SIMON GAGNÉ
Gagné was a first-round draft selection of the Flyers in 1998 and spent the first 10 seasons of his NHL career with Philadelphia, and deservingly became one of the most beloved players of all-time here.
Gagné kicked off his career with a 20-goal campaign in 1999-00 and proceeded to score at least 20 goals on seven different occasions with the Flyers. Gagné’s best season came in 2005-06 when he potted 47 goals and 32 assists for 79 points in 72 games. Gagné was on a goal-per-game pace through the first 23 games of that season, a feat that hasn’t even close to being matched league-wide until Toronto’s Auston Matthews had an 18-in-18 start this season.
Gagné’s fantastic 2005-06 season saw him earn votes for the Hart Trophy as league MVP and for the Selke Trophy as the league’s top two-way forward. Gagné would finish 21st in Hart voting and 12th in Selke voting, and would also receive votes again for the Selke in 2008-09, ultimately finishing 15th in the race that year.
Gagné was a part of numerous memorable moments in the Flyers’ storied history. He scored the overtime winner in Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Philadelphia to send the series to a seventh game in Tampa. He scored the overtime winner again in 2010 against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to help kick off the Flyers’ historic comeback. He also scored the fourth and final goal on the power play in Game 7 of the same series to put the Flyers on top 4-3 en route to finishing off one of the greatest postseason triumphs in NHL history.
In the course of his first 10 seasons with Philadelphia, Gagné appeared in 664 games, racking up 259 goals and 265 assists for 524 points in that span. After Gagné left the team in 2010 and made stops in Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, which included a 2012 Stanley Cup victory alongside former Flyers teammates Jeff Carter, Justin Williams, and Mike Richards, he returned to the Flyers in 2013 after the Kings traded him back home for a 2013 4th-round pick.
Gagné played 27 more games for the Flyers in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. He would score five goals and six assists for 11 points in his final year with the Flyers before sitting out the 2013-14 season and riding off into the sunset with Boston in 2014-15.
Gagné’s all-time statline with the Flyers stands at 264 goals and 271 assists for 535 points in 691 games. Gagné’s 264 goals rank 10th in franchise history and his 535 points place him 12th in total scoring for the Flyers, standings that should easily see him join the team’s Hall of Fame.