From the Blackhawks stealing Patrick Kane in the 2007 NHL draft to the phantom goal that secured Chicago the Stanley Cup in Philadelphia, the Flyers have plenty of reasons to dislike the Chicago Blackhawks. Though before the late 00’s, there wasn’t much notable history between the two clubs. No worthwhile beef, no legendary bench clearing brawls, no lengthy playoff feuds. Just two of the longest standing NHL franchises that would play each other now and again. Despite very little communication on the trade front during the early days of the Flyers, the teams later became regular trade partners, never going too long without striking a new deal.
Also, for historical accuracy, the organization was known as the Chicago Black Hawks until 1986.
12/2/68 – Bob Sneddon for Brian Bradley
The first trade between the two organizations took place midway through the Flyers’ second season of existence.
Bob Sneddon was a goaltender who spent most of his career in various minor leagues. He played 12 games for the Quebec Aces in the AHL after the trade.
Brian Bradley was a depth forward who played the remainder of the 1968-69 season within the Black Hawks organization, but did not play an NHL game.
10/15/71 – Rick Foley for Andre Lacroix
Rick Foley was a minor league defenseman with the Black Hawks for most of his early career. He played 58 games for the Flyers after the trade. He started the following season with the Flyers’ AHL squad, the Richmond Robins, and was traded to Detroit in May of 1973.
Andre Lacroix was a forward who joined the Flyers when they purchased the Quebec Aces of the AHL. He played parts of four seasons with them before the trade. He played 51 games with the Black Hawks during the 1971-72 season and left for the WHA the following year. He ended up being the all-time leading scorer in the World Hockey Association.
6/8/83 – Doug Crossman and 1984 second round pick (Scott Mellanby) for Behn Wilson
Just shy of 12 years since their previous deal, the Flyers and Black Hawks met for a swapping of defensemen.
Behn Wilson was the Flyers’ sixth overall pick in 1978. He was one of the more electric defenseman of his era racking up offensive totals that were franchise records for decades, as well as accumulating over 200 PIMs in multiple seasons. His production had slowed in the early 1980s and he was dealt to the Blackhawks where he was able to regain some of his magic until a back injury derailed his career in 1986. He missed the entire 1986-87 season, came back for 58 games in 1987-88 and retired shortly after the season.
Doug Crossman was a defenseman who played the first two seasons of his career with the Black Hawks. He went on to be a staple of the Flyers’ defense for five seasons before he was dealt to the LA Kings in 1988.
The Flyers drafted Scott Mellanby 24th overall in 1984. He played five seasons in Philadelphia. He was dealt to the Oilers in 1991.
2/7/92 – Ryan McGill for Tony Horacek
Another trade drought that lasted nearly a decade was ended with this deal, which was nothing more than moving minor leaguers.
Ryan McGill was the Blackhawks’ 29th overall pick in 1987 and spent most of his career in the minor leagues. He played 134 NHL games with the Flyers over the following three seasons. He was dealt to the Oilers in March of 1995 and was struck in the eye by a puck and was forced into early retirement.
Tony Horacek spent five seasons within the Flyers’ organization bouncing between the NHL and AHL. Upon his debut with the Blackhawks, he took a similar role as a depth forward who frequently went up and down between the NHL and IHL. He eventually rejoined the Hershey Bears in 1995.
2/16/95 – Karl Dykhuis for Bob Wilkie and 1997 fifth round pick (Kyle Calder)
Karl Dykhuis was the Blackhawks’ 16th overall pick in 1990. He spent most of his time in the organization in the IHL. He played parts of three seasons with the Flyers before he was dealt to Tampa in 1997.
Bob Wilkie was a depth defenseman who spent most of his career in the minor leagues. He played 29 games in the IHL to close out the season and started the following campaign in Germany.
The Blackhawks drafted forward Kyle Calder 130th overall in 1997. He played parts of five seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Flyers after a contract dispute in the summer of 2006.
6/27/98 – 1998 fifth round pick (Francis Belanger) for Paul Coffey
Paul Coffey was 17 years into his career by the time he joined the Flyers in 1996. He helped the team reach the 1997 Stanley Cup Final but had a poor showing during the series. He was dealt to Chiacgo the following summer. Coffey only played 10 games for the Blackhawks before being dealt to the Hurricanes where he played for two seasons.
