If you missed either of the first two parts, you can find them here: 1-10, 11-20.
21- Scott Laughton
The guy some thought would be captain, Scott Laughton, carved out a decent career in Philly and has landed on this list, representing the Flyers at 21. This was a difficult number because, outside of Laughton, players didn’t wear 21 in Philly for long. Most notable among the 21 club are James van Riemsdyk and Peter Forsberg, but neither of them played 200+ games with the Flyers donning that number. The only player who’s in the same stratosphere of games played at 21 in Philly with Laughton was Dave Brown, who played in 550 games, but only got double-digit points in three seasons. Laughton played 661 games of his NHL career here, but only 630 games as 21. In those games, he has amassed 104 goals and 155 assists for 259 points. He was a steady defensive winger who provided good depth offense and was a team leader, being the only player to have a letter on their jersey for the entirety of the 2022-23 season and most of the 2023-24 season. He was never an all-star and has only gotten votes for an NHL award this past season, finishing 37th in Selke voting. In terms of Flyers Awards, he won the inaugural Flyers Alumni Community Leadership Award this past season, which also made him the Flyers nominee for the King Clancy Award, and in 2019-20, he got the Yannick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award as well as the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial trophy for most improved.
22- Rick Tocchet
While there have been some notable 22s in Flyers history, including Ville Leino, Luke Schenn, and Mike Knuble, none of them compare to Rick Tocchet. In his first stint with the Flyers, Tocchet would develop from just a fighter to a premier power forward of the late 80s and 90s. Tocchet started his Flyers career playing in 531 games for the club and registering 215 goals and 249 assists for 464 points. He would make the All-Star team as a member of the Flyers in 1989, 1990, and 1991. Tocchet had an NHL-record 18 Gordie Howe Hat Tricks during his career, nine with the Flyers (franchise record). Tocchet won the 1987-88 Yannick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award and won the 1889-90 Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP. During the 1991-92 season, Tocchet was traded to Pittsburgh with Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget for Mark Recchi. This won’t be the last time we see our bench boss on this list.
23- Ilkka Sinisalo
While Oskar Lindblom is probably the most beloved 23 in Flyers history, Sinisalo is by far the best 23 in Flyers history. He is the goals leader among European-born Flyers players, though that will probably be beaten by a certain someone. Sinisalo played 526 games in Philly, picking up 199 goals and 210 assists for 409 points. Sinisalo was 15th in Lady Byng voting for the 1984-85 season.
24- Sami Kapanen
Kapanen came to the Flyers in his 30s and was a mainstay in the middle six for the next few seasons just before and after the 2004-05 lockout. Kapanen played in 311 games with the Flyers, tallying 44 goals and 66 assists for 110 points. Kapanen was 57th in Selke voting for the 2006-07 season.
25- Keith Primeau
A teammate of Kapanen’s on both the Flyers and Hurricanes, Primeau came to the Flyers at the turn of the millennium in the Brind’Amour trade. Just a couple of seasons into his Flyers tenure, Primeau would be named captain after Eric Desjardins stepped down from the role. Primeau had immediate success with the Flyers, breaking his goals record (34) and tying his season high points total (73) in his first full season in Philly. In 312 games with the Flyers, Primeau potted 87 goals and added 126 assists for 213 points. Primeau represented the Flyers at the 2001 All-Star Game. The 2000-01 season saw Primeau ranked 23rd in Hart voting. He would get Selke consideration in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, where he finished 25th and 6th, respectively, in voting. Primeau is probably best known for his 5OT GWG against the Penguins in May 2000.
26- Brian Propp
Brian Propp is probably one of the first names Flyers fans think of when they think of the 80s. Propp played most of his first 11 seasons in Philadelphia. During his tenure in Philly, Propp played in 790 games, scoring 369 goals and 480 assists for 849 points. Propp would make the All-Star Game five times with the Flyers in 1980, ’82, ’84, ’86, and the 1989-90 season when he was traded to Boston. Propp would never win an individual award, but would garner some votes for the Selke Trophy three years he was in Philly, but never finished higher than 21st in voting. He would finish fourth in Calder voting for the 1979-80 season and was 10th in voting for the 1985-86 Hart Trophy. Propp ended his Flyers tenure as the top left-winger in the NHL during the 80s, leading the position in games played, assists, plus/minus, game-winning goals, shots, playoff goals, playoff points, playoff power-play goals, and playoff shots.
