburn in Game 2, Pittsburgh ran roughshod over the Flyers' depleted defense and jumped out to a 3–0 series lead. The Flyers won Game 4 at home to stave off elimination, and although Timonen returned for Game 5, Pittsburgh finished off the Flyers in five games.
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.
The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.
Date
Player
Team
Ref
February 22, 2008
Patrick Thoresen
from Edmonton Oilers
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.
Philadelphia's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on June 22–23, 2007. The Flyers traded their original second, third, and fourth-round picks in three different trades.
Round
Pick
Player
Position
Nationality
Team
Notes
1
2
James van Riemsdyk
Left Wing
United States
U.S. NTDP
2
41
Kevin Marshall
Defense
Canada
Lewiston Maineiacs
3
66
Garrett Klotz
Left Wing
Canada
Saskatoon Blades
5
122
Mario Kempe
Right Wing
Sweden
St. John's Fog Devils
6
152
Jon Kalinski
Left Wing
Canada
Bonnyville Pontiacs
6
161
Patrick Maroon
Left Wing
United States
London Knights
7
182
Brad Phillips
Goaltender
United States
U.S. NTDP
Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. The Phantoms, with Craig Berube returning as head coach, finished second in their division and won their first round playoff series against the Albany River Rats in seven games. They lost in the second round to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in five games. In their first and only season as the Flyers ECHL affiliate, the Nailers finished last in their division and missed the playoffs.
