Hundreds of players have worn the Philadelphia Flyers jersey. Some have played for fewer than 10 games and are stored in the craniums of the most diehard fans. Others have played hundreds of contests and have made less of an impact. And of course there are a select few who fans have counted down the periods until their contracts mercifully ran out. Why did you think I was speaking of Andrew MacDonald?
However, there are some players who made a statement during their brief time with the Flyers. Some simply made the team better and contenders while others made the team far more competitive than expected. And in the case of one, his NHL career paid off handsomely from a brief but brilliant stay in 2010. Here then are six Flyers who had short (under 200 games combined including regular season and playoffs) but solid stays during their tenure in the City of Brotherly Love.
6) Sean Walker (63 games, 2023-24)
When Ivan Provorov was sent to Columbus, the Los Angeles Kings were brought into the transaction mix to retain some of his salary. The Flyers ended up getting Cal Petersen, a first-round pick, a second-round pick and a conditional second round pick. But the biggest piece and surprise was almost an afterthought in Sean Walker. With nothing really outstanding in his play the previous year (13 points in 70 games), Walker stepped into the Flyers training camp last September and looked like he belonged from the start. Paired with Nick Seeler, Walker turned into one of the more consistent and dependable blueliners for most of last season.
In just 63 games Walker had six goals and 16 assists for 22 points. The temptation to resign him might have been insane to start the season, but Walker’s play helped propel the Flyers into an unimaginable playoff spot coming down the homestretch. Danny Briere’s bigger picture though came out on top as Walker was traded on March 6 to Colorado along with a fifth-round pick for a conditional first-round pick in 2025 and Ryan Johansen. In a trade deadline where first-round picks were almost nowhere to be found, the Flyers plucked one for Walker and staggered out of a playoff spot down the stretch. Walker’s stay in Colorado looked promising but the Cup run stalled as they lost to Dallas in the second round. He signed with Carolina on July 1. While it was short, Walker’s stay here was certainly sweet.
5) Ville Leino (124 games, 2009-10 to 2010-11)
Ville Leino came, he saw, he scored, he almost conquered and a year later left for millions and millions of dollars. After signing two consecutive one-year deals with Detroit, the Wings traded Leino to the Flyers in exchange for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 2011 fifth-round selection in February, 2010. The rest of Leino’s regular season with the Flyers down the stretch was hardly impressive with just a pair of goals and a pair of assists over 13 games.
When the playoffs arrived, Leino initially didn’t see much action in the first round. In round two he ended up with Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell. For whatever reason, the trio gelled spectacularly in the post-season, instrumental in the 2010 historic comeback over the Bruins and just as impressive against Montreal in the semis and Chicago in the finals. Leino had 21 points (7 goals, 14 points) in 19 games for Philadelphia during that memorable run. Against Chicago in the first four games Leino had three goals and an assist.
It was an incredible stretch of play as the Flyers nearly won it all. But most importantly in the big picture, the Flyers front office knew when to walk away in this instance.
The following season Leino, in the last year of a contract, had 53 points in 81 games including 19 goals. There might have been some interest in resigning him at the time and keeping Hartnell, Briere and Leino together for another run but Buffalo had other ideas. On July 1, 2011 the Sabres doled out $27 million for Leino over six years ($4.5 million AAV) and the contract was an absolute disaster. We are talking Bryzgalov-esque proportions. Leino scored 10 goals in 137 games with the Sabes over three seasons, one of which he only played eight games in. In June 2014 the Sabres waived him then bought him out. The buyout would see Leino paid just over $1.2 million annually for six consecutive years. Leino stayed on the Sabres’ payroll until the end of the 2019-20 season.
4) Matt Niskanen (83 games, 2019-20)
Matt Niskanen was a strong, tough competitor against the Flyers as a member of the Washington Capitals. So when the Caps decided to part company with Niskanen, the Flyers jumped at the chance to acquire him. In June, 2019 the Flyers and Capitals made a hockey trade with Niskanen becoming a Flyer and Philadelphia sending off Radko Gudas. It was unclear just how much of an impact Niskanen would play in his time with the Flyers. But that one season, shortened and delayed by the pandemic, proved the trade was more than worthwhile.
Niskanen’s play gave then pseudo-top blueliner Ivan Provorov a partner that enabled Provorov to finally look like the top pairing defenseman many thought he would’ve been all along. Over 68 games in the regular season Niskanen and Provorov were solid, helping a Flyers team that looked downright scary prior to the pandemic halting everything. Niskanen played 15 games in the bubble playoffs, scoring a goal and adding an assist. He also ended up suspended for a game for fracturing Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher’s jaw.
The Flyers lost to the Islanders in the second round in seven games during that season. And many expected Niskanen, who had a year left on his contract, to return. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Niskanen announced his retirement in early October, 2020 before the season started in January, 2021. “Thank you to the Flyers organization for the opportunity to play in [Philadelphia] last season,” Niskanen said. “I’d also like to thank the fans for their support and lastly, I wish my teammates the best of luck.”
