Top 10 Flyers Offensive Defensemen
On most any Flyers-related top 10 list, Hall of Fame defenseman Mark Howe is going to make an appearance. He was the best all-around blueliner in franchise history; a no-brainer pick for the top spot in terms of sustained offensive skill, and also in the top three (along with Brad McCrimmon and Jimmy Watson) in terms of his ability to prevent opponents from scoring. To those who never saw Howe play, especially in his prime, I always make this comparison: picture an earlier version of Nicklas Lidström and you'll have a good idea of Howe's game and all-around abilities.
Longevity of production in Philadelphia is what counts on this list. Paul Coffey would occupy a top three or four spot on anyone's list of all-time NHL offensive defensemen -- I'd have him second after Bobby Orr -- but was near the end of his career by the time he got to Philly and dressed in 96 regular season games over parts of two seasons. As such, he is nowhere near the top of his list. I did include him as an honorable mention on the list, however, because his 0.585 points-per-game production was still a solid clip for the mid-to-late-1990s (albeit nowhere in the same galaxy as what he produced in the years when he won Norris Trophies while barely playing a lick of defense).
Likewise, future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger is not as high on this list as he would be on one that looks at his NHL career as a whole. Pronger only had one healthy season as a Flyer, missed nearly half of the games in his second year and saw his career come to an abrupt end due to post-concussion syndrome in his third season.
Here's my top 10:
1. Mark Howe: Howe's number 2 jersey hangs in the rafters for good reason. He occupies the top positional spot in franchise history for the most career points (480, 84 more points in 144 fewer Flyers regular season games than runner-up Eric Desjardins), most career goals (138, 45 more than Desjardins) and most career assists (342, 39 more than Desjardins). Howe is the only defenseman who ranks in the top 15 in the Flyers' all-time scoring list regardless of position.
Howe also holds the single-season franchise records for most points (82 in 1985-86) and goals (24 in 1985-86) by a defenseman and his 58 assists that same year rank second to Garry Galley's 60 helpers in the 1993-94 campaign. Of the top 10 positional point-getting seasons in franchise history, he holds five of the top nine. Among the top 10 goal-scoring seasons, Howe holds five of the top six and six of the top nine. Among the top 10 assist-collecting seasons, Howe occupies four of the spots and is the one defenseman other than Galley (twice) to appear more than once on the list.
What more needs to be said? Well, here's one more piece of evidence to pile onto the landslide selection. Plus-minus stats are as much (and, arguably, more) of an offensive indicator at five-on-five as they are a defensive measure. When you combine Howe's remarkable skills at both ends of the ice, you get his runaway franchise-best plus-349 ranking. Among players of all positions, only Bobby Clarke (plus-506) accumulated a higher differential than Howe.
In Howe's franchise record plus-85 season of 1985-86, partner Brad McCrimmon was plus-83. If that's not staggering enough in its own right (especially in light of the fact that it doesn't even reflect all the power play points the Flyers accumulated that year with Howe at the point), consider the fact that the Flyers had NO other plus-rated defensemen that year. Brad Marsh was even, The rest were minus-rated. In other words, for the 30-plus minutes a game that Howe and McCrimmon were on the ice, the Flyers were a two-way juggernaut. The rest of the time, they were an average club.
2. Eric Desjardins: Longevity and consistency is what gets Desjardins the runner-up spot on this list. He ranks second to Howe in all three primary offensive stat categories for his Flyers career. However, his individual seasons were rarely among the tops. Most every year, you could simply pencil "Rico" in to push for double-digit goals and the 50-point mark if he stayed reasonable healthy. It should also be noted that Desjardins' Flyers teams played in a much lower-scoring era leaguewide than Howe's or Galley's teams.
On an individual-season basis, Desjardins' top point season of 55 in 1999-2000 ranks 12th among Flyers defensemen. His 15-goal campaigns of 1998-99 and 2000-01 are tied with Howe's 1986-87 Norris Trophy first runner-up season for ninth on the single-season goal list. Desjardins' 41-assist season in 1999-2000 ranks 12th on the positional single-season list.
As with Kimmo Timonen after him, Desjardins spent most of his Flyers career in the category of NHL defensemen who are bona fide All-Stars but not quite Norris Trophy caliber. Lastly, I will add that Desjardins had to make some major changes to his style in the early 2000s due to injuries that robbed him of the far above-average mobility he possessed in the first several years after he came over to the Flyers from Montreal. He was equally effective all-around but less likely to pinch or join the rush during the Ken Hitchcock era than he was under Terry Murray, Wayne Cashman or Roger Neilson.
