Evening Update: July 20, 2020
1) The National Hockey League announced on Monday that Flyers center Sean Couturier is among the three-finalists for the 2019-20 Selke Trophy, along with perennial Selke candidate Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and defending winner Ryan O'Reilly of the St. Louis Blues.
For Couturier, it is the second time he has finished in the top three of the Selke Trophy balloting. In 2017-18, he finished second to LA Kings center Anze Kopitar. O'Reilly won for the first time last season. Bergeron is a four-time winner; most recently in 2016-17.
Five Flyers have been Selke finalists. Bob Clarke won the Selke Trophy in 1982-83, followed by Dave Poulin in 1986-87. No Flyer has won it since. Ron Sutter finished second in 1985-86 and Mike Richards placed second in 2008-09 before Couturier earned the top runner-up spot in 2017-18.
On the Flyers official website, I made the case for Couturier to finally win the award for the first time in his career.
2) The NHL announced a schedule change that will affect the Flyers during the round-robin phase of the postseason. The game against the Tampa Bay Lightning originally scheduled for Aug. 9 will now take place on the 8th. No starting time for the game has been announced as of yet.
3) Jack McIlhargey, a two-stint Flyers defenseman, who later served the organization as an assistant coach and then as a scout, passed away on Saturday at the age of 68 after a battle with cancer. McIlhargey, who attended last year's NHL Draft in Vancouver along with the rest of the Flyers contingent, worked for as long as possible while battling his illness.
McIlhargey, nicknamed "Bucky", had a reputation as a very tough customer on the ice but as a witty and kindly man away from the ice. There are a legion of stories about McIlhargey that are sure to bring a chuckle from fellow Alumni.
McIlhargey was born in Edmonton on March 7, 1952. As a player, he spent two NHL-level stints with the Flyers (1974-75 to 1976-77 and 1979-80 to 1980-81) over parts of five seasons. In total, McIlhargey dressed in 128 regular season games for the Flyers (497 penalty minutes, 10 points) and 24 playoff matches (66 penalty minutes, three assists).
On Jan 20, 1977, the Flyers traded McIlhargey and fellow defenseman Larry "Izzy" Goodenough to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for long-coveted defenseman Bob "the Count" Dailey. Philly reacquired McIlhargey from Vancouver via cash transaction on Jan. 2, 1980. His second stint ended on Nov. 21, 1980, when he and defenseman Norm Barnes were traded to the Hartford Whalers for a 1982 second-round pick (later traded to Toronto).
After his playing days ended, McIlhargey embarked on a lengthy career in coaching and scouting. With the Flyers, he served as an assistant coach under John Stevens from the 2007-08 season until both were dismissed in December 2009. McIlhargey was subsequently hired by the Flyers in 2011 as a scout; beginning a tenure that spanned the rest of his life.