Of These Six Nominees, Who Should be Inducted into Flyers HOF?
The Flyers will induct at least one person from the organization into the Hall of Fame this season. But the process of selecting that person has gotten a makeover. This year, they arranged a group of alum, broadcasters, and journalists to pick the name that will go into the rafters.
Play-by-play announcer Jim Jackson was named to the nomination committee. During a call this morning he told us how hard this decision is to make. He wants your help. He needs your help. Read over the list below, rank them yourself then Tweet your list to @JimJPhilly.
SIMON GAGNE, Career: 691 games played, 264 goals, 271 assists, 535 points. Gagne played 11 seasons as a Flyer and is a two-time winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as Flyers Team MVP (2006 & 2007). He ranks 10th in franchise history in goals (264), 12th in points (535), 13th in games played (691) and sixth in game-winning goals (47). Gagne has six career playoff game-winning goals, including overtime game-winners in Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Tampa Bay and Game 4 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Boston. He also scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 at Boston in the 2010 series vs. Bruins which completed an 0 games to 3 deficit comeback.
PAUL HOLMGREN, Career: 500 games played, 138 goals, 171 assists, 309 points. Holmgren has served the Philadelphia Flyers in nearly every capacity for over 40 years. He is the only individual in Flyers history to serve the organization as a player (1975-1984), assistant coach (1985-88), head coach (1988-92), general manager (2006-14) and president (2014-19). He was responsible for highly successful NHL Drafts during his front office tenure and in his eight seasons as GM, the Flyers went 307-234-73 (.559), made six playoff appearances and a trip to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy for service to hockey in the United States. As a player, he was a member of the Flyers during their historic 35-game unbeaten streak and Stanley Cup Final appearance during the 1979-80 season, when he scored a career-high 30 goals. He ranks second in Flyershistory with 1,600 penalty minutes and he played in the 1981 NHL All-Star Game.
BOB KELLY, Career: 741 games played, 128 goals, 168 assists, 296 points. Kelly has served the Flyers organization for nearly 30 years. As a player, he was a member of both Stanley Cup championship teams and scored the game-winning goal to clinch the Stanley Cup in Game 6 at Buffalo in 1975. He is tied for seventh in Flyers history in regular season games played (741) and playoff games played (101). He has served the Flyers for the last 18 years as an Ambassador of Hockey and has been the face of team’s community relations efforts, bringing the Flyers organization to fans of all ages, from youth hockey clinics to community honorees at games and players on the ice at Flyers Alumni games and fantasy camps.
LOU NOLAN, Career: Public Relations (1967-72) & Public Address Announcer (1972-present). Nolan is an original Flyers employee, starting as a press box assistant during the inaugural season in 1967-68. He became the team’s public address announcer at the start of the 1972-73 season and has held that position ever since. He was the voice of the Spectrum for both Stanley Cup championships and six additional Stanley Cup Final appearances. He has also voiced numerous ceremonies and national events such as the 2012 Winter Classic, 2019 Stadium Series and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
MARK RECCHI, Career: 602 games played, 232 goals, 395 assists, 627 points. Recchi played parts of 10 seasons as a Flyer and ranks ninth all-time in scoring with 627 points. He continues to own the Flyers single-season record for points when he recorded 123 points (53g-70a) during the 1992-93 season. Recchi is one of only two Flyers, along with Bob Clarke, to have multiple 100+ point seasons in his career having also posted 107 points (40g-67a) in 1993-94. He has represented Flyers in three NHL All-Star Games (1993, 1994, 2000) and is a three-time winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as Team MVP (1993, 2000 & 2004).
RICK TOCCHET, Career: 621 games played, 232 goals, 276 assists, 508 points. Tocchet played parts of 11 seasons with the Flyers, including one season as captain, and is the Flyers all-time leader in penalty minutes (1,815). He was a member of the team that reached the Stanley Cup Final and won the Eastern Conference Championship in 1985 and 1987. His 27 goals and 60 points in the Stanley Cup playoffs both rank 10th in franchise history. He posted two 40-goal seasons (1988-89 & 1990-91) and a career-high 96 points during the 1989-90 season when he also had 196 penalty minutes. He is one of only three players in NHL history to have 96 or more points and 196 or more penalty minutes in the same season.
