Best Flyers Trades Since 1990 #5: Rod The Bod

Fans of the Philadelphia Flyers will still bring up losing Patrick Sharp, Justin Williams, or Sergei Bobrovsky before their prime NHL seasons. However, the conversations don’t include the best trades in Flyers history often enough.

The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in half a century. However, their competitive history in the top tier of the NHL has required some savvy moves.

You know plenty about the worst, but what are the best trades the Flyers have made since 1990?

September 22, 1991
Flyers Get: Rod Brind’Amour, Dan Quinn
St. Louis Blues Get: Ron Sutter, Murray Baron

Russ Farwell took a shot on former ninth-overall pick Rod Brind’Amour in 1991. He sold high on Ron Sutter after the NHL legacy had contributed to two Stanley Cup appearances during the 1980s. The return package solidified Farwell’s best move as GM.

Brind’Amour finished his tenure in Philadelphia with 601 points in 633 games. He added 51 points in 57 playoff games. However, scoring totals don’t properly summarize his invaluable role in an era that included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1997.

Eric Lindros skated in the middle of the top line during his prime years in the late 1990s. However, the captain and pronounced franchise savior never played more than 73 games in any of his eight seasons with the Flyers.

A second-line center and assistant captain became that much more important, and Rod Brind’Amour stepped in effectively. He became the glue guy the Flyers could count on for all roles. He wore the “A” with Lindros in the lineup but even stitched the “C” as an occasional interim in Lindros’ absence.

If you need proof of what “Rod the Bod” brings to an organization, look at how much the Carolina Hurricanes respected him after retirement because of his 10-year tenure in Raleigh after a nine-year tenure in Philadelphia.

He's now one of the best head coaches in the NHL.

The Flyers lost a key piece when they sent Brind’Amour to Carolina in 2000. However, the trade worked out for both sides when Keith Primeau came in the return package.

Bobby Clarke took over for his second stint as Flyers GM for the bulk of Brind’Amour’s prime seasons in orange and black. However, Farwell pulled off a true heist.

Sutter matched the offensive production the Flyers had become accustomed to during his first season with the St. Louis Blues in 1991-92. He then quickly slipped offensively at age 28.

While Sutter lasted in the NHL until 2000-01, he needed six additional teams and minimal stints in NHL lineups with injury struggles to do so.

Murray Baron played nearly 1000 NHL games as a journeyman defenseman of the 1990s. His production didn’t come close to what the Flyers got from Rod Brind’Amour in one of the most successful periods of Stanley Cup contention in franchise history.