Changing the Game

by Stephen Laroche

  Although Snider had to scramble to secure the franchise fee the league demanded and almost missed the deadline due to a power outage, hockey was set to return to Philly for the 1967–68 season. A contest to name the team was held soon after and the enduring colour scheme of orange, black and white was announced early on. Design and construction of the Spectrum was also set into motion, and the club became the Flyers on July 12, 1966. The name was initially suggested by Snider’s sister, but more than 100 future fans also suggested it and a local nine-year-old boy named Alec Stockard was the contest winner.

  The Flyers began to assemble their management team by bringing over Bud Poile from the WHL’s San Francisco Seals to serve as general manager. Their coach, Keith Allen, formerly led the Seattle Totems from the same league. Less than a month before the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft, Philadelphia got an influx of talent by purchasing the AHL’s Quebec Aces, a group that included a good mix of veterans and promising young stars. On the day of the draft, the Flyers went with a pair of goaltending prospects from the Bruins system, Bernie Parent and Doug Favell, before grabbing some of the best defencemen available, including Ed Van Impe and Joe Watson.

  After training camp, once they had finalized the initial roster, the team held a parade to let locals know about their arrival in town. The event was sparsely attended and some members of the community welcomed them with catcalls and obscene gestures. Regardless, the Flyers were coming together and some players had the advantage of having played together in the past.

  “You’ve got to remember, several of the lines the Aces used have played together as complete units for one or two seasons,” said Don Blackburn at the time. “This means they’re accustomed to the moves of the other guy. It’s my opinion that better than 50 percent of the plays that work in a hockey game are not planned. Somebody hollers and you get the puck to him. It’s just a matter of playing together. In other words, we’ve brought six different systems to training camp because we’ve come together from six different clubs. So, it’s extremely tough until we become familiar with each other’s moves, and more importantly, with the system coach Keith Allen wants us to use.

  “I’d say that, despite everything, any of the new clubs will beat any of the old clubs on a given night,” he continued. “The big difference, however, will show up in the 74-game season. It’s tough getting up for every game. But I still say that we — in Philadelphia — have the best club on paper. From what I’ve seen, we have excellent material at every position and I’m really high on our great balance.”

  Allen had a realistic view of things before the season began.

  “We’ve had our share of headaches in training camp,” he said. “We had those two guys [Van Impe and Watson] missing from training camp for a couple weeks due to contract problems and we had our share of minor injuries. The problem was, of course, that we just couldn’t get the right people on the ice at the same time. But things really started to jell just before we opened the season in Oakland.”

  Confident they were strong on defence and loaded with offensive potential, Bud Poile hoped the Flyers were going to finish either first or second in the new West Division. Even with only approximately 2,500 season tickets sold, the mood was still optimistic.

  “We have the utmost confidence that major league hockey will go over big in Philadelphia,” said Ed Snider. “If we weren’t absolutely certain of that, we surely wouldn’t have sought a franchise. Philadelphia is a great sports city. The fans will support a team, any team, so long as it is major league.

  “We’re not expecting miracles,” he added. “We know we’re not going to sell every seat for every game. But we understand that and we know our big job is selling the thrills and excitement of hockey to the average sports fan who cheers for the Eagles, Phillies and 76ers… . We’re positive it can be done.”

  On October 11, 1967, the Flyers opened their first season on the road but were beaten by the Oakland Seals. They also lost their next outing against Los Angeles, but they won their next three in a row, including a shutout victory on October 19 in their at-home debut against their state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the first few months of play, it became apparent that Philadelphia was becoming the class act of the first-year clubs. They also shocked some of the established Original Six teams, and that pleased Allen.

  “Really, I’m not sure myself why we’ve been doing so well against the old clubs,” he said. “I just know that all along I’ve been saying that on any given night, any team can beat another… . I doubt it very much if the veteran clubs are overconfident when they’re playing expansion teams, but I have to say we’ve been going into these games with confidence that we can win them.”

