1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers season
| 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Atlantic |
| Conference | 3rd Eastern |
| 1997–98 record | 42–29–11 |
| Home record | 24–11–6 |
| Road record | 18–18–5 |
| Goals for | 242 |
| Goals against | 193 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Bob Clarke |
| Coach |
Wayne Cashman (replaced) Roger Neilson |
| Captain | Eric Lindros |
| Alternate captains |
Rod Brind'Amour Eric Desjardins |
| Arena | CoreStates Center |
| Average attendance | 19,519 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | John LeClair (51) |
| Assists | Eric Lindros (41) |
| Points | John LeClair (89) |
| Penalties in minutes | Dan Kordic (210) |
| Plus/minus | John LeClair (+30) |
| Wins | Ron Hextall (21) |
| Goals against average | Ron Hextall (2.17) |
The 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers 31st season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost their quarterfinal series with the Buffalo Sabres in five games.
Less than a week after losing game four of the Stanley Cup Finals, head coach Terry Murray was fired.San Jose Sharks assistant coach Wayne Cashman was named his replacement on July 7, 1997.
The Flyers made two major acquisitions during the summer. On July 14, unrestricted free agent defenseman Luke Richardson, formerly of the Edmonton Oilers, signed a five-year, $12.6 million contract. A month later the Flyers signed Group II restricted free agent centerman Chris Gratton of the Tampa Bay Lightning to a five-year, $16.5 million offer sheet which included a $9 million signing bonus. However, Tampa Bay claimed they had traded Gratton to the Chicago Blackhawks before the Flyers had signed Gratton. An arbitrator dismissed this and another claim that the offer sheet was illegible because the contract figures were smeared. Fearing Tampa Bay would match, the Flyers agreed to send defenseman Karl Dykhuis and right winger Mikael Renberg to the Lightning in exchange for the four first-round picks Tampa Bay would receive if they did not match.
34-year-old forward Dale Hawerchuk announced his retirement on August 25, 1997, due to a degenerative left hip.
With the acquisitions of Gratton and Richardson, the Flyers were expected to make another Stanley Cup run. A 7–3–1 start came crashing down as the Devils posted a 5–0 road win on October 27. Although the club finished the calendar year with an 8–0 strafing of Vancouver on New Year's Eve and began 1998 with a 7–2 road win over Ottawa, there were signs of trouble for Wayne Cashman's team - notably bad shutout home losses to San Jose in November and Boston in early December.
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