We're two parts down in our five-part series on the top 25 Flyers since the year 2000. Hopefully, you've had a fun stroll down memory lane. With that said, let's get back into nostalgia by looking at the next five on our list. These are the Flyers' players who almost made it into the top 10.
#15: Scott Hartnell
There have been better players who have donned the orange and black. Some guys were better scorers, better skaters, or were tougher. However, I challenge you to find someone who was more fun in a Flyers uniform than Scott Hartnell was. He was Jason Kelce or John Kruk on skates.
For one thing, he fell down. A lot. It became a running joke to the point where he had a charity called "Hartnell Down" and he took donations for every time he fell down on the ice.
Even then, he could score. In his seven years as a Flyer, he scored over 20 goals five times and twice scored over 30. He was an All-Star in 2011-12 when he scored a career-high 37 goals and 67 points.
Injuries, however, took their toll. He was dealt for RJ Umberger, a former Flyers young prospect, while the team still thought he had value. It was thought that both players could use a change of scenery. Umberger became a high-priced flop who scored 11 goals in two years in his Philly return. Hartnell had two solid years in CBJ before retiring after two injury-filled years.
Still, if you watched him, he brought a lot of energy and fun to the Flyers. Hartnell was also a solid scorer who was a great top-six forward. He also gave us this fun memory.
# 14: Jakub Voracek
Blink and you might miss this Czech speedster flying down the ice. He would fly down the ice and feed his linemates, usually, Claude Giroux, passes that became goals. With that Jakub Voracek became one of the most lethal wingers in Flyers history. Currently, he is 10th in overall points with 604 and is fifth in assists with 427. Not bad.
He never had a year where he scored less than 40 points. In six of his ten years in Philly, he topped the 20-goal mark. He paired up well with guys like Giroux, Hartnell, Brayden Schenn, Jaromir Jagr, and Wayne Simmonds. His biggest asset was his speed, as he could skate circles around defenders. His second biggest asset was his uncanny ability to feed his teammate's passes through traffic.
It's a shame his career ended with a concussion. He certainly deserved better. But throughout the 2010s, if there were game highlights, you were probably bound to see Voracek on your screen.
#13: Travis Konecny
He is the second-highest Flyer on this list who is currently on the team. Over the last few seasons, under the tutelage of John Tortorella, he has become the star we all hoped he'd become when he was selected in the first round in 2015. Travis Konecny has become the bona fide offensive leader of this team and has taken on the mantle once held by Giroux.
Over the last three seasons, he has consistently been setting new career highs in goals and points. This year, he is on pace to shatter those records. He is carrying this team of youngsters on his back and is helping them believe in themselves. He is even adding new elements to his game. Last year, he led the NHL with six shorthanded goals.
This past offseason, Konecny signed a relatively team-friendly deal for $8.75 million for the next eight years. That means that he will continue to climb up the Flyers' all-time stats sheets. It also means we can enjoy him for years to come. Hopefully, he can bring us a parade down Broad Street.
#12: Brian Boucher
If you notice, so far, there haven't been any goalies on this top-25 list. That is with good reason. Who'd be there? Some guys were in Philadelphia for just a year or so. Some got hurt. Some were at the tail end of their careers and not good anymore. Some were big-time free-agent acquisitions that went bust. And yes, while Ilya Bryzgolov was important to what happened to this team, it ended up not being so in a good way.
So, again, looking at the goalies from the last 25 years, the only one that jumped out at me was Brian Boucher. He had two parts to his Flyers career. His first part came when he was a young stud. He paired up with John Vanbiesbrouck and Roman Chechmanek. Playoff struggles caused the Flyers to trade him away
He would return seven years later as a solid veteran. Thanks to him, he would be part of a multi-goalie tandem, including Michael Leighton and Ray Emery, that guided the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup. For that, he makes this list.
#11: Jeremy Roenick
His name and jersey should be hanging in the rafters. I don't care if he played just three years on the Flyers team. During that time, he scored 67 goals with 106 assists. They weren't the sort of stats he put up when he was 10 years younger and lighting up the league, but Jeremy Roenick was still a top forward on his way to a Hall of Fame career.
The Flyers were in a state of transition. The team had moved on from Eric Lindros. While Keith Primeau was the captain of the team, it still needed another scoring threat. In came Roenick, one of the best free agents the team ever signed.
If anything, he brought a sense of stability back to the team after the Lindros-Clarke feud had dominated the team's headlines for the past few years. With him, and a team of savvy vets like John LeClair and Mark Recchi, the team came within a whisker of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals with a roster that would've won it.
Then came a lockout and Philly and Roenick parted ways. Still, what could've been? A dynasty that almost happened, but never was. Still, he was an All-Star all three seasons in Philly.
Yes, he didn't play long, but his influence was super important for that short time. Had he been here longer, he might have cracked the top 10.