The Philadelphia Flyers have played 4,417 regular season games since the team became one of six expansion franchise to start the 1967-68 season. They have also played 449 post-season games (and are 13 games over .500 in those games). That’s a grand total of 4,866 Philadelphia Flyer games.
Over that timeline there’s been 622 skaters and 65 goalies who have worn the jersey at some point, but there is a clear link consisting of eight Flyer players who collectively have played from the roster on the 1967-68 team running through to this upcoming 2024-25 season (barring any unforeseen trade between now and when the season begins). Obviously with injuries (and possible suspensions) not every player listed played every possible game during their tenure in Philadelphia, but there’s a clear link from the beginning through today. Here then is the BSH version of FlyerAncestry dot com.
1) Gary Dornhoefer (1967-68 through 1977-78)
After playing some years with the Boston Bruins, the Flyers selected Dornhoefer during the June 6, 1967 expansion draft. Dornhoefer played a key role in helping the Flyers create an identity from a meddling expansion franchise to eventual Stanley Cup champions in 1973-74 and again the following season. The Flyer played 725 regular season games with the Flyers from year one through to the 1977-78 season, scoring 202 goals and adding 316 assists for 518 points. Of course being a member of the Broad Street Bullies Dornhoefer had sizeable penalty minutes during his years in Philadelphia with 1,256 minutes.
Dornhoefer never left the game after his playing days, moving smoothly into being a color commentator for CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada in the late ’70s through the late ’80s. In the early ’90s Dornhoefer rejoined the Flyers in some respects as a member of the Flyers broadcast team from 1992 through the end of the 2005-06 season.
2) Bobby Clarke (1969-70 through 1983-84)
Although not part of the expansion season, the first face of the franchise was Bobby Clarke. Clarke was the cornerstone of the Flyers’ rise through the ’70s and remained productive even in his final season when he scored 60 points in 1983-84. In addition to his two Cup rings, Clarke, the Flyers’ captain, had three 100-point seasons and four years where he scored 30 goals or more. He also ended up with 119 points in 136 playoff games as the Flyers made deep runs into the playoffs four times over his career. Of course Clarke and Dornhoefer were members of both Cup-winning teams.
After retirement Clarke was often linked to the team, becoming the general manager in the ’80s before a two-year stint in Minnesota as the North Stars’ general manager as well as the same position with the then-expansion Florida Panthers. He returned to the Flyers in 1994-95 as general manager and stayed there until the early portion of 2006-07 when he resigned. Months later he became the team’s Senior Vice President. Clarke, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, scored 358 goals and 852 assists for 1,210 points over 1144 regular season games.
3) Tim Kerr (1980-81 through 1990-91)
As productive as Bobby Clarke was in the ’70s, winger Tim Kerr paved his own path with the Flyers in the ’80s. After scoring 22 goals in his rookie year, Kerr exploded in 1983-84 for 54 goals but only nine on the power play. That changed the following season when the rugged winger made his home just in front of the opposing goaltender, getting a horde of so-called “garbage goals” with the man advantage. In 1984-85, Kerr scored another 54, 21 on the power play. The following two years Kerr potted 58 each season with a combined 60 of the 116 goals those two seasons on the power play. In 1985-86 Kerr had 34 power play goals, or three more than the 2023-24 Flyers did all season combined!
Shoulder injuries, some horrible results from surgeries and rehab cost Kerr most of the 1987-88 season but he rebounded in 1988-89 with 48 goals. His career dovetailed after that with brief stints with the Rangers and Hartford Whalers, playing 22 games for the latter in his final season 1992-93. Tragedy also hit Kerr in 1990 when his wife passed away unexpectedly following the birth of their first child 10 days prior. In 601 regular season games for the Flyers, Kerr scored 363 goals and had 287 helpers for 650 points. He was just as prolific in the playoffs, scoring 39 goals and adding 31 assists for 70 points in 73 playoff games for Philadelphia.
4) Gord Murphy (1988-89 through 1991-92)
Not one of the key cogs in this link in terms of longevity, Gord Murphy bridged the gap here over a short but interesting stay as a Flyer. Murphy, a ninth-round (yes, they had nine rounds!) pick by the Flyers in 1985, was thrown to the lions of sorts in his 1988-89 rookie year, playing 75 games and ending up with a very respectable 35 points. The defenseman followed up that season with no sophmore slump, putting up 41 points in 75 games.
