97.5 The Fanatic Flyers Roundup: 4 Playoff Coaches with Flyers Ties
When the Philadelphia Flyers miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs, their fans watch the most intense NHL competition longing for the glory days.
They saw Rod Brind’Amour lose to Peter Laviolette in a Metropolitan Division battle this week. They’ll inevitably resent the success of some other teams the rest of the way.
NHL Head Coaches With Flyers Connections
The frustration surrounding former Flyers in the playoffs has persisted for decades. Fans remember Sean Walker, Cal Pickard, and Sergei Bobrovsky in orange and black, but playoff coaches have significantly stronger ties to Philadelphia this year.
Laviolette and the New York Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a victory over Brind’Amour and the Carolina Hurricanes.
Laviolette has further substantiated his reputation as a fiery short-term motivator who can push a team into contention immediately. He took the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 after starting as head coach midseason. The Rangers are riding Igor Shesterkin on a hot streak with Stanley Cup expectations in his first season at Madison Square Garden.
Rod Brind’Amour now enters a somewhat uncertain offseason without a contract despite his reputation as one of the best coaches in the NHL. He’s led the Hurricanes to six playoff appearances in as many seasons and eight series victories.
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His former teammate and Flyers Hall of Famer Rick Tocchet has the Vancouver Canucks one win away from the Western Conference Final.
The Rocket is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. He led the Canucks to the top seed in the Pacific Division in his first full season behind the bench.
Jim Montgomery became a head coaching candidate for the Flyers vacancy in 2022. They ultimately decided on John Tortorella.
Montgomery played 13 games for the Flyers in the 1990s and spent more extended periods with the Philadelphia Phantoms while they still played at the Spectrum. His tenure with the Boston Bruins has been an enormous success.
Flyers Scattered Around The World
When the Flyers missed out on the postseason, some members of the team scattered across the world for other chances at postseason hockey.
Joel Farabee is playing for Team USA at the IIHF World Championship in Czechia. The Americans are 2-1-1, and Farabee has one assist. Sam Ersson has won both of his starts for a Swedish team in great position to compete for a gold medal.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms lost in the playoffs to the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears. Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, Ronnie Attard, and Olle Lycksell played major roles for the AHL affiliate.
A pair of 2023 draft picks also won the OHL championship with the London Knights. Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey both climbed the organization’s prospect rankings with strong seasons in 2023-24. Keith Jones has praised the London Knights for their ability to groom NHL prospects under the leadership of his former teammate Dale Hunter.
97.5 The Fanatic, the flagship radio partner of the Philadelphia Flyers, provides a weekly roundup with news, analysis, and outlook on the 2024 offseason.
6 Philadelphia Flyers Retired Numbers & 1 More That Deserves It
Bernie Parent #1
“Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent.”
Countless drivers in Philadelphia during the 1970s read the iconic bumper sticker about the future Hall of Fame goaltender. Parent accumulated Hall of Fame numbers over 13 NHL seasons, 10 of which included stints with the Flyers.
The real mark of his legacy came in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. He won the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL after both regular seasons. His 47 wins in 1973-74 stood as a league record until 2007.
Parent won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP for each of the only two Stanley Cups in franchise history after both of his Venzina seasons. The famed Broad Street Bullies built their reputation on intimidation and grit, but they never would’ve sniffed a Stanley Cup without Bernie Parent between the pipes.
Mark Howe #2
Mark Howe played six seasons in the WHA to begin his professional career and didn’t make his debut with the Flyers until age 27. However, he established himself as the indisputable best defenseman in franchise history.
He still holds franchise records for goals, assists, points, shorthanded goals, and plus/minus rating among defensemen. Most of the blueliners behind him in the major statistical categories played more games with the Flyers. Howe published a book cleverly named Gordie Howe’s Son in 2013.
Eric Lindros #88
The Flyers made arguably the biggest splash in NHL history when they acquired the rights to Eric Lindros in 1992 after some lengthy drama. He was supposed to be the next Wayne Gretzky, and his dynamic skill and intimidating power didn’t disappoint when he was on the ice. He won the Hart Trophy after the shortened 1994-95 season and helped the Flyers to an appearance in the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.
Concussions derailed the career of arguably the most talented hockey player ever to lace up the skates. He struggled to stay healthy in a stretch that infamously ended with a devastating hit from Scott Stevens in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final.
He ranks sixth in franchise history in scoring, but his 1.36 points per game average blows every other Flyers skater out of the water. The organization has properly moved on from disagreements with one of their all-time greats whose number has hung in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center since 2018.
Claude Giroux #28
The Flyers were in Stanley Cup contention when Claude Giroux broke into the NHL. The crafty forward developed into the organizational centerpiece, but the team dragged through a forgettable era in franchise history during his captaincy.
Giroux is second in Flyers history in points, games played, and assists trailing only the legendary Bobby Clarke. He played on teams that won six total playoff series and recorded 73 postseason points, including an overtime goal in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2010. He has finished fourth or higher in Hart Trophy voting three times during his tenure in Philadelphia.
The Flyers will someday retire the number of one of their all-time greats who unfortunately never broke through with a Stanley Cup.
