Philadelphia Flyers: All-time 10 Best Flyer Goal Scorers

#5 – Reggie Leach

• 8 seasons, 306 goals, .51/game

It took a few seasons for Reggie Leach, aptly nicknamed “The Riverton Rifle” because of his deadly shot, to arrive in Philadelphia.  When he finally did, it was clear that’s where he belonged all along.

Leach’s ties to the Flyers pre-date his NHL career.  Out in Manitoba for the Flin Flon Bombers, Bobby Clarke would set them up, and Reggie Leach would finish them off.  Clarke was a year older than Leach and thus departed one year sooner than Leach, as Leach went to Boston with #3 pick in the 1970 draft.  His time in Boston was brief and unremarkable, before being shipped out to California.

Leach trudged through 2 and a half terrible seasons on the west coast, scoring 45 goals over his two full seasons while accruing a shocking -102 plus-minus rating.  Leach’s salvation came in a 1974 off-season trade to Philadelphia that would reunite him with his junior hockey setup man, Bobby Clarke.

Leach immediately took off in Philadelphia with Clarke, scoring 45 goals and winning the Cup in 1974-75.  The following season would prove to be the zenith for Leach, as Leach scored 61 goals during the record breaking season by the “LCB” line.  Remarkably, Leach was even better in the playoffs, scoring a stunning 19 goals in 16 games.  Leach’s 61 goals in 1975-76 is a Flyers single season record, and he became the only skater in league history to win the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP for a losing team.  These two accomplishments make Leach’s 1975-76 season the greatest goal-scoring single season in Flyers history.

Often criticized for his lack of work-ethic, Leach regressed back into a 30-goal man for the rest of his time with the Flyers.  Leach did have one more great season, alongside Clarke and Brian Propp in 1979-80.  Leach scored 50 goals and the Flyers made one more run to the Cup finals.

Next: “#4”