Flyers' History: Top 10s in Flyers history and other recollections

[Jtown]

Claude Giroux declares last-place Flyers 'will make the playoffs'

Guarantee? Claude Giroux says Flyers will even series in Game 4

Claude Giroux says Flyers will win Game 2 against Penguins

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

@BiggE

If you so choose, top ten Flyers' players acquired -- including signings -- after playing for other NHL teams. A list that excludes Clarke, Barber, Lindros, MacLeish, Giroux, etc.

You can choose among Parent, Howe, Leach, Desjardins, McCrimmon, Timonen, LeClair, Brind'Amour, Briere, Dornhoefer and so many others.

No need for extensive explanations just a list.

 

[BiggE]

@BiggE

If you so choose, top ten Flyers' players acquired -- including signings -- after playing for other NHL teams. A list that excludes Clarke, Barber, Lindros, MacLeish, Giroux, etc.

You can choose among Parent, Howe, Leach, Desjardins, McCrimmon, Timonen, LeClair, Brind'Amour, Briere, Dornhoefer and so many others.

No need for extensive explanations just a list.

Sure, sounds good!

 

[BiggE]

And here we go, the top 10 Flyers acquired after playing for other NHL teams. The key word is playing, so no, Eric Lindros would not qualify.

And away we go.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Joe Watson
Gary Dornhoefer
Bob Dailey
Brad McCrimmon
Brad Marsh
Jeremy Roenick
Peter Forsberg
Scott Hartnell
Chris Pronger
Jake Voracek

10. Mark Recchi
One of the top scoring wingers to ever lace em up for the Flyers.

9. Ed Van Impe
The leader of D for the Broad Street Bullies and 2nd Captain in club history

8. Danny Briere
One of the best big game money players in team history

7. Kimmo Timonen
A throwback warrior and one of the best Dmen to ever wear the orange and black

6. Rod Brind’amour
Heart and soul player and iron man who always played his ass of and excelled in all situations

5. Reggie Leach
A pure goal scoring machine who almost singlehandedly carried the Flyers to a 3rd consecutive Cup in 76.

4. Eric Desjardins
One of the classiest and smoothest players to ever play for the Flyers. IMO, the 2nd best Dman in team history.

3. John Leclair
This bull strong winger reached the 50 goal plateau in 3 straight seasons and teamed with Eric Lindros to wreak havoc on opposing D and goalies in the mid to late 90s

2. Mark Howe
By far the best Dman in franchise history and one of the best I ever saw. He should have won multiple Norris trophies.

1. Bernie Parent
Back to back Vezina and Smythe trophies and the backbone of the Broad Street Bullies. From 1973 to 1975, Bernie was as good as any goalie who ever played the game.

And there you have it! As always, feel free to comment and share your own list. Hell, there were at least 4 or 5 other guys that could be HMs, but I’ll leave that up to you.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

^ Interesting. Some surprises. On an all-time defense top list, would you put EVI ahead of McCrimmon? I suppose you would based on the rankings.

Any consideration to Braydon Coburn?

 

[BiggE]

^ Interesting. Some surprises. On an all-time defense top list, would you put EVI ahead of McCrimmon? I suppose you would based on the rankings.

Any consideration to Braydon Coburn?

Coburn should be an honorable mention, that was an oversight.

I give EVI a slight edge over the Beast because in his prime, Van Impe was arguably as good a shut down defender as their was in the NHL. Also, unlike McCrimmon, Van Impe never had the benefit of playing with a partner like Mark Howe. Howe was so good that even Glen Cochrane looked decent playing with him.
The rankings, after 1 & 2 were tough and a lot of consideration was given to the HMs, especially McCrimmon, Jake and Dorny.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

My list of HM in no particular order off the top of my head.

Jake Voracek
Murray Craven
Doug Crossman
Wayne Simmonds
Wayne Stephenson-Unsung hero of 1975-76 filling in for Bernie, in my opinion.
Shjon Podein
Kim Johnsson
Kevin Dineen
Mike Knuble
Michal Handzus

I know I am omitting others.

 

[Kermit the Prog]

Gary Galley and Steve Duchesne had some pretty decent seasons for the Flyers.

 

[baudib1]

Galley was terrific, and his trade was something of a surprise, but I think Petr Svoboda is probably the most underrated defenseman the Flyers ever had. Not a big point producer, but terrific in transition and in his own zone. Kinda similar, I believe, to Travis Sanheim, without the offensive upside.

 

[baudib1]

And, damnit BiggE, at least mention Primeau on some of these lists....

 

[BiggE]

Galley was terrific, and his trade was something of a surprise, but I think Petr Svoboda is probably the most underrated defenseman the Flyers ever had. Not a big point producer, but terrific in transition and in his own zone. Kinda similar, I believe, to Travis Sanheim, without the offensive upside.

