5 Philadelphia Flyers Legends Who Would Dominate Today’s NHL
The current Philadelphia Flyers squad is set to be entrenched in a rebuild for a while, but how would some of the franchise’s legends fare in today’s game? I take a look at five unsung heroes who would adapt best to the NHL in the present-day. For this exercise, I won’t include players who are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, because that’s no fun.
It feels like forever ago that the Philadelphia Flyers were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers lost that series in six games, and they spent much of the years following that playing whack-a-mole trying to fill the holes in their rosters. The additions of players like Jaromir Jagr and Ilya Bryzgalov prove that.
The Flyers struggled to replace their older players, and so the younger players had to step up. When those younger players got older, the new young players weren’t unable to step up to the plate. Through thick and thin, one defenseman was there for it all.
Kimmo Timonen
Kimmo Timonen joined the Flyers on May 22, 2007 when he signed a six-year, $38 million contract and left the Nashville Predators. Timonen would spend those six years, plus one more, in Orange and Black and quickly cemented himself as one of the most talented blueliners in franchise history.
In his heyday, the Finnish blueliner was an extremely dynamic play-driver at both ends of the ice, and was especially effective on the power play. Timonen scored 40 or more points in four out of his seven seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, and had 30 or more assists in each of his first five.
Age 38... wow #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/p5lXUWZeKg
— Jon (@ByJonBailey) July 24, 2023
If Timonen had one weakness in his game, it was his penalty differential. Timonen wasn’t necessarily undisciplined, but he had three seasons with 40 or more penalty minutes as a Flyers player, and didn’t tend to draw any. Still, it’s rare to find a player as dominant at both ends of the ice as Timonen was. Even at age 38, he showed no signs of aging or wear and tear.
Truthfully, it’s a shame the Flyers’ sentinel never won a Norris Trophy or a Stanley Cup as a member of the organization. Timonen only cracked the top-five of Norris voting once (2006-07), and it was as a Nashville Predator. If he hadn’t played in an era dominated by players like Erik Karlsson and Niklas Lidstrom, he would have had a much greater chance of securing the prestigious award.
Timonen lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final as a Flyer, but got to be on the opposite side of that fence in 2015 when he defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the finals as a member of the Blackhawks. Timonen’s recovery from blood clots in 2014 drew some unprompted praise from Barack Obama, who lauded the vet’s determination to come back and go out on top with a Stanley Cup.
Timonen retired following the conclusion of the 2014-15 season with 38 goals and 270 points in 519 games as a Flyer. Timonen also had 29 points in 71 playoff games with the Flyers.
It’ll be a little bit before the Flyers find themselves back in the playoffs, but when they make it back, they’d love to have a player as good as Kimmo Timonen. Hopefully Cam York can become that for them soon.
Matt Carle
On November 7, 2008, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Steve Eminger, Steve Downie, and a 2009 fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Matt Carle. Carle spent just four short-but-sweet years in Philly, but during his time there, he developed into one of the most versatile and efficient two-way defenders in the entire NHL.
The Flyers made the playoffs in each of Carle’s four seasons with the organization, and the ex-Shark played a huge part in the successes they had over those four years. Across 51 playoff games, Carle posted 26 points and logged a jaw-dropping average ice time of 24:48. Even with a player like Kimmo Timonen on the roster, the Flyers relied on Carle equally as much.
The Anchorage, Alaska native was just as effective in the regular season. In 308 regular season games, Carle racked up 137 points. His modest total of 15 goals shows he wasn’t particularly dangerous shooting the puck or near the goal, but was adept at helping his teammates in that same regard.
Matt Carle I was unfamiliar with your game #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/F72egXwH8D
— Jon (@ByJonBailey) July 24, 2023
Carle would return to the Lightning ahead of the 2012-13 season by signing a six-year, $33 million contract on July 4, 2012. The University of Denver product lasted four years there before the Lightning bought out the last two years of his contract. Carle would join the Nashville Predators for the 2016-17 season, but became a healthy scratch and retired in November after playing just six games.
In his prime though, Carle was as good of a minute-munching second-pairing defenseman as you could ask for. Despite being on the losing side of two Stanley Cup finals, Carle did it all, be it producing offense, playing defense, and playing on the right side of the defense as a lefty.
Rod Brind’Amour
Rod Brind’Amour is best known today as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that he spent the final 10 seasons of his playing career with. As a coach, Brind’Amour has made the NHL playoffs in all five of his seasons as the Hurricanes’ bench boss, and he’s never bowed out in the first round.
‘Rod the Bod’ wasn’t always a coach though, and he wouldn’t be as good of a coach if he didn’t have over 1,484 regular season games of playing experience to his name. Brind’Amour was drafted ninth overall by the St. Louis Blues in 1988 and became an NHL regular as a Blue at age 19, but it was with the Philadelphia Flyers where he developed into a young star player.
