Gerry O'Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is the son of long time minor league hockey star and NHL player, John "Peanuts" O'Flaherty. Gerry, who was nicknamed "Flapper," played 438 games in the NHL, mostly with the Vancouver Canucks.
O’Flaherty played junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHA and caught the eyes of Toronto Maple Leaf scouts. The Leafs selected O'Flaherty in the third round of the 1970 Amateur draft after Gerry scored 40 goals in just 54 OHA games. Gerry spent most of the following two seasons with the Leafs farm team in Tulsa of the CHL. Gerry's childhood dream of playing for the Leafs ended in the summer of 1972 as he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL Intra-League Draft on June 5, 1972.
Gerry was far from disappointed on that day, though, as he would get a chance to play for the young west coast franchise which also employed his father as a scout. In fact, the young left winger would later realize that that day was the most important date in his NHL career. By joining the Canucks the young left winger embarked upon a solid 6 year career in the NHL. Three times Gerry eclipsed the 20 goal mark. The 5'10" 180lb winger scored 98 goals (including 2 in 9 seconds in a 1974 game against Atlanta) and 85 assists for 193 points in 435 games in a Canucks jersey.
Gerry was a member of Team USA in the 1976 Canada Cup. In the summer of 1978 O'Flaherty signed with the Minnesota North Stars as a free agent, but he would never play in the state of hockey. Just prior to the 1978-79 season the North Stars traded O'Flaherty to Atlanta. He played in just one game for the Flames, and despite scoring a goal, was demoted to the minor leagues for the rest of the year. That proved to be his final year in pro hockey.
Gerry returned to Vancouver following his playing days. He got into a muffler shop business in 1979 while also doing some NHL scouting work. He spent 24 years as an amateur Scout with Montreal Canadiens from 1979-2003 which included 2 Stanley Cups. He followed that up spending the past 8 years as a Pro Scout with the Tampa Bay Lightning who won the Stanley Cup in 2004. O’Flaherty still remains active with the Vancouver Canucks alumni association.