10 badly underrated Flyers:

Ross Lonsberry
Orest Kindrachuk
Ilkka Sinisalo
Petr Svoboda
Kim Johnsson
Daymond Langkow
Marcus Ragnarsson
Michal Handzus
Mike Knuble
Mark Streit

 

[BiggE]

And, damnit BiggE, at least mention Primeau on some of these lists....

Well, if I did a list of top 10 individual playoff runs his 2004 run would be on it. He’d also be in consideration for top 10 best 2 way centers, but that’s a deep group. Right off the top of my head, he’d be behind: Clarke, Poulin, Ron Sutter, Brind’amour, Richards, and Couturier, but he’d slot somewhere in the 7-10 range.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

10 badly underrated Flyers:

Ross Lonsberry
Orest Kindrachuk
Ilkka Sinisalo
Petr Svoboda
Kim Johnsson
Daymond Langkow
Marcus Ragnarsson
Michal Handzus
Mike Knuble
Mark Streit

Murray Craven says hello.

 

[AdamParrot]

HM in my eyes:
Steve Mason

 

[Kermit the Prog]

Murray Craven says hello.

And Danny Markov

 

[BiggE]

And Danny Markov

I don’t think Markov is underrated as much as folks are pissed that Justin Williams was traded for him

However, no one in 2004 could reasonably expect that Williams would go on and have a 20 year career which includes some incredible playoff runs. Also Markov was absolutely vital during that playoff run as he and Malakhov were the Flyers top pair and played huge minutes that spring. Without Markov, the Flyers don’t get out of the first round. The deal made sense at the time.

 

[Kermit the Prog]

I don’t think Markov is underrated as much as folks are pissed that Justin Williams was traded for him

However, no one in 2004 could reasonably expect that Williams would go on and have a 20 year career which includes some incredible playoff runs. Also Markov was absolutely vital during that playoff run as he and Malakhov were the Flyers top pair and played huge minutes that spring. Without Markov, the Flyers don’t get out of the first round. The deal made sense at the time.

I remember a between-periods spot on Justin Williams when he was a rookie. Typical piece about a young man adjusting to life in the Bigs, eating mac & cheese, dealing with laundry, playing video games - you know the type of piece. Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned a 20 year career ahead of him - not for his abilities, but for the sheer odds of any player making a two decade career in the NHL. Clutch playoff performer, Cup-winner, seems to be a nice guy. Glad for him and the career he's been able to have.

 

[BiggE]

I remember a between-periods spot on Justin Williams when he was a rookie. Typical piece about a young man adjusting to life in the Bigs, eating mac & cheese, dealing with laundry, playing video games - you know the type of piece. Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned a 20 year career ahead of him - not for his abilities, but for the sheer odds of any player making a two decade career in the NHL. Clutch playoff performer, Cup-winner, seems to be a nice guy. Glad for him and the career he's been able to have.

Agree 100%
It’s one thing to think a franchise player might, key word: might, play for 20 years. But a 2nd line RW, that is truly amazing.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

I don’t think Markov is underrated as much as folks are pissed that Justin Williams was traded for him

However, no one in 2004 could reasonably expect that Williams would go on and have a 20 year career which includes some incredible playoff runs. Also Markov was absolutely vital during that playoff run as he and Malakhov were the Flyers top pair and played huge minutes that spring. Without Markov, the Flyers don’t get out of the first round. The deal made sense at the time.

Had the defensemen been relatively healthy in 2004, Markov would be seen as a player who got the Flyers over the hump. I know I said this elsewhere, but very few would be pissed today about losing Williams had the Flyers won the Cup in 2004. Clarke was putting the pedal to the medal to win the Cup with LeClair, Desjardins, Roenick, Recchi, etc. all getting up in age. Not to mention, the lockout was looming the next year.

 

[BiggE]

Think it’s time for a new list.....

How bout the top 10 two way forwards in Flyers history?

Look for it soon!

 

[BiggE]

And here we go, the Top 10 best 2 way forwards in Flyers history. Please note, this is best 2 way forwards, not best defensive forwards. In order to make this list, a player needs to be able to both put up significant offensive production while also excelling in the defensive part of the game. Being good at both facets of special teams is also a plus, and, of course, what they did in the playoffs counts a lot.

And here we go!!

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Ross Lonsberry
Rick Macleish
Mel Bridgman
Brian Propp
Murray Craven
Simon Gagne

10. Rod Brind'amour
Brind'amour put up 601 points in 633 games as a Flyer and did a fine job defensively as well. He was also a top notch penalty killer.