Murphy, whose son Connor currently plays for Chicago, played one more full season with Philadelphia before he was traded to the Boston Bruins along with draft picks and Brian Dobbin in exchange for Gary Galley, Wes Walz and a draft pick. Murphy had a lengthy stop with the Florida Panthers for six seasons before ending his career with a second stint with the Bruins. In 261 games with Philadelphia Murphy had 31 goals and 97 assists for 128 points.
5) Rod Brind’Amour (1991-92 through 1999-2000)
The Flyers shipped out Murray Baron and Ron Sutter in September, 1991 and managed to acquire this high-energy, talented and passionate 21-year-old. Brind’Amour hit the ground running in his first season with the Flyers, scoring 33 goals and 44 assists for 77 points. It was one of four seasons during Brind’Amour’s stay that he potted 30 or more goals in a season. He was also remarkably healthy over his tenure with Philadelphia, playing four consecutive 82-game seasons without missing a game before being traded in January, 2000 to Carolina in the deal that saw Keith Primeau become a Flyer.
Brind’Amour spent 10 seasons with Carolina but wasn’t as productive offensively the older he got. In 633 regular season games (and nine seasons) with the Flyers Brind’Amour scored 235 goals and 366 assists for 601 points. In five of those years the Flyers made the playoffs as Brind’Amour scored 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points in 57 playoff games. Although his name has often been linked as a possible head coach for the Flyers down the road, he remains with the Hurricanes and has a .644 points percentage through six regular seasons. The coach (who won a Cup with the Canes in 2006) has yet to take Carolina to the Stanley Cup in his tenure.
6) Simon Gagne (1999-2000 through 2009-10)
Simon Gagne was just 19 years old when he played his first game with the Flyers, 10 years younger than then leader Rod Brind’Amour. Gagne, the Flyers’ first round pick in 1998, made the all-rookie team in his first season while scoring 20 goals and 28 assists in 80 games. He would score 47 goals in 2005-06 while seemingly always being a quiet but confident leader for the club.
Gagne scored some pivotal playoff goals with Philadelphia, none more than the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2010 series against the Bruins, giving the Flyers a 4-3 win and an improbable 4-3 series win after losing the first three games. Gagne was traded to Tampa Bay in July, 2010 and had brief stops with the Lightning and Los Angeles. He returned for a cup of coffee with the Flyers in the 2012-13 season before ending his career with Boston in 2014-15. He scored 264 goals and have 535 points in 691 regular season games with the Flyers. In 90 playoff contests he scored 32 goals and had 15 assists for 47 points.
7) Claude Giroux (2007-08 through 2021-22)
After a two-game stint in 2007-08, Claude Giroux properly began his Flyers career the following season. Although down on the depth chart with the likes of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell and Gagne in the mix, Giroux fared well in his role with the team scoring 27 points in 42 games with the Flyers. Giroux also scored the overtime winner in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, giving the Flyers a chance after three games only down two games to one.
Following the trades of Richards and Carter which netted the Flyers Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn and the pick that would be Sean Couturier, Giroux became the face of the franchise and leader. Giroux’s point totals rarely put him in the running for the league’s top point-getter but he did have a mammoth 2017-18 season, scoring 102 points, 34 of them goals. The forward played an even 1000 games for the Flyers before being traded to Florida which netted the Flyers Owen Tippett. Giroux had 900 regular season points to go with 73 playoff points in 85 games.
8) Travis Konecny (2016-17 to present)
Like Gagne, Konecny was also 19 when he started playing for Philadelphia. After 11 goals in his rookie season Konency was consistent the following three seasons, scoring 24 in each year. Like most players he never quite found his footing during the pandemic-era seasons, Konecny seemed to take an upswing in his play when John Tortorella became the Flyers’ head coach. In 2023-24 he had 31 tallies while last year saw him score 33 goals and have 68 points. He was also instrumental in the Flyers’ stellar penalty kill effectiveness, scoring six short-handed goals and five game-winning goals.
While Konecny’s status currently remains unclear with a contract negotiation still up in the air, he still has one more season with the Flyers before a new contract kicks in. Should that contract be a lengthy one as has been speculated, look for the Flyers’ link from the expansion era through to possibly beyond 2030 to remain at just eight players.
