4 Philadelphia Flyers Jack Adams Award Winners

The Jack Adams Award has existed in the National Hockey League since the 1973-74 season. The award is handed out each season to the best head coach in the league. Two teams, to date, have had their coaches win the Jack Adams Award on four occasions. One of those teams is the Detroit Red Wings and the other is the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fred Shero

Fred Shero was the first ever recipient of the Jack Adams Award in 1973-74. His Flyers finished the regular season with 50 wins and 112 points in 78 games and were placed first in the West Division. The point total was a 27 point improvement over the previous season. After sweeping the Atlanta Flames in the first round and ousting the New York Rangers in seven games in the semi-finals, Philadelphia won the Stanley Cup in six games over the Boston Bruins.

The 1973-74 Flyers were led by Bobby Clarke, Rick MacLeish, Bill Barber and Bernie Parent. They would win the Stanley Cup the following year as well, their last Cup victory to this date. Shero coached the team from 1971-72 to 1977-78. He followed that up with three years as bench boss of the New York Rangers. His teams were runners-up twice, Philadelphia once and New York once.

Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn, in just his second year as head coach, won the Jack Adams Award in 1979-80. The Flyers totaled 116 points during the regular season, good for first overall in the NHL. After ploughing through the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers lost to the New York Islanders in the finals.

Reg Leach led the 1979-80 Flyers with 50 goals while Ken Linseman led the team in points. Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber were still key factors on the team.

Pat Quinn coached in the NHL from 1978-79 to 2009-10 with the Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. Quinn never won a Stanley Cup but did find his way to the finals again in 1993-94 with the Vancouver Canucks. Pat won the Jack Adams again in 1991-92, with Vancouver.

Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan won the Jack Adams Award in his first year as head coach, 1984-85. ‘Iron Mike’ coached the Flyers to first overall in the NHL with 113 points. Once again, Philadelphia made it to the finals after beating the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Quebec Nordiques. Unfortunately, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers proved too strong and beat the Flyers in five to take the Stanley Cup.

Tim Kerr led the Flyers that season with 54 goals. Also leading the team were Brian Propp, Dave Poulin, Mark Howe, Rick Tocchet and Pelle Lindbergh.

Keenan coached in the NHL from 1984-85 to 2008-09 with the Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. Two of Mike’s teams in Philadelphia were runners-up for the Stanley Cup. He also coached the Chicago Blackhawks to an unsuccessful run at the finals. Behind the bench of the 1993-94 New York Rangers, Keenan got his only Stanley Cup.

Bill Barber

Bill Barber was head coach of the Flyers for just a season and a half. He took over from Craig Ramsay part way through the 2000-01 season and Philadelphia had a 31-13 record under the former player, earning him the Jack Adams. The team finished with 100 points and a second place Atlantic Division seeding. The Flyers lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabres in six games. Mark Recchi, Keith Primeau and Simon Gagne starred.

Barber coached the following season and hasn’t coached since. Bill played for the team from 1972-73 to 1983-84. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Top Single Season Point Producers In Philadelphia Flyers History

The Philadelphia Flyers were one of six teams to enter the National Hockey League as part of the 1967-68 expansion. The Flyers were the first of the six to win a Stanley Cup, accomplishing the feat in 1973-74 and again in 1974-75. The team has seen surprisingly few individual offensive outbreaks. Just five different players have totaled 100 or more points in a single season with the record sitting at a surpassable 123.

Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi holds Philadelphia’s single season record with 123 points. Recchi accomplished this over 84 games in 1992-93, scoring 53 goals and adding 70 assists. The total was good for just tenth place in the NHL that season with Mario Lemieux capturing the Art Ross Trophy with 160 points. As a team, Philadelphia finished fifth in the Patrick Division that year, out of playoff contention.