9. Eric Lindros
Some folks don't think of the big guy as a great defensive forward, but here's the thing: It's pretty damned hard for the other team to score when the puck is in their zone and when Eric Lindros was on the ice, the puck was usually in the other team's zone. Lindros, especially in his prime, was a nearly unstoppable force whenever he was on the ice, and while +/- is a flawed stat, you don't go +188 in 486 games if you aren't controlling play while you're on the ice.

8. Claude Giroux
Giroux, much like Lindros, doesn't get enough credit for his defensive play, but he should. He is excellent on the pk, doesn't shirk in his backchecking and still has managed to average nearly a point per game in nearly 900 contests.

7. Keith Primeau
Primeau really hit his stride in Philly once Ken Hitchcock took over as the Flyers HC. From 2002-2004, Primeau was as good a shut down center as there was in the NHL yet he still put up solid offensive numbers. His play in all 3 zones during the 2004 playoff run was fantastic.

6. Ron Sutter
If Sutter had been a more consistent point producer, he'd be near the top of this list. Sutter excelled defensively and gave other teams top pivots fits. He was also a fantastic penalty killer and was runner up for the Selke trophy in 1986.

5. Mike Richards
Richards is one of the 3 best penalty killing forwards in team history (along with Bobby Clarke and Dave Poulin) and also excelled at matching up with the opponent's top center. He also put up 349 points in only 458 games as a Flyer and finished in the top 10 for the Selke trophy 4 times.

4. Bill Barber
Arnie was just as good defensively as he was offensively and that is saying a lot. Not too many players have ever put up 420 goals and 883 points in 903 games while also excelling defensively. Bill Barber is the best all around winger to ever wear the orange and black and it was pretty much a coin toss between him and the guy at #3 on this list

3. Sean Couturier
If Couturier keeps playing at the overall level he has for the last few seasons, he will finish his career at #2 on this list, but as of today, he's still 3rd. Couts is a beast defensively, drives possession and puts up 1st line offensive production at ES. IMO, he is neck and neck with Patrice Bergeron for best 2 way center in the NHL.

2. Dave Poulin
Poulin though never a true #1 center, often had to fill that role by default for the Flyers and he did an excellent job. He put up 394 points in 467 games and very little of that came on the pp. He was a true old school warrior and a tireless worker in all 3 zones. He is also the best penalty killing forward that I ever saw.

1. Bobby Clarke
Clarkie is not just the best 2 way forward in Flyers history, he's one of the top 3 or 4 in NHL history and his Selke trophy in 1983 was long overdue! Clarke was supremely talented offensively but he probably could have put up even more production except that he would never sacrifice good defensive play to chase stats. Clarke finished his career +507 in 1144 games and also scored 358 goals and 1210 points in those contests. Clarke was routinely matched against the NHLs best pivots and he routinely got the better of them. He was one of a kind.

And there you have it, as always please let me know what ya think and feel free to post your own list.

 

[baudib1]

I loved Ron Sutter but he's too high on this list. You could probably do a direct swap with him and Brian Propp.

 

[BiggE]

I loved Ron Sutter but he's too high on this list. You could probably do a direct swap with him and Brian Propp.

It’s always tough sorting these things out the deeper you go. Clarke was easily #1 and the next 3 were pretty obvious, but after that it gets tough. Richards IMO deserves his spot at 5, but after that, there is very little difference between 6-10 and the HMs.

 

[Kermit the Prog]

I've never seen anyone forecheck like Clarke. He could hem a team in their own D-Zone, seemingly by himself. Back pass after back pass, no zone breakouts, and certainly no one had the temerity to skate it out. And yes, all of this while the Flyers were killing a penalty. For those who never had a chance to see him play in person or consistently on TV in those days, yes, he really was that good. Three MVPs good.

Perhaps Shero was okay with the Broad Street Bullies mentality because he could just wave Clarke and Barber onto the ice to kill the penalty, score a shorty, whatever.

 

[BiggE]

I've never seen anyone forecheck like Clarke. He could hem a team in their own D-Zone, seemingly by himself. Back pass after back pass, no zone breakouts, and certainly no one had the temerity to skate it out. And yes, all of this while the Flyers were killing a penalty. For those who never had a chance to see him play in person or consistently on TV in those days, yes, he really was that good. Three MVPs good.

Perhaps Shero was okay with the Broad Street Bullies mentality because he could just wave Clarke and Barber onto the ice to kill the penalty, score a shorty, whatever.

Spot on!
Having Clarke/Barber as your top pk pair and then being able to go with Macleish/Lonsberry was huge. Add to that a D that knew how to clear the porch and the best goalie in the world and you can see why the Flyers were able to play their style.