Andy Delmore: Flyers Playoff Hero

Sometimes a player comes through in the playoffs and becomes a hero. Many times, they are established stars. We saw Daniel Briere carry the Flyers during the Stanley Cup run in 2010. Most recently, we saw Jalen Hurts do this for the Eagles and Bryce Harper do this for the Phillies. That is what stars are paid to do. They put the team on their shoulders and lead them to glory.

However, it is more fun to see a lowly guy, a bench player, or a depth piece win the accolades. This is why Nick Foles will always be a hero in Philly. And so will 1980 Phillies legend Del Unser.

Well, the Flyers had one of those in 1999-2000. He was a rookie blueliner. His name was Andy Delmore.

Delmore was never drafted by the Flyers, or anyone else for that matter. He was signed as a free agent in 1998 after playing in the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. In two years, he totaled 39 goals.

In 1998-99, he came up for two games, played for 41 total minutes, and had an assist. The following year, he played in 27 games, had two goals and five assists. He was nothing special, although he did show he could move the puck. But that’s when he became a Flyers legend.

In the first round, the Flyers got past the Buffalo Sabres in five games. This was back when the Sabres were a good team and usually ran into the Flyers in the playoffs. But after the Sabres, Philly faced off against their in-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you are a long-time Flyers fan, you know this series well. Pittsburgh had taken the first two games 2-0 and 4-1. It seemed like it would be an easy series for the Pens. Game three, was a different story.

Delmore would score the first goal of the game in the first period, assisted by Peter White and Keith Jones. After a 2-0 lead in the first, the Pens would tie it up in the second with goals by Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka. Goals by John LeClair and Jagr would keep it tied in the third. However, halfway into overtime, Delmore would score his second goal of the game to give the Flyers the win.

The next game was the famous Keith Primeau-5OT game. It is still one of the greatest games in NHL history, let alone Flyers history.

So, with the series knotted up at 2-2, the Flyers  had to secure a win. This is where Delmore shined.

This little known rookie defender scored three goals, one in each period, to help the Flyers rout the Penguins 6-3. He was the first rookie blueliner in NHL history to have a hat-trick in the playoffs.

The Flyers would drop the Penguins the next night to secure the series victory. However, the Flyers would end up falling to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals after the famous Eric Lindros-Scott Stevens incident.

Delmore would play one more season as a Flyer. In 2001, he was traded to Nashville for a third round pick which was later traded. He flourished in Nashville, scoring 16 and 18 goals in his two years there. He would then be traded to Buffalo, traded to Columbus, and then bounced around the AHL and European leagues for a while. He retired from professional hockey in 2013.

Delmore still holds the Flyers record for most goals scored by a rookie defenseman (5) in a playoff series. As of 2023, he is still the only rookie defender to score a hat-trick in a playoff game. And while his impact on the game has been minimal, what he did for the Flyers 23 years ago was purely magic. It’s a testament to the “right guy at the right time” scenario. Maybe some of the young players the Flyers have can gain some inspiration from his story.