‘Cowboy’ Bill Flett was property of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960’s but didn’t get his start in the National Hockey League until 1967-68 and expansion. He was a very late pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft but ended up being one of the team’s top offensive players in their inaugural season.
For two years, Flett showed signs of being a star in the NHL. He topped 40 goals with the Flyers in 1972-73 and won a Stanley Cup championship with the club the following year. However, his flame seemed to get doused after Philadelphia dealt him to the Maple Leafs shortly after celebrating the Cup win.
Bill Flett passed away on July 12, 1999.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Hockey Card Collection
WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Bill Flett – Junior and Minor Pro
Bill Flett played three years of junior hockey in the SJHL with the Melville Millionaires from 1960-61 to 1962-63. In his final season, Bill scored 31 and assisted on 54 for 85 points in 53 regular season games. He was named a First Team All-Star at right wing.
The Millionaires finished second in the seven team league, a single point behind the Estevan Bruins. The two teams then meet in the finals with Estevan coming out on top. Flett was picked up by the Bruins for the Abbott Cup playoffs with the team losing in the semi-finals to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Between 1963-64 and 1966-67, Flett bounced around the minor pro leagues, appearing in the AHL, EHL, WHL and CPHL. In his rookie pro season, Bill, playing for the Turk Broda coached Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Hockey League, scored 26 and assisted on 21 in 41 games. Charlotte finished last in the Southern Division and were bounced in the opening round of the playoffs. He also played a single American Hockey League game with the Rochester Americans that year, along with a single WHL playoff games with the Denver Invaders.
In 1964-65, Bill was teamed with Pat Quinn in the CPHL with the Tulsa Oilers, while Don Simmons saw the bulk of duty in the nets. The team reached the finals before losing to the St. Paul Rangers. Flett also saw time in the WHL that year with the Victoria Maple Leafs.
He played exclusively with the Tulsa Oilers in 1965-66 and 1966-67. In 1965-66, the team lost in the finals to the Oklahoma City Blazers but Flett didn’t see any action in the post season. The following year, Tulsa finished last and did not qualify.
The only other time Flett saw in the minors after his NHL career started in 1967-68 was a five game stint in the AHL with the Springfield Kings in 1969-70.
Bill Flett – NHL
Originally property of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bill Flett’s National Hockey League career didn’t boot up until he was picked by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. The Kings took him in the 18th round, 103rd overall. There were just 20 rounds in the draft with a total of 120 players picked.
Bill Flett Collection
Between 1967-68 and 1979-80, Flett played 689 regular season NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Bill added 23 points in 52 Stanley Cup playoff games.
In his rookie season, despite being an afterthought by the Kings in the expansion draft, he led the team with 26 goals. It was his first of four times that the 20 goal plateau would be surpassed. He accomplished the feat twice with the Kings, once with the Flyers and once with the Flames.
On January 28, 1972, Flett was traded from the Kings to the Philadelphia Flyers after his numbers had dwindled considerably from his first two seasons with the club. Going with Bill to the Flyers were Eddie Joyal, Ross Lonsberry and Jean Potvin while Serge Bernier, Jim Johnson and Bill Lesuk went the other direction. Philadelphia definitely got the best of that trade.
In 1972-73, Flett put up a career year offensively. His 43 goals placed him fifth in the NHL, 12 behind leader Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins and a single goal behind fourth place Jacques Lemaire of the Montreal Canadiens. Due to injury, bill played in just 69 of Philadelphia’s 78 games.
The following season, Flett helped the Flyers to their first Stanley Cup championship. Philadelphia beat the Bruins in the finals to capture the Cup. However, a short time later, on May 27, 1974, he was traded to Toronto for Dave Fortier and Randy Osburn.
After a dismal year in Toronto, Bill was taken off waivers by the Atlanta Flames for the 1975-76 season. After jumping to the WHA for the last half of 1976-77, Flett made a brief return to the National Hockey League in 1979-80 with the Edmonton Oilers. However, he appeared in just 20 games, contributing seven points.
Bill Flett – WHA
24 games into the 1976-77 National Hockey League season, Bill Flett left the Atlanta Flames and headed to his home province of Alberta to join the Edmonton Oilers. He continued with Edmonton until the team merged into the NHL for 1979-80. Over his time with the club, Bill scored 103 and assisted on 84 for 187 points over 195 regular season games. He added nine points in 15 playoff games.
In 1977-78, Flett led the Oilers with 41 goals. That total was good for eighth in the World Hockey Association. The following year, the numbers dropped but Bill still put up a respectable 28 goals in 1978-79.
Bill Flett – Rookie Card
The Bill Flett rookie card appears as number 159 in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. His final card is included in the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee set and Flett is shown with the Edmonton Oilers. Despite three years in the WHA, he was not included in any of their sets.
The back of Flett’s 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee card states he ‘..has ambition to score 30 goals and win Stanley Cup..’ He got what he was looking for with a 43 goal season with the Flyers in 1972-73 and a Stanley Cup championship with Philadelphia in 1973-74.
Brian Kilrea scored the first goal in Los Angeles Kings history. However, according to Bill’s 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee card, Flett was the first in team history to record a hat trick.
Bill Flett Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1963-64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963-64 | Charlotte Checkers | EHL | 41 | 26 | 21 | 47 | 48 |
| 1963-64 | Denver Invaders | WHL | Post Season Only | ||||
| 1964-65 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 39 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 58 |
| 1964-65 | Victoria Maple Leafs | WHL | 23 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 1965-66 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 55 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 83 |
| 1966-67 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 62 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 108 |
| 1967-68 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 73 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 97 |
| 1968-69 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 72 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 53 |
| 1969-70 | Springfield Kings | AHL | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| 1969-70 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 69 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 70 |
| 1970-71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 64 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 57 |
| 1971-72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 45 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 18 |
| 1971-72 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 31 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 26 |
| 1972-73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 43 | 31 | 74 | 53 |
| 1973-74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 67 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 51 |
| 1974-75 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 77 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 38 |
| 1975-76 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 78 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 30 |
| 1976-77 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 48 | 34 | 20 | 54 | 20 |
| 1976-77 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| 1977-78 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 74 | 41 | 28 | 69 | 34 |
| 1978-79 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 73 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 14 |
| 1979-80 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 20 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 689 | 202 | 215 | 417 | 501 | ||
| WHA Totals | 195 | 103 | 84 | 187 | 68 | ||