Much has been made in Philadelphia Flyers franchise lore — too much if you ask some, after 41 years without a third Stanley Cup parade as the onslaught of history threatens to bury any appreciation of great years which followed — of head coach Fred Shero’s famous blackboard proclamation prior to Game 6 of the 1974 Finals at home against the Boston Bruins.
Win together today and we will walk together forever.
Only 25 men partook in that defining 1-0 victory on May 19, 1974 which gave the club, then only seven years old, it’s first of consecutive Cup triumphs. Four players have since passed away: Bill Flett, Rick MacLeish, Ross Lonsberry and Barry Ashbee, eight total if we count Chairman Ed Snider, GM Keith Allen, assistant Mike Nykoluk and Shero himself.
But, given the entire 50 year existence of the Orange and Black, those words have come to stand as a motto for all players, the skaters and goalies, the straight-laced and goofy, the short-timers and lifers, who donned the uniform and took a turn on Spectrum and WFC ice for adoring crowds.
On Jan. 14, the combined forces of the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins alumni put on a show for 19,727 fans which ended for many in a disappointing 3-3 tie that concluded without overtime or a shootout to determine a winner. That was hardly the point.
It was a celebration of two teams which entered the NHL together, in 1967, of a city which welcomed these strange Canadians and adopted them into its culture and history. It was also a tangible way for Flyers alums, whether they stayed in the area or made their homes somewhere else, to pay tribute to the team which gave them a livelihood and a fan base which made that time here so memorable.
No matter where their lives took them once the skates were hung up for good in chasing their childhood dreams, they all come back, with smiles on their faces. If there’s one thing you can pinpoint as a lasting legacy in Snider’s building of the franchise and protector of its legacy, it’s this: once a Flyer, always a Flyer.
That still rings true for Bill Barber, still the franchise leader in goals at 420. Aside from the glorious moments we all recall, he went through some bittersweet times with the club. In 1985, he was forced to retire after a year’s worth of rehab stemming from a knee injury sustained during the completion of an off-ice training program. Barber made his bones as a head coach thanks to a Calder Cup in 1998 with the AHL Phantoms, then won a Jack Adams award with the Flyers as a rookie NHL coach in 2001 before an acrimonious firing one year later.
“It starts at the top, there, with the fans. Then the organization: Mr. Snider, Keith Allen, Fred Shero. Everybody played hard here, for them. I took pride in that,” Barber said, slumped over in his locker and glistening with sweat. “I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to raise my family here, which I did. I stayed on and worked with the Flyers for 30 years, departed for, I think 6 years or so and came back again. I can’t speak highly enough about them.”
One hopes if the benevolence of the organization towards one of its greats will extend to Barber’s upcoming knee replacement surgery. After 45 years involved with on-ice activity, the 64-year-old said this was going to be his last game.
“One of the most underrated players I’ve ever played with here was Murray Craven. We didn’t have Hall of Famers, we just had really good hockey players. Smart hockey players,” said Dave Poulin, a Notre Dame grad and free agent signing in 1983 who succeeded Bobby Clarke as Flyers captain from October 1984 through December 1989. “There was no animosity, no jealousies and none of that stuff you hear, rifts going through…guys genuinely liked each other and played for each other.
“We went through a lot off the ice, we had a coach that battled us every day, and that was part of our makeup. We lost to some of the greatest players in the world. I think in our own eyes we’re walking together,” Poulin concluded.
The wounds of the past, if not completely healed, have been patched up to the point where the scar is barely noticeable.
Defenseman Brad Marsh, unceremoniously cut in 1988, once vowed to stay in the NHL long enough to prove the Flyers were wrong in letting him go before his 11th season. He played five more years with three more teams, and represented expansion Ottawa in the All-Star Game in 1993. After a successful stint operating a bar-restaurant in Scotiabank Centre, he returned to the area a few years ago with his wife, recently renovating a house in South Jersey, and has risen to become president of the Flyers Alumni association.
Ray Allison, a three-year second-line forward under head coaches Pat Quinn and Bob McCammon, saw his dreams of NHL longevity dashed in Mike Keenan’s long range plans. He still gets together with the crew for select games and events though he was not available for this one.
Even Craven, who grew so dissatisfied with the regression of the organization in the early 90s that he was dealt to the lowly Hartford Whalers — and then made another Stanley Cup Final with Vancouver in 1994 — stood to be counted with his former mates. The current senior vice president for the impending Las Vegas franchise was nearly inconspicuous in the dressing room, and you had to know what he looked like from recent pictures to avoid doing a double take.
“A lot of guys ask me that question, who never got a chance to play here. It was evident tonight. Of all the transitions from old to new, the Flyers lost the least out of anybody,” added Poulin. “But I think when people play here, they still think they’re playing in the Spectrum. The mood is the same, the orneriness of the fans is the same.”
A sign of how much of a prideful tradition the Flyers have built for themselves arrived in praise for the night’s events. It came in profusion from the opposition, some Penguins players who lived through the end of the club’s nightmare 42-game winless streak at the Spectrum and some of the new kids who plugged into the modern Flyers-Penguins rivalry which bloomed since 2007.
“When we went out for the warmup, the Pittsburgh guys were just glowing. Glowing. I got to know Colby Armstrong — I signed him in Toronto — he must have thanked me a half a dozen times out there…just for having them here, seeing their heroes in their glory. It was cool for them, too,” crowed Poulin.
“I thought the Flyers did a great job putting on an amazing presentation. The fans were incredible. I don’t think I ever used those words before in Philly. It’s got to be one of the tops,” noted former Pens forward and current member of its broadcast team, Phil Bourque. I’ve played in alumni games where it’s 2-300 people in the stands, this was amazing.”
Two guys who haven’t yet had time to digest much of their post-playing career, were Simon Gagne and Danny Briere. The Quebec natives, being the youngest on the Flyers side, teamed up as the fastest duo on either side — and both admitted to trash talking their foes on each rush up ice. While Briere has maintained a residence in South Jersey and is a part of the Flyers staff, Gagne has gone home to Quebec City to raise his family.
Photo: NHL.com
“Not really. You come to expect it from those fans, the best fans in the world,” said Gagne, a two-time Flyer who last suited up here four years ago after playing parts of 12 seasons for the franchise, when asked if he was surprised at the near-sellout number of fans who were firmly in their seats just to watch the pregame.
“It was almost like a real game for us. You don’t know who you’re going up against. Some shifts it was the younger guys and some shifts you faced the older guys. You want to push it a little bit harder because it’s in Philly and you want to give them a good show.”
Whether they were 38 or 68, two years out of the game or 32 away, Flyers alumni hold the franchise dear to their hearts, love their teammates and respected its fans enough to know how to give it their all in repayment for that loyalty. While Poulin was the only one to mention, so eloquently, how he was too young to see a few of his contemporaries were not on this physical plane to enjoy another comeback, the feeling was clearly mutual.
There are only so many chances left, but once a Flyer, always a Flyer. You’re allowed to take the chance whenever you want.
Bury your memories, bury your friends. Leave it alone for a year or two, until the stories go hazy and the legends come true. Then do it again. Some things never end.
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