1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 19th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the first round of the playoffs in five game to the New York Rangers.

1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers
Patrick Division champions
Division	1st Patrick
Conference	1st Wales
1985–86 record	53–23–4
Home record	33–6–1
Road record	20–17–3
Goals for	335 (4th)
Goals against	241 (1st)
Team information
General manager	Bob Clarke
Coach	Mike Keenan
Captain	Dave Poulin
Alternate captains	Mark Howe Brad Marsh
Arena	Spectrum
Average attendance	17,184[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears Kalamazoo Wings
Team leaders
Goals	Tim Kerr (58)
Assists	Mark Howe (58)
Points	Brian Propp (97)
Penalty minutes	Rick Tocchet (284)
Plus/minus	Mark Howe (+85)
Wins	Bob Froese (31)
Goals against average	Bob Froese (2.55)
← 1984–85 1986–87 →

Regular season

The club began the year 12–2–0 (with both losses coming at home to New Jersey and Quebec), which included 10 consecutive wins until goaltender Pelle Lindbergh was killed in a car accident in the early hours of November 10.

Due to the tragedy, back-up Bob Froese became the de facto starter, and the club called up Darren Jensen for relief work. Froese suffered a groin injury in practice prior to the team's next game against the Edmonton Oilers, so Jensen got the start against the defending Stanley Cup champions at the Spectrum on November 14.^[2]

Following an emotional memorial service, the Flyers posted a spirited 5–3 win, featuring four goals in the third period to earn their 11th victory in a row. They went on to beat Hartford two days later to set a new franchise record for consecutive wins, then rallied from three-goals down to top the New York Islanders 5–4 in overtime the next day. The Islanders ended the streak two nights later in Uniondale, almost wasting a four-goal lead in an 8–6 decision.

Philly became the first club in the NHL to reach 30 wins, after a 4–0 shutout of the Washington Capitals on January 9, but began to falter in February and early March, losing four straight games and seeing the Capitals climb within striking distance.^[3] The Caps and Flyers each spent time in first place for the remainder of the schedule, but the orange and black took the division crown on the last day of the season (April 6) with a come-from-behind 5–3 home win after being down 2–0.^[4][5][6]

In a 7–3 loss to the Devils on March 8, Tim Kerr set an NHL record with his 29th power-play goal of the season, passing Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito's mark. He finished the year with 34, the league record to this day.

Propp had the best chance of his career to crack the 100-point mark, but that was derailed on March 6, when Buffalo Sabres forward Lindy Ruff caught him in the eye with a high stick. The incident cost Propp several games, and he finished with a team-high 97 points while also causing him to wear a visor for the remainder of his career.

Bob Clarke made a couple minor deals during the season, trading Ed Hospodar and the enigmatic Todd Bergen to the Minnesota North Stars for Dave Richter and Bo Berglund on November 29. Neither player lasted beyond the season with the Flyers, while Hospodar returned in 1986–87. Also, Joe Paterson and Len Hachborn were sent in separate deals to the Los Angeles Kings, and Chico Resch was acquired from the Devils for a draft pick in early March.

Froese finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy. Mark Howe finished second in voting for the Norris Trophy and third in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP.^[7] Howe was named to the first NHL All-Star team and took home the NHL Plus-Minus Award – the defense pairing of Howe and Brad McCrimmon finished with a +85 and a +83 respectively – while Froese was named to the second NHL All-Star team and was the co-winner with Jensen of the William M. Jennings Trophy.

Season standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	53	23	4	335	241	110
Washington Capitals	80	50	23	7	315	272	107
New York Islanders	80	39	29	12	327	284	90
New York Rangers	80	36	38	6	280	276	78
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	34	38	8	313	305	76
New Jersey Devils	80	28	49	3	300	374	59

