The Flyers traded for Braydon Coburn at the 2007 deadline, and he's become a mainstay on the defensive corps for eight seasons. But where does he rank amongst the Orange and Black's top acquisitions at the deadline? (Photo Courtesy of broadstreetbuzz.com)
Today marks one of the most exciting days on any NHL fan's calendar — trade deadline day. This year's deadline has already seen memorable moves (including the Flyers' trade for Andrew MacDonald), and will continue to heat up through 3 p.m. today.
Throughout their history, the Flyers have made roughly 74 trades at the deadline. While most of them have not panned out, there still have been plenty of memorable players acquired. This week's Flyers Five explores the five best trades the Orange and Black have made at the deadline, ranked.
Honorable Mentions:
Tony Amonte: Reunited in 2003 with longtime friend and former teammate Jeremy Roenick, Amonte was critical in the 2004 Eastern Conference final run. His career in the Orange and Black could have lasted even longer if not for the 2004-05 lockout.
Dale Hawerchuk: Similar to Amonte, Hawerchuk was around for parts of two seasons, and was critical on a team that just fell short of a Stanley Cup.
Steve Mason: It's too early to gauge whether Steve Mason is the long-term solution at goalie, but his acquisition at last year's deadline still put an end to the well-documented goaltending carousel. It also helps his case that the team ridded themselves of Michael Leighton to get him.
5. Alexei Zhitnik to Atlanta for Braydon Coburn: The Flyers traded for Alexei Zhitnik midway through the miserable 2006-07 campaign and flipped him to Atlanta months later for young Braydon Coburn, who was in need of a change of scenery. While Coburn is not exactly a fan-favorite and has struggled considerably in recent seasons, he's established himself as a steady presence on the Flyers' blue line over the past eight seasons and has thrived with longtime defensive partner Kimmo Timonen. He's gone on to become the team's longest-tenured player, and currently leads the team in time on ice.
4. Jean Potvin and a player to be named later (Glen Irwin) to the New York Islanders for Terry Crisp: It's believed the Islanders sent Terry Crisp to the Flyers in order to fully tank for the first-overall pick that season, but the move still paid dividends for the Orange and Black. Crisp played 194 games as a Flyer, scoring 79 points. In addition, he was an alternate captain for both Stanley Cup-winning teams. He would later retire to join Fred Shero's staff as assistant coach, and eventually win a third Cup in 1989 as coach of the Calgary Flames.
3. Jay Wells and a 1991 fourth-round pick (Peter Ambroziak) to Buffalo for Kevin Maguire and a 1990 second-round pick (Mikael Renberg): The Flyers of the early 1990s were dismal, but they featured a veteran physical defenseman in Jay Wells. They were able to move Wells for Maguire — who lasted a cup of coffee with the Orange and Black — and a second-round pick, used to select Mikael Renberg. Renberg scored 82 points in his rookie campaign — still the franchise record for a rookie — and blossomed his scoring talents on the Legion of Doom line with John LeClair and Eric Lindros.
2. Dainius Zubrus, a second-round draft pick (Matt Carkner), and a sixth-round draft pick (Scott Selig) to Montreal for Mark Recchi: Seven years earlier, Recchi was dealt to Philly in a blockbuster with Pittsburgh. Three years after that, the Flyers dealt him for LeClair and Eric Desjardins — one of the best trades the team has made. In 1999, the Flyers re-acquired the Recching Ball, and he was impactful on the ice, in the dressing room and amongtst fans. He was also crucial in two Eastern Conference final runs in 2000 and 2004. While Recchi did not win the Stanley Cup with the Flyers, he still enjoyed some of his best offensive seasons and left behind a lasting legacy.
1. Mike Walton to Boston for Danny Schock and Rick MacLeish: A steal for the Flyers, as they acquired a player who would go on to become one of the most prolific scorers in team history. A cornerstone of the Broad Street Bullies era, MacLeish enjoyed 11 seasons as a Flyer (741 games total), where he scored 697 points — the fourth-most in team history. MacLeish also scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 6 on the 1974 Final against Boston, and led the team with 20 postseason points as they repeated in 1975.
The full list of every Flyers trade can be found here at FlyersHistory.net.
Rob Riches is a contributor for Flyerdelphia, and his Flyers Five appears every Wednesday here and on Sports Source on Cavalier Radio 89.1 WYBF-FM. You can follow him on Twitter @Riches61.