Brind’Amour joined the Flyers via trade in 1991 when he, alongside Dan Quinn, was swapped for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron. In his age 23 season in 1993-94, the Ottawa, Ontario native scored a career-best 97 points. Brind’Amour scored 37 goals the year before, which remained the highest mark of his career.
At the peak of his playing days, the versatile forward was an extremely sound defensive player who could be relied on for offense equally. Sometimes filling in for Eric Lindros as captain, Brind’Amour was known for his leadership, faceoff prowess, and hard-nosed style.
The Flyers Hall of Fame inductee was traded to the Hurricanes with Jean-Marc Pelletier in 1999 for Keith Primeau, but not before Brind’Amour scored 601 points in 633 regular season games in Philly. The Flyers never came away with a Stanley Cup with the two-time Selke winner on the team, but he played his part with 24 goals and 51 points in 57 Flyers playoff games.
With Sean Couturier’s long-term health in limbo, the Flyers would love to stumble upon another 21 year old buzzsaw like they did with Brind’Amour in 1991.
John LeClair
On February 9, 1995, in what would be one of the biggest trades in Philadelphia Flyers history, Mark Recchi made way for a trio of Montreal Canadiens that consisted of Gilbert Dionne, Eric Desjardins, and a 25 year old named John LeClair.
To that point in his career, LeClair had mostly been an average player who contributed a fair amount of offense, but had a Stanley Cup to his name by age 23. His best season to date was the 1992-93 season, where he recorded 44 points in 72 games. After heading south of the border, LeClair took his game to unprecedented heights.
Coming to the Flyers in a mid-season trade, LeClair scored an eye-watering 25 goals and 24 assists in just 37 games. The winger was rewarded for his blistering end to the 1994-95 season by being named to the NHL’s First All-Star team. With his newly-found offensive ability, LeClair formed the ‘Legion of Doom’ line alongside winger Mikael Renberg and center Eric Lindros.
In his first full season with the Flyers in 1995-96, the Vermont product scored 30, 40, and 50 goals for the first time in his career, alongside a career-high 97 points. LeClair would score 97 points the following season as well, but scored one fewer goal than the 51 from 95-96. For good measure, he scored 51 for the third and final time in the 1997-98 season, and thus became the first American in NHL history to score 50 or more goals three years in a row.
LeClair’s production would wane in the years that followed, but still posted a pair of 40-goal seasons before 2000. In the 2000-01 season, he managed to play just 22 games across the regular season and playoffs.
As the 2004-05 season was cancelled and the salary cap introduced under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Flyers were forced to buy their superstar and long-time club servant out after 10 strong years. LeClair would sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins and play with them for two years, but played in just 94 games with the team before his retirement. LeClair’s 30s weren’t kind to him, and his injuries had always been an issue.
Over 16 years, the American sniper played only 967 games – an average of just 60 per season. Despite that, LeClair was one of the greatest goal-scorers to ever put on a Flyers sweater.
Simon Gagné
Like John LeClair, Simon Gagné’s body did him no favors, especially late in his career. Still, the long-time Flyer was a terror to play against at both ends of the ice and particularly excelled at finishing his chances.
Gagné is the only player on this list to have started his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, but something all five players have in common is that they played the best hockey of their careers in Orange and Black. The well-disciplined and highly versatile Gagné finally broke out of his shell in the 2005-06 season when he scored 47 goals and 79 points in only 72 games, and followed that campaign up with another 41 goals in 76 games in 2006-07.
Despite his best efforts, the Quebecois talisman wasn’t able to bring a Stanley Cup back to Philly, but did manage to do so for the Los Angeles Kings in an extremely brief season-and-a-half out west. However, during his time on the Flyers, Gagné twice won gold medals representing Canada – once in the 2004 World Cup and once in the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"SIMON GAGNE...the #Flyers survive and force Game 5."
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) May 7, 2023
On this day in 2010: pic.twitter.com/S1kLLgHI9V
After 11 years and 691 regular season games, Gagné had built a reputation for himself as an extremely well-rounded player. The 6’1″ winger had received Lady Byng votes on six different occasions in his career, and also placed in the top-15 of Selke voting twice. With 264 goals and 535 points as a Flyer, Gagné would never have a 20-goal season again and failed to receive votes for any award after leaving Philly in 2010.
Gagné managed to play in just 131 regular season games in his four years post-Flyers, but it’s safe to say the team would love to have him back in his prime as they aim to return to the playoffs. Jeff Carter is the only player to have scored 40 or more goals in a season for the Flyers since Gagné in 2006-07.
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