^[8]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1985–86 NHL records[9] Team NJD NYI NYR PHI PIT WSH Total New Jersey — 2−5 2−5 3−4 2−4−1 1−6 10−24−1 N.Y. Islanders 5−2 — 3−3−1 4−3 5−1−1 3−4 20−13−2 N.Y. Rangers 5−2 3−3−1 — 1−6 2−4−1 3−3−1 14−18−3 Philadelphia 4−3 3−4 6−1 — 6−0−1 5−2 24−10−1 Pittsburgh 4−2−1 1−5−1 4−2−1 0–6−1 — 1−6 10−21−4 Washington 6−1 4−3 3−3−1 2–5 6−1 — 21−13−1 Vs. Adams Division 1985–86 NHL records Team BOS BUF HFD MTL QUE Total New Jersey 0−3 1−2 1−2 1−2 2−1 5−10−0 N.Y. Islanders 1−0−2 1−2 2−1 1−2 1−2 6−7−2 N.Y. Rangers 2−1 0−3 1−2 2−0−1 0−2−1 5−8−2 Philadelphia 2−1 1−2 3−0 2−1 1−1−1 9−5−1 Pittsburgh 1−2 2−0−1 1−2 0−2−1 1−1−1 5−7−3 Washington 2−0−1 1−1−1 2−0−1 2−0−1 3−0 10−1−4 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Norris Division 1985–86 NHL records Team CHI DET MIN STL TOR Total New Jersey 2−1 2−0−1 1−2 1−2 1−2 7−7−1 N.Y. Islanders 0−2−1 3−0 0−2−1 1−1−1 3−0 7−5−3 N.Y. Rangers 0−3 3−0 1−2 1−1−1 2−1 7−7−1 Philadelphia 2−0−1 2−1 2−0−1 2−1 2−1 10−3−2 Pittsburgh 1−1−1 2−1 3−0 2−1 3−0 11−3−1 Washington 2−1 2−1 2−1 3−0 2−1 11−4−0 Vs. Smythe Division 1985–86 NHL records Team CGY EDM LAK VAN WIN Total New Jersey 0−2−1 0−3 2−1 2−1 2−1 6−8−1 N.Y. Islanders 1−1−1 0−1−2 2−1 1−1−1 2−0−1 6−4−5 N.Y. Rangers 1−2 2−1 2−1 3−0 2−1 10−5−0 Philadelphia 2−1 1−2 3−0 2−1 2−1 10−5−0 Pittsburgh 1−2 1−2 2−1 2−1 2−1 8−7−0 Washington 0−3 3−0 2−1 2−0−1 1−1−1 8−5−2

