Jack McIhargey, a scout, former player, and assistant coach with Flyers, dies at 68

Jack “Bucky” McIlhargey, a hard-nosed defenseman who played two stints with the Flyers in the 1970s and 1980s and later served as an assistant coach and scout for the team, died Monday after a battle with cancer, the club’s alumni association announced.

He was 68 and was still scouting for the team.

Mr. McIlhargey “contributed to our success in a variety of ways,” the Flyers said in a statement. “He helped our team to three conference championships, including two as a player. Jack will be deeply missed, but his legacy with our team will be felt for years to come.”

In the statement, the Flyers said Mr. McIlhargey was a “large part of drafting the players on today’s team and the ones currently in our system who will make up a new generation of Flyers.”

In an eight-year career that included stops with the Flyers, Vancouver, and Hartford, Mr. McIlhargey had 11 goals, 47 points and 1,102 penalty minutes. He played in 24 playoff games with the Flyers, including 15 in 1975-76, which ended with a loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals.

In 1977, the Flyers traded Mr. McIlhargey, known as one of the league’s tougher players, and Larry Goodenough to Vancouver for Bob Dailey, who played parts of six seasons in Philadelphia.

Mr. McIlhargey, an Edmonton native, is survived by his wife, Karyne, and his three daughters, Erin, Georgia, and Anna.