27- Ron Hextall
This was a close battle between two pretty substantial players in Flyers’ history: Reggie Leach and Ron Hextall. It feels like a situation where you can say either name and be correct. Ron Hextall has the most wins in the Flyers’ history. He led the Flyers to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Edmonton Oilers beat them in seven games, and Ron Hextall, like Reggie Leach, won the Conn Smythe while on the losing team. That season (1986-87), he was the goalie for the All-Rookie Team and NHL First All-Star Team and won the Vezina trophy. He was also the runner-up for the Calder and was ninth in Hart voting that year. His rookie year was really his best season, but he was pretty good for the other ten seasons he played with the Flyers in two stints. In 489 games with the Flyers, Hextall had a record of 240-172-58. He would get votes for the Vezina in four other seasons, but would never place higher than fifth. Hextall would go to the 1988 NHL All-Star Game. He would be sent to Quebec in the Lindros trade before coming back in 1995 and would be the goalie for the Flyers’ Cup Final run in 1997 against the Detroit Red Wings.
Reggie Leach has a very good argument for 27 as well. As I mentioned above, Leach won a Conn Smythe while losing in 1976. That 1975-76 season would be his best season as he would go to the first of his two All-Star Games (’76 and ’80), would be named to the RW position on the NHL’s 2nd All-Star Team, and would lead the league in goals with a Flyers record of 61 goals. He wouldn’t win any individual awards outside of that Conn Smythe, but would place 15th in voting for the 1979 Selke.
28- Claude Giroux
Claude Giroux is not only the undisputed best 28 in Flyers’ history, but he is also one of the best in Flyers’ history. Giroux was the longest-serving captain in team history. In 1,000 (2nd all-time in Flyers history) games with the Flyers, Giroux tallied 291 goals (8th) and 609 assists (2nd) for 900 points (2nd). After an alright rookie campaign in 2008-09 and a better 2009-10, Giroux burst onto the scene in 2010-11 and would only have one season for the rest of his Flyers tenure which he averaged below 70 points in a season. Giroux would ultimately reach a career high of 102 points in 2017-18 with a league-leading 68 assists and was only behind Connor McDavid in points. I personally believe Giroux deserved the Hart that year, but speaking of it, he wasn’t even a finalist! Giroux would get votes for the Hart in five seasons, placing as high as third, and two of his nominations landed him in the fourth place spot (in his two best years in terms of point scoring). Giroux also got votes for the Selke in seven seasons, getting as high as 14th. Giroux also got votes for the Lady Byng, finishing as high as 9th. The 2017-18 season saw Giroux get the left wing spot for the 2nd All-Star Team, behind the Devils’ Taylor Hall, who won the Hart. For the Flyers, Giroux won the Bobby Clarke Trophy five times (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), the Gene Hart Memorial Award in 2011, and the Toyota Cup (3 stars award) seven times (2012-2016, 2018, 2021).
29- Todd Fedoruk
Todd Fedoruk was a bottom-six player for the Flyers. His first tenure with the team was from the start of the millennium to the lockout before coming back for half a season during the disastrous 2006-07 season. In all, Fedoruk played in 268 games for the Flyers, accumulating 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points.
30- Bernie Parent
It was really tough to choose between Parent again and Antero Niittymäki. Niittymäki has an overall better record, but looking at Bernie’s first tenure with the Flyers, I think he deserves the nod. Before Bernie donned his famous number 1, he played with the number 30. Bernie played in 188 games as number 30 for the new franchise in Philadelphia. He would sport a 54-81-47 record with a .923 sv%, a 2.63 GAA, and 10 shutouts before being traded to Toronto. It should be noted that during his first tenure, Bernie was playing behind an expansion team between the ages of 22 to 25, and by the time he was traded in 1971, Bobby Clarke was in his second NHL season, Rick MacLeish was a rookie, Reggie Leach was on the Bruins, Bill Barber and Jimmy Watson were a year from getting drafted, and Ed Van Impe was still our captain. Oh, and during that first stint in Philly, Bernie made the 1969 and 1970 All-Star Games.
By Noah Caplan (@Phlyers24)
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