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

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Coffey is the only Flyers player I actively booed and yelled at, and I did it loud enough that he could hear me. That dude was such a shadow of his former self it was disgusting. It was hard to believe he had played pro hockey for 15+ years and seemingly had no idea about the basics of his position. He wasn't even that good on the power play.

Coffey is 100% #1 on that list. I know he won't be for most fans, and that lack of spite in our fanbase drives me nuts. F*** Paul Coffey forever. And ****ing Ulf, my sweet ****ing Jobu, how did we let that happen? I'm too ****ing angry to do the rest of the list right now. Mike Bullard ... I mean .... I can't.

 

[BiggE]

Coffey is 100% #1 on that list. I know he won't be for most fans, and that lack of spite in our fanbase drives me nuts. F*** Paul Coffey forever. And ****ing Ulf, my sweet ****ing Jobu, how did we let that happen? I'm too ****ing angry to do the rest of the list right now. Mike Bullard ... I mean .... I can't.

I hear ya re Coffey, but I just can’t hate any of them the way I hate Tibbets. He should have been in prison, period. Ulf and Bureau are on the next level of pure disgust for me. After that there isn’t much separating my scorn for the rest along with a few dishonorable mentions like Bullard and more recently, Rinaldo.

 

[BlackandOrange]

@BiggE, best facial hair.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

@BiggE, best facial hair.

"Cowboy" Bill Flett has to be number 1 on that list.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

"Cowboy" Bill Flett has to be number 1 on that list.

Gritty.

 

[Appleyard]

Top 10 seasons from a Flyers teenager?

1. Eric Lindros (1992-93)
2. Ivan Provorov (2016-17)
3. Peter Zezel (1984-85)
4. Simon Gagne (1999-00)
5. Mike Ricci (1990-91)
6. Kerry Huffman (1987-88)
7. Sean Couturier (2011-12)
8. Dainus Zubrus (1997-98)
9. Nolan Patrick (2017-18)
10. Travis Konecny (2016-17)

HMs: Joel Farabee (2019-20), Justin Williams (2000-01), Derrick Smith (1984-85)

 

[Beef Invictus]

A top 10 list of dmen actually drafted by the Flyers is gonna be a depressing one.

Half of it is probably playing for the organization now

 

[baudib1]

A top 10 list of dmen actually drafted by the Flyers is gonna be a depressing one.

Half of it is probably playing for the organization now

Honestly don't think you can come up with 10.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Honestly don't think you can come up with 10.

What's the possible pool?

Jimmy Watson, Therien, Pitkanen, Ghost, Provorov, Sanheim, Myers? Can we even do Myers yet?

You might be right

 

[baudib1]

What's the possible pool?

Jimmy Watson, Therien, Pitkanen, Ghost, Provorov, Sanheim, Myers? Can we even do Myers yet?

You might be right

Behn Wilson, Niinimaa.

 

[Kermit the Prog]

Tom Bladon. Can't forget the 4+4=8 Blade

 

[Flyer lurker]

best worst trades top 10 would be fun
Top trades: Mark Howe, Bernie Parent, Couts/Voracek, simmons/schenn, Leclair/eric D
worst trades mccrimmon, lindros, adam oates, Justin Williams, Sharp
We should get a top 10 easy for both.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Behn Wilson, Niinimaa.

Yushkevich.

 

[Flyer lurker]

What's the possible pool?

Jimmy Watson, Therien, Pitkanen, Ghost, Provorov, Sanheim, Myers? Can we even do Myers yet?

You might be right

Myers FA and not a pick so he is out too.

 

[baudib1]

I don't think you can put the Lindros deal on a list of worst trades.

 

[YEM]

Honestly don't think you can come up with 10.

I was bored one night and looked at all of the flyers draft picks of all time [hockey reference], sorted them by position, and laughed when looking at the dmen we've drafted. There are a few good ones, but the top 10 list would be pretty thin once you get past #7 or so.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Honestly don't think you can come up with 10.