3. Bob Dailey: I know some folks will disagree with this one because Dailey's career was ended by injury at age 28 and he was rarely healthy for full seasons even before then, but I would rank the Count's point shot as the very best in franchise history. He could overpower goaltenders with 100 MPH blasts and, in an era where the protective equipment still left something to be desired, very few opponents were foolish enough to try to step in the way. Dailey's 21-goal season in 1977-78 is second to Howe's 1985-86 season on the single-season goal list. Dailey was only able to dress in 304 regular season games as a Flyer, but his 0.64 points per game pace (194 total points) and the way he'd dial up his offensive game in the playoffs -- 10 goals, 40 points in 56 postseason games -- make him a top three in my book.
4. Kimmo Timonen: Another longevity and consistency pick, ala Desjardins. Even this past season, when the Flyers were a bad team and Timonen was far from a healthy player, he ranked in the NHL's top four scoring defensemen. In a more typical year, his all-around game has made him a frequent NHL All-Star selection even if his points weren't quite up there with the elite offensive defensemen in the league.
After Howe and Pronger, Timonen is arguably the savviest Flyers defenseman I have ever seen. Desjardins could think the game at a very high level, too, but I'd give Timonen the slight nod (perhaps because he's much smaller physically) in terms of being a cerebral player in knowing when to push the attack and when to stay back. Desjardins had the better wrist shot and, although both players were excellent passers, I'd give Timonen a very slight edge in that regard. Really, you couldn't go wrong with either Desjardins or Timonen. It would have been amazing to see them as a lefthanded (Timonen) and righthanded (Desjardins) pairing if their careers had overlapped.
With Timonen, you can bank on three things. First of all ,he'll stay in the lineup if at all possible, even when playing through pretty severe pain (whereas Rico seemed more prone to breaks and tears that forced him out of the lineup). Secondly, he'll play a very high-level two-way game that is of All-Star caliber. Lastly, he'll get pucks on the net consistently despite lacking the dynamic shot of a truly fearsome shooting defenseman.
5. Behn Wilson: "Savvy" is not a word that would ever be used in describing the way Wilson played the game. He often played the game out of control, relying either on his supreme physical skills or simply letting his emotions dictate what he did. As a result, Wilson could be extremely entertaining or extremely frustrating to watch. He did everything in a big way: big end-to-end rushes, big shots, big body checks, big fights and, all too often, big gaffes with and without the puck.
When things clicked for Wilson, he wasn't just an intimidating fighter, he was also a fearsome offensive defenseman. The two-time NHL All-Star Game selection had seasons of 63 points (1980-81), 49 points (his rookie season of 1978-79) and 36 points in just 59 games (1981-82). He also had a pair of 13-goal and a 16-goal season while with the Flyers.
My favorite non-fighting-related Wilson story is one from his rookie year. Flyers assistant coach Terry Crisp watched in amazement and horror one night as Wilson skated right past the bench and past all of his line-changing teammates, then motored past three Pittsburgh Penguins defenders, then faked goalie Denis Heron out with a head-and-shoulder bobble and then slid the puck into the net.
The Spectrum crowd roared. As Wilson skated triumphantly back to the bench, Crisp greeted him by saying, "Hell of a rush, Willy! Now don't ever [expletive] do that again!"
That was Behn Wilson in a nutshell.
6. Garry Galley: Statistically, Galley belongs on this list. He was absolutely a fine offensive defenseman whose best years in Philly came during the dark years when the team missed the playoffs on an annual basis. He ranks 12th on the all-time franchise defense point list but had two of the best single-season point years.
7. Tom Bladon: The top Flyers offensive D of the Fred Shero era. Bladon still holds a single-game franchise record with a four-goal, four-assist outburst against the Cleveland Barons.
8. Chris Pronger: Pronger gets on the list for his 10-goal, 55 point regular season and 18 playoff points in 2009-10. His reputation and the fear he created in opposing players alone get him onto this list. If he had been healthy and able to play long beyond then, he'd have been much higher.
9. Kim Johnsson: A fine all-around defenseman in his own right, Johnsson didn't have the longevity of Desjardins or Timonen in Philly. For a few years prior to the 2004-05 lockout, however, he gave the Flyers a similar presence. He generated three straight double-digit goals and produced in the vicinity of 40 points while also playing generally reliable defense.
10. Steve Duchesne: Only had one full season in Philly before a second brief stint as a trade deadline rental. Duchesne was adequate at best as a defender but was a high end offensive defenseman. His 18-goal, 56-point season in 1991-92 was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for the club.
Honorable mention - Paul Coffey: He wasn't here long and was in steep decline as a player, but his reputation alone caused opponents to be wary when he was on the ice. The fact that he still managed 0.585 points-per-game pace (in the era when scoring was dropping around the league) as a fading player speaks to just how incredible he was as an offensive D.
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Former Flyers forward Ian Laperriere, now the organization's Director of Player Development, will be participating in the Ironman Mont-Tremblant: North American Championship on August 18. Apart from competing in the triatholon, Lappy is raising funds for a variety of charitable causes: the IRONMAN Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation and Go4theGoal Foundation- Tunes4Teens. Laperriere has set a $10,000 fundraising goal. For more information or to make a donation,
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