1. Bernie Parent
232 wins, 2 Stanley Cups, number in the rafters, and the Hall of Fame. And of course, “Only The Lord Saves More Than Bernie.”
2. Mark Howe
Acquired in a steal of a deal from Hartford in August of 1982, Howe became arguably the greatest defenseman in Flyers history. My favorite Howe stats are the three-year run he had in +/- from 1985-87: +51, +85, +57. A plus 85, wow, think about that.
Honorable Mention: Ed Van Impe
3. Tom Bladon
A second round pick in 1972 who spent six seasons in Philly, including the two Cup years. May be best remembered for notching an NHL record eight points in one game (4 G, 4 A) by a defeseman in December of ‘77 against the Cleveland Barons (remember them?).
Honorable Mention: Doug Crossman, Behn Wilson
4. Barry Ashbee
Tough D-man who was the first Flyer to have his number retired. His career ended early after being struck in the eye with a puck in the playoffs against the Rangers in 1974. He passed away in 1977 from leukemia.
5. Larry Goodenough
A second-round pick in 1973, Goodenough won a Cup in 1975 before being traded with current assistant coach Jack McIlhargey to the Vancouver Canucks for Bob Dailey. Braydon Coburn will soon be the Flyers best #5, but Goodenough was good enough, for now.
6. Chris Therien
The franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a defenseman with 753 over parts of 11 seasons in orange and black. Therien scored only 29 goals, but was a +126 for the Flyers, and always did a great job playing against Jaromir Jagr.
7. Bill Barber
A franchise best 420 goals, 2 Cups, a retired number, and Hall of Famer. Barber even led the Phantoms to a Calder Cup 1998, and won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year for the Flyers in 2001.
Honorable Mention: Lou Angotti
8. Dave Schultz
Mark Recchi had some great seasons in Philly and holds the Flyers’ record for points in a season, but the franchise known as the Broad St. Bullies was led by the ultimate Bully in Dave Schultz. “The Hammer” was an important part of both Cups, and even put up 115 points to go along with his 1,386 PIM in Philadelphia.
Honorable Mention: Mark Recchi, Brad Marsh
9. Bob Kelly
“The Hound” was an integral part in the birth of the Bullies. After getting roughed up by the Blues in the playoffs in 1968 and ‘69, the Flyers decided to toughen up, and Kelly was added, in the the 1970 Draft, to a mix that already included Schultz and Don Saleski from the ‘69 Draft.
Honorable Mention: Pelle Eklund
10. John LeClair
As soon as he arrived from Montreal in 1995, LeClair became a force. Part of the vaunted “Legion of Doom,” Johnny Vermont put up three 50-goal and two more 40-goal seasons for the Flyers. His 333 goals rank fifth in franchise history.
Honorable Mention: Brad McCrimmon and although he didn’t last very long, one of my favorite Flyer names…Magnus “Roooooo” Roupe
11. Don Saleski
“Big Bird” Saleski was drafted to provide toughness and size. In nearly 500 games with the Flyers, he contributed 235 points and 602 PIM to go along with two Stanley Cup rings.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Dineen, Ron Flockhart, Mark Recchi
12. Tim Kerr
Maybe the number with the toughest competition, and I don’t mean from Jim Cummins and Colin Forbes. Tim Kerr is the choice here with 650 points in 601 career Flyer games. He played through countless injuries, and had more pins holding him together than a bowling alley. The big man compiled franchise records with 17 hat tricks and 145 power play goals. From 1984-87 he put together four straight 50+ goal seasons. If only he were able to stay healthy during the ‘87 Playoffs, the Flyers might have another banner hanging from the rafters.
Honorable Mention: Simon Gagne, Gary Dornhoefer
13. Claude Lapointe
Twelve points in 56 games over parts of two seasons usually won’t land you on many lists. Lapointe gets the nod over the likes of Dave Michayluk and Glen Metropolit due to….well, not much…who would you choose?? Maybe Daniel Carcillo can make his mark here…
14. Ron Sutter
The Flyers picked Sutter one spot ahead of Scott Stevens in the 1982 Draft. Ron played parts of nine seasons on Broad Street and was a premier checking center and faceoff man. He chipped in 323 points in 555 games and served as captain for two seasons before being traded to the Blues for Rod Brind’Amour.
As a side note, check out some of the other players to wear #14 in orange and black: Dave Snuggerud, Peter White, Dave Tippett, Dan Quinn, Mark Pederson, Mike Maneluk, Craig MacTavish, Chris Jensen, Pat Hannigan, Denis Hamel, Craig Darby, Kimbi Daniels, Mark Cullen and Mikael Andersson. Whew, not exactly a who’s who in Flyers history. However, Brian Propp did wear 14 before switching to his familiar 26.
Honorable Mention: Joe Watson, Ken Linseman, Justin Williams
15. Joffrey Lupul
Despite being a Flyer for less than two seasons, Lupul has established himself as the best of another less than stellar class. Also, only Lupul can say he scored an OT winner in Game 7 of a playoff series for the Flyers.
Other not so notable #15s: Niko Dimitrakos, Al Conroy, Dale Kushner, Doug Evans, Pat Falloon, Craig Fisher, Mark Greig, Steve Kasper, Andrei Kovalenko, Danny Lucas, Mike Maneluk, Larry Mickey, Richard Park, Garry Peters, Joe Sacco, Jarrod Skalde, John Slaney, Doug Sulliman, Rich Sutter, Mark Taylor, Peter White, Todd White…Wow, maybe the Flyers should retire this number just so no other stiffs could wear it.
Honorable Mention: Terry Crisp
16. Bobby Clarke
You think Flyers, you think Clarkie…
17. Rod Brind’amour
With all due respect to Billy Tibbetts, Rod Brind’Amour gets the nod- Roddy was the Flyers lone representative at the 1992 All-Star Game at The Spectrum and finished his career in orange and black in the franchise’s top 10 in goals, assists and points. One of the most popular players in recent Flyer history, he was traded to Carolina for Keith Primeau, and captured that elusive cup as captain of the ‘Canes in 2006.
Honorable Mention: Paul Holmgren, Jeff Carter, Simon Nolet
18. Mike Richards
At age 24, Richards has already displayed all the qualities that make him the quintessential Flyer. Tough, talented, humble, yet confident. A quiet guy who leads by example. I’ve always thought of him as the Chase Utley of hockey. A player who does anything necessary to win and who will be a Flyer for the next decade.
Honorable Mention: Lindsay Carson, Ross Lonsberry, Mike Ricci, Dale Hawerchuk, Daymond Langkow, Brent Fedyk
19. Rick MacLeish
The Flyers acquired MacLeish from Boston in 1971 and the mustachioed one would score the only goal in the Stanley Cup clinching game against his former team in 1974. MacLeish ranks sixth in both goals and assists, and fourth in points in Flyers history. In 1972-73 he became the first Flyer to reach the 50-goal mark.
Honorable Mention: Scott Mellanby, Mikael Renberg, Scott Hartnell
20. Dave Poulin
Captain Courageous was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1983 and became the sixth captain in Flyers history, serving six seasons from 1984-1990. During that span, the Flyers captured three Patrick Division Championships and two Wales Conference titles. Poulin represented the Flyers in two NHL All-Star games and was a member of the NHL All-Star team that participated in Rendez-Vous ‘87. He also claimed the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward in 1987. He became the 18th member of the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2004. Poulin may be best remembered for his breakaway goal while two-men down in Game 6 of the 1985 Wales Conference Final against Mario Gosselin and the Quebec Nordiques. I can hear Gene Hart now…”He’s going right on in….shoots….score!!”
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Watson