I'll try; in no particular order:

1) Seidenberg
2) Pitkanen
3) Niinimaa
4) Yushkevich
5) Jimmy Watson
6) Bladon
7) Therien
8) Gord Murphy
9) Behn Wilson
10) Murray Baron

All over 500 GP in the NHL and not a single hall of famer amongst them.

Plenty of room for the current Flyers to work their way in.

Kerry Huffman is the only other guy I considered, but didn't hit 500 GP. Luca Sbisa has over 500 GP in the NHL and I would leave him off for several others who didn't get close to 500 GP.

I don't think you can put the Lindros deal on a list of worst trades.

He's the reason I cheer for the Flyers, but there's a strong argument that the Lindros acquisition was one of the worst trades in Flyers history.

There was a discussion earlier in the thread about best and worst trades in team history.

 

[BiggE]

Honestly don't think you can come up with 10.

Not in any order:
Jimmy Watson
Tom Bladon
Larry “Izzy” Goodenough
Behn Wilson
Gord Murphy
Murray Baron
Dimitry Yuskeyvich
Chris Therien
Joni Pitkanen
Janne Niniimaa
Shayne Gostisbehere
Ivan Provorov
Travis Sanheim

All of the above were/are serviceable to very good players. If I had to rank the top 10:

1. Ivan Provorov: has Norris potential

2. Jimmy Watson: the top guy in the late 70s

3. Chris Therien: legit top pair guy for many seasons

4. Travis Sanheim: has top pair potential and is already a quality top 4 guy

5. Shayne Gostisbehere: a unique talent and sadly under appreciated

6. Tom Bladon: top offensive D and pp qb on the Cup squads

7. Joni Pitkanen: never quite put it all together, but a solid, above average, NHL Dman

8. Behn Wilson: world class talent but lacked the overall hockey sense to maximize his potential. Hell of a fighter though

9. Gord Murphy: played well for us and for others for many seasons

10. Dimitry Yuskeyvich: I probably spelled his name wrong, but either way he was a solid NHL Dman

Unlike a list of the top centers ever drafted by the Flyers, it’s far from spectacular, but it’s not as bad as some think.

 

[BiggE]

Next up, the top 10 non player members of the Flyers organization in team history!

 

[BiggE]

"Cowboy" Bill Flett has to be number 1 on that list.

There is no one even close to the Cowboy on that list, lol. Rick Macleish’s mustache would be 2nd

 

[BiggE]

The top 10 most important non players in Flyers history!!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Joe Kadlec
Jay Snider
Russ Farwell
Ron Hextall

10. VP Lou Scheinfeld
In the early days of the franchise, Scheinfeld was Ed Snider’s do everything right hand man. He’s also the guy who brought us Kate Smith and God Bless America.

9. Lou Nolan
The in arena voice of the Flyers for basically forever. He’s a true gem. LOOUUU!!!!!!!

8. GM Paul Holmgren
Yeah it didn’t end well, but never forget that he had the worst team in the NHL in the conference final the next season and in the SCF just 2 years after that. His trades of Carter/Richards were also ballsy as hell moves that are rarely seen in today’s NHL

7. HC Mike Keenan
Iron Mike got us closer to that 3rd Cup than any other coach in team history. In many eras, his teams would have won multiple titles. He also did an amazing job getting the team past the Lindbergh tragedy.

6. GM Bob Clarke
As GM, he certainly had flaws, but one cannot overlook the full body of his work. In 16 full years as GM, his team made the playoffs 15 times, got to the Conf. final 7 times, and the Cup final 3 times. That’s pretty damned good.

5. Gene Hart
He was simply the voice of the Flyers. Gene Hart called the game brilliantly and more importantly he patiently taught the game to a generation of new hockey fans. When it comes to hockey play by play, he is the GOAT. Good night, and good hockey forever!

4. Joe C. Scott
A lot of younger fans are probably saying “Who??” right now. Joe was the long time Chairman of the Board emeritus for the Flyers in the early years. The reason for this was that without Joe’s long time connections and influence with Philadelphia’s major financial institutions, the Flyers would have never secured the necessary funding to get the organization off the ground. To put it simply, no Joe C. Scott, no Flyers!