Playoffs

Despite their regular season success, an emotionally exhausted Flyers team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in five games.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1985–86 regular season[10]
October: 7–2–0, 14 points (home: 3–2–0; road: 4–0–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 1 October 10 5–6 New Jersey Devils Lindbergh 0–1–0 0 L 2 October 12 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Froese 1–1–0 2 W 3 October 13 4–2 @ Washington Capitals Lindbergh 2–1–0 4 W 4 October 17 1–2 Quebec Nordiques Lindbergh 2–2–0 4 L 5 October 19 7–3 Minnesota North Stars Froese 3–2–0 6 W 6 October 20 5–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks Froese 4–2–0 8 W 7 October 24 3–0 Hartford Whalers Lindbergh 5–2–0 10 W 8 October 27 7–4 Vancouver Canucks Froese 6–2–0 12 W 9 October 30 5–4 @ Montreal Canadiens Lindbergh 7–2–0 14 W
November: 12–2–0, 24 points (home: 8–0–0; road: 4–2–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 10 November 2 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques Lindbergh 8–2–0 16 W 11 November 3 7–4 Los Angeles Kings Lindbergh 9–2–0 18 W 12 November 6 5–2 @ New York Rangers Froese 10–2–0 20 W 13 November 7 6–2 Chicago Black Hawks Lindbergh 11–2–0 22 W 14 November 9 5–3 Boston Bruins Froese 12–2–0 24 W 15 November 14 5–3 Edmonton Oilers Jensen 13–2–0 26 W 16 November 16 5–2 @ Hartford Whalers Jensen 14–2–0 28 W 17 November 17 5–4 OT New York Islanders Jensen 15–2–0 30 W 18 November 19 6–8 @ New York Islanders Jensen 15–3–0 30 L 19 November 21 3–0 Hartford Whalers Froese 16–3–0 32 W 20 November 23 4–5 @ Boston Bruins Froese 16–4–0 32 L 21 November 24 7–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Jensen 17–4–0 34 W 22 November 27 6–1 Winnipeg Jets Froese 18–4–0 36 W 23 November 29 4–1 @ Minnesota North Stars Froese 19–4–0 38 W
December: 9–6–0, 18 points (home: 5–1–0; road: 4–5–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 24 December 1 1–2 @ Winnipeg Jets Froese 19–5–0 38 L 25 December 3 1–4 @ Detroit Red Wings Froese 19–6–0 38 L 26 December 5 3–6 Toronto Maple Leafs Jensen 19–7–0 38 L 27 December 7 4–0 New York Rangers Froese 20–7–0 40 W 28 December 8 1–3 @ New York Rangers Froese 20–8–0 40 L 29 December 10 7–4 Boston Bruins Jensen 21–8–0 42 W 30 December 12 6–3 Montreal Canadiens Jensen 22–8–0 44 W 31 December 14 6–4 @ Detroit Red Wings Jensen 23–8–0 46 W 32 December 17 4–7 @ New Jersey Devils Froese 23–9–0 46 L 33 December 19 6–3 New Jersey Devils Jensen 24–9–0 48 W 34 December 21 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins Froese 25–9–0 50 W 35 December 22 3–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins Froese 26–9–0 52 W 36 December 27 6–1 @ Vancouver Canucks Froese 27–9–0 54 W 37 December 28 6–5 @ Calgary Flames Froese 28–9–0 56 W 38 December 31 3–4 @ Edmonton Oilers Froese 28–10–0 56 L
January: 7–5–1, 15 points (home: 4–1–0; road: 3–4–1) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 39 January 2 7–4 @ Los Angeles Kings Jensen 29–10–0 58 W 40 January 4 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues Froese 29–11–0 58 L 41 January 9 4–0 Washington Capitals Jensen 30–11–0 60 W 42 January 11 8–4 @ New Jersey Devils Jensen 31–11–0 62 W 43 January 12 3–0 Calgary Flames Froese 32–11–0 64 W 44 January 14 3–2 New Jersey Devils Froese 33–11–0 66 W 45 January 17 3–4 New York Islanders Froese 33–12–0 66 L 46 January 18 2–5 @ Washington Capitals Jensen 33–13–0 66 L 47 January 21 3–7 @ New York Islanders Froese 33–14–0 66 L 48 January 23 5–2 Detroit Red Wings Jensen 34–14–0 68 W 49 January 25 1–0 @ St. Louis Blues Jensen 35–14–0 70 W 50 January 28 2–2 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Jensen 35–14–1 71 T 51 January 30 4–8 @ New York Islanders Jensen 35–15–1 71 L
February: 6–3–3, 15 points (home: 5–0–1; road: 1–3–2) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 52 February 1 2–2 OT @ Quebec Nordiques Froese 35–15–2 72 T 53 February 6 4–3 St. Louis Blues Froese 36–15–2 74 W 54 February 8 3–3 OT Minnesota North Stars Froese 36–15–3 75 T 55 February 9 2–2 OT @ Chicago Black Hawks Froese 36–15–4 76 T 56 February 12 4–0 @ Buffalo Sabres Froese 37–15–4 78 W 57 February 13 6–3 New York Islanders Froese 38–15–4 80 W 58 February 15 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens Froese 38–16–4 80 L 59 February 17 8–4 Winnipeg Jets Froese 39–16–4 82 W 60 February 20 5–3 Los Angeles Kings Jensen 40–16–4 84 W 61 February 22 3–1 Washington Capitals Froese 41–16–4 86 W 62 February 27 4–7 @ Calgary Flames Jensen 41–17–4 86 L 63 February 28 1–3 @ Vancouver Canucks Jensen 41–18–4 86 L
