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CaptainCrunch · 04-30-2024, 08:57 PM

1973-74

Ok, before I dive into this I have an admission. I grew up in Winnipeg, and while my Dad took me into see Bobby Hull with the Jets, and I had two of his banana curved hockey sticks, and he tousled a young Captains head and called him kid on the way to the ice. I grew up a Flyers fans, long before the Flames came to town, I was Orange and Black through and through. When I played hockey, I wanted to be Bobby Clarke, I was so happy when I was young when I got a front tooth knocked out playing hockey because I could grin with the gap tooth. I dreamed of being skilled like Bobby and be a on the edge jerk like Bobby. Unfortunately, I didn't have the skills. My first real memory is watching Bobby cradling the Cup like a Baby. I also have an admission. I was a huge fan of Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, I loved the Flyers brand of mayhem and blood shed.

When you look at the Flyer's their rise was nothing short of amazing. From the expansion basement the Flyers emerged as one of the most dangerous teams in the league by 1973. They were also the most hated team in the league, and teams also grudgingly respected them, they had to, if they didn't the Flyers would beat it into them. They were also a team staffed by colorful stars and crazy characters, they were the Big Bad Bruins dialed to 11.

The Flyers went 30-16-12 in 1973-74, then to put an emphasis on it, they thumped the Bruins in the finals to win their first cup in 6 games. With that win they became the first non original post expansion team to win the cup. The Flyers were more then a goon team, from Bobby Clarke to Bill Barber to Rich McLeish, the Flyers could put the puck in the net, while Bernie Parent would keep the puck out. To their bombastic owner and their brilliant coach Fred Shero, the flyers had it all and weren't afraid to show it on the ice.

More then anything the Flyers were built for brutality, Freddy Shero was fond of saying "If you keep the opposition on the ice they can't score", and the Flyers were good at it wracking up 1760 minutes in penalties, almost 400 minutes more then the next team. But they were willing to do it because they had the best penalty kill in the league and the NHL's best goalie as Bernie Parent won the Conn Smythe and the Vezina.

But beyond the scoring the Flyers had a different kind of pop in the lineup. Dave Schultz set a record of 348 minutes in penalties, but he also provided offence scoring 20 goals in his rookie year.

What went on was organized and legalized mayhem "Pro Sports" Shero said "the strong survive and the weak fall by the wayside"

Hockey purists denounced the flyers as goons, enemies called them phonies, but the Flyers didn't care, their system of destruction was scientific and designed by Shero and for two years the Flyers dominated the NHL.

But lets be honest, the purists could sniff, their critics could call them phonies, the NHL could warn the Flyers that they were skating on thin ice. But the Flyers made the league money, they were the must-see team. They sold out arenas from LA to Montreal and in between, and they won winning the cup in 1973-74 and 1974-75. Years earlier Conn Smythe created the golden rule of hockey "If you can’t beat em in the alley, you can't beat em on the ice". The Flyers embodied that.

