5 Best Philadelphia Flyers Free Agent Signings of All Time

Speaking of Daniel Briere, if the name of new Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cole Knuble sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Cole’s father Mike was a Philadelphia Flyer from 2005-2009, and despite being in his mid-30’s, Mike Knuble played the best hockey of his professional career in the City of Brotherly Love. On July 3, 2004, Knuble signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, and Knuble’s Flyers debut would have to wait until the 2005-06 season thanks to the NHL lockout in the 2004. When Knuble first signed with Philadelphia, he said that “I’m happy it got done so quickly. It is sad to leave Boston. That was a great spot for me and my career. My family and I have great memories there. But to be able to jump from Boston to an immediate contender, somebody who was a game away from making the Stanley Cup finals last year, is something I hope to be in that situation when this free agency came around. I’m real happy about it”.

Mike Knuble’s signing turns the clock back to a time where players wanted to play for the Philadelphia Flyers and make memories. Knuble certainly made memories with the Flyers, scoring 118 goals and 229 points in 338 games. Knuble’s arrival came at a crucial time for the Flyers, who lost John LeClair, Mark Recchi, and Jeremy Roenick at the end of the previous season. Knuble, like Daniel Briere, helped usher in the next generation of Flyers hockey, starting with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux not far behind. In the playoffs with the Philadelphia Flyers, Knuble scored six goals and 14 points in 24 games. While the Flyers didn’t go all that far in the playoffs with Knuble, he helped the young players eventually get to that point later in their careers.

After his departure in 2009, Mike Knuble spent the next three seasons with the Washington Capitals, before returning to Philadelphia in the 2012-13 season as a 40 year old to do a farewell tour of sorts. The 2012-13 season would be both Knuble and Daniel Briere’s last seasons as Philadelphia Flyers players. Still, the pair left the franchise in good hands with a young trio of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds. Ultimately, that was all for naught as well.