March: 8–5–0, 16 points (home: 6–2–0; road: 2–3–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 64 March 2 1–2 OT @ Edmonton Oilers Jensen 41–19–4 86 L 65 March 4 4–6 Buffalo Sabres Jensen 41–20–4 86 L 66 March 6 7–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Jensen 42–20–4 88 W 67 March 8 3–7 @ New Jersey Devils Jensen 42–21–4 88 L 68 March 9 4–1 @ New York Rangers Froese 43–21–4 90 W 69 March 13 2–0 Washington Capitals Froese 44–21–4 92 W 70 March 15 6–5 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs Froese 45–21–4 94 W 71 March 16 4–1 New Jersey Devils Froese 46–21–4 96 W 72 March 20 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Froese 47–21–4 98 W 73 March 22 4–2 New York Rangers Resch 48–21–4 100 W 74 March 23 5–6 @ Washington Capitals Resch 48–22–4 100 L 75 March 27 0–1 Buffalo Sabres Resch 48–23–4 100 L 76 March 29 8–2 New York Rangers Froese 49–23–4 102 W
April: 4–0–0, 8 points (home: 2–0–0; road: 2–0–0) Game Date Score Opponent Decision Record Points Recap 77 April 1 4–2 New York Islanders Froese 50–23–4 104 W 78 April 2 3–2 @ New York Rangers Froese 51–23–4 106 W 79 April 5 4–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins Froese 52–23–4 108 W 80 April 6 5–3 Washington Capitals Froese 53–23–4 110 W
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1986 Stanley Cup playoffs[10]
Patrick Division Semifinals vs. New York Rangers – Rangers win 3–2 Game Date Score Opponent Decision Series Recap 1 April 9 2–6 New York Rangers Froese Rangers lead 1–0 L 2 April 10 2–1 New York Rangers Froese Series tied 1–1 W 3 April 12 2–5 @ New York Rangers Froese Rangers lead 2–1 L 4 April 13 7–1 @ New York Rangers Froese Series tied 2–2 W 5 April 15 2–5 New York Rangers Froese Rangers win 3–2 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
26	Brian Propp	LW	72	40	57	97	24	47	5	0	2	2	−2	4
12	Tim Kerr	RW	76	58	26	84	−5	79	5	3	3	6	−2	8
2	Mark Howe	D	77	24	58	82	85	36	5	0	4	4	0	0
23	Ilkka Sinisalo	LW	74	39	37	76	17	31	5	2	2	4	1	2
20	Dave Poulin	C	79	27	42	69	20	49	5	2	0	2	−4	2
9	Pelle Eklund	C	70	15	51	66	−4	12	5	0	2	2	2	0
14	Ron Sutter	C	75	18	42	60	26	159	5	0	2	2	2	10
10	Brad McCrimmon	D	80	13	43	56	83	85	5	2	0	2	1	2
32	Murray Craven	LW	78	21	33	54	24	34	5	0	3	3	0	4
25	Peter Zezel	C	79	17	37	54	27	76	5	3	1	4	−2	4
3	Doug Crossman	D	80	6	37	43	−5	55	5	0	1	1	0	4
15	Rich Sutter	RW	78	14	25	39	28	199	5	2	0	2	2	19
22	Rick Tocchet	RW	69	14	21	35	12	284	5	1	2	3	1	26
18	Lindsay Carson	LW	50	9	12	21	10	84	1	0	0	0	0	5
21	Dave Brown	RW	76	10	7	17	7	277	5	0	0	0	−3	16
8	Brad Marsh	D	79	0	13	13	0	123	5	0	0	0	1	2
24	Derrick Smith	LW	69	6	6	12	14	57	4	0	0	0	−3	10
17	Ed Hospodar‡	D	17	3	1	4	0	55	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Thomas Eriksson	D	43	0	4	4	−12	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Don Nachbaur	C	5	1	1	2	3	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Bo Berglund†	RW	7	0	2	2	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Dave Richter†	D	50	0	2	2	−2	138	5	0	0	0	0	21
29	Daryl Stanley	D	33	0	2	2	−5	69	1	0	0	0	0	2
35	Bob Froese	G	51	0	1	1		8	5	0	1	1		0
30	Darren Jensen	G	29	0	1	1		2	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Mike Stothers	D	6	0	1	1	1	6	3	0	0	0	0	4
39	Ross Fitzpatrick	C	2	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Pelle Lindbergh	G	8	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Kevin McCarthy	D	4	0	0	0	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Scott Mellanby	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Carl Mokosak	LW	1	0	0	0	0	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Joe Paterson‡	LW	5	0	0	0	1	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Glenn Resch†	G	5	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		0
5	Steve Smith	D	2	0	0	0	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