Recchi was originally a fourth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988. 1992-93 was one three times Mark surpassed the 100 point plateau over his 1,652 game NHL career. He played in the league from 1988-89 to 2010-11 with the Penguins, Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. He sits fourth on the NHL’s all-time games played list behind only Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Ron Francis.

Bobby Clarke

Bobby Clarke is behind the second and third single season point productions in Flyers history. In 1975-76, he accumulated 119 points on 30 goals and 89 assists in 76 games. He finished second to Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens in the scoring race and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP. The Flyers finished first in the Patrick Division and second overall, behind only Montreal. Philadelphia met the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final and were swept in four games.

Clarke was a second round pick of the Flyers in 1969. He played a total of 1,144 regular season NHL games between 1969-70 and 1983-84, all with Philadelphia. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy on three occasions and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. The Bob Clarke Trophy is handed out each season in the WHL to the player with the most points. Clarke led the league twice as a member of the Flin Flon Bombers in 1967-68 and 1968-69.

Bobby totalled 116 points the previous season, 1974-75, on 27 goals and 89 assists over 80 games. Clarke finished sixth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, behind winner Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins. The Flyers finished the regular season first in the Patrick Division and won the Stanley Cup with a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Eric Lindros

Eric Lindros contributed 115 points in 1995-96 on 47 goals and 68 assists in 73 games. It was Eric’s only 100 point season and he finished that season sixth in the NHL with Mario Lemieux leading with 161. The Flyers were first in the Atlantic Division and bowed out to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Lindros was the first overall pick at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Quebec Nordiques. He was fresh off earning the Eddie Powers Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s leading scorer with 149 points in just 57 games with the Oshawa Generals. He played 760 regular season games during his NHL career with the Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. He won the Hart Trophy in 1994-95.

Bill Barber

Bill Barber played second fiddle to Bobby Clarke in 1975-76 with 112 points on 50 goals and 62 assists in 80 games. Barber finished fourth in league scoring, two positions behind Clarke. It was Bill’s only 100 point season in the NHL after two with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey Association.

He was the seventh overall pick at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 903 regular season games between 1972-73 and 1983-84, all with the Flyers. Barber was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

1975-76 NHL Goal Scoring Leaders - Leach Replaces Esposito

1975-76 was an end of an era in the National Hockey League. Phil Esposito had dominated the goal scoring landscape since 1969-70, leading the NHL for six consecutive seasons. Esposito scored 50 or more goals for five consecutive seasons and set the mark for most goals in a single season with 76 in 1970-71. In 1975-76, the Boston Bruins traded him mid-season to the New York Rangers and he totalled just 35 goals, not good enough to place in the top ten.

Reggie Leach – Philadelphia Flyers

Leading the NHL in 1975-76 with 61 goals was Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a career year for Leach with his next highest goal total coming in 1979-80 with 50. Reggie carried on into the 1975-76 playoffs with 19 goals in 16 games as the Flyers reached the finals before losing out to the Montreal Canadiens. Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in the losing cause. To date, he is one of just five players to be awarded the Conn Smythe when not winning the Stanley Cup.

Guy Lafleur – Montreal Canadiens

Guy Lafleur of the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens came second with 56 goals. It was Guy’s second of six consecutive seasons with 50 or more goals and his first of three consecutive Art Ross Trophies. The 56 goals was a far cry from the 130 he scored in 62 games for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL in 1970-71.

Despite finishing third in the Norris Division and making an early opening round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins provided the National Hockey League with two 50 goal scorers. Pierre Larouche finished third with 53 and Jean Pronovost ended 1975-76 with one less than his teammate.

Pierre Larouche – Pittsburgh Penguins

Pierre Larouche was another phenom in the QMJHL. With the Sorel Black Hawks in 1973-74, he scored 94 goals and totalled 251 points in 67 regular season games. 1975-76 was just his second season in the NHL. He would score 50 goals in a season one more time in his NHL career, exactly 50 as a member of the 1979-80 Montreal Canadiens.

