The Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues entered the NHL during the same expansion in 1967. They may not come across as regular trade partners anymore because there’s only been two deals in the last 20 years, but they regularly interacted early on and slowly drifted away as time went on, with larger and larger gaps occurring before 13 years of radio silence that was ultimately shattered by one of the more polarizing trades in recent Flyers history.
6/11/68 – Darryl Edestrand and Gerry Melnyk for Lou Angotti and Ian Campbell
The first trade between the two clubs was the seventh trade in Flyers franchise history.
Darryl Edestrand was a depth defenseman who played 12 games with St. Louis. He’d play just two NHL games with the Flyers and spent the rest of his two seasons with the organization in the AHL.
Gerry Melnyk was a longtime forward who spent most of his career in the World Hockey Association. He played the 1967-68 season with the Blues before this trade, and retired before the start of the following season, so he never actually played for the Flyers.
Lou Angotti was the Flyers’ expansion pick from the Black Hawks. He also served as their first captain during the 1967-68 season. He was traded to the Blues, but later the same day, St. Louis flipped him to the Penguins for forward Ab McDonald.
Ian Campbell was a minor league forward who didn’t play for either the Flyers or the Blues. He retired shortly after this trade in 1969.
5/14/69 – cash for Ron Buchanan
Ron Buchanan was a forward that the Flyers claimed from the Boston Bruins during the 1968 Intra-League draft. He never played a game for the Flyers in the NHL and was traded almost a full year later to the Blues for cash. He did not play an NHL game for St. Louis either.
12/14/72 – Andre Dupont and 1973 third round pick (Bob Stumpf) for Brent Hughes and Pierre Plante
Andre Dupont was the Rangers’ eighth overall pick in 1969, but spent most of his early NHL career with St. Louis after a trade in 1971. He joined the Flyers and became one of their top enforcers during the peak of the “Broad Street Bullies” era. He won two Cups with them and racked up an astounding 1,505 penalty minutes in 549 games over eight seasons with the club. He’s third all time in Flyers’ history in PIM.
The Flyers drafted defenseman Bob Stumpf 40th overall in 1973. He never played a game for the Flyers but did get traded back to St. Louis about a year later.
Brent Hughes was a depth defenseman who spent parts of three seasons with the Flyers organization, mainly in the AHL. He played 10 games with the Blues before he was flipped to the Red Wings early the following season.
Pierre Plante was the Flyers’ ninth overall pick in 1971. He played 26 games with the Flyers before the trade, but was mostly stuck in the AHL. He went on to establish himself as an NHL regular with the Blues, playing five seasons and was later traded to Chicago in 1977.
11/1/73 – George Pesut for Bob Stumpf
George Pesut was the Blues’ 24th overall pick in 1973. He did not play an NHL game for them. Upon joining the Flyers, he spent a season-and-a-half in the AHL before being traded to the California Golden Seals in December of 1974.
Bob Stumpf was the Flyers’ 40th overall pick in 1973. He played six games with the AHL affiliate before the trade. He played seven NHL games with the Blues and was traded to the Penguins in January of 1975.
12/1/73 – Ray Schultz for Frank Spring
Ray Schultz was a minor league defenseman who 28 AHL games with the Richmond Robins after this trade.
Frank Spring was a minor league forward who spent parts of four seasons in the Flyers’ organization but never played a game for the NHL squad. He played two NHL games with the Blues before being sent back to the minors and later traded to the California Golden Seals.
9/16/74 – Ted Harris for cash
Ted Harris was a veteran defenseman who played his last NHL season with the Flyers, ultimately winning the Stanley Cup before retiring after 788 NHL games.
9/16/74 – Wayne Stephenson for 1975 second round pick (Jamie Masters) and rights to Randy Andreachuk
Wayne Stephenson was a goaltender who won a Cup in 1975. He became the starter after an injury to Bernie Parent and did a fine job carrying the team in his absence. He was in net when the Flyers beat the Soviet Red Army team in 1976.
Randy Andreachuk was a forward who the Flyers drafted 71st overall in 1974. He opted to join the World Hockey Association where he’d only play two games before finishing his career in various minor leagues. He never played for the Blues.
The Blues drafted defenseman Jamie Masters 36th overall in 1975. He played 33 NHL games for the Blues from 1975 to 1979, spending most of his career in the minor leagues.
6/7/79 – Phil Myre for Blake Dunlop and Rick Lapointe
Phil Myre, a goaltender, arrived in Philly and formed a tandem with rookie Pete Peeters and the two backstopped the Flyers to a 35-game unbeaten streak during the 1979-80 season. It’s a professional sports record that still stands today. He played 57 games with the Flyers over the course of a season-and-a-half and was dealt to the Colorado Rockies for cash in February of 1981.
Blake Dunlop played one season with the Flyers and one with the Maine Mariners, their AHL affiliate before this trade. He played parts of five seasons in St. Louis and won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1981 honoring his perseverance for breaking out at the NHL level with 87 points in 80 games, nearly a decade after he was drafted, spending most of that time in the AHL.
Rick Lapointe was a journeyman enforcer. He spent three seasons in St. Louis where he’d rack up 338 penalty minutes in 231 games. He was traded to the Nordiques in the summer of 1982.
1/5/84 – cash for Michel Larocque
Michel Larocque was a longtime goaltender who played two games with the Flyers after being acquired by the Maple Leafs in January of 1983. He suited up for just five games with the Blues after this trade and retired shortly after.
