The Philadelphia Flyers have enjoyed a wealth of talent in their organization over the course of their 53-season history. The Flyers have boasted 13 Hockey Hall of Famers that have played for the franchise, a few of whom helped the team win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. Today we’re starting a breakdown of the ten greatest Flyers of each decade, beginning with the 1960s and 1970s. Philadelphia began play in 1967-68 so the ’60s will be grouped in here as well.
10) BOB KELLY (1970-1980)
Kelly spent 10 seasons with the Flyers from 1970-71 to 1979-80 after being selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. A major physical presence on the Broad Street Bullies teams of the mid-1970s, Kelly racked up 128 goals and 168 assists for 296 points while with the Orange and Black.
Kelly’s best NHL season came in 1976-77 when he scored 22 goals and 24 assists for 46 points in 73 games, all career-highs for the Oakville, Ontario native.
The man they called “The Hound” recorded an astounding 1,285 penalty minutes and 77 fights as the punch-happy Flyers won two Stanley Cups with Kelly bruising opponents along the way. Kelly also scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 1975 Stanley Cup Final to help the team win their second consecutive championship over the Buffalo Sabres.
Kelly would be shipped off to the Washington Capitals for a 1982 third-round draft pick after the 1979-80 season concluded.
9) ROSS LONSBERRY (1971-1977)
Lonsberry joined the Flyers during the middle of the 1971-72 season following a trade from the Los Angeles Kings. Lonsberry would go on to spend the next 6.5 seasons with Philadelphia and was always a deadly offensive threat whenever he took the ice. Lonsberry registered 144 goals and 170 assists for 314 points in just 497 games from 1971 to 1978.
As a Flyer, Lonsberry would surpass the 20-goal mark in four different seasons, including a career-high 32 in 1973-74, a season in which he would help lead the team to their first Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins, the team that Lonsberry started his NHL career with in the 1966-67 season.
Lonsberry’s time in Philadelphia would come to an end after the 1977-78 season as he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Tom Bladon and Orest Kindrachuk for a 1978 1st-round pick, which the Flyers used to select offensive defenseman Behn Wilson.
8) ED VAN IMPE (1967-1976)
Ed Van Impe was one of the original Philadelphia Flyers, being claimed by the club in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft from the Chicago Blackhawks. The hard-nosed defender would spend the next 8.5 seasons with the team and was known as a physical player who played well in the defensive zone and wasn’t afraid to knock people out of the way, especially in front of his own net.
Van Impe scored 19 goals and 107 assists for 126 points in 620 games with Philadelphia. He was a part of both Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1974 and 1975 and even received three votes to make the NHL’s All-Star Team, placing 18th in voting among defensemen. Van Impe is perhaps most well remembered for his hit on Valeri Kharlamov in the famous 1976 Red Army Game at The Spectrum.
Van Impe ran into Kharlamov’s chin with his elbow and the Russian forward went down hard, prompting the Red Army team to leave the ice in protest of the Flyers’ rough and physical style of play. The Russians would return to the ice after they were threatened with no pay for their North American Super Series tour and subsequently lost 4-1.
Van Impe also served as team captain earlier in his tenure with Philadelphia. He donned the “C” for the Flyers from 1968 until partway through the 1972-73 season, making way for Bobby Clarke to take over the reigns as the club’s top voice of leadership.
Van Impe was shipped off to the Penguins midway through the 1975-76 season along with Bobby Taylor for Gary Inness and future considerations, ending his time in Philadelphia, and up to that point he was the longest tenured player in franchise history.
7) JOE WATSON (1967-1978)
If there was ever a “Mr. Flyer” in franchise history, Joe Watson is definitely in the conversation for that title. The hard-nosed defenseman was claimed from the Bruins by Philadelphia in the 1967 Expansion Draft and proceeded to spend the next 11 seasons in Philadelphia.
Watson spent the better part of 50 years representing the franchise in some way, as he played 746 of his 836 NHL games in Philadelphia from 1967 to 1978, and later worked for the team in sales and was a huge part of making the Flyers Alumni what they are today. And Watson is still an active member of the community in the Delaware Valley. Watson helped anchor a defensive unit during his playing days that included his brother Jimmy Watson, Ed Van Impe, and Andre Dupont among others.
Besides helping lift the Flyers to two Stanley Cups, Watson is perhaps most well remembered for his shorthanded goal in the famous 1976 Red Army Game, beating legendary goaltender Vladislav Tretiak on a rebound shot past his right pad after the initial shot by Don Saleski was stopped and laid in front of the crease for a split second. Flyers head coach Fred Shero quipped that Watson’s goal “set Russian hockey back 25 years” as Watson was not particularly known for his offense.
Watson recorded 36 goals and 162 assists for 198 points as a Flyer, good for seventh all-time to this day among Philadelphia blueliners. Watson’s 746 games played also ranks second among franchise defensemen and sixth among all Flyers players. He became the team’s longest tenured player after Ed Van Impe’s trade to Pittsburgh in 1976, a distinction he held until being traded to the Colorado Rockies in 1978.
6) GARY DORNHOEFER
Dornhoefer was selected by the Flyers in the 1967 Expansion Draft, one of many taken by Philadelphia after being unprotected by the Bruins. He had spent the entire 1966-67 season with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, and general manager Bud Poile and company decided that Dornhoefer deserved a real NHL opportunity.
Dornhoefer’s first full NHL season saw him record 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points in 65 games, trailing only captain Lou Angotti (49 points) for the team lead in total scoring. He also racked up 134 penalty minutes, which made him one of three Flyers to break triple digits for time spent in the box alongside Ed Van Impe (138) and Forbes Kennedy (130).
Dornhoefer’s shining moment as a Flyer came in Game 6 of the 1973 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals against the Minnesota North Stars. Dornhoefer buried the series-clinching goal in overtime to help Philadelphia move on to the Stanley Cup Semifinals. It was the first playoff series victory in franchise history, and the moment was forever immortalized with a statue of the goal that stood outside The Spectrum until the arena was torn down, and it now remains on display outside Xfinity Live.
Dornhoefer’s NHL career would come to an end in Philadelphia after the 1977-78 season. Besides helping the Flyers win their two Stanley Cup championships, he scored 202 goals and 316 assists for 518 points in 725 games played with the Orange and Black. He still ranks in the top 15 in most categories in franchise history, including eighth all-time in penalty minutes.