No.	Player	Regular season											Playoffs
		GP	GS	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Bob Froese	51	47	31	10	3	1270	116	2.55	.909	5	2,724	5	5	2	3	123	15	3.08	.878	0	292
30	Darren Jensen	29	23	15	9	1	753	88	3.69	.883	2	1,431	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Pelle Lindbergh	8	8	6	2	0	200	23	2.88	.885	1	478	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Glenn Resch†	5	2	1	2	0	84	10	3.23	.881	0	186	1	0	0	0	1	1	8.24	.000	0	7

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Emery Edge Award	Mark Howe	[11]
	NHL first All-Star team	Mark Howe (Defense)	[12]
	NHL second All-Star team	Bob Froese (Goaltender)	[12]
	William M. Jennings Trophy	Bob Froese	[13]
		Darren Jensen
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Bob Froese	[14]
		Mark Howe
		Mike Keenan (Coach)
		Tim Kerr[a]
		Pelle Lindbergh[b]
		Dave Poulin
		Brian Propp
	NHL Player of the Month	Bob Froese (March)	[16]
	NHL Player of the Week	Bob Froese (December 29)	[17]
		Bob Froese (January 9)	[18]
		Bob Froese (March 17)[c]	[19]
Team	Barry Ashbee Trophy	Mark Howe	[20]
	Bobby Clarke Trophy	Mark Howe	[20]
	Class Guy Award	Murray Craven	[20]

Records

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers records

Among the team records set during the 1985–86 season was a 13-game winning streak from October 19 to November 17.^[21] On November 3, Tim Kerr set a team record (since tied multiple times) by scoring three powerplay goals in a game.^[22] Pelle Eklund's nine consecutive games with an assist from March 2 to March 20 is a team rookie record.^[23] Kerr's 34 powerplay goals on the season is an NHL record.^[24] Mark Howe's +87 plus/minus rating is a franchise single season high and his seven shorthanded goals tied the franchise record.^[25][26] Howe also set franchise marks for defenseman for goals scored (24) and points (82).^[27][28] Eklund set the team rookie record for assists (51).^[29] The team's 53 wins on the season tied the high mark set during the previous season.^[30] Their four ties during the season is the fewest in team history, while the one home tie and three road ties is tied for the fewest.^[30]

During the second period of game four of their division semifinal series against the New York Rangers, the Flyers tied a team record for most goals in a single playoff period (5) and set a team record for fastest five-goals scored in a playoff game, taking seven minutes and forty-eight seconds to do so.^[31][32]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Pelle Eklund	October 10, 1985	[33]
	Scott Mellanby	March 22, 1986