3/8/88 – 1989 fourth round pick (Reid Simpson) for Gordie Roberts
Gordie Roberts was a veteran defenseman who spent only a month with the Flyers after being acquired by the North Stars in February 1988. He played 166 NHL games over parts of four seasons with the Blues and was dealt to Pittsburgh in 1990.
The Flyers drafted forward Reid Simpson 72nd overall in 1989. He played a single NHL game for the Flyers and three additional seasons in the AHL.
11/29/88 – Mike Bullard for Peter Zezel
Mike Bullard was a forward who played just 20 games in St. Louis after joining them in 1988 free agency. He played two seasons in Philly. He had a short run with Toronto two seasons later and spent a decade in Germany to end his career after his Flyers tenure.
Peter Zezel was drafted 41st overall in 1983 by the Flyers and he spent five seasons in Philly playing the best hockey of his career. He joined the Blues for a year and a half and joined the Washington Capitals in 1990.
9/22/91 – Rod Brind’Amour and Dan Quinn for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron
The Blues had recently lost their top defenseman Scott Stevens and this trade with Philadelphia was an attempt to fill that hole by acquiring Murray Baron.
Baron spent five seasons in St. Louis after the trade and was a heavy physical presense in their lineup. He racked up 631 penalty minutes in 409 games. He was later traded in another blockbuster deal to Montreal for Pierre Turgeon and Craig Conroy.
Ron Sutter was the Flyers’ fourth overall pick in 1982. He spent eight seasons in Philly where he got to play with his twin brother Rich. The two reunited in St. Louis, as Rich was a member of the Blues at the time of the trade. He was trade to the Nordiques in 1994.
Dan Quinn was a forward who spent one season in Philly. He scored just 37 points in 67 games, which was a career worst at that point, and he wasn’t re-signed during the following summer.
Rod Brind’Amour ended up being the diamond of this trade. He became one of the best two-way forwards in the game in Philly, despite never finishing higher than ninth in Selke voting. He’d eventually win the award twice, consecutively, in Carolina.. He played nine seasons with the Flyers scoring 601 points in 633 games.
3/15/96 – Dale Hawerchuk for Craig MacTavish
Hawerchuk was a 15-year veteran upon his arrival in Philly. He signed with the Blues during the 1995 offseason and played just 55 games with them before the trade. He suited up for just 67 games with the Flyers over the following season-and-a-half and retired in 1997 due to a recurring hip problem.
Craig McTavish was a longtime forward who spent the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons with the Flyers. He as well played a season-and-a-half with his new team and retired in 1997 to pursue a coaching career.
3/9/98 – Roger Nielson for 1999 sixth round pick (Tore Vikingstad)
Roger Nielson was an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues for three seasons from 1995 until this deal. The Flyers signed him as a head coach, which they were later forced to offer compensation to St. Louis for doing so. He spent three seasons coaching the Flyers before being diagnosed with bone cancer and then-GM Bobby Clarke would ultimately fire him in a move the was resoundingly chastised by the fans and media.
The Blues drafted Tore Vikingstad (fantastic name by the way) 180th overall in 1999. He never played in the NHL, spending most of his career in Germany.
2/9/04 – 2004 fifth round pick (Gino Pisellini) for Eric Weinrich
Eric Weinrich was a defenseman who played his 1,000 NHL game as a member of the Flyers. He spent a season and a half with the Blues after this trade and had a short stint in Vancouver after before retiring in 2006.
The Flyers drafted forward Gino Pisellini 149th overall in 2004. He played two seasons in the organization, mainly in the ECHL, and retired in 2008.
6/23/17 – Jori Lehtera, 2017 first round pick (Morgan Frost) and 2018 first round pick (Joel Farabee) for Brayden Schenn
After a 13-year trade hiatus between the Flyers and Blues, their next deal came at the 2017 draft. After the Flyers won the second overall pick in the lottery and took center Nolan Patrick, they dealt away Brayden Schenn in exchange for a pair of first round picks and a salary dump in Jori Lehtera.
Schenn went on to have a career year during his first season with the Blues posting 28 goals and 70 points, and he helped take them to a Stanley Cup in 2019. He was recently named captain after posting 341 points in 425 games in St. Louis.
The Flyers drafted Morgan Frost 27th overall in 2017. He and Patrick were supposed to be the top center duo of the future but neither came to be. He didn’t play his first full NHL season until 2022-23 where he recorded 46 points.
They also drafted forward Joel Farabee 14th overall in 2018. He’s played four NHL seasons as of this writing and has yet to hit the 40-point plateau thanks to various injuries sprinkled throughout his career.
Jori Lehtera spent two seasons with the Flyers after the trade and was a favorite of head coach Dave Hakstol. When Hakstol was relieved of his duties in late 2018, Lehtera was demoted to the AHL and left the organization during the 2019 offseason.
6/27/23 – 2024 sixth round pick (traded to CGY) for Kevin Hayes
Danny Briere took over for Chuck Fletcher heading into the 2023 offseason and one of his first moves as GM was to trade Kevin Hayes, who was not gelling with head coach John Tortorella, to St. Louis for a sixth round pick. The Flyers retained half of Hayes’ contract to make the deal happen. They will pay him $3,571,428 until 2026.
The Flyers traded that sixth round pick to Calgary, along with a 2024 fifth round pick to move up to 107th overall and select forward Heikki Ruohonen 107th overall.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 