  The wins kept piling up through the year, and there was even speculation that the Flyers might be the one expansion team that could seriously compete for the Stanley Cup.

  “When we play hungry, we do real well,” said Larry Zeidel. “We get on top of the opposition and we keep the pressure on. But it doesn’t seem to work unless we’re hungry enough to make it work.”

  “I’m trying not to sound overconfident,” echoed captain Lou Angotti. “But right now I feel the same as I did when I was with the Chicago Black Hawks last season, and we were close to clinching first place.”

  One of the highlights for Philadelphia was being the first opponent for the New York Rangers in the new Madison Square Garden on February 18, 1968. They also played in the opening game for three other rinks. Less than two weeks later, they were hit by one of the worst moments in the early years of the franchise when a section of the Spectrum’s roof blew off and forced the Flyers to take their act on the road. Facing a ton of lost revenue and political hassles, they were forced to hold home games in New York, Toronto and Quebec, but still they held on to capture the West Division crown.

  “It’s a tough situation, being forced on the road so much,” said Allen. “But we can’t let that interfere with what we do on the ice. We’ve got to make sure we’re up for every game and we play our best, no matter where we’re playing. We’ve come too far to let first place slip through our hands now, and the guys would like nothing more than to reward our struggling owners with an NHL title.”

  This extended road swing also saw one of the worst moments in hockey history take place as the Flyers and Bruins faced off at Maple Leaf Gardens. After Larry Zeidel heard some anti-Semitic remarks from opposition players, he and Eddie Shack engaged in a gory stick-swinging incident that made headlines and resulted in suspensions and fines. After weeks of investigation, though, league president Clarence Campbell ruled that the spectators who overheard the remarks were “in error” and that there was no anti-religious feeling or any other form of discrimination in the NHL.

  Heading into the playoffs, Poile predicted that the Flyers were going to sweep the St. Louis Blues in the first round. At the time, it may not have been too bold a thing to say, since Philadelphia had dominated them 7–1–2 in their regular-season meetings. Those words came back to bite him, however, as their opponents jumped out to a 3–1 lead in the series. They fought back to win Games 5 and 6 but went down in the seventh, and deciding, contest. Their clash was a violent one at times and it saw a horrifying incident in which Claude LaForge was knocked out by an alleged sucker punch from Noel Picard.

  The Flyers received at least one consolation prize at the end of their successful first season when they were awarded the newly created Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which was originally meant for the West Division regular-season champions.

  Philadelphia’s early years in the NHL were characterized by several highs and lows, but the organization was focused on building both its stable of prospects and tough customers. One of the first big young stars they picked up was Bobby Clarke, through the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft, and several trades helped them become serious contenders in the West Division.

  Mainstays like Joe Watson and Ed Van Impe were later joined by colourful characters like Bob “Hound” Kelly, Dave “The Hammer�
�� Schultz and Don “Big Bird” Saleski, tranforming a once-placid club into the mighty Broad Street Bullies who terrorized every other team in the league. Parent left for a time, but he was back for the 1973–74 season, and the Flyers became the first expansion club to win the Stanley Cup. Another championship followed, but for all of their might, they could not overcome the Montreal Canadiens in 1975–76.

  Over the next decade, the Flyers were transformed into a much different club, but they still were committed to succeed. In the 1980s, they made it to the Stanley Cup Final three times but could not capture another title. Despite the triumphs, there was also incredible tragedy with the early deaths of Barry Ashbee in 1977 and Pelle Lindbergh in 1985.

  As the 1990s arrived, it was a tough time to be a Flyers fan, but the team made more smart trades, including a blockbuster deal to get heavily hyped prospect Eric Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques. By 1994–95, they were back among the game’s elite clubs and finished either first or second in their division every year until they missed the playoffs again in 2006–07. The 2009–10 season was one of the team’s most memorable in recent years as they fought hard to make it to the Stanley Cup Final once again.

