The Philadelphia Flyers announced this morning that two franchise icons -- one from its classic era and one from modern times -- will be the next enshrinees into the club's Hall of Fame.
On Feb. 27, prior to the Orange and Black's home game vs. the San Jose Sharks, Bob "Hound" Kelly and Simon Gagne will receive their flowers from the club they called home for the majority of their respective careers as the 29th and 30th members.
Kelly played 10 years in Philadelphia, winning two Cups (1974-75) and appearing in four Stanley Cup Finals (74-75-76-80). Taken in the 3rd round of the 1970 NHL Entry Draft, he spent all but 96 games of his entire NHL career here, posting 362 points and a then-team record 1,285 penalty minutes (since surpassed by both Paul Holmgren and Rick Tocchet).
Given his nickname due to dogged pursuit of the puck and opposing players, first under Fred Shero and then for two other head coaches, Kelly cemented his legacy by scoring the game-winning goal on the opening shift of the 3rd period in Game 6 of the 1975 Finals at Buffalo, an eventual 2-0 victory.
However, Kelly's best statistical regular season occurred in 1976-77, when he struck for 22 goals and 24 assists in 73 games, while he turned in his finest postseason performance the following year, when he contributed 8 points in 12 contests for a surprise entrant in the semifinals.
Although Kelly finished his NHL career with the Washington Capitals (1980-82), he returned to the Delaware Valley and never left -- carving out a career with the Flyers behind the scenes -- retiring last year as the longest-serving team ambassador among all alumni. Along with Joe "Thundermouth" Watson, if you attended a Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival in the 80s, 90s and into the 2000s and wanted one of the mystery boxes piled 25 feet high, chances are "Hound" passed it along to you, your parents or siblings.
Gagne was a first-round selection (No. 22) by Bob Clarke during the 1999 NHL draft out of his native Quebec, and made an immediate impact, scoring 20 goals his rookie season then adding 10 points (5G, 5A) to the Flyers' run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Though slowed by serious injuries which cut into his 2002-03 (groin/hamstring) and 2007-08 (concussion) seasons, Gagne was a 2-time 40-goal scorer (2005-07) and hit the 30-goal mark twice more (2001-02; 2008-09) finishing his Flyers tenure with 264 goals an 271 assists across 691 regular-season games.
Gagne also contributed 32 goals and 47 points over 90 playoff appearances in Philadelphia, none bigger than his power-play goal in the late stages of the 3rd period of Game 7 of the Eastern semis in Boston, which rallied the Flyers from a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead, which they kept to win the game and the series in a stunning reverse sweep.
Arguably just as important, Gagne previously kept the series going with the club down 3 games to none against the Bruins with an overtime score in Game 4 on home ice:
After contributing 9 goals and 12 points to that memorable, but losing effort which ended in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks, salary-cap issues caused Gagne to be the odd man out. He was shipped to Tampa Bay for a draft choice, then was sent to the Kings where he won a Cup with former Flyers teammates Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.
Gagne was brought back to Philly during the lockout-shortened 2013 season, chipping in 5 goals and 6 assists over 27 appearances. He will be the first Flyers player whose career spanned the 2000s to be welcomed as a franchise great.
Mark Recchi was the last former player to be selected for the Flyers HOF, back in January of 2024.
No comments:
Post a Comment