In the 90s, the Flyers were loaded with stars. On offense, you had Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg with the famed Legion of Doom line. Mixed in, you also had Mark Recchi, Rod Brind'Amour, and Keith Primeau.
On defense, there were Eric Desjardins, Chris Therien, and Luke Richardson. Ron Hextall and John Vanbiesbrouck guarded the net. The fact that these teams have never won a Stanley Cup remains frustrating to many fans, including me.
Sometimes, however, the stars can be shut down. A hot goalie or steady defense can neutralize a star-studded line. In the 1990s, the Flyers had a line led by an unheralded center. His name was Joel Otto.
When Otto joined the Flyers in 1995, he joined a team averaging 6'0" and 200 lbs. It was widely suggested at the time that the Flyers had the three largest centers in the league with Lindros, Brind'Amour, and Otto. And that they could bench press the most. Otto was mostly a third-line center with Shjon Podein and Trent Klatt.
Dubbed the "Minnesota Line", Podein-Otto-Klatt went down to shut down opposing offensive lines. Twice, Otto was a top 10 finalist for the Selke Award, much like many of the seasons he played in Calgary. Otto would sometimes play second line when Lindros was injured, with Dale Hawerchuk filling in the third line role.
Otto was not much of a scorer, posting 28 goals in three years, but only three in his final season in Philly. However, he was a master at the penalty kill. Much like Brind'Amour, he seemed to win faceoffs at a super high rate. Faceoff percentage wasn't a stat line at that time, but I would almost guarantee he was over 50-55%. If you want a modern player to compare Otto to, I'd say he was what Sean Couturier is now.
The Flyers could easily use an Otto-type player. Having someone who can protect the puck and shut down the opposing team's top lines would be a huge benefit right now. Doing that on the penalty kill would be a huge boon while transitioning over to the offensive game. Much like Otto, Couturier is starting to reach that part of his career where you wonder how much longer he can do it. Maybe Noah Cates is the perfect guy to move into an Otto-type role on the Flyers.
The Flyers have been well documented for finding former players and bringing them back into the fold as part of team management. As of right now, Otto isn't affiliated with any NHL organization. Maybe his old teammates should give him a call and see if he could work with some of the Flyers' young centers. Perhaps he can teach something to Cates or one of the young prospects.