When it comes to Philadelphia, the ability to fight is almost as important as the ability to be good at the sport you play. This goes double for the Flyers, who ran roughshod over the league in the '70s, winning two consecutive Stanley Cups, and making it to a third by filling 'em up and filling 'em in.
The team still takes it seriously, to the extent that they've brought in MMA fighters to help sharpen the team's skills. BKFC fighter Johnny Garbarino and UFC fighter Andre Petroski have already been training with the players ahead of the season.
Now, maybe you're a normal person. Maybe you don't spend countless hours on HockeyFights.com, watching the Flyers fight page in chronological order. That's where I come in.
Last year, the league featured 297 fights. The Flyers, disappointingly, only had 14 of them. We're breaking down what Flyers fought the most, and what their record was. The records are decided by fan voting, not my personal opinion.
Nicolas Deslauriers: 3 Fights (1-1-1)
The Flyers' resident heavyweight was also their most frequent fighter, but not by much. He only played in 31 games and registered 15 penalty minutes, a career low.
He fought in October, February, and March. His opponents were Dylan McIlrath, Liam O'Brien, and Logan Stanley. The fight with Stanley was ruled a draw by the voters, and the highly rated bout with McIlrath was scored a loss. The fight with O'Brien was his clear win, with Deslauries outpunching his opponent and scoring the takedown.
Joel Farabee: 2 Fights (1-1)
Before being moved in a trade, Farabee got out some frustrations with his fists. He fought twice last season, once against Connor Dewar and earlier in the year with Corey Perry. Farabee's dance with Perry was a loss for him, but props to Farabee for trying to fight the much more experienced fighter, and well-known rat, in Perry.
Based on voting, Farabee has edged a narrow victory over Dewar. You can make the determination yourself after watching below. This win might be the overall highlight of his disappointing season.
Nick Seeler: 2 Fights (1-1)
You get a ton of passion from Nick Seeler every shift he's on the ice. He also managed to turn an awful year into his best season ever. He knocked his penalty minutes way down, but still snuck in two fights.
Both were quick, and both were decisive. His fight against Mathieu Olivier was a solid loss, a few quick punches and a tumble to the ice going against him, but his fight against Barclay Goodrow was a better result for him. He hammered away at Goodrow, who had very little offense to return.
Garnet Hathaway: 2 Fights (1-1)
Hathaway is another player who made lemonade out of lemons this year from the Flyers. He didn't quite hit the 82-game mark, but you can see how he fits into the lineup and how a player like him might do well in the Rick Tocchet system.
Hathaway "lost" a fight to his Minnesota twin on the Wild, Marcus Foligno, by losing his balance while attempting to dodge a punch, but beat Jake McCabe, who had instigated a fight after Hathaway made some contact with the goalie.
Scott Laughton: 1 Fight (1-0)
His time in Philadelphia ended at the trade deadline, and he'll likely be best known for being a player who squeezed more out of his play than you'd expect his talent to allow. Scott Laughton was a model for working hard and somehow scoring 30 points a year without anyone knowing how.
We won't get too misty-eyed for the now Maple Leaf, but we will appreciate his clear win over Maxim Tsyplakov, who, in addition to losing, has a name with a ridiculous arrangement of consonants.
Erik Johnson: 1 Fight (0-1)
Johnson played the role of extra defender for the Flyers this season, and in a game against the San Jose Sharks, he saw a chance at a Gordie Howe Hat Trick and went for it. After opening the scoring less than two minutes into the game, Johnson promptly got into a fight with Givani Smith, which involved a lot of spinning.
Ironically, Smith would become a member of the Colorado Avalanche, as would Johnson, when Johnson was traded for Smith at the deadline.
Here's the fight. Try not to get dizzy.
Tyson Foerster: 1 Fight (0-1)
In his second full NHL season, Foerster showed signs that he's going to evolve into the power forward that the Flyers need.
However, his fighting chops need serious work. He tried to stick up for Jamie Drysdale and take on Martin Pospisil, but struggled to even land a punch.
Travis Konecny 1 Fight (0-0-1)
The playmaking aspect of Konecny's game evolved this season, and he had his best statistical showing to date. He might be able to keep it up with Tocchet as his coach, since Konecny plays with a style and grit similar to Tocchet's, just with a little less fighting.
In his one fight this year, Konecny took on Yanni Gourde in a bout that's scored a draw, with Gourde being more active but Konecny landing the most significant punches.
Sean Couturier: 1 Fight (1-0)
It was a rebuilding year for Couturier, who was still battling back to 100%, and had to deal with the legendary Tortorella doghouse. He started to look a little more like himself by the end of the year and hopefully still has a few more good ones left with the Flyers.
He got into his one fight per year early, in October, when Stuart Skinner made sure they made contact behind the net. No contact with the goalie comes unanswered, and Troy Stecher jumped in and got the worst of it from Couturier.
So that's six wins, six losses, and two ties on the year. Nobody with a win had more than one either, so there is no real champion. However, with the Flyers' history, new coach, and offseason training regime, odds are we'll be seeing more fights next year.