Could Ivan Provorov be the best defenseman in Flyers history?
By Colin Newby
Chasing Mark Howe – The Undisputed Flyers No. 1
Mark Howe is unquestionably the best defenseman in Flyers history. The son of all-time NHL great Gordie Howe played parts of 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 480 points.
Howe finished second in the Norris Trophy voting 3 times with the Orange and Black and won the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the Flyers top defenseman in 4 of his first 6 seasons with the team. The Hockey Hall of Fame’s player category, after Howe’s induction in 2011, called him “a fixture on one of the NHL’s top clubs” during his tenure with the Flyers that included 2 Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
Differences in NHL eras will have to be considered in Provorov’s pursuit of Howe. Howe played in an era where individual scorers regularly thrived. Just look at Edmonton Oilers greats like Wayne Gretzky (all-time leading NHL point scorer) and Paul Coffey (averaged 120 points per season from 1982-86). Modern NHL defensemen are judged significantly by TOI, a strength of Provorov’s game. This stat, however, did not become official until after Howe’s retirement.
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In order for Ivan Provorov to surpass Howe, he would still need significant improvement in offensive production despite the difference in the NHL’s scoring balance. Howe’s points per game average, just over .8, put him in a superior offensive category. Provorov currently averages just .42 points per game.
Provorov’s goal-scoring ability is already proven, as he scored 17 goals in his second NHL season in 2017-18 and added 13 tallies in the 2019-20 season. His 45 career goals put him on pace to pass Howe’s record of 138 goals in about 5 more seasons.
Provorov’s offensive acumen will continue to develop now that he is seeing time on the first power-play unit, but he still has a long way to go if he’s going to come close to Howe’s offensive level.