Trivia

The Hall of fame inducts 5, Doug Harvey, Chick Rayner and Tommy Smith among them.
With the first pick in the amateur draft the Islanders grab Denis Potvin from Ottalwa of the OHA.
Gordie Howe ends his retirement and joins his sons Mark and Marty in Houston.
Montreal's goalie Ken Dryden retires for a year to act as a law clerk in order to earn his law degree, he's paid minimum wage.
Vancouver's Wayne Maki dies of Brain cancer at the age of 29.
Buffalo's Tim Horton, a 24 year veteran dies in a car crash.
NHL Amateur draft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_NHL_amateur_draft
WHA Amateur draft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_WHA_Amateur_Draft
A team of WHA All-Stars take on the Soviet Union in a 8 games summit series. Canada is lead by Bobby Hull who scores 7 goals in the tournament, however the Soviets win the series 4-3-1.
Montreal's Henri Richard scores his 1,000th point on December 20th.
Phil Esposito scores his 1000th point on Feb 15th
The Bruins win the East Division with a 52-17-9 record and score a breath taking 349 goals.
Phil Esposito leads the league in goals with 68 and points with 145 for the fourth straight year.
Without Ken Dryden, the Habs depend on the goaltending of Wayne Tomas,Bunny Larocque and Michel Plasse.
Alex Delvecchio becomes the coach of the Red Wings who finish 6th in the East.
The New York Islanders hire Al Arbour as their coach but finish last in the Easst.
In the West the Broad Street Bullies finish first with a 50-16-2 record.
Bernie Parent of the Flyers leads the league with a 1.89 gaa, an NHL record 57 wins and 12 shutouts.
Rookie Tom Lysiak leads the Flames in scoring with 64 and leads he Flames to the playoffs with 74 points.
The St Louis Blues miss the playoffs for the first time since they entered the league.
The Flyers Dave "The Hammer" Schultz leads the league with 348 penalty minutes.
In the WHA the New England Whalers win their second straight Eastern Division title.
The Toronto (Formerly Ottawa) Toros join the WHA while Philadelphia drops out.
Cleveland cruises to third place in the East on the strength of Ralph Backstroms 33 goals, Chicago finishes in 4th place. Jacques Plante takes over the Nordiques and misses the playoffs, New Jersey (Formerly New York) teeters near extinction and finish last.
In the West Houston finishes in first as the Howe Line of Mark, and Marty and Gordie score 99 goals. The Minnesota Saints with the best offence in the league finish in second. Edmonton edges out Winnipeg for third place and Vancouver finishes in 5th place.
Mike Walton leads the league in scoring with 117 points.
In the WHA playoffs, Houston sweeps Winnipeg 4-0 and beats Minnesota 4-2. Chicago squeeks by New Jersey in 7 and Toronto in 7. The WHA finals are never in doubt as Houston crushes New England in 4 games outscoring them 22-9.
In the NHL playoffs, the Bruins sweep Toronto, while the Rangers take out Montreal in the East. In the West, Chicago beats LA, and the Flyers engage in a wild series with Atlanta eliminating them.
In the semi finals, the Bruins rebound from a 2-1 deficit against Chicago to win in 6 games. The Flyers eke by the Rangers in 7 games.
Bernie Parent is perfect in game 6 pitching a 1-0 shutout as the Flyers win their first Stanley Cup.
Rick MacLeish leads all skaters in playoff scoring with 13 goals and 22 points.
Bernie Parent throws 2 shutouts and a 2.02 playoff gaa to take the Conn Smythe.
Phil Esposito wins his second Hart Trophy.
Boston's Johnny Bucyk wins the Lady Byng.
Bernie Parent and Tony Esposito share the Vezina Trophy.
Dennis Potvin slips past Tom Lysiak of Atlanta to take the Calder.
Bobby Orr wins the Norris Trophy for the 7th straight.
Phil Esposito wins the Lester B Pearson.
Henri Richard wins the Masterton Trophy.
Alex Delvicchio shares the Lester Patrick Trophy.
Philadelphia Fred Shero wins the first Jack Adams awards.
The Regina Pats win the Memorial Cup.
Herb Brooks leads Minnesota to the NCAA title.

Debuts

Eric Vail, Atlanta Flames
Tom Lysiak, Atlanta Flames
Peter McNab, Buffalo Sabres
Darcy Rota, Chicago Black Hawks
Blake Dunlop, Minnesota North Stars
Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Chico Resch, New York Islanders
Dave Lewis, New York Islanders
Al MacAdam, Philadelphia Flyers
Blaine Stoughton, Pittsburgh Penguins
John Davidson, St. Louis Blues
Inge Hammarstrom, Toronto Maple Leafs
Börje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Lanny McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bob Dailey, Vancouver Canucks
Dennis Ververgaert, Vancouver Canucks

Last Games

Tim Horton, Buffalo Sabres
Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
Dean Prentice, Minnesota North Stars
Gump Worsley, Minnesota North Stars
Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens
Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
Barry Ashbee, Philadelphia Flyers
Orland Kurtenbach, Vancouver Canucks

