The National Hockey League has been posting the best Quarter-Century First and Second Teams for all franchises over the month of January, and on Monday they announced who made the cut for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Simon Gagné, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards, Éric Desjardins, Kimmo Timonen, and Roman Čechmánek made the First Team while Daniel Brière, Sean Couturier, Jakub Voráček, Chris Pronger, Ivan Provorov, and Brian Boucher made the Second Team.
Some choices were slam-dunks like Giroux, Gagné, Desjardins, and Čechmánek, however there were several players omitted like Steve Mason and even Shayne Gostisbehere over the likes of Boucher or Provorov.
Giroux sits 2nd all-time in points as a Philadelphia Flyer with 900, which was all accumulated between 2007-08 and 2021-22. He finished his Flyers career 8th overall in goals (291), 2nd in assists (69), and 2nd in games played (1000). He’s also 7th all-time in game-winning goals (46), 8th in power play goals (84), and unsurprisingly 1st in power play assists (255).
Between 1999-00 to 2009-10, Gagné tallied 259 goals and 265 assists for a grand total of 524 points across 664 games. He recorded 4 seasons of 30+ goals and back to back 40-goal seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Gagné returned for 27 games at the end of the 2012-13 season where he tallied 11 points.
He finishes just behind Giroux for most goals scored during the quarter-century but also played over 300 less games. Overall he sits 10th all-time in goals and 12th in points (535) as a Flyer.
Richards only stuck around for 6 seasons in the Orange and Black before he was shipped out to Los Angeles but the former captain made his mark in short order with 133 goals and 349 points in 453 games. That included a stretch of 283 points in 315 games as well a berth in the Stanley Cup Final, which was the Flyers’ only appearance between 1997 and the present.
His inclusion on the First Team might come as a surprise considering players like Voráček and Couturier finished with more points, but his lasting impact has certainly catapulted him into the spot. The Flyers were a force during his tenure and have slipped ever since, which could be a reason as to why he found his way on the First Team.
Desjardins and Timonen certainly fit the bill for the defensive pairing on the First Team. Both stalwarts have claims as some of the best defensemen in franchise history. Desjardins’ time in Philadelphia is essentially split down the middle with half his years before 2000 and the other half after the fact.
He still managed to collect almost 200 points in 397 games during the quarter-century and was the quarterback and anchor of several successful teams that made it far in the postseason. As for Timonen, he was the rock of for the Flyers during their renaissance after a season-worst finish in 2006-07. Across 519 games, he delivered with 270 points, was a power play quarterback, and averaged over 23 minutes in his first 4 seasons with the club.
If there was going to be a goaltender to make the list it was assuredly going to be Čechmánek. The often controversial Czech star had some of the best seasons in franchise history despite only playing 3 years. He finished with a 92-43-22 record, a .923 SV% and a 1.96 GAA with 20 shutouts. Unfortunately his playoff numbers paled in comparison but he was still one of the more dominating forces over that three-year period.
The second-team is where things get interesting. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Voráček was going to make the list, considering how well he played for a decade alongside Giroux for some disappointing teams. He finished with 177 goals and 604 points across 727 games, which included two seasons of 80+ points.
Brière might’ve only suited up for 364 games but he had an impactful 6 seasons, which included 124 goals and 283 points during the regular season before he kicked it up a notch during the postseason. He accumulated 72 points in 68 games, which included a scintillating run in 2009-10 where he scored a franchise-record 30 points in 23 games and was a driving force during their Cinderella run.
Couturier is more or less on the list for a few reasons that stem from the lack of game-breaking talent during the latter half of the time period as well as the fact that he’s been around for over 800 games, which included a great run of 4+ seasons that saw him win the Selke Trophy in 2020.
The current captain of the team has struggled since his return from injuries but he played a pivotal role on and off the puck during some very lean years for a struggling Flyers team.
Defensively, they went with Pronger and Provorov with the former having more an immediate impact versus the latter that played a lot of games. Pronger only managed to play in parts of 3 seasons which spanned 145 games but he was an important piece to a team that made the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and won an Atlantic Division title the following year.
Provorov is 6th all-time in points as a defenseman (217) and 11th in games played as a defenseman (532) as a Flyer, and he was a true workhorse after averaging 24:05 TOI in his 7 seasons. Unfortunately his points diminished near the end and his overall play was no longer impactful before his eventual trade to Columbus.
Boucher had two stints with the Flyers, which included a rookie year where he took over midseason and led the team to an Eastern Conference Finals berth in 2000, whereas in the second stint he played a role in their run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final – including the famous shootout victory over the Rangers to send the team to the playoffs.
He finished 73-68-19 with a .904 SV% and a 2.50 GAA, and compared to Mason those numbers are a little underwhelming. The former Calder Trophy winner rejuvenated his career with the Flyers and finished 104-78-36 with an incredible .918 SV% and a 2.47 GAA for some downtrodden Flyers teams. He might not have had the playoff success but he can arguably be in the conversation of being a top-5 or even top-3 goaltender in franchise history.
Gostisbehere also deserves some love as he played a pivotal offensive role during his 7 years with the club that included a career-high 65 points in 2017-18. He collected 219 points in just 381 games, which included a 3-year run with 150 points in 218 games. Gostisbehere formed a deadly trio on the power play with Giroux and Voráček and also made 3-on-3 overtime worthwhile.
Other players that could have received nominations include Jeff Carter, Wayne Simmonds, and Scott Hartnell.
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