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QUICK HITS: AUGUST 29, 2017
1) Twenty-six NHL prospects assembled at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto on Monday for the NHLPA's 2017 Rookie Showcase. The Showcase is a promotional event in which players talk to the media, pose for Upper Deck hockey cards and shoot personality profile videos that range from discussing their NHL ambitions, playing styles and childhood hockey idols to their various off-ice interests. Among the participants this year were Flyers prospects Oskar Lindblom and Philippe Myers.
2) As discussed in yesterday's blog, the discord between Eric Lindros and the Flyers organization was put aside years ago. He now has a strong relationship with the Flyers and is an active member in the Flyers Alumni Association, which is very nice to see. It is going to be a fun night when the Flyers retire the Hall of Famer's No. 88 jersey on Jan. 18. Later today on the Flyers official website, there will be an article talking about how jersey retirement is the ultimate honor a Flyer can receive; over and above membership in the Flyers Hall of Fame. There are 20 players currently inducted in the Flyers' HOF, whereas Lindros is just the sixth to have his jersey number retired.
3) While five of the six Flyers whose jersey numbers have been retired are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame -- Barry Ashbee was a special exception and also symbolically stands to represent players who toil for many years just for a chance to play in the NHL then make good on that chance -- being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is not an automatic ticket for a Flyer to have his jersey number retired.
Specifically, while Mark Recchi is a shoo-in for the Flyers Hall of Fame in the near future, his recent selection for the Hockey Hall of Fame probably does NOT elevate him to jersey retirement level. I could be wrong, but I suspect that number 8 will remain in circulation. In fact, there are many who still associate the number more with tough guy Dave "the Hammer" Schultz than with prolific scorer Recchi.
Although Recchi spent the longest portion of his career in Philadelphia between his two stints, he is just as much associated with the Penguins as the Flyers. A portion of his prime was spent in Montreal -- a deal that benefited the Flyers, because it brought John LeClair and Eric Desjardins to Philly -- and his career last six seasons beyond the end of his second stint in Philly.
Recchi is a very worthy Hockey Hall of Famer and absolutely belongs in the Flyers Hall of Fame as soon as possible. However, despite holding the Flyers' single-season point record, he falls just a half-notch short of the "franchise icon" pantheon occupied by Bernie Parent, Bob Clarke, Bill Barber, Mark Howe and Lindros. If Tim Kerr, LeClair, Brian Propp and Reggie Leach came up a tad short of the jersey retirement realm, so does Recchi. All were great Flyers players for a number of years.
Darryl Sittler had a 40-goal year as a Flyer and is a Hockey Hall of Famer. He's not a Flyers Hall of Famer much less a jersey retirement candidate, because he was only here for two-and-a-half seasons. Dale Hawerchuk, Paul Coffey and Allen Stanley were Flyers, too, at the tail end of their illustrious careers. They're not jersey retirement candidates or Flyers Hall of Famers.
Recchi's case is somewhat different than the others because he had longevity in Philly and his time with the Flyers was important to his overall career legacy. It would be a big omission if he does not make the Flyers Hall of Fame. Jersey retirement, though, isn't an obligatory additional honor.
4) August 27 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Mike Murray (1966), Doug Sulliman (1959), Tim Tookey (1960).
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FLYERS TOP 25 IN THE LAST 25 YEARS: KEITH PRIMEAU
Former Flyers captain Keith Primeau was originally drafted the Detroit Red Wings with the third overall selection of the 1990 NHL Draft. After stints with the Red Wings and the Harford Whalers/ Carolina Hurricanes, Primeau was traded to the Flyers on January 23, 2000 in exchange for Rod Brind'Amour. Goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier also went to the Hurricanes in the trade, while the Flyers received a 2000 fifth-round pick (later transferred to the New York Islanders and used on the selection of Kristofer Ottoson) and the Hurricanes got a 2000 second-round pick (Argis Saviels).
For a brief period, Primeau and Eric Lindros were touted as the Flyers "Twin Towers" before Lindros' Flyers career came to an injury-riddled and rancorous end. Primeau produced 17 points in 23 games (seven goals, 10 assists) and a plus-10 rating immediately after his arrival from Carolina. He added 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 18 playoff games as the Flyers fell one win short of the Stanley Cup Final after leading the New Jersey Devils three games to one in the Eastern Conference Final.
Primeau's 2000 playoff run is best remembered for his game-winning goal in the fifth overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Primeau finally ended the marathon contest as he cut in from the right circle and roofed a beautiful shot over goaltender Ron Tugnutt and under the crossbar to the short side. It was one of only two goals Primeau scored during the 2000 playoffs but this tally could scarcely have come at a more vital time, as it knotted the series at two games apiece.
By far, Primeau's best offensive season as a Flyer came in 2000-01. That year, he generated a career-high 34 goals (his third NHL season with 30-plus tallies) and career-high 73 points (also done in 1993-94 while with Detroit) in 71 games. Subsequently, Primeau's offensive role was gradually reduced as Jeremy Roenick and the arrival of Michal Handzus spread the wealth.