NOTE: Frank Mahovlich would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

04-30-2024, 08:57 PM	#168
CaptainCrunch Norm! Join Date: Jun 2002 Exp:	1973-74 Ok, before I dive into this I have an admission. I grew up in Winnipeg, and while my Dad took me into see Bobby Hull with the Jets, and I had two of his banana curved hockey sticks, and he tousled a young Captains head and called him kid on the way to the ice. I grew up a Flyers fans, long before the Flames came to town, I was Orange and Black through and through. When I played hockey, I wanted to be Bobby Clarke, I was so happy when I was young when I got a front tooth knocked out playing hockey because I could grin with the gap tooth. I dreamed of being skilled like Bobby and be a on the edge jerk like Bobby. Unfortunately, I didn't have the skills. My first real memory is watching Bobby cradling the Cup like a Baby. I also have an admission. I was a huge fan of Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, I loved the Flyers brand of mayhem and blood shed. When you look at the Flyer's their rise was nothing short of amazing. From the expansion basement the Flyers emerged as one of the most dangerous teams in the league by 1973. They were also the most hated team in the league, and teams also grudgingly respected them, they had to, if they didn't the Flyers would beat it into them. They were also a team staffed by colorful stars and crazy characters, they were the Big Bad Bruins dialed to 11. The Flyers went 30-16-12 in 1973-74, then to put an emphasis on it, they thumped the Bruins in the finals to win their first cup in 6 games. With that win they became the first non original post expansion team to win the cup. The Flyers were more then a goon team, from Bobby Clarke to Bill Barber to Rich McLeish, the Flyers could put the puck in the net, while Bernie Parent would keep the puck out. To their bombastic owner and their brilliant coach Fred Shero, the flyers had it all and weren't afraid to show it on the ice. More then anything the Flyers were built for brutality, Freddy Shero was fond of saying "If you keep the opposition on the ice they can't score", and the Flyers were good at it wracking up 1760 minutes in penalties, almost 400 minutes more then the next team. But they were willing to do it because they had the best penalty kill in the league and the NHL's best goalie as Bernie Parent won the Conn Smythe and the Vezina. But beyond the scoring the Flyers had a different kind of pop in the lineup. Dave Schultz set a record of 348 minutes in penalties, but he also provided offence scoring 20 goals in his rookie year. What went on was organized and legalized mayhem "Pro Sports" Shero said "the strong survive and the weak fall by the wayside" Hockey purists denounced the flyers as goons, enemies called them phonies, but the Flyers didn't care, their system of destruction was scientific and designed by Shero and for two years the Flyers dominated the NHL. But lets be honest, the purists could sniff, their critics could call them phonies, the NHL could warn the Flyers that they were skating on thin ice. But the Flyers made the league money, they were the must-see team. They sold out arenas from LA to Montreal and in between, and they won winning the cup in 1973-74 and 1974-75. Years earlier Conn Smythe created the golden rule of hockey "If you can’t beat em in the alley, you can't beat em on the ice". The Flyers embodied that. Trivia The Hall of fame inducts 5, Doug Harvey, Chick Rayner and Tommy Smith among them. With the first pick in the amateur draft the Islanders grab Denis Potvin from Ottalwa of the OHA. Gordie Howe ends his retirement and joins his sons Mark and Marty in Houston. Montreal's goalie Ken Dryden retires for a year to act as a law clerk in order to earn his law degree, he's paid minimum wage. Vancouver's Wayne Maki dies of Brain cancer at the age of 29. Buffalo's Tim Horton, a 24 year veteran dies in a car crash. NHL Amateur draft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_NHL_amateur_draft WHA Amateur draft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_WHA_Amateur_Draft A team of WHA All-Stars take on the Soviet Union in a 8 games summit series. Canada is lead by Bobby Hull who scores 7 goals in the tournament, however