For four straight years between 1983-84 and 1986-87, Tim Kerr abused opposing goalies like few others in the National Hockey League. Over that span, Kerr scored 224 goals for the Philadelphia Flyers and remains the player in that franchise’s history with the most 50 goal seasons. Unfortunately, injuries took their toll on Tim and he was forced to leave the game too early.
Tim Kerr – Junior and Minor Pro
Kerr played four years in the OMJHL (now Ontario Hockey League) from 1976-77 to 1979-80. His first year was spent with the Windsor Spitfires and consisted of just nine games. The rest of his junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians. Over the four years, Tim played 196 regular season games, scoring 73 and assisting on 87 for 160. At that time, these were not numbers for a blossoming sniper. In fact, in that era, some were putting up those offensive numbers in a single season.
In his final season with Kingston, 1979-80, Kerr enjoyed his best season offensively. For the Jim Morrison coached team, Tim scored 40 and assisted on 33 for 73 points over 63 games. He led the Canadians in goals and was third on the team in points, behind Scott Howson and Bernie Nicholls.
Kerr played his first pro hockey during his final year with Kingston. He appeared in seven games with the Maine Mariners of the American Hockey League in 1979-80, , contributing six points. It would be the only minor pro hockey Tim would play during his career.
Tim Kerr – NHL
Passed over in the NHL Amateur Draft, Kerr was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers. Tim played 655 games over his National Hockey League career between 1980-81 and 1992-93, mostly with the Flyers but he also appeared in 32 games with the New York Rangers in 1991-92 and 22 games with the Hartford Whalers in 1992-93. With Hartford, he played for head coach Paul Holmgren. Kerr had both played with and played for Holmgren with the Flyers.
Over his career, he scored 370 goals and totalled 674 points, certainly on pace for Hockey Hall of Fame numbers if injuries hadn’t put al halt to his career. Over 81 Stanley Cup playoff games, Kerr added 40 goals and 71 points.
Of course, the highlight of Kerr’s career were those four years between 1983-84 and 1986-87. In the first year, he scored 54 in 79 games and tied for third in the NHL with Glenn Anderson of the Edmonton Oilers. Ahead of Tim and Glenn were Wayne Gretzky of the Oilers and Michel Goulet of the Quebec Nordiques.
In 1984-85, it was 54 goals again, this time over just 74 games. The league was a little more offensive and his goal total was good for just sixth. Tim also scored ten more goals over 12 playoff games as the Mike Keenan coached Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals before falling to Gretzky and the Oilers in five games.
Kerr stepped it up in 1985-86 with 58 goals over 76 games. It was a rough season for the Flyers with the death of goaltender Pelle Lindbergh early in the season. Kerr’s goal total placed him third in the NHL behind Jari Kurri of the Oilers and Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders. His 34 powerplay goals still stand today as an NHL single season record.
Once again in 1986-87, Kerr scored 58 goals. This time it was over 75 games. He placed second in goals, just four behind Wayne Gretzky. His 95 points placed him tied for ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins.
After playing just eight regular season and six playoff games in 1987-88, Kerr stormed back in 1988-89 and was honoured with the only individual accolade of his NHL career. With 48 goals and 88 points over 69 games, Tim was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. His 48 goals placed him ninth in the league.
That year, Kerr added another 14 goals and 25 points over 19 playoff games. The Paul Holmgren coached Flyers had a mediocre regular season with 36 wins, 36 losses and eight ties. Yet, Philadelphia reached the semi-finals before losing out to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
The San Jose Sharks picked up Tim ninth overall at the 1991 NHL Expansion Draft. The Sharks then dealt him the same day to the New York Rangers for Brian Mullen. That was the start of the end for Kerr with just 32 games with the Rangers in 1991-92 and 22 with the Whalers in 1992-93 before retiring.
Left standing just outside the Hockey Hall of Fame, Kerr was added to the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1994. Recently, he has remained active in the hockey world, taking on ownership roles in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) with the Pensacola Ice Flyers and Mississippi Surge.
Tim Kerr – Rookie Card
The Tim Kerr rookie card appears as number 251 in the 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee set. The card shows him as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and is valued at around ten times that of a common card.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1976-77 | Windsor Spitfires | OHA | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| 1977-78 | Kingston Canadians | OHA | 67 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 33 |
| 1978-79 | Kingston Canadians | OHA | 57 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 27 |
| 1979-80 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 1979-80 | Kingston Canadians | OHA | 63 | 40 | 33 | 73 | 39 |
| 1980-81 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 84 |
| 1981-82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 61 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 138 |
| 1982-83 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 24 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 6 |
| 1983-84 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 54 | 39 | 93 | 29 |
| 1984-85 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 74 | 54 | 44 | 98 | 57 |
| 1985-86 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 58 | 26 | 84 | 79 |
| 1986-87 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 58 | 37 | 95 | 57 |
| 1987-88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| 1988-89 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 48 | 40 | 88 | 73 |
| 1989-90 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 40 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 34 |
| 1990-91 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 27 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 8 |
| 1991-92 | New York Rangers | NHL | 32 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 12 |
| 1992-93 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 22 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| NHL Totals | 655 | 370 | 304 | 674 | 596 |