You boys have me thinking about goalies, so one more before tonight's game and Christmas....
THE TOP 10 GOALIES IN FLYERS HISTORY
Honorable Mentions (well not that honorable, list of Flyers goalies after the top few isn't really that pretty)
Robert Esche - one good playoff run at least
Marty Biron- see above
Steve Mason- put up good numbers, often behind mediocre teams
10. Wayne Stephenson
Well, he wasn't no Bernie Parent, but he was one of the better backups of his era, and would have been the #1 for a lot of teams. He played behind a good team, but a record of 93-35-23 is still pretty damn impressive. He also played pretty well during the 76 playoffs when Parent was injured.
9. Carter Hart
Don't even give me the "he's only played 55 games" because I don't care. Sadly, there are not 10 goalies in Flyers history better than our Golden Child. Hopefully he can end up as high as #2 on this list one. day.
8. Brian Boucher
Boosh played 174 games as a Flyer and more often than not, he played pretty well. He'll always be remembered for the shootout in 2010, the Elias save in the 2000 playoffs and his amazing work in the 5OT game vs Pittsburgh.
7. Bob Froese
Frosty was pretty good for most of his run as a Flyer, but he always seemed to just not have the special quality the top starting goalies possess. Still a record of 92-29-12 is nothing to sneeze at and he was amazing for most of the 85-86 season, at least until the playoffs.
6. Roman Cechmanek
All goalies are at least a little crazy, but this dude was just nuts. I mean the dude purposely tried to stop shots with his head!! Cechmanek was technically very good but he was a lousy teammate and came up small in the playoffs, though, in his defense, the Flyers didn't give him a whole lot to work with. His Flyers GAA was a sparkling 1.96 and his sv% a spiffy .923 and that is extremely impressive. He is also 2nd on the Flyers all time shutout list with 20.
5. Doug Favell
Favvy had the misfortune to play for the Flyers during a lot of years when they couldn't buy a goal. An original Flyer, his 215 games played is still 4th most in team history. Favvy's 2.43 gaa is well above average for his era and he was fantastic against Minnesota in the 73 playoffs. Plus, they traded him to reacquire Bernie Parent and that alone would get him on this list!
4. Pete Peeters
Although getting back Brad McCrimmon from Boston for him was a pretty good deal, the Flyers probably gave up on Peeters a little too soon. Younger fans might only remember as a broken down backup at the end of his career, but Peeters played some great hockey for the Flyers, especially in his rookie season of 79-80. He carried a good, but flawed defensively and beset with injuries to one goal from a game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals that season.
3. Pelle Lindbergh
Alas, what might have been, what might have been. Pelle, in both demeanor and playing style, was Bernie Parent reborn and their relationship was like father and son. He was dominant in the 84-85 season and deservedly took home the Vezina trophy that year. Sadly, he got injured at the start of the Cup finals. If not, who knows, maybe the youngest team in hockey would have gone on to shock Edmonton and the hockey world and would have brought the Cup back to Philly. If not for that tragic November morning in 1985, he would likely be #2 on this list.
2. Ron Hextall
Ron Hextall just might have been the most competitive person to wear the orange and black since Bobby Clarke. He holds the team records for goalies in both starts and wins and won the Vezina (and should have won the Calder too) in his rookie season of 86-87. He then put a badly beat up team on his back and got them to within one game of the Cup that spring. Even coming close was a miracle. The Oilers were a dynasty and they were healthy and were dressing 7 or 8 hall of fame players each game. The Flyers, OTOH, were missing Tim Kerr (their top goal scorer) and both Mark Howe and Dave Poulin were playing injured. The Oilers held on to take game 7, but to no one's surprise it was Ron Hextall who took home the Conn Smythe Trophy. Hexy had his ups and downs in his second run with the team, but no one will never forget his run in 86-87
1. Bernie Parent
What, you were expecting Jerome "Moses" Mrazek in the top spot? As good as Hextall's 86-87 season was, it was only the 3rd best season for a goalie in team history. Don't believe me, check out these stats: GP/Record/GAA/SV%/SO/Awards
73-74: 73/47-13-12/1.89/.932/12 Vezina, 1st team all star
74-75: 68/44-14-9/2.03/.918/12 Vezina, 1st team all star
And in the playoffs
73-74: 17/12-5/2.02/.933/2 Won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe
74-75: 15/10-5/1.89/.924/4 Won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe
Bernie, for those 2 years, wasn't just the best goalie in Flyers history, he was the best goalie in NHL history. Including playoffs, he won a ridiculous 113 games and put up a staggering 32 shutouts. The Flyers don't come close to winning a Stanley Cup without Parent. In fact, the best actual Flyers team of that era was the 75-76 squad that put up 116 points and featured a top line that scored 140 goals. Yet with Bernie struggling to come back from a severe neck injury and nowhere remotely close to 100% the Flyers were forced to turn to the solid Wayne Stephenson and were swept, albeit in some very close games, by the Habs in the final. There is no doubt in my mind, that as good as that Montreal team was, if the Flyers had the Bernie Parent from the previous season, that series is going 6 or 7 and it's a tossup. Add in a healthy Rick Macleish and I think the Flyers take it in 6. Bernie Parent is my favorite all time Flyer and my room was full of his posters and magazine covers. Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent!
And there you have it. I'll be back with some more lists after Christmas. As always, please let me know what you think. Now lets go kick some Ranger ass!!