  Lou Angotti

  Angotti was the first captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, and although he was heading into only his fourth NHL season in 1967–68, he had the benefit of playing college hockey at Michigan Tech before embarking on a pro career. In 1966–67, he was a part of Chicago’s run to a regular-season crown and he took a great deal of confidence from that experience into the premier season in Philly.

  While he never scored more than 18 points in any of his previous campaigns, Angotti made the most of his opportunity to become a major offensive cog and ended up leading the Flyers in assists and points. In fact, he battled Pittsburgh’s Andy Bathgate for the West Division scoring crown for most of the season before cooling off near the end of the schedule. Late in November, he rattled off a trio of two-assist games. He also scored the winner against the St. Louis Blues on December 16, 1967.

  Gary Dornhoefer

  A hard-hitting forward with loads of potential, Dornhoefer spent the early part of his pro career bouncing between the Boston Bruins and their minor league affiliates. He was one of the key picks for the Flyers roster for their first season.

  The new surroundings proved the boost he needed, as he finished the 1967–68 season as the club’s second-highest scorer and ranked fifth in the league with his 134 penalty minutes. He also had an uncanny ability to score game-winning goals, scoring two against the St. Louis Blues plus one each while facing Minnesota and Pittsburgh. On January 14, 1968, he had three assists in a 6–3 victory over the Oakland Seals.

  Dornhoefer remained with the Flyers for more than a decade and was a heart-and-soul player who appeared in two NHL All-Star Games and skated on two Stanley Cup–winning lineups. After retiring, he had a long and successful career as a broadcaster.

  Gary Dornhoefer

  Leon Rochefort

  Rochefort’s NHL career began with the New York Rangers in 1960–61. After he failed to crack their regular lineup, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens before the 1963–64 campaign as part of a multi-player deal in which Hall of Famers Gump Worsley and Jacques Plante switched sides. Although used only on a limited basis by the Habs in the ensuing years before expansion, he was a part of their Stanley Cup–winning squad in 1965–66 after he was called up for playoff action. He appeared in 27 regular-season games the next year.

  Since Rochefort starred for several seasons with the Quebec Aces in the AHL, it was only natural that the Flyers wanted to draft him in 1967. The team had high hopes that he could become an everyday player.

  “I did not know too much about Philadelphia, but I was happy to be drafted by them,” Rochefort reflected. “It was all equal and we didn’t have any superstars, so everybody had to work. We didn’t know what to expect. It was all different guys and we had good spirit.”

  He assisted on the franchise’s first goal by Bill Sutherland in the season opener and made headlines as the first player on the team to record a hat trick when the Flyers faced the Canadiens on November 4, 1967.

  “I got a pass out of the corner from Ed Hoekstra,” he said as he recalled the big moment. “Then I went around big Ted Harris and I went left of [Rogie] Vachon. I came back right and had the open net. I scored and then fished the puck out of the net.”

  The points kept piling up over the next few months and he even scored a game-winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 17. Rochefort was the only member of the Flyers selected to play in the 1968 NHL All-Star Game.

  “I missed the previous one when Montreal won the Cup in 1965–66 because I was injured at the time,” he said. “It was unreal.”

  One of Rochefort’s best outings of the year came on February 22, 1968, when he had another hat trick and chipped in an assist in a 7–3 win over the Minnesota North Stars. By the end of the season, he ranked 10th in the NHL with 237 shots on goal.

  “I didn’t realize that I had shot so many times. I wasn’t just a shooter. I was a passer, too.”

  In the playoffs, Rochefort managed to secure yet another spot in the club’s record book by scoring the first playoff game-winning goal in franchise history on April 6 in Game 2 of the series with the St. Louis Blues.

