2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season

Off-season

After being defeated in the seventh game of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the Flyers prepared for the looming labor uncertainty associated with the impending expiration of the existing NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. While team captain Keith Primeau was re-signed to a four-year contract worth $17 million prior to hitting the free agent market, leading scorer Mark Recchi was not – general manager Bob Clarke said he would not re-sign Recchi until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place – and instead signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 9. Contract offers were made to impending unrestricted free agents Vladimir Malakhov and Alexei Zhamnov, key acquisitions during the final quarter of the 2003–04 regular season, but the Flyers were unable to come to terms with either player.

Unsigned 2001 first-round draft pick R. J. Umberger, whose NHL rights had previously been held by the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, signed with the Flyers as an unrestricted free agent on June 16. The Flyers signed free agent right wingers Mike Knuble of the Boston Bruins and Turner Stevenson of the New Jersey Devils to three-year contracts after the free agency period began. On July 13 undrafted free agent forward Tony Voce, who played four seasons at Boston College, became the first native of Philadelphia to sign with the Flyers.

Schedule

The Flyers preseason and regular season schedules were announced on July 14, 2004.

|- | 1 || September 23 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals || 7:00 p.m. |- | 2 || September 30 || align="left"| Washington Capitals || 7:00 p.m. |- | 3 || October 2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders || style="background:#ccc | |- | 4 || October 5 || align="left"| New York Islanders || 7:00 p.m. |- | 5 || October 6 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils || 7:00 p.m. |- | 6 || October 9 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils || 7:30 p.m. |- Notes:

Neutral site game which was scheduled to be played at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

NHL lockout

Main article: 2004–05 NHL lockout

The lockout started on September 16, 2004. Those Flyers with two-way contracts –– most notably Joni Pitkanen, Dennis Seidenberg, and Patrick Sharp –– were sent down to the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, while those with NHL-only contracts either sat out or played in another league.

While most locked out players were not entitled to their salaries, NHL teams were required to pay injured players until they were cleared to play. One such player was Flyers' star Jeremy Roenick. While the Flyers argued Roenick had passed his exit physical after the previous season, Roenick argued he was entitled to his $7.5 million salary since he would have been unable to start the 2004–05 season due to injury. Roenick sustained two concussions during the 2003–04 season, the second occurring during the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, and had suffered from lingering post-concussion symptoms throughout the summer. After Roenick was cleared in late December to begin working out again, he received over $1 million of his salary for the games he would have missed in October and November.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancelation of the season on February 16, 2005.

Player activity

The following is a list of Flyers with NHL-only contracts and whether they were active during the lockout. Vladimir Malakhov and Alexei Zhamnov are not included since their contracts expired prior to the lockout.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. Both teams were their league's champions.

Philadelphia Phantoms

With the Flyers season canceled, many players who would normally be in orange and black were in purple, orange, and black instead. Joni Pitkanen and Todd Fedoruk had spent the entirety of the previous season with the Flyers and over a dozen others on the Phantoms roster had previously spent time in the NHL. Led by mid-season acquisition Jon Sim's 35 goals and R. J. Umberger's 65 points, the Phantoms finished second in their division with a record of 48–25–3–4. Reinforced by the arrivals of top junior prospects Jeff Carter and Mike Richards to the team, the Phantoms defeated the Norfolk Admirals in six games, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in five games, and the Providence Bruins in six games to reach the finals. Holding the Chicago Wolves to four goals the entire series, the Phantoms swept the series and won the Calder Cup. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.

Trenton Titans

Trenton finished second in their division and after defeating the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in three games, the Reading Royals in four games, and the Alaska Aces in seven games, the Titans defeated the Florida Everblades in six games to win the Kelly Cup.

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 2004, the day after the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, through February 16, 2005, the day the season was officially canceled.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 2004 NHL entry draft, which was held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 26–27, 2004. The Flyers traded their first-round pick, 25th overall, their 2005 third-round pick, and Jeff Woywitka to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike Comrie on December 16, 2003. The Flyers also traded their originally allotted second, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round draft picks in three different trades.

Notes

References

References

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