All-Time Teams: Flyers

Today's team was the first expansion franchise to win the Stanley Cup. Here's the All-Time roster for the Philadelphia Flyers:

The Flyers were victorious in their first two trips to the Stanley Cup final, in 1974 and 1975. Since then they have lost in each of their six Stanley Cup final appearances, most recently to the Blackhawks in 2010.

 

1st Line

Left Wing - Bill Barber The Flyers' all-time leading goal scorer with 420, Hall of Famer Bill Barber also boasts the most even-strength goals and the second-most points in franchise history. Barber played in four Stanley Cup Finals, winning two, and led the NHL with 12 postseason goals in 1980. He posted five seasons of 40 or more goals, including a career-high 50 in 1975-76.

Center - Bobby Clarke The captain of the "Broad Street Bullies", Bobby Clarke is Philadelphia's all-time leader in games played, assists, points, and plus/minus. His 106.1 total point shares are less than one point behind Bernie Parent for the franchise lead. Clarke won three Hart trophies, a Masterton trophy, a Selke trophy, a Pearson(now Lindsay) award, and two Stanley Cups in his Hall of Fame career.

Right Wing - Tim Kerr A power play monster when healthy, Tim Kerr holds the Flyers' record for man-advantage markers with 144. The four-time 50-goal scorer led the NHL in power play goals in three consecutive seasons and set an NHL record with 34 in 1985-86. Injuries derailed Kerr's career shortly after his second consecutive 58-goal season in 1986-87. The 1989 Masterton award winner is first in Flyers' annals with 0.60 goals per game and a 19.3 shooting percentage.

2nd Line

Left Wing - John LeClair A Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens in 1993, John LeClair was dealt to Philadelphia along with Eric Desjardins in 1995. Playing on the "Legion of Doom" line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg, LeClair posted three consecutive seasons of 50 or more goals from 1996 to 1998. The NHL's plus/minus leader in 1996-97 posted back-to-back 97- point seasons in '96 and '97. His 333 goals as a Flyer rank fifth in franchise history.

Center - Eric Lindros The most hyped hockey prospect since Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros entered the league amid self-created controversy in 1991. After refusing to play for Quebec, Eric's rights were traded (twice) beginning a tumultuous tenure in Philadelphia. Despite several injuries Lindros compiled a Hall of Fame career, registering the highest points per game average in Flyers history (1.36) and the sixth-most total points in team annals (659).

Right Wing - Mark Recchi Hall of Fame forward ranks ninth in Flyers history with 627 points, sixth with 395 assists, and tied for 12th with 232 goals. No one on this roster comes close to Recchi's career totals of 577 goals (21st all-time) and 1,533 points (12th all-time) in 1,652 games played (6th all-time). The seven-time All-Star won three Stanley Cups with three different teams.

3rd Line

Left Wing - Brian Propp Philly's first round pick in 1979, Brian Propp ranks second in franchise history with 369 goals and 246 even-strength tallies. The four-time 40-goal scorer is third in Flyers' annals with 480 assists and 849 of his 1,004 career points. Propp played in three Stanley Cup finals - two with the Flyers in 1985 and 1987, and one as a North Star in 1991.

Center - Claude Giroux The Flyers' current captain, Claude Giroux has played the third-most games and accumulated the second-most assists in team history. Bobby Clarke selected ... what's his name?... in the first round of the 2006 draft. He led the NHL in assists and posted his first 100-point season in 2017-18.

Right Wing - Reggie Leach The third overall pick (by Boston) in the 1970 draft, Reggie Leach joined the Flyers for their second Stanley Cup-winning season in 1974-75. A year later, Leach became the only non-goalie to win the Conn Smythe trophy for a team that didn't win the Stanley Cup, leading all playoff scorers with 19 goals and 24 points after leading the league with 61 goals in the regular season. He ranks fourth in Flyers' annals with 0.51 goals per game and fifth in even-strength goals with 222.

4th Line

 

Left Wing - Simon Gagne The Flyers' first round pick in 1998, Simon Gagne played eleven seasons in Philadelphia. A two-time 40-goal scorer, Gagne ranks ninth in franchise annals with 264 goals and 179 even-strength goals including a league-leading 33 in 2005-06. He won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012.

