With the calendar flipping to 2025, the NHL has been releasing a “Quarter Century Team” for each NHL franchise throughout the season. The Philadelphia Flyers finally revealed theirs on Monday, and as there always are with any sort of rankings, plenty of people had Some Thoughts on who made the list and, more importantly, who didn’t.
Here’s a quick look at who made the First Team as well as the Second Team:
PHILLY, ARE YOU WITH US? 🤪 #NHLQCTeam
— NHL (@NHL) January 13, 2025
The @NHLFlyers' NHL Quarter-Century Team is HERE!
Read more from @NHLdotcom here: https://t.co/1W4WXiQqis pic.twitter.com/gt3gbdVeuM
The main issues that most people had with the 12 players selected surrounded Roman Cechmanek and Ivan Provorov. Sure, they were both good enough players during their time in Philadelphia, but there are also a handful guys that could’ve easily replaced those two.
While the forwards were less debate-worthy, there are still a few notable names missing from the list.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the Philadelphia Flyers Quarter-Century Snubs.
Forwards
Wayne Simmonds
The Flyers acquired Simmonds in the trade for Mike Richards, who was on the First-Team and deservedly so. Richards captained the team that made the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 and had one of the most iconic shifts in Flyers history.
However, Simmonds actually had more points than Richards in a Flyers sweater. Granted, Simmonds also played in 131 more games, but the Wayne Train racked up 378 points during his eight years in Philadelphia. Only Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, Simon Gagne, and Travis Konecny — all players on the Quarter Century Teams — had more points than Simmonds in the 2000s thus far. And only Giroux and Gagne had more goals than Simmonds’ 203.
While he only had 15 points in 30 playoff games, that’s more so due to the lack of support around him. Could you imagine him during that 2010 run? He still managed to record a hat trick in Game 6 of the 2014 first round against the New York Rangers — a series the Flyers would’ve won if Steve Mason was healthy, but I digress.
Simmonds was an instant fan favorite due to his style of play and he’s back in the Flyers family as a community relations ambassador as of this past September. I’m not necessarily saying that he should’ve displaced any of the six worthy forwards, but no one would have batted an eye if he did.
Jeff Carter
Carter rode shotgun with Richards during that 2010 run and the two will always be connected due to the Dry Island trades. The winger will always be remembered for his infamous high-and-wide shot, but he had the eighth-most points for the Flyers in the 2000s with 343 thanks to his sixth-most goals at 181.
Like Simmonds, Carter disappointed a bit in the playoffs even outside his infamous miss. He had just 21 points (13 goals) in 47 games.
There is less of an argument to be made for Carter than for Simmonds, but going by raw point totals, he could’ve easily made the list.
Scott Hartnell
Hartnell rounds out the Quarter-Century Snubs forwards as one of the most colorful players during his time in Philadelphia. He’s right behind Carter in terms of points with 326 and a more even split of 157 goals and 169 assists.
The only player on the Quarter Century Teams with fewer points than Hartnell is Briere, but the current general manager had 0.78 points per game (283 in 364) to Hartnell’s 0.63. Furthermore, Briere was an absolute beast in the playoffs for the Flyers with a team-leading 37 goals in 68 games. He had just one point fewer than Giroux’s 73 in the postseason despite playing in 68 games to the captain’s 85.
The player-turned-analyst is one of the few forwards to bridge the gap between the 2010 team and the 2014 one before being traded to Columbus.
Simmonds is the only real snub while Carter and Hartnell could’ve easily been candidates for a third-team if the NHL was that desperate for engagement.
Honorable Mentions: Mark Recchi, James van Riemsdyk
Author’s note: It has been pointed out that I incorrectly thought that Travis Konecny was on the Flyers Quarter Century Team. I would like to personally apologize to Travis and the entire Konecny family. He is the ultimate snub.
Defensemen
Braydon Coburn
Coburn led all Flyers defensemen in games played since 2000 with 576 — and 72 playoff games — but it’s fitting that he was left off the top two teams given that he was largely overlooked during his time in Philadelphia as well.
The big defenseman didn’t seem to ever get the credit that he deserved despite playing a strong game that could be relied on night in and night out. Coburn ranks fifth among Flyers defensemen with 161 points in Philadelphia while averaging nearly 22 minutes (21:57 to be exact) per game.
Coburn developed his game in Philadelphia and became a key cog on the blue line for multiple playoff runs in the early 2010s. It doesn’t hurt that he was traded for the first-round pick that helped draft Travis Konecny in 2015 along with a few good years of Radko Gudas.
There’s no doubt that Eric Desjardins, Kimmo Timonen, and Chris Pronger deserve recognition above him, but Ivan Provorov? Come on.
Travis Sanheim
Sanheim is closing in on Coburn’s 576 games played with 542. He should surpass the fellow under-appreciated blueliner later this season as long as he stays healthy.
Sanheim hasn’t gotten a real crack at the playoffs yet with a few first-round exits outside of the bubble, but he has eight points in 20 postseason games.
The defenseman is finally getting some of the recognition he deserves this season with John Tortorella and Briere both pushing for him to make Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. And if you watch a game, it’s easy to see why.
The big blueliner has become an all-situations player for the Flyers and is the lone defenseman remaining from the future of the Flyers defense back in 2014.
Say hello to the future of #Flyers defense. pic.twitter.com/YNuH4spDgN
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 15, 2014
The only real edge that Provorov has over Sanheim is 11 points in 10 fewer games, but he also took 201 more shots on goal and isn’t exactly remembered fondly in Philadelphia due to his antics both on and off the ice. Give it another year or two (or month or two) and Sanheim will firmly pass Provorov in most (if not all) categories.
Honorable Mentions: Shayne Gostisbehere, Matt Carle
Goaltender
Steve Mason
It is truly shocking that Steve Mason did not at least make the Second Team here. He is the only Flyers goaltender with more than 100 wins since 2010 while playing behind some not-so-great teams.
Mason is third in Flyers history with 104 wins. The history of goaltending in Philadelphia isn’t exactly the greatest, but Mason revitalized his career with the Flyers and, as I stated above, deserved better in the 2014 playoffs.
Cechmanek is third among goalie wins in Philadelphia since 2000 with 92 — in 64 fewer starts than Mason — and put up a sparkling .923 save percentage with a franchise-best 20 shutouts in that span. Those numbers can put him on one of these teams.
For as much as we love Brian Boucher for winning the shootout against the Rangers in 2010 and all of his work behind the microphone, his numbers aren’t nearly where Mason’s are. Boucher went 53-58-9-7 with a .901 SV% and 2.66 goals-against average in 139 games (118 starts). Mason was 104-78-36 with a .918 SV% and 2.47 GAA in 231 games (221 starts).
Mason gets clowned on for allowing the long goal to the Capitals in 2014, but one shot does not a goaltender make.
Honorable Mention: Martin Biron(?)