Where does Claude Giroux rank among Flyers captains?
By Colin Newby
Respected Flyers Veterans- Keith Primeau, Eric Desjardins, Kevin Dineen, Rick Tocchet, Ron Sutter, Dave Poulin, Bill Barber, Mel Bridgman, Ed Van Impe, Lou Angotti
The Flyers captaincy has frequently been entrusted to veterans with long tenures. Barber briefly captained the team in the early 80’s in between Clarke’s two stints. Rick Tocchet, Kevin Dineen, and Eric Desjardins all wore the “C” in the 90’s surrounding the tenure of Lindros. Keith Primeau captained the team amidst a short run with the same core left over from the Lindros era, most notably reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2003-04.
Perhaps the most overlooked Flyers captain is Dave Poulin. Despite lacking a reputation as a star player, Poulin wore the “C” for 6 seasons and led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 1984-85 and 1986-87 seasons. He won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the 1986-87 season. The argument can be made for Poulin to sit atop Giroux or Richards as the third best captain in Flyers history.
Veterans with past acumen with other NHL franchises- Chris Pronger, Jason Smith, Peter Forsberg, Derian Hatcher
The Flyers franchise has a reputation, albeit sometimes to their detriment, of utilizing veteran players who have experienced past success with other NHL franchises. The two most notable captains who fit this profile are Peter Forsberg and Chris Pronger.
Forsberg was a heralded free agent signing following the NHL lockout that cancelled the 2004-05 season but failed to recreate his success with the Colorado Avalanche in Philadelphia. Pronger was beloved among the Flyers fanbase but played minimally as captain due to a career ending injury suffered early in his only season with the title. He was seen as an integral team leader prior to receiving the captaincy.
For my money, Giroux is third best captain in franchise history behind Clarke and Lindros. However, the book is not closed on his legacy among the fanbase. The Flyers emerging young core is the deepest pool of talent that Giroux has played with during his captaincy.
As an already trusted long-term captain, Giroux still has a chance to cement his place in Flyers history alongside Clarke with playoff success in the coming seasons and a Stanley Cup to his name.