2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 2004–05 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 38th season in the National Hockey League (NHL), however its games were canceled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The other 29 teams did not play either due to the labor dispute.

Off-season
After being defeated in the seventh game of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the Flyers prepared for the looming labor uncertainty associated with the impending expiration of the existing NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. While team captain Keith Primeau was re-signed to a four-year contract worth $17 million prior to hitting the free agent market, leading scorer Mark Recchi was not – general manager Bob Clarke said he would not re-sign Recchi until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place – and instead signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 9. Contract offers were made to impending unrestricted free agents Vladimir Malakhov and Alexei Zhamnov, key acquisitions during the final quarter of the 2003–04 regular season, but the Flyers were unable to come to terms with either player.

Unsigned 2001 first-round draft pick R. J. Umberger, whose NHL rights had previously been held by the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, signed with the Flyers as an unrestricted free agent on June 16. The Flyers signed free agent right wingers Mike Knuble of the Boston Bruins and Turner Stevenson of the New Jersey Devils to three-year contracts after the free agency period began. On July 13 undrafted free agent forward Tony Voce, who played four seasons at Boston College, became the first native of Philadelphia to sign with the Flyers.

Schedule
The Flyers preseason and regular season schedules were announced on July 14, 2004.

NHL lockout
The lockout started on September 16, 2004 and those Flyers with two-way contracts were sent down to the Phantoms. Those Flyers with NHL-only contracts either sat out or played in another league.

Player activity
The following is a list of Flyers with NHL-only contracts and whether they were active during the lockout. Vladimir Malakhov and Alexei Zhamnov are not included since their contracts expired prior to the lockout.

Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Trenton Titans of the ECHL. Both teams were their league's champions.

Philadelphia Phantoms
With the Flyers season canceled, many players who would normally be in orange and black were in purple, orange, and black instead. Joni Pitkanen and Todd Fedoruk had spent the entirety of the previous season with the Flyers and over a dozen others on the Phantoms roster had previously spent time in the NHL. Led by mid-season acquisition Jon Sim's 35 goals and R. J. Umberger's 65 points, the Phantoms finished second in their division with a record of 48–25–3–4. Reinforced by the arrivals of top junior prospects Jeff Carter and Mike Richards to the team, the Phantoms defeated the Norfolk Admirals in six games, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in five games, and the Providence Bruins in six games to reach the finals. Holding the Chicago Wolves to four goals the entire series, the Phantoms swept the series and won the Calder Cup. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.

Trenton Titans
Trenton finished second in their division and after defeating the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in three games, the Reading Royals in four games, and the Alaska Aces in seven games, the Titans defeated the Florida Everblades in six games to win the Kelly Cup.

Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 8, 2004, the day after the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, through February 16, 2005, the day the season was officially canceled.

Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 26–27, 2004. The Flyers traded their first-round pick, 25th overall, their 2005 third-round pick, and Jeff Woywitka to the Edmonton Oilers for Mike Comrie on December 16, 2003. The Flyers also traded their originally allotted second, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round draft picks in three different trades.