Jean Pronovost – Pittsburgh Penguins

Jean Pronovost had a career year with his 52 goals and 104 points. Pronovost played two games shy of 1,000 in an NHL career that spanned from 1968-69 to 1981-82. He spent the bulk of his time with Pittsburgh but also played for the Atlanta Flames and Washington Capitals.

Bill Barber – Philadelphia Flyers

Two players tied for fifth spot in 1975-76 with 50 goals each. Bill Barber of the Philadelphia Flyers and Danny Gare each had 50. Barber gets the tie breaker nod with 112 points to Gare’s 73.

Bill Barber is one of just two of these six players to have a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Barber was inducted in 1990, two years after Guy Lafleur. 1975-76 was the only time during his twelve year NHL career, all with the Flyers, that Barber reached the 50 goal plateau.

Danny Gare would reach the 50 goal plateau one more time in his career. In 1979-80, he scored 56 for the Buffalo Sabres, tying Blaine Stoughton of the Hartford Whalers and Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings for the NHL lead. Gare played in the NHL from 1974-75 to 1986-87 with the Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers.

 

Hershey Bears Trivia

The Hershey Bears are the longest lasting American Hockey League team to remain in one location, a member of the league since 1938-39. The Bears are also one of the most successful AHL teams with four Calder Cup victories in the new millennium. Test and expand your knowledge of the Hershey Bears with the following four trivia questions and answers.

Q. What member of the Hershey Bears is the latest AHL player to lead the league in goals in consecutive seasons?

A. Alexandre Giroux led the AHL in goals in 2008-09 and 2009-10 with 60 and 50 goals. By doing so, Giroux earned the Willie Marshall Award. Alexandre is the first to lead in goals scored in consecutive seasons since Paul Gardner in the mid 1980’s. Only five AHL players have accomplished this feat since the league began in 1936-37. Giroux did this while also playing 12 games with the Washington Capitals in 2008-09 and nine with the NHL club in 2009-10.

Since, Giroux has played sparsely with the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets before heading to Europe. 2012-13 was split between Dynamo Riga in the KHL and the Kloten Flyers in Switzerland’s National League A. For 2013-14, Alexandre will remain in Switzerland but has switched to Ambri-Piotta.

Q. In what year did the Hershey Bears win their first Calder Cup as AHL playoff champions?

A. In 1946-47, the Hershey Bears beat the Pittsburgh Hornets in the Calder Cup final series, four games to three. The Bears finished first in the East Division during the regular season. In a very odd playoff format, the Bears and the West Division regular season champ, the Cleveland Barons, were both given a bye through the first round. However, the two division champs then met in the semi-finals, while the two weaker teams played off in the other semi-final.

As of the end of 2012-13, the Bears have won eleven Calder Cup championships in total. Twice, they won in consecutive seasons, 1957-58 and 1958-59, along with 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Q. What Hershey Bears player has the club retired jersey number 16 for?

A. If you answered Willie Marshall, you are right. If you answered Mitch Lamoureux, you are also right. The team retired the number in honour of both players. Marshall played with the Bears from 1956-57 to 1962-63. He played over 1,200 games in the AHL and was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2006. Lamoureux is also a member of the AHL Hall of Fame, inducted in 2011.

Q. What Hockey Hall of Fame player, who played his entire NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, coached the Hershey Bears for one full season, 1995-96?

A. Bill Barber coached the team in 1984-85, as well, but for only 17 games. In 1995-96, Barber was behind the bench as the Bears finished second in the South and made a first round exit from the Calder Cup playoffs.

Barber was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 after playing 903 regular season National Hockey League games between 1972-73 and 1983-84, all with the Flyers. In 1997-98, Bill coached the Philadelphia Phantoms to a Calder Cup championship in the AHL. Ironically, the Phantoms swept the Hershey Bears in the second round before taking out the Saint John Flames in the finals. Barber was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL coach of the year as head coach of the Flyers in 2001-02.