The 1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). In the off-season, the Flyers went looking for a new goaltender. Sean Burke hadn't worked out well enough and Ron Hextall was about to enter his final season as a backup. They chose to sign former Panther John Vanbiesbrouck over former Oiler Curtis Joseph, who ended up signing with Toronto. The 1998–99 season was marred by a life-threatening injury sustained by Eric Lindros on April 1 during a game against the Nashville Predators, a season-ending injury later diagnosed as a collapsed lung. Up until that point, Lindros was having an MVP-type season with 40 goals and 53 assists in 71 games. It is said that if roommate Keith Jones had not intervened at the last minute, Lindros