the Soviets win the series 4-3-1. Montreal's Henri Richard scores his 1,000th point on December 20th. Phil Esposito scores his 1000th point on Feb 15th The Bruins win the East Division with a 52-17-9 record and score a breath taking 349 goals. Phil Esposito leads the league in goals with 68 and points with 145 for the fourth straight year. Without Ken Dryden, the Habs depend on the goaltending of Wayne Tomas,Bunny Larocque and Michel Plasse. Alex Delvecchio becomes the coach of the Red Wings who finish 6th in the East. The New York Islanders hire Al Arbour as their coach but finish last in the Easst. In the West the Broad Street Bullies finish first with a 50-16-2 record. Bernie Parent of the Flyers leads the league with a 1.89 gaa, an NHL record 57 wins and 12 shutouts. Rookie Tom Lysiak leads the Flames in scoring with 64 and leads he Flames to the playoffs with 74 points. The St Louis Blues miss the playoffs for the first time since they entered the league. The Flyers Dave "The Hammer" Schultz leads the league with 348 penalty minutes. In the WHA the New England Whalers win their second straight Eastern Division title. The Toronto (Formerly Ottawa) Toros join the WHA while Philadelphia drops out. Cleveland cruises to third place in the East on the strength of Ralph Backstroms 33 goals, Chicago finishes in 4th place. Jacques Plante takes over the Nordiques and misses the playoffs, New Jersey (Formerly New York) teeters near extinction and finish last. In the West Houston finishes in first as the Howe Line of Mark, and Marty and Gordie score 99 goals. The Minnesota Saints with the best offence in the league finish in second. Edmonton edges out Winnipeg for third place and Vancouver finishes in 5th place. Mike Walton leads the league in scoring with 117 points. In the WHA playoffs, Houston sweeps Winnipeg 4-0 and beats Minnesota 4-2. Chicago squeeks by New Jersey in 7 and Toronto in 7. The WHA finals are never in doubt as Houston crushes New England in 4 games outscoring them 22-9. In the NHL playoffs, the Bruins sweep Toronto, while the Rangers take out Montreal in the East. In the West, Chicago beats LA, and the Flyers engage in a wild series with Atlanta eliminating them. In the semi finals, the Bruins rebound from a 2-1 deficit against Chicago to win in 6 games. The Flyers eke by the Rangers in 7 games. Bernie Parent is perfect in game 6 pitching a 1-0 shutout as the Flyers win their first Stanley Cup. Rick MacLeish leads all skaters in playoff scoring with 13 goals and 22 points. Bernie Parent throws 2 shutouts and a 2.02 playoff gaa to take the Conn Smythe. Phil Esposito wins his second Hart Trophy. Boston's Johnny Bucyk wins the Lady Byng. Bernie Parent and Tony Esposito share the Vezina Trophy. Dennis Potvin slips past Tom Lysiak of Atlanta to take the Calder. Bobby Orr wins the Norris Trophy for the 7th straight. Phil Esposito wins the Lester B Pearson. Henri Richard wins the Masterton Trophy. Alex Delvicchio shares the Lester Patrick Trophy. Philadelphia Fred Shero wins the first Jack Adams awards. The Regina Pats win the Memorial Cup. Herb Brooks leads Minnesota to the NCAA title. Debuts Eric Vail, Atlanta Flames Tom Lysiak, Atlanta Flames Peter McNab, Buffalo Sabres Darcy Rota, Chicago Black Hawks Blake Dunlop, Minnesota North Stars Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens Denis Potvin, New York Islanders Chico Resch, New York Islanders Dave Lewis, New York Islanders Al MacAdam, Philadelphia Flyers Blaine Stoughton, Pittsburgh Penguins John Davidson, St. Louis Blues Inge Hammarstrom, Toronto Maple Leafs Börje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs Lanny McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs Bob Dailey, Vancouver Canucks Dennis Ververgaert, Vancouver Canucks Last Games Tim Horton, Buffalo Sabres Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings Dean Prentice, Minnesota North Stars Gump Worsley, Minnesota North Stars Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens Barry Ashbee, Philadelphia Flyers Orland Kurtenbach, Vancouver Canucks NOTE: Frank Mahovlich would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association. YouTube Video YouTube Video YouTube Video __________________ My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!