As a Philadelphia Flyers fan, whether young or nicely seasoned, you can’t help but feel like the NHL is “Out to get your team” or they “Hate” your team.
You also remember or keep hearing about some of the all-time Flyers greats like Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Mark Howe, Eric Lindros, and tons of others.
Most of us can go on for days talking about what the Flyers’ all-time greats did or accomplished. Whether it’s a great season, career, or a particular play or action, the memories are incredible. The previously mentioned players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and rightfully so, and there are others like Mark Recchi and Chris Pronger that have also been inducted into the HHOF.
Some are in the HHOF who spent time playing in Philadelphia but are not really remembered as Flyers since they’ve spent most of their careers elsewhere, like Darryl Sittler, Peter Forsberg, Adam Oates, Dale Hawerchuk, Paul Coffey, and many more.
Of course, many, MANY others rightfully deserve to be part of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and for whatever reason, the voters have not inducted them yet.
Here are some of the top Flyers of all-time who unquestionably deserve their place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
John LeClair
Big John LeClair was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens with the 33rd overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He played 3 seasons with the Canadiens and was part of the 1993 team that won the Stanley Cup. LeClair was an integral part of that 1993 Canadiens team, even scoring 2 overtime game-winning goals during the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals.
In 1995, LeClair was part of the greatest trade in Philadelphia Flyers history, when he, along with defenseman Eric Desjardins and forward Gilbert Dionne, were acquired for Mark Recchi and a 3rd round pick. LeClair was immediately put on a line alongside mammoth centerman Eric Lindros and right-winger Mikael Renberg, and they formed the infamous “Legion of Doom” line. LeClair had 3 seasons of 50 goals or more and 2 more with 40 goals or more. In 10 years and 649 games in a Flyers uniform, LeClair boasts 333 goals and 643 points, and 5 All-Star appearances! That’s almost a point per game and MORE than half-a-goal per game.
In his NHL career, LeClair has 819 points in 967 games, including 406 goals. The Hall of Fame got this one wrong so far, my friends.
Tim Kerr
That’s right, the most prolific goal scorer in Philadelphia Flyers history, and to this day, one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The man they called “The Sultan of the Slot,” Kerr had 4 consecutive seasons with at least 50-goals, another with 48-goals, and still hold numerous NHL scoring records, including the most powerplay goals in a single-season with 34, a record that may NEVER be broken. Kerr scored 370 goals in just 655 games played in his career, which was cut short due to injuries.
During that 4-year run with at least 50 goals, Kerr scored 224 goals. By comparison, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals’ best 4-year span of his career scored 219 goals from 2005 to 2009.
Simply put: Kerr was a goal-scoring machine. In his career, Kerr averaged a 0.565 goal-scoring percentage, which is still 10th best in NHL history. When you think that guys like Cam Neely are in the Hall of Fame because of his “goal-scoring prowess,” Tim Kerr’s omission in the Hall of Fame is an absolute travesty.
Check out my Tim Kerr bio I wrote not too long ago right here:
Tim Kerr: Re-Introducing One of the Greatest Flyers of All-Time
Brian Propp
One of the most complete players in Philadelphia Flyers history, there aren’t too many players who were as good offensively as Brian Propp was, and all the while taking huge pride in his defensive game.
In his 15-year NHL career, Propp scored a total of 1004 points in 1016 games and 849 points in 790 games played in a Flyers uniform. Propp had 4 seasons with at least 40 goals and another with 39 goals. He’s still in most of the top-5 Flyers all-time offensive categories. But as impressive as that was, perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Propp had multiple seasons with a plus/minus of OVER Plus(+) 40!! Propp finished his career with an incredible Plus(+) 298 rating! If you don’t think that’s impressive, remember that Propp played in an era where he had to stop guys like Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky on any given night.
Propp was such a complete player that he was trusted to play both the powerplay and penalty kill and his regular shift. Mostly remembered as part of a dynamic duo alongside former captain Dave Poulin, Propp created his offense while the duo was in charge of stopping the opposition’s top offensive threats. He was a constant threat short-handed, as shown by his 20 career shorthanded goals. To me, although they play different positions, Propp is the 1980’s version of Sean Couturier.
As much as I love Bill Barber, you can’t help but think that if he’s in, then you have to put the great Brian Propp in the Hall of Fame as well.
The Hockey Hall of Fame needs to get their collective heads out of the sand and rightfully induct these GREAT players into its Hall. In their own way, each of them belongs there as some of the all-time NHL greats to ever play the game.
Honorable Mentions
Ron Hextall
Hextall revolutionized the goaltending position with his stickhandling prowess. The first NHL goaltender to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposition’s net.
Eric Desjardins
The all-around great defenseman who is often overlooked. Scoring 575 points in 1143 games played for his career. Multiple All-star appearances, both powerplay and penalty kill specialist. He was an absolute wall back there.
Featured Image: NHL.com
