2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers season


The 2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 44th season in the National Hockey League. The Flyers lost in the second round of the 2011 playoffs to the Boston Bruins in a four-game sweep.

Off-season

Coming off a close loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers traded Simon Gagne to the Tampa Bay Lightning to clear up cap space, acquired Andrej Meszaros from Tampa Bay in a separate trade and signed free agent Sean O'Donnell to shore up the defense.

Regular season

The Flyers started the season with rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky from the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, who recorded an opening-night win in his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins and had steady numbers throughout the season. Brian Boucher remained as the backup goaltender while Michael Leighton played one game in December after recovering from a back injury and was sent to Adirondack in the AHL. The Flyers led both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference for the majority of the season, and challenged the Vancouver Canucks for the overall NHL lead. Kris Versteeg was brought in from the Toronto Maple Leafs to add additional offense for the stretch drive and playoffs. However, lackluster play throughout March and April, coupled with a broken hand suffered by Chris Pronger in late February that ended his regular season, cost the Flyers the top seed in the East during the last week of the regular season, although the Flyers hung on to win their first Atlantic Division title since 2003–04 and clinched the second seed in the East.

Season standings

Playoffs

The Flyers drew the Buffalo Sabres in the first round. Sergei Bobrovsky played well in a 1–0 Game 1 loss, but was replaced in Game 2 for Brian Boucher, who held on for a 5–4 Flyers win. Boucher played well in a Game 3 win and a Game 4 loss, but was replaced himself in a favor of Michael Leighton during a poor first period in Game 5, and Buffalo won in overtime. Pronger returned to the lineup and Leighton started Game 6 but was replaced by Boucher after a sub-par first period, but the Flyers went on to win in overtime and forced a Game 7, which Boucher started. The Flyers dominated Buffalo, winning 5–2, and became the first team to win a playoff series starting three different goaltenders since 1988.
The Flyers then drew a rematch with the Boston Bruins in the second round. Boston dominated the Flyers in Game 1, where Boucher was again replaced, this time by Bobrovsky. Pronger again left the lineup with an undisclosed injury, while Boston won Game 2 in overtime and again dominated the Flyers in Game 3 to take a 3–0 series lead. Bobrovsky started Game 4, but there would be no such comeback like their previous meeting as Boston completed the sweep of the Flyers. The Flyers tied an NHL record with seven playoff in-game goalie changes, and were the only NHL team not to record a shutout in either the regular season or playoffs.

Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Team

Milestones

Suspensions and fines

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2010, the day after the deciding game of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 15, 2011, the day of the deciding game of the 2011 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 1, 2010Sean O'DonnellLos Angeles Kings1-year
July 1, 2010Jody ShelleyNew York Rangers3-year
July 9, 2010Nikolay ZherdevAtlant Moscow Oblast 1-year
July 9, 2010Greg MooreColumbus Blue Jackets1-year*
July 15, 2010Dan JancevskiDallas Stars2-year*
August 29, 2010Brandon Manning Chilliwack Bruins 3-year*
November 23, 2010Michael RyanCarolina Hurricanes1-year*
March 2, 2011Jason Akeson Kitchener Rangers 3-year*
March 2, 2011Tyler Brown Plymouth Whalers 3-year*
March 7, 2011Harry Zolnierczyk Brown University 1-year*
March 24, 2011Matt Read Bemidji State University 3-year*
May 17, 2011Niko Hovinen Pelicans 2-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 15, 2010Johan Backlund2-year*
June 30, 2010Michael Leighton2-year
July 1, 2010Braydon Coburn2-year
July 13, 2010Daniel Carcillo1-year
July 14, 2010David Laliberte1-year*
July 21, 2010Matt Clackson1-year*
July 22, 2010Darroll Powe1-year
November 8, 2010Claude Giroux3-year extension
November 13, 2010Jeff Carter11-year extension
March 15, 2012Oliver Lauridsen 2-year*

Waivers

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions.
DatePlayerTeamRef
February 26, 2011Nick Boyntonfrom Chicago Blackhawks

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
N/AMike Rathje—Retirement
July 7, 2010Jared RossAtlanta ThrashersFree agency
July 21, 2010Danny SyvretAnaheim DucksFree agency
July 29, 2010Mika PyoralaFrolunda HC Free agency
August 9, 2010Riley Cote—Retirement
August 20, 2010Arron AshamPittsburgh PenguinsFree agency
August 22, 2010Sebastien CaronTraktor Chelyabinsk Free agency
September 1, 2010Joey MorminaRed Bull Salzburg Free agency
September 10, 2010Jeremy DuchesneSaint-Georges CRS Express Free agency
September 16, 2010Lukas KrajicekOcelari Trinec Free agency
September 27, 2010Rob BellamyElmira Jackals Free agency
September 30, 2010Josh BeaulieuRapid City Rush Free agency
October 2, 2010Ryan DingleVictoria Salmon Kings Free agency
N/AMichael Teslak—Free agency
November 9, 2010Sean CurryToledo Walleye Free agency
November 15, 2010Jason WardEHC Black Wings Linz Free agency
February 7, 2011Ray EmeryAnaheim DucksFree agency

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 25–26, 2010. The Flyers traded their 2009 and 2010, 29th overall, first-round picks, Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and a conditional 2010 or 2011 third-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Ryan Dingle and Chris Pronger on June 26, 2009. They also traded their original second-round pick, 59th overall, and Denis Gauthier to the Los Angeles Kings for Patrik Hersley and Ned Lukacevic on July 1, 2008.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeam Notes
389Michael ChaputCenterCanadaLewiston Maineiacs
4119Tye McGinnLeft wingCanadaGatineau Olympiques
5149Michael ParksRight wingUnited StatesCedar Rapids RoughRiders
6179Nick LuukkoDefenseUnited StatesThe Gunnery
7206Ricard BlidstrandDefenseSwedenAIK IF Jr.
7209Brendan RanfordLeft wingCanadaKamloops Blazers

Farm teams

;American Hockey League – Adirondack Phantoms
; ECHL – Greenville Road Warriors