Welcome Chuck Bausman! Let’s Keep it Rolling with Our Flyers Coverage

National Hockey Now is pleased to announce a new Flyers writer/editor for PhillyHockeyNow.com.

Chuck Bausman has joined our network. Sam Carchidi has stepped aside to tackle a major TV project involving the Broad Street Bullies.

National Hockey Now is in 17 NHL cities — and growing — with professional beat writers, columnists and a staff that covers the heck out of the local teams and the league in general.

We’re happy you’re here. We’re here to serve you, the readers.

From Chuck Bausman:

Please allow me to introduce myself …

My name is Chuck Bausman, and I’m here with you on Philly Hockey Now covering the Flyers.

I’ve loved hockey forever, long before I even understood hockey. The more I learned about hockey and the more I figured out the nuances of the sport, I was hooked.

My plan is to cover the Flyers with passion and with an objective eye. Philly sports fans expect no less. 

First, some background. I was a newspaper guy for most of my career. Some previous jobs include working on the Detroit Free Press copy desk; executive sports editor of the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill; and executive sports editor of the Philadelphia Daily News.

For the last year, I was the lead writer for Iggles.com.

Good fortune has followed me when I begin a new job. I started at the Detroit Free Press in August 1984 — and the Tigers won the World Series two months later.

I went to the Courier-Post in August 1993 — and the Phillies unexpectedly made it to the World Series two months later.

I started at Iggles.com in June 2022 — and the Eagles went to the Super Bowl.

I figured with that kind of karmic background, and Monday being my first day on the job at PhillyHockeyNow.com, the Flyers were a lock to win the draft lottery and earn the right to draft Connor Bedard.

Oh well.

The ’97 Cup finals

My most memorable Flyers coverage was the 1997 run to the Stanley Cup finals. It felt like going on the road with the world’s hottest rock band, with superstar Eric Lindros in his prime and orchestrating some magic.

The Flyers ran through the Penguins, Sabres and Rangers, each in five games. The Flyers looked dominant, almost unbeatable.

But Detroit was equally impressive. The Red Wings were a talented, balanced team, a club with speed and power whose time had come. Detroit had gone 42 years without a Cup. After winning the first two games in Philadelphia, the Red Wings skated into Game 3 supremely confident.

The Red Wings took apart the Flyers, 6-1, at Joe Louis Arena, moving to the brink of a Stanley Cup.

Flyers coach Terry Murray held a news conference the morning after Game 3. I expected a fiery news conference from Murray — never say die; one game at a time; the fourth game is the most difficult to win in a series; the boys will give everything to win Game 4 and send the series back to Philadelphia.

You know the speech. You know the cliches.

Instead, Murray said the unspeakable. He said his team was in “a choking situation” at a news conference. The assembled media, probably a hundred of us, looked around and at each other. We were stunned. What coach would say such a thing? Publicly? With the world’s hockey media present?

The Flyers played a strong Game 4 but lost, 2-1. The Cup belonged to the Red Wings, who also won the Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2008.

Terry Murray was fired a week later.

That was the day the music died.

Follow us

That’s enough about me. Tell me about yourself and what you would like to see as part of our Flyers’ coverage. I’m on Twitter @ChuckBausman and my DMs are open. Also, follow our site at @phillyhockeynow.

Welcome!