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 31, 1985, the day after the deciding game of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 24, 1986, the day of the deciding game of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals.^[34]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
October 11, 1985 (1985-10-11)	To Philadelphia Flyers Steve Seguin 2nd-round pick in 1986	To Los Angeles Kings Paul Guay 4th-round pick in 1986	[35]
November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07)	To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations[d]	To Edmonton Oilers Ron Low	[36]
November 29, 1985 (1985-11-29)	To Philadelphia Flyers Bo Berglund Dave Richter	To Minnesota North Stars Todd Bergen Ed Hospodar	[37]
December 5, 1985 (1985-12-05)	To Philadelphia Flyers Future considerations	To Los Angeles Kings Len Hachborn	[38]
December 18, 1985 (1985-12-18)	To Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia's 4th-round pick in 1986	To Los Angeles Kings Joe Paterson	[39]
March 11, 1986 (1986-03-11)	To Philadelphia Flyers Glenn Resch	To New Jersey Devils 3rd-round pick in 1986	[40]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Via	Ref
July 19, 1985 (1985-07-19)	Kevin McCarthy	Pittsburgh Penguins	Free agency	[41]
July 26, 1985 (1985-07-26)	Jim Dobson	Quebec Nordiques	Free agency	[42]
	Carl Mokosak	Los Angeles Kings	Free agency	[42]
	Tim Tookey	Pittsburgh Penguins	Free agency	[42]
September 30, 1985 (1985-09-30)	Steve Martinson	Toledo Goaldiggers (IHL)	Free agency	[43]
October 7, 1985 (1985-10-07)	Dave Farrish	Toronto Maple Leafs	Free agency	[44]
October 8, 1985 (1985-10-08)	Florent Robidoux	Milwaukee Admirals (IHL)	Free agency	[45]
November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07)	Ron Low	Edmonton Oilers	Waivers	[36]
January 15, 1986 (1986-01-15)	John Kemp	Canadian National Team	Free agency	[46]
March 19, 1986 (1986-03-19)	Craig Berube	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)	Free agency	[47]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via	Ref
June 10, 1985 (1985-06-10)	Miroslav Dvorak	ESG Kassel (Germany)	Retirement[e]	[48]
August 22, 1985 (1985-08-22)	Bill Barber		Retirement[f]	[49]
September 25, 1985 (1985-09-25)	Todd Bergen	Minnesota North Stars[g]	Retirement	[50]
November 11, 1985 (1985-11-11)	Pelle Lindbergh		Death	[2]
N/A	Tim Young		Retirement	[51]
	Jim Dobson	New York Rangers[h]	Release	[52]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Ref
June 18, 1985 (1985-06-18)	Pelle Eklund	2-year	[53]
August 14, 1985 (1985-08-14)	Ray Allison		[54]
	Ed Hospodar		[54]
	Brad Marsh		[54]
	Dave McLay		[54]
	John Stevens		[54]
	Rich Sutter		[54]
	Ron Sutter		[54]
October 10, 1985 (1985-10-10)	Pelle Lindbergh	6-year	[55]
November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07)	Jeff Chychrun		[56]
March 13, 1986 (1986-03-13)	Scott Mellanby		[57]

Draft picks

See also: List of Philadelphia Flyers draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1985 NHL entry draft, which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, on June 15, 1985.^[58] The Flyers traded their tenth-round pick, 210th overall, to the Boston Bruins for Ian Armstrong on May 24, 1984.^[59]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team (league)	Notes
1	21	Glen Seabrooke	Center	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
2	42	Bruce Rendall	Left wing	Canada	Chatham Maroons (OPJHL)
3	48	Darryl Gilmour	Goaltender	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)	[i]
	63	Shane Whelan	Center	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
4	84	Paul Marshall	Defense	United States	Northwood School (N.Y.)
5	105	Daril Holmes	Right wing	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
6	126	Ken Alexander	Defense	United States	Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
7	147	Tony Horacek	Left wing	Canada	Kelowna Wings (WHL)
8	168	Mike Cusack	Forward	United States	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
9	189	Gord Murphy	Defense	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
11	231	Rod Williams	Right wing	Canada	Kelowna Wings (WHL)
12	252	Paul Maurice	Defense	Canada	Windsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the AHL^[60][61] and the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL.^[62]

Notes

1. Kerr was voted to the starting lineup.^[15]
2. Lindbergh was posthumously voted to the starting lineup.^[15]
3. Co-winner with Edmonton Oilers' Paul Coffey
4. The Flyers claimed Low off waivers and agreed to a deal which allowed Edmonton to retain Low's rights but would guarantee them Low if Edmonton did not need him as a backup goaltender after Grant Fuhr recovered from an injury.^[36] On December 3, the Flyers passed on reacquiring Low and Edmonton returned him to their American Hockey League affiliate in Nova Scotia.^[36]
5. Dvorak retired from the NHL.
6. Barber missed the entire 1984–85 season due to a knee injury.
7. Bergen was traded to Minnesota on November 29 and resumed his playing career.^[37]
8. Dobson signed with New York on December 13.
9. The Flyers traded Paul Holmgren to the Minnesota North Stars for the rights to Paul Guay and the North Stars' third-round pick, 48th overall, on February 23, 1984.^[59]