The player was never (and has never been) truly replaced since that time. Then general manager Chuck Fletcher tried to fill the void with the Ryan Ellis trade in the 2020-21 offseason but that went pear-shaped quite quickly. Regardless, another year of Niskanen (and a possible short-term extension) might have done wonders for the Flyers and Alain Vigneault. It was not meant to be.
3) Jaromir Jagr (84 games, 2011-12)
Before losing his bobbleheads then finding a solution to losing his bobbleheads earlier this year, Jaromir Jagr’s last brush with Pennsylvania wasn’t as a member of the Penguins. After torturing the Flyers and the rest of the league alongside Mario Lemieux, Jagr jumped around the league before heading overseas. Three seasons in Russia didn’t exactly scream returning to the NHL at age 39, but Pittsburgh was interested. The Pens apparently offered him $2 million on a one-year deal. The Flyers, a week removed from franchise-altering trades sending out Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, upped the ante to $3.3 million. Welcome to Philly, Jaromir Jagr.
Jagr spent one season with the Flyers, but boy was it a fun ride! Offering the size, support and experience for a core that was in its infancy, Jagr scored 19 goals and had 35 assists for 54 points. Eight of the 19 goals were on the power play.
The addition was also a huge lift for the likes of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek as they ended up beating the Penguins in a ridiculously enjoyable first round before losing to New Jersey in round two. Jagr had eight points in 11 playoff games. The one-year contract was money well spent. But it was one and done. The signing was a second chapter for Jagr as he managed to stay in the league from that season through 2017-18 (Dallas, Boston, New Jersey, Florida and Calgary) before returning to the Czech league.
2) Pelle Lindbergh (180 games, 1981-82 to 1985-86)
It might be a stretch to say 180 games as a goaltender is the same as 180 games as a skater. But in this instance it’s justified. Pelle Lindbergh was drafted in the second round of the 1979 draft, thirty-fifth overall. Lindbergh wasn’t expected to be the heir apparent to Bernie Parent or lead the Flyers to the promised land. Yet Lindbergh appeared to be moving in the direction of doing that.
In an era when offense ruled the league and save percentage or goals against average often suffered, Lindbergh looked to be the real deal. A short stint in 1981-82 led to a rookie year where he was 10 games over .500 and with a stellar 2.98 GAA. His sophomore season wasn’t as strong but in 1984-85 he dominated, playing 65 games and posting a 3.02 GAA. He won 40 of the 65 games with seven also ending in a tie (yes, games ended in ties). The numbers earned him the Vezina Trophy, the first European goalie to win the award.
Everything looked great for 1985-86, but on November 10, 1985 Lindbergh was critically injured in a car crash in New Jersey. Lindbergh was kept on life support for organ donation purposes but was legally brain dead hours after the accident. He was 26. The Flyers’ next game and first after Lindbergh’s death was against the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum. The Flyers won 5-3 as Darren Jensen won the game after being called up from the minors. “We had a great amount of pressure this week because of Pelle’s passing. We had to meet a great challenge,” Dave Poulin said after the game.
The Flyers rebounded by making it to the Finals the following year with another strong rookie goalie in Ron Hextall before losing to Edmonton in seven games. Nobody knows for sure what would’ve happened had Lindbergh not had the fatal accident. But it certainly would’ve been nice to find out.
1) Chris Pronger (171 games, 2009-10 to 2011-12)
Sighs. Chris Pronger made every team he joined better. Dragging Edmonton to within a game of the Stanley Cup in 2005-06 and signing an extension with them meant everything looked rosy for the Oilers again. But one year into a five-year deal Pronger asked to be traded out of Edmonton, resulting in him traded to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid and draft picks, one of which turned out to be Jordan Eberle. In 2006-07 he won the Cup with Anaheim but two seasons later he was traded. This time to the Flyers in exchange for (again) Lupul, Lucas Sbisa and two first-round picks. The trade was a blockbuster for Philadelphia as they had finally found their menacing, minute-munching and marvelous number one defenseman.
Pronger was everything advertised and more in his first season with the Flyers, getting 55 points in 82 games as the Flyers squeaked into the playoffs in game 82 (and the shootout). The Flyers, as mentioned above, went four rounds with Pronger being a steadying, stellar presence throughout. The Flyers looked to be set for the future with Pronger here for the long term. Unfortunately the long term was only another 66 games including the playoffs.
Pronger played 50 games the following season, his games curtailed due to breaking his foot which required surgery. In October 2011 Pronger was injured in a game against Toronto and was never the same again, playing just 13 games in 2011-12.
Pronger signed a seven-year deal with the Flyers on being traded to Philadelphia but ended up with one more team. The Flyers traded his contract in June, 2015 to Arizona along with Nicklas Grossmann in exchange for Sam Gagner and a draft pick. As Pronger was on LTIR the deal essentially helped Arizona get to the salary cap floor while removing Pronger off the Flyers’ books for good.
On the whole Pronger is probably alongside Lindbergh the biggest “what might have been” the Flyers had. It’s conceivable a healthy and durable Pronger would’ve resulted in several deeper playoff runs for Giroux and company after the 2010 run. But again, we’ll never know.