The Flyers drafted forward Francis Belanger 124th overall in 1998. He played parts of three seasons with the Phantoms but never played in the NHL. He joined the Canadiens as a free agent in 2001.
11/17/98 – Roman Vopat for Mike Maneluk
Roman Vopat was a depth journeyman forward who played for three teams during the 1998-99 season. He started the year with the Avalanche, then was dealt to Chicago on November 10, then seven days later was traded to the Flyers. He played 48 games in Philly to close out the season, then started the 1999-00 season with the Phantoms before being released in December so he could return to his native Europe.
Mike Maneluk was an undrafted forward who was acquired from the Senators in October of 1997. He played the entire season with the Phantoms but started the 1998-99 season with the Flyers. He played in just 13 games before the trade. He played in 28 games for the Blackhawks before being claimed on waivers by the Rangers in March. Maneluk returned to the Phantoms for the 1999-00 season and led the AHL in scoring with 87 points in 73 games.
1/8/99 – Dennis Bonvie for Frank Bialowas
Dennis Bonvie was an AHL enforcer who had only been a Blackhawk for about three months after being claimed on the waiver draft during the previous summer. He played 38 games with the Phantoms and earned 158 PIMs. He signed with the Penguins organization during the 1999 offseason.
Frank Bialowas was also an AHL enforcer for the Phantoms for three seasons, racking up nearly 550 penalty minutes in that time. He played just six AHL games before being sent to the IHL to finish out the season. He signed with the Hershey bears in the offseason.
1/26/00 – Todd White for 2001 conditional pick
Todd White was a forward who was an undrafted collegiate free agent and signed with the Blackhawks in 1997. He spent three seasons bouncing between the NHL and the IHL. Upon his trade to the Flyers, he played three NHL games scoring one goal, before getting demoted to the AHL where he posted 43 points in 34 games with the Phantoms. He was not re-signed during the summer and joined the Senators organization.
The Flyers did not sent a pick to Chicago and the unknown conditions were not met.
3/13/01 – Dean McAmmond for 2001 third round pick (Nicolas Corbiel) (traded to TOR)
Dean McAmmond was a veteran forward who was acquired by the Flyers at the 2001 trade deadline. He played 10 regular season games and four playoff games for them and was not re-signed during the offseason.
The Blackhawks would later trade the third round pick to the Maple Leafs for veteran forward Igor Korolev .
2/19/04 – Alexei Zhamnov and 2004 fourth round pick (R.J. Anderson) for Jim Vandermeer, Colin Fraser and 2004 second round pick (Bryan Bickell)
Alexei Zhamnov was a veteran forward who spent most of his NHL career with the Blackhawks, even serving as captain from 2002 to 2004. Upon his arrival in Philly, he played 20 regular season games and 18 playoff games, racking up 32 points in that time, but he was not re-signed in the offseason.
The Flyers drafted defenseman R.J. Anderson 101st overall in 2004. He never played for the organization.
Jim Vandermeer was an undrafted defenseman that spent three seasons within the Flyers’ organization, mainly in the AHL. He played four seasons with the Blackhawks before eventually being traded back to the Flyers in 2007.
Colin Fraser was the Flyers’ 69th overall pick in 2003. He never played a game for the organization as he was still in juniors at the time of the trade. He would later win three Stanley Cups, one with Chicago and two with L.A.
The Blackhawks would draft forward Bryan Bickell 41st overall in 2004. He played nine seasons in Chicago winning two Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015.
12/5/05 – Matt Ellison and 2006 third round pick (Ryan White) (trade to MTL) for Patrick Sharp and Eric Meloche
One of the more infamous Flyers trades in their history is when the dealt prospect Patrick Sharp to the Blackhawks for, well, a whole lotta nothing.
Sharp had played just 66 games for the Flyers over three seasons, spending most of his time in the AHL. He became a perennial 30-goal scorer, three-time Stanley Cup champion and a two-way specialist during his time with the Blackhawks.
Matt Ellison was a depth forward who played just seven games for the Flyers and 110 with the Phantoms over the course of two seasons. He was traded to the Predators for future considerations in the summer of 2007.
