Hockey and sports in general can be broken down into moments. Some moments are bigger than others and chart the course of a franchise, and even an entire league. These moments can define a team’s destiny for years to come. Last Word On Hockey’s Summer Series looks at these defining moments. Today we feature the biggest defining moment from the City of Brotherly Love, the Philadelphia Flyers franchise.
The Philadelphia Flyers Franchise Defining Moments
It seems that many franchise defining moments set a course of action that cannot be denied. Quite simply for the Flyers, we started by looking at the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup championship seasons. This is the franchise’s greatest achievement to this point, some 58 years into their existence. Therefore, a moment that helped jumpstart the process is our ideal selection for the Flyers defining moment. Of course, you wouldn’t be too wrong simply saying drafting Bobby Clarke 17th overall of the 1969 draft. However, that wasn’t our take.
We start at the beginning. Right from the Flyers inception, whether it was from the expansion draft or other player acquisitions, they had a target. They targeted toughness, it was their reputation. Moreover, players like Dave Schultz and Gary Dornhoefer were some of the toughness of their era. By 1972-73, the Flyers reputation had gained notoriety. They became known as the Broad Street Bullies. In addition, these details help to describe the Flyers franchise identity. One that still lives on today. However, for the defining mome, we went with what happened between building the team and the ultimate reward of the sacrifice, and the 1974 Stanley Cup championship.
The Hiring of Coach Shero
For the Flyers, we are going to say their specific franchise defining moment is mostly tied to hiring Fred Shero as the head coach. Shero was hired in the summer of 1971 to begin his succession as Flyers bench boss. For four years, from 1973-74 to 1976-77, the Flyers finished first in the league’s standings, had a .700 winning percentage or better, and oh yeah, two Stanley Cup championships.
Shero was renowned, and still is today, for his revolutionary thinking. He was one of the pioneers of studying game film within the NHL walls. Additionally, he changed the way players thought. Rather than going out there and doing it on their own, he gave them a plan. He brought structure to his coaching and this allowed his players to play systems. It really was the beginnings of modern coaching philosophies.
Shero was still the bench boss of Philly when his team, and the league as a whole, experienced a defining set of events. Just after Christmas 1975, the NHL hosted a pair of Soviet hockey clubs in a super series event. In all, there were eight games between NHL teams and the two opponents, the Red Army and Krylya Sovetov. The two most significant battles took place against the vaunted Soviet Red Army team. In addition, the difficulty was that the team called the Soviet Red Army, was CSKA Moscow, but with the right reinforcements, were essentially the national team.
However, what kickstarted what happened, was at the Montreal Forum in late December 1975. The Canadiens showed why they were on the verge of becoming the class of the NHL at the time. It was a torch that Philly started, and Montreal was more than ready to pick up. Playing with incredible pace, strength, and an ability to play as a unit, the Habs led by head coach Scotty Bowman, were tough to beat. The ended up dominating the Soviets, outshooting them 38 to 13 in the process. If it weren’t for a legendary goaltender, Vladislav Tretiak, Montreal would have likely came away with victory on home ice. In contrast, the game ultimately ended in a 3-3 tie.
The Soviets, They’re Going Home
So, how does this tie into Philly? It’s coming. Even though the Soviets played the Boston Bruins next, they beat them 5-2, to continue their display of control over the NHL clubs. Their record was 2-0-1, with one game remaining. Their opponent? The 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.
The Philadelphia Flyers stood for all that was the North American way of life. The working class fanbase of Philadelphia adored their Flyers. And now, in the height of the cold war, the Soviet Red Army would take on the Flyers. As the first period went along, it was clear the Flyers were going to show the Soviets just who the Broad Street Bullies were. After a rough shift, where Valeri Kharlamov was left recovering more than once, then the final blow was from Flyer defenceman Ed Van Impe, the Soviet coach became irate with the officiating. Then comes the classic call ringing out on television stands across the land.
They’re going home.
In the end, the Flyers dominated the Soviets in that game. Shots were 49 to 13. The score? 4-1 Philly. A team from the NHL had downed the dreaded Red Army. This was sport transcending moment. Between the Flyers and Habs games in particular, North Americans showed they could come together. It was our game, our style, our way of life. This victory kind of put a stamp on Shero’s run with the Flyers.
Onto Other Honourable Mention Flyer Franchise Defining Moments
One of the honourable mention defining moments for the Flyers organization was the Eric Lindros acquisition. However, we will add, if it weren’t for the two cups in ’74 and ’75, and Philadelphia known as a Stanley Cup winning franchise, perhaps the Lindros trade would have been the top defining moment. On the other hand, as good as Eric Lindros made the Flyers, including the trip to the 1997 final, even that year they came up short.
The trade itself was famous for two important reasons. One was the fact that Lindros was a tremendous star in junior playing with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Therefore, Lindros was seen as the next NHL superstar. Secondly, it was difficult for the old Quebec Nordiques faithful having the image of being a less-than-favourable landing spot for stars. Ultimately, what was Quebec’s loss as a franchise, quickly turned into the Colorado Avalanche favour. Also, landing Lindros, did help benefit Philadelphia. So, the trade ended up being hugely impactful from both sides.
The Lindros trade still, to this day, remains a historic deal. Lindros was swapped for, get this, Peter Forsberg, $15 million, two first-round picks, and five more (NHL) players. We know how this benefited Colorado, who captured two cups of the Lindros in Philly era.
In contrast, the trade helped Philadelphia be successful through the decade of 1990s. The Flyers franchise did a decent job of creating a winning atmosphere. One of the more influential pieces of this trade, was the eventual creation of a line. The Legion of Doom, featuring Mikael Renberg and John LeClair, along with Lindros, was one of the best lines, maybe in NHL history. Combining power, goal-scoring ability, and a bit of playmaking, they could do what they want, against who they wanted. And, had the firepower to look good doing it. It is something to say, but for completeness, three-player line combos, with any bit of longevity, they are a rare thing, especially nowadays. The Legion of Doom were the offensive leaders for Philly during the team’s great play.
Of course, Lindros’ subsequent downfall is a defining moment. That Flyers team was set to be a dynasty. But as concussions began to play their toll on the Big E’s time in Philly, they needed to renew their roster to remain competitive. They did a great job of doing that over the years that followed Lindros’ departure from Philly. One being our final notes of defining moment.
One Last Honourable Mention of the Flyers Defining Moments
The 2003 NHL Entry Draft and eventual run to the 2010 Cup Finals is the last honourable mention defining moment. The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was quite memorable for the Flyers franchise. It was recognized as another big moment for the league really, as that draft class was loaded with guys that would go onto to star-level NHL careers. Furthermore, for Philly, they selected Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the first round of that draft. Heck, even Daniel Carcillo was a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins. These guys would eventually lead the Flyers to the 2010 final against the Chicago Blackhawks. Moreover, it was a Blackhawks team that also had some help from that famous 2003 draft. Players Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford would come from that draft.
So over the years, the Flyers have had many historic, memorable, and defining moments. They remained a competitive playoff team for a long stretch of their franchise history. However, what had started their winning a the highest level, was the hiring of one man. Back in 1971, hiring Fred Shero as the head coach, and the cups that followed.
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