  Bill Sutherland

  Sutherland was a fixture with the AHL’s Quebec Aces for most of the 1960s and while he put up some decent totals, he appeared in only a pair of playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens in 1962–63. Acquired by the Flyers when the Aces were purchased, he was installed on a line with Leon Rochefort and Ed Hoekstra that had some early success during the 1967–68 season.

  “It was really good because all three of us killed penalties and played on the power play,” he recalled. “I thought I could fit in anywhere. Most of those guys on the team I had played with in the AHL. We knew each other pretty well. It was so exciting for us guys who had been in the minors for so many years. I thought the thrill of being lucky enough to play was enough for me.”

  Sutherland made history during Philadelphia’s first game in the league by scoring on the power play against Charlie Hodge of the California Seals. In their next outing on the west coast swing, he potted the opener against the Los Angeles Kings as well. In back-to-back games in January 1968, he scored the game-winning goal, and he also notched a pair in a 7–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 6.

  Even though he missed a handful of games because of injuries, Sutherland managed a solid 20-goal season to start his NHL career. He was claimed by the North Stars and then the Maple Leafs in the 1968 intra-league draft and traded back to Philadelphia a few months later.

  Forbes Kennedy

  Regarded as one of the toughest players of the Original Six era, Kennedy was sent down to the minors by the Boston Bruins during the 1965–66 season and spent the following campaign with the San Francisco Seals of the WHL. His 66-point year ensured that the new expansion clubs considered him, and the Flyers ended up bringing him on board. He was not bothered by the reality of joining a new organization.

  “I didn’t mind it as long as I was playing in the NHL, you know what I mean?”

  While his willingness to play a gritty game was welcome, he also managed to put up respectable totals. He scored game-winning goals against Chicago and Minnesota in February and had some multi-point outings against Toronto in the second half of the schedule. At the end of the season, he was third on the club in penalty minutes and tied a career mark for assists with 18.

  Kennedy was one of the team’s hottest players in the first-round playoff matchup with St. Louis. His best outing was in Game 5, when he chipped in a goal and got an assist in a 6–1 victory.

  “We beat them every game that year. Then they brought in Harvey and Moore. I told the guys that this isn’t the same team we played all year.”

  All in all, Kennedy was happy with the experience in Philadelphia and had praise for team owner Ed Snider
.

  “I thought we had a great team, especially against the older ones. We had a bunch of guys who worked hard. I always say that he’s the best owner I ever met. He never forgot the first-year team. We were treated well. It was first class all the way.”

  Kennedy was traded to Toronto late in the 1968–69 season — a year that saw him lead the NHL in penalty minutes.

  “I got in a little trouble for yappin’ to the press. After that, Bud Poile sent me back to Philly and I sat for two weeks. They tried to send me to Quebec. I felt that I could still play, but my big mouth got me in trouble. I knew at least a couple of teams were interested.”

  Claude Laforge

  LaForge is not a name that rings a bell with most hockey fans, but his involvement in one of the most one-sided fights in hockey history helped change the game forever.

  One of the players Philadelphia acquired when they bought the Quebec Aces, LaForge had NHL experience under his belt from stints with Montreal and Detroit between 1957–58 and 1964–65 and was ready to come back to big-league action. On December 8, 1967, he tallied the game-winner against Los Angeles and 20 days later he scored twice while taking on the Red Wings. He also enjoyed some productive contests against the Toronto Maple Leafs that year and got the deciding goal on January 24, 1968.

  During the playoffs, he was able to chip in some offence, but he was hit by Noel Picard with what was called a sucker punch in an altercation in the third period of Game 5 of the first round against the St. Louis Blues. He hit the ice almost instantly and was cut open, causing both benches to spill out and begin a full-blown brawl.

  “It was just brutal,” said Andre Lacroix. “Picard was not known for doing that sort of thing.”

  From that point on and following a rough rematch series the next year, Flyers management began drafting and trading for players who were not afraid to take on the toughest players in the league. In time, the club became known as the Broad Street Bullies, and the game was never the same again.