Always a strong penalty killer and faceoff man who won better than 5 percent of draws for his Flyers’ career, Primeau’s size and physical play made him a tough matchup for most opponents.
Until the 2004 playoffs, however, Primeau was often compared unfavorably by Flyers’ fans to the player for whom he was traded; long-time fan favorite Brind’Amour. As team captain in 2001-02, Primeau drew fan ire for his role in the firing of Flyers legend Bill Barber as head coach one season after Barber won the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year and months after the passing of Barber's wife, Jenny.
When Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach, Primeau was initially the Flyers' second line center and former Selke Trophy finalist Handzus (acquired from Phoenix in June 2002) was assigned third-line shutdown duties. Increasingly, though, Primeau took on greater and greater defensive responsibilities as Handzus generated back-to-back 20-plus goal seasons. The combo of Handzus and Primeau gave the Flyers excellent two-way play down the middle while Roenick, a former two-time 50 goal scorer in his prime, was still potent offensively.
While Primeau was trusted by Hitchcock and respected by his teammates, he was still considered an underachiever by many Flyers fans. A concussion and other injury issues limited him to 54 games during the 2003-04 regular season, and he produced just seven goals and 22 points (plus-11) as the Flyers' third-line center.
Prior to his five-OT goal in 2000 and stellar run throughout the 2004 playoffs, Primeau had a reputation in Detroit, Hartford/Carolina and even in Philadelphia as a player who "disappeared" in the biggest games of the season. Through his first 27 playoff games as a Flyer, Primeau generated just two goals (both in 2000) and 14 points. He was goalless in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 playoffs. For his NHL career, he had produced a mere nine goals and 41 points in his first 110 games in the playoffs.
Then came the 2004 postseason, and Primeau's image did a 180-degree turn. In Philadelphia, he forever cemented an all-new legacy. Primeau was a man possessed during the Flyers' playoff run. In every facet of the game, the captain excelled.
Offensively, he scored or set up one clutch goal after another en route to compiling nine goals and 16 points in the Flyers’ 18-game run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The team was riddled with injuries, especially on the blueline. Roenick was gamely (if foolishly) playing through concussion symptoms and Simon Gagne was also banged up. Both produced critical goals in the playoffs but Primeau was the glue who held the team together.
Primeau and Gagne combined to will the Flyers to a comeback and overtime victory in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sadly, the Flyers fell 2-1 in the deciding seventh game in Tampa.
After the NHL lost the 2004-05 season to a lockout, a new-look Flyers team took the ice for the 2005-06 season. Gone were the likes of veterans Roenick, John LeClair and Tony Amonte. New to the team were superstar center Peter Forsberg, power forward Mike Knuble and veteran defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje. Primeau remained as the team captain and shutdown center, while Gagne was about to blossom from being "merely" an above-average NHL player to becoming a prolific goal-scorer on a line with Forsberg and Knuble.
The Flyers roared out of the gates in 2005-06 as they posted the NHL's best record in the first half of the season. Unfortunately, things rapidly fell apart as injuries piled up to Forsberg, Primeau and others. In Primeau's case, it was catastrophic. He played just the first nine games of the season (one goal, six assists) and never played again.
The player had a history of concussions, with at least three previous concussion-related absences during the Philadelphia portion of his career alone. On Oct. 30, 2005, the nearly 34-year-old center was diagnosed with severe concussion symptoms two days after a rough outing in an 8-6 Flyers loss to Carolina. The post-concussion symptoms lingered and lingered. Even a year later, he was not symptom-free. Unable to play hockey again, Primeau retired on Sept. 14, 2006.
Overall, Primeau dressed in 312 regular season games (87 goals, 213 points) for the Flyers as well as 58 playoff games (12 goals, 34 points). He remained in the Philadelphia area after his retirement and later obtained a college degree from Neumann University.
Contrary to the “Primeau-donna” sobriquet he was tagged with in previous NHL stops, Primeau comported himself well as a member of the Flyers, both with fans and the media. He was a captain who spoke his mind in the dressing room without publicly embarrassing other players in the media. He also advocated on behalf of his teammates to coaches and management.
Flyers teammates felt like the captain was in their corner, which helped mitigate some of the inevitable tensions that arose. Meanwhile, he bought into Hitchcock's system and sacrificed offense for a less glamorous role, which earned him respect and trust from the coach.
By the time Keith Primeau retired, Flyers fans embraced him for his own qualities as a player rather than comparing him negatively to Brind'Amour or Lindros. To this day, Primeau earns standing ovations whenever he’s introduced to the crowd at a home Flyers game. He is remembered as one of the top captains in franchise history and, of course, became a beloved figure for the 5-OT goal and his heroics in the spring of 2004.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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