Center - Rick MacLeish Drafted by the Bruins one pick after they selected Reggie Leach in 1970, Rick MacLeish was traded to the Flyers a year later, before he ever suited up for Boston. The leading postseason scorer in both of Philly's championship seasons of '74 and '75, MacLeish is sixth in team history with 328 goals and tied with Eric Lindros for seventh in assists. Only four Flyers have tallied more points for the team than Rick's 697 in 741 games.

Right Wing - Jakub Voracek One of two current Flyers on this all-time roster, Jakub Voracek is fifth in franchise history with 398 assists in his 9-plus seasons with the team. The seventh overall pick (by Columbus) in the 2007 draft was a 1st-team All-Star in 2014-15 after tying Alex Ovechkin for fourth in the NHL with 81 points.

 

Spares - Rick Tocchet, Gary Dornhoefer

Rick Tocchet was a prototypical power forward in the 1980s and 1990s, posting three 40-goal seasons and four seasons of 200-plus penalty minutes. The current head coach of the Arizona Coyotes is Philly's all-time leader in PIMs with 1,815 in 621 games. Dornhoefer is eighth on the Flyers' penalty minutes list and ranks 13th in team history with 518 points. He posted a career high 79 points in 1972-73 and won two Stanley Cups with the "Broad Street Bullies". Dave Schultz was not considered; his tenure in Philadelphia was surprisingly brief and there's plenty of toughness on this All-Time Team.

Defense Pair 1

Mark Howe - Joe Watson

Hall of Famer Mark Howe (son of Gordie) leads all Flyers defensemen with 480 points. The three-time Norris trophy runner-up is second to Bobby Clarke in franchise history with a +351 plus/minus rating, boosted by a league-leading +87 in 1985-86. His 80.2 point shares score is seventh among all Flyers. Joe Watson is the franchise leader in defensive point shares with 50.8 and ranks sixth in games played with 746. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was an expansion draft pick from the Bruins in 1967.

Defense Pair 2

Eric Desjardins - Andre Dupont

A key part of the blockbuster trade that sent Mark Recchi to Montreal, Eric Desjardins ranks second among Flyers' blueliners with 303 assists, 396 points, and 48.9 defensive point shares. The three-time Stanley Cup finalist earned a ring with the 1993 Canadiens. Dupont is sixth in Flyers' annals with a +240 rating and 41 defensive point shares. His 1,505 penalty minutes for Philadelphia rank behind only Tocchet and Paul Holmgren on the team's all-time list. Dupont played in four Stanley Cup finals, winning two.

Defense Pair 3

Brad McCrimmon - Jimmy Watson

McCrimmon played just five seasons in Philadelphia but in that brief time he helped the team reach two Stanley Cup finals, dished out 152 assists, and posted a plus/minus rating of +225 - the seventh-highest total in franchise history. Watson scored one fewer point for Philly (in 246 more games) than McCrimmon did, though his plus/minus was 70 points higher. The younger brother of Joe Watson is fourth in Flyers' annals with a 45.1 defensive point shares score. 

Spare - Tom Bladon

Like many players on this roster, Tom Bladon starred for the Flyers in the 1970s, earning two Stanley Cup rings as an offensive-minded blueliner. He ranks fourth among Philadelphia defensemen with 230 points and sixth among Flyer d-men with a +186 rating. Chris Therien was also considered.

Goalies

Starter - Bernie Parent

Backup - Ron Hextall

Hall of Famer Bernie Parent was plucked from the Bruins' roster in the 1967 expansion draft (along with Gary Dornhoefer and Joe Watson). The Flyers' all-time leader in shutouts and point shares won the Vezina trophy, Conn Smythe trophy, and Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. Ron Hextall leads all Flyers goalies in wins and played two more games for Philly than Parent did. The 1987 Conn Smythe and Vezina trophy winner as a rookie finished runner-up in Calder voting to Luc Robitaille.

Head Coach: Fred Shero  Captain: Bobby Clarke

Hall of Famer Fred Shero guided the "Broad Street Bullies" to three consecutive Stanley Cup finals from 1974-76, presiding over one of the toughest teams ever assembled. His .642 winning percentage is the highest among coaches with more than 80 games behind the Flyers' bench. No one is within 100 victories of his team-record 308 wins for the franchise, and his 48 playoff victories are also tops in team annals.

I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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