Paul Holmgren’s legacy in Philadelphia is nothing if not complicated. As a player, he bled orange and black. Later, as a coach and executive, he brought that same fearless, hard-nosed style to the front office. Aggressive and unafraid to make moves most general managers wouldn’t, Holmgren built a roster that came within two wins of ending the Flyers’ decades-long Stanley Cup drought. But just a year later, those very same traits set in motion a chain of events that would define his downfall.
Early Paul Holmgren
Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975, Paul Holmgren was the quintessential Flyer for a very long time. He wasn’t quite a Broad Street Bully, but he was close enough to count. Holmgren made his professional debut in the 1976–77 season, which (of course) means he never won a Cup, and stayed in Philly for most of his playing career — save for the very end, when he played a few dozen games for the now-defunct Minnesota North Stars. He played 567 games in a Flyers jersey, 42 in Minnesota, for a total of 374 points, 163 goals, and 1,684 penalty minutes. Not necessarily known for his scoring finesse, Holmgren was the first American-born player to score a hat trick in a Stanley Cup Final game.
Never one to sit on his heels, Holmgren immediately began his coaching career in 1985 under head coach Mike Keenan. Three years later, he became the youngest head coach in Flyers history and took his team to the Eastern Conference Final that same year. The Flyers missed the playoffs in 1991, started slow the next season, and the Spectrum crowd chanted "Paul must go," and Holmgren was ousted as head coach. (An aside, remember when the Flyers missing the playoffs one single time was cause for riots?)
He spent a few years with the Hartford Whalers, first as head coach, then in a dual role as head coach and general manager, and finally as general manager. He came back home to Philly in 1996 as Director of Pro Scouting under Bobby Clark, who then promoted him to assistant general manager the following season. They worked together for nine seasons before Clarke resigned eight games into the 2006 season, saying, "I no longer wanted to make the decisions general managers have to make", and Holmgren was promoted.
The good Paul Holmgren
Holmgren took over a terrible Flyers team and didn't waste much time before breaking it apart. His first move as general manager sent Peter Forsberg to Nashville for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, a 1st Round pick, and a 3rd Round pick. Alexei Zhitnik was traded for Braydon Coburn to upgrade the defense. That 1st Round pick was traded back to Nashville a few months later for the rights to Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell, who would quickly become fan-favorites. Over the summer, he signed current Flyers General Manager Danny Briere to an eight-year $52 million contract.
Paul Holmgren was building a reputation for bold moves and smart drafting; he embodied Ed Snider's win-now mentality. He traded Steve Downie and Eminger, plus a 4th Round pick, to Tampa Bay for Matt Carle and a 3rd Round pick. Within two years, he made the blockbuster trade that brought Chris Pronger to Philadelphia in exchange for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, two 1st Round picks, and a conditional 3rd Round pick. These moves, a coaching change, plus a roster that featured Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and a young Claude Giroux, helped bring a last-place team to a Stanley Cup Final within four years.
The 2009-10 season
This season was it, this was the one, the pinnacle of Flyers fandom for a lot of fans who didn't get the chance to live through the Bullies era. Mike Richards was the captain, Jeff Carter was the high-scoring winger, Ville Leino was having a breakout season that he would never be able to recreate, and Dan Carcillo was irritating the opposition and landing on the score sheet. There was Briere, Betts, and Pronger. They made the playoffs in the most dramatic way possible and took out the Devils in 5 games.
Everyone knows what happened next - the seven-game series against a Boston Bruins team that threatened to sweep the Flyers, a quick series win against the Cinderella Montreal Canadiens, and the nightmare of Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Flyers looked like they were set up to be contenders for the next decade with their veteran stars, the superstars in the making, and the rookies who were making an impact.
The ever present specter of goaltending
The entire course of Flyers history has revolved around goaltending, or the lack thereof - 2010 was no different. Ray Emery started hot, but after a few seemingly unrelated injuries, he was diagnosed with avascular necrosis, a diagnosis that would alter the course of his career. As quick fixes, Peter Laviolette turned to Brian Boucher, and Paul Holmgren claimed Michael Leighton off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes.
All of this is to say, there was no clear number one goalie for the Flyers. The optimists could say that the team was so offensively gifted that anyone could be in the net and the team would succeed. The pessimists in the group will say this was a clear sign that the front office wasn't able to support their superstars. The truth is somewhere in between, which brings us to Sergei Bobrovsky.
Holmgren signed Bobrovsky right after the cup run, and come training camp, he was surprising everyone. Emery's contract expired in the offseason, Leighton was recovering from back surgery, and Boucher was the default starter. The tandem of Bouch and Bob brought the Flyers to the top of the Atlantic Division, but neither had strong performances in the playoffs. Coupled with Pronger's injuries, this spelled disaster for the Flyers' cup window.
The bad Paul Holmgren
The Flyers were a win-now team, and they had been for most of this stretch. There was nothing Holmgren wouldn't do to achieve the ever-elusive Stanley Cup. One thing was crystal clear, and we can’t leave out the influence of Ed Snider here; they decided that a goaltender was the missing piece to take the next step.
But what would that take? Who was available? The market wasn't deep, but some names would fit the bill. Holmgren could have brought Emery back; he had rehabbed and was ready to return to the NHL. Veterans Tomas Vokoun, Evgeni Nabokov, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere were all available. Nope. None of those. It was Ilya Bryzgalov.
On June 7, 2011, the Flyers sent Matt Clackson and a couple of picks to the Phoenix Coyotes for the exclusive rights to negotiate with Bryz. But there was a problem — the Flyers were already spending to the salary cap. To fit the kind of contract Bryz would command, something dramatic had to happen.
Then came the day that would live in Flyers infamy. On June 23, Holmgren traded Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings. Two cornerstone players, both in their prime, gone just two years after a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Within hours, Holmgren signed Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51 million deal.
It was bold. It was shocking. It was the kind of gamble Holmgren had built his reputation on. And it was the beginning of the end.
The Aftermath
The trades weren't all bad, even if Carter and Richards would reunite in Los Angeles and win a few Cups. The Flyers landed Wayne Simmonds, Jake Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and the draft pick that became Sean Couturier. These players, and a young Giroux, made up the core of the Flyers for the next generation.
And Bryzgalov, well, that was humungous bad. He clashed with the coaches, the defense, the media, and the city. He never showed the prowess that his contract demanded. He was gone within two years. Chris Pronger’s career-ending injury that same year left a crater on defense, and the Cup window Holmgren had been so desperate to keep open slammed shut. In the years that followed, the Flyers hovered in mediocrity, always two years away from being two years away.
Holmgren failed up and stepped away from his general manager role to become team president. Five years later, he transitioned again into a senior advisory role, ending a 23-year-long run of direct influence over the Flyers’ roster. By then, the bold trades, the near-miss Cup run, and the Bryzgalov debacle were all highlights of Flyers lore. As of today, everyone connected to June 23rd, 2011, has moved on, except Sean Couturier.
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