Bobby Clarke - NHL Career

NHL Career

Wearing #16, Clarke made his NHL debut on October 11, 1969 against the Minnesota North Stars. He recorded his first point on October 22 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, an assist on Lew Morrison's 3rd period goal, and he scored his first goal on October 30 against the New York Rangers, beating Rangers goaltender Ed Giacomin 16:36 into the 3rd period. Clarke played the entire 76-game schedule his rookie season and recorded 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) while earning a trip to the NHL All-Star Game. He was also named NHL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, and finished fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Clarke led the Flyers in scoring during his sophomore season, 1970–71, with 27 goals and 36 assists for a total of 63 points in 77 games. His efforts helped the Flyers make the playoffs, but Clarke was held scoreless in his first playoff action and the Flyers lost in four games to the Chicago Black Hawks.

A tooth abscess was the cause of a slow start to the 1971–72 season; 20 pounds underweight, Clarke only managed 5 goals and 11 assists 31 games into the season. He rebounded over the final 47 games, scoring 30 goals and 35 assists and bringing his totals to 35 goals and 46 assists. His dedication was rewarded when he became the first Flyer to win a major NHL award, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, and the Flyers re-signed him to a five-year contract worth $100,000 per season, a raise of $75,000 per season.

A few months following his strong play during the Summit Series for Team Canada, Clarke was named the Flyers' captain at age 23, the youngest to ever assume that role in NHL history at the time. As leader of the brawling Broad Street Bullies, Clarke became the first player from an expansion team to score more than 100 points in a season, 104 points (37 goals, 67 assists) total. Facing the Minnesota North Stars in the first round, the Flyers and Clarke received a scare, as he was hit in the eye with a stick which broke his contact lens and was rushed to the hospital. After removing parts of his broken contact from under the eye, Clarke returned to the lineup the next game despite having suffered a scratched cornea, and the Flyers won their first playoff series. The Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens during the next round, but Clarke was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP.

Clarke's production fell to 87 points in 77 games during the 1973–74 regular season, but his leadership and Bernie Parent's stellar goaltending led the Flyers to the second best record in the league and to the Stanley Cup Finals to play the team with the best record, the Boston Bruins. After losing Game 1, Clarke scored arguably the biggest goal of his career in overtime of Game 2, putting a rebound shot in over Bruins goaltender Gilles Gilbert. The Flyers won three of the next four games and became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Clarke was later awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players MVP. Clarke set the NHL record, at the time, for most assists by a centreman with 89 during the 1974–75 season on his way to a 116 point season. The Flyers returned to the Stanley Cup Finals and defeated the Buffalo Sabres in six games, repeating as Stanley Cup champions. In addition to the second championship, Clarke was awarded the Hart Trophy for the second time.

1975–76 was a record breaking season for Clarke. Playing on the LCB line with Reggie Leach and Bill Barber, the trio set a record for most goals by a line with 141. He also tied his mark of the previous season with 89 assists and set a personal best and franchise record for most points in a single season with 119 (later broken by Mark Recchi in 1992–93). The Flyers, without Parent and Rick MacLeish, returned to the Finals, but were swept by Montreal. Clarke was awarded the Hart Trophy one final time as the league's MVP. Clarke's production would drop off over the next few seasons; in fact, his point total fell six seasons in a row. But the Flyers remained contenders, reaching the semifinals and losing to Boston in 1976–77 and 1977–78.

After a quarterfinal loss to the Rangers in 1978–79, Clarke was named an assistant coach. In order to become an assistant he had to give up the captaincy due to NHL rules, so Mel Bridgman was named the 4th captain in Flyers history. His first season as a playing assistant coach, 1979–80, saw the Flyers go on an undefeated streak of 35 games, not only the longest in NHL history, but the longest in North American professional sports history. The Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the New York Islanders in six games. During the playoffs, Clarke scored 8 goals and assisted on 12 others in 19 games, all 8 goals coming on the power play. Following the playoffs, Clarke was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy along with Flyers owner Ed Snider and former Flyers coach Fred Shero.

Clarke wore the number 16 throughout his entire NHL career except for two games during the 1980–81 season. Prior to a road game on February 27, 1981, Clarke's jersey was stolen. Clarke wore the only other jersey available, number 36, in the next two games. A month later, Clarke hit a personal milestone in memorable fashion. On March 19 during a game against the Boston Bruins, a Reggie Leach slapshot struck Clarke. After leaving the ice, he re-appeared moments later stitched up and with his jersey covered in blood. 31 seconds into the third period Clarke beat Bruins goalie Marco Baron for his 19th goal of the season and his 1000th career point.

Despite his diabetes and hard-nosed play, Clarke proved to be remarkably durable. A broken foot suffered during the 1981–82 season limited him to 62 games, the only time in his career he played fewer than 70 games in a season. No longer an assistant coach, Clarke reassumed the captaincy from Bill Barber during 1982–83. He skated in his 1000th career game on October 23, 1982 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Clarke had his best season since 1977–78, scoring 85 points in 80 games. He also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given annually to the league's best defensive forward. After the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the third straight season in 1983–84 and the general manager position opened up after Bob McCammon resigned, Clarke retired on May 15, 1984 to become the General Manager of the Flyers.