3. HC Fred Shero
Freddie the Fog was the befuddled genius who guided the Broad Street Bullies to back to back Cups. He was the perfect coach for that colorful bunch and he was extremely innovative and way ahead of his time.

2. GM Keith Allen
Allen was a f***ing genius! Keith the thief built a juggernaut in the 70s that reached the NHL’s final 4 6 straight years and 7 times overall. Along the way, his teams reached the SCF 4 times and won 2 Cups and he built the team that went 35 games without a loss in 79-80. No other GM in team history can hold a candle to Keith Allen!

1. Owner/chairman Ed Snider
Very few owners in any sport lived and died with their teams like Mr Snider. He was one of the great builders in NHL history and a truly one of a kind individual. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for bringing NHL hockey to Philly and building such an amazing franchise. R.I.P. Sir, you are deeply missed.

 

[Appleyard]

Alexander Appleyard on Twitter

 

[BiggE]

Alexander Appleyard on Twitter

Good stuff! Of course my eyes go back to 67 so mine would be a little different.

I think I posted all of these before, but I reserve the right to change my mind!

Top centers:
1. Bobby Clarke
2. Eric Lindros
3. Rick Macleish
4. Claude Giroux
5. Sean Couturier
6. Rod Brind’amour
7. Dave Poulin
8. Danny Briere
9. Keith Primeau
10. Mike Richards

Top D
1. Mark Howe
2. Eric Desjardins
3. Kimmo Timonen
4. Chris Pronger
5. Bob Dailey
6. Ivan Provorov
7. Ed Van Impe
8. Jimmy Watson
9. Brad McCrimmon
10. Barry Ashbee

Top 10 players of all time
1. Bobby Clarke
2. Eric Lindros
3. Bernie Parent
4. Mark Howe
5. Bill Barber
6. Claude Giroux
7. Rick Macleish
8. Tim Kerr
9. John Leclair
10. Eric Desjardins

 

[BiggE]

It would be tough to pick the greatest individual players season in Flyers history but in the running would be:

Bobby Clarke 72-73, 74-75, 75-76
Bernie Parent 73-74, 74-75
Bill Barber 75-76
Reggie Leach 75-76
Mark Howe 82-83, 83-84, 84-85, 85-86
Rick Macleish 72-73
Tim Kerr 83-84, 84-85, 85-86, 86-87
Mark Recchi 92-93
Eric Lindros 93-94, 94-95, 95-96, 96-97, 98-99
John Leclair 94-95, 95-96, 96-97
Mikael Renberg 94-95
Peter Forsberg 05-06
Simon Gagne 05-06
Chris Pronger 09-10
Claude Giroux 11-12, 13-14, 17-18
Shayne Gostisbehere 17-18
Sean Couturier 19-20

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Not in any order:
Jimmy Watson
Tom Bladon
Larry “Izzy” Goodenough
Behn Wilson
Gord Murphy
Murray Baron
Dimitry Yuskeyvich
Chris Therien
Joni Pitkanen
Janne Niniimaa
Shayne Gostisbehere
Ivan Provorov
Travis Sanheim

All of the above were/are serviceable to very good players. If I had to rank the top 10:

1. Ivan Provorov: has Norris potential

2. Jimmy Watson: the top guy in the late 70s

3. Chris Therien: legit top pair guy for many seasons

4. Travis Sanheim: has top pair potential and is already a quality top 4 guy

5. Shayne Gostisbehere: a unique talent and sadly under appreciated

6. Tom Bladon: top offensive D and pp qb on the Cup squads

7. Joni Pitkanen: never quite put it all together, but a solid, above average, NHL Dman

8. Behn Wilson: world class talent but lacked the overall hockey sense to maximize his potential. Hell of a fighter though

9. Gord Murphy: played well for us and for others for many seasons

10. Dimitry Yuskeyvich: I probably spelled his name wrong, but either way he was a solid NHL Dman

Unlike a list of the top centers ever drafted by the Flyers, it’s far from spectacular, but it’s not as bad as some think.

It is technical for sure but Ed Van Impe and Joe Watson were drafted by the Flyers. Expansion draft.