The Flyers sent the 2006 third round pick to the Canadiens for a pair of 2006 picks in the third and fourth round. They took Jon Matsumoto 79th overall and Jakub Kovar 109th overall with their new picks, neither of which ever played for the Flyers.
Eric Meloche was a depth forward who closed out the season in the AHL and rejoined the Flyers during the offseason.
8/2/06 – Eric Meloche for Vaclav Pletka
The Flyers brought back Meloche in the summer of 2006 after half a season on the Blackhawks’ AHL squad. He played 49 games for the Phantoms and 13 for the Flyers before leaving for Germany the following season.
Vaclav Pletka was a forward who spent most of his career in the Czech Republic. He played a single NHL game for the Flyers in 2001 sandwiched between two seasons with the Phantoms. The Flyers still held his rights despite the fact he hadn’t played in North American in four years. He never played for the Blackhawks organization after the trade.
8/4/06 – Kyle Calder for Michal Handzus
Kyle Calder was a forward who had just went through a contract arbitration during the 2006 offseason, which had concluded two days before the trade. He played 59 games for the Flyers before being briefly returned to the Blackhawks in a trade in February.
Michal Handzus was a forward who spent three seasons with the Flyers. He played just eight games for the Blackhawks before he torn his ACL. He signed with the LA Kings in the offseason, but later rejoined the Blackhawks in 2012 and won a Stanley Cup in 2013.
2/26/07 – Lasse Kukkonen and 2007 third round pick (Garrett Klotz) for Kyle Calder
Calder was traded to the Flyers in August after a contract dispute, and he was returned to the Blackhawks in February. He was immediately flipped to the Detroit Red Wings for Jason Williams.
Lasse Kukkonen was the Blackhawks’ 151st overall pick in 2003. He played 64 games for them, but returned to his native Finland from 2004 to 2006. He was traded to the Flyers where he played parts of three seasons with the team. He left North America in 2009 and signed in the KHL.
The Flyers drafted forward Garrett Klotz 66th overall in 2007. He played three seasons with the Phantoms but never made the NHL. He was still playing in the ECHL as recently as 2022.
12/19/07 – Jim Vandermeer for Ben Eager
Jim Vandermeer returned to the Flyers after four years and 171 games in Chicago. He played just 28 games upon his return before he was sent to the Calgary Flames in February of 2008.
Ben Eager was the 23rd overall pick by the Flyers in 2002. He played within the organization as an enforcer until this trade. He played an additional two seasons with the Blackhawks racking up 308 penalty minutes in 144 games and won a Stanley Cup in 2010 defeating his former team.
2/27/15 – 2015 second round pick (Jeremy Bracco)(traded to TOR) and 2016 conditional pick (Wade Allison) for Kimmo Timonen
Veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen missed the majority of the 2014-15 season with blood clots. He was going to retire during the offseason but wanted one last chance to win that illusive Stanley Cup. He played 16 regular season games and 18 playoff games and captured his first Cup and retired at the end of the season.
The Flyers dealt the 2015 second round pick to the Maple Leafs in a package deal that landed the Flyers the 24th overall pick that they used on Travis Konecny.
The Flyers would draft forward Wade Allison 52nd overall in 2016. He’s playing in his third season with the organization.
10/26/22 – Evan Barratt for Cooper Zech
Cooper Zech was a depth defenseman in the Flyers’ system. He was the odd-man out on the Phantoms’ blueline to start the season and was dealt to the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for a forward. He played 21 games for their AHL and ECHL teams before being dealt to the Jacksonville Icemen.
Evan Barratt was a minor league forward who was the Blackhawks third round choice in the 2017 draft. He played 46 ECHL games for the Reading Royals after the trade and left to play in Germany during the 2023 offseason.
6/29/23 – 2023 second round pick (Carson Bjarnasson) for 2024 second round pick (Jesse Pulkkinen) and 2023 sixth round pick (Milton Oscarson)
The Flyers traded into the second round, 51st overall, to select goaltender Carson Bjarnasson. He was signed to an entry-level contract in September 2023.
The Blackhawks drafted forward Milton Oscarson 167th overall in 2023.
The Blackhawks traded the 2024 second round pick to the Islanders as part of a package that swapped New York’s 18th overall pick with Chicago’s 20th overall pick.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
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