Hartnell returns to Philly after offseason trade

Whether it is one of his 157 goals as a Flyer or one of the countless Hartnell down moments, everyone has a memory of Scott Hartnell.

The winger spent seven seasons with the Orange and Black before an offseason trade sent him to Columbus. Two of the next five games for the Flyers are against Hartnell and the Blue Jackets, both at the place Hartnell called home for seven seasons.

In returning to his former home, Hartnell admitted he thinks often of his former teammates.

"Probably the biggest thing is not seeing Kimmo every day," Hartnell said. "For I guess all of my adult life, I've seen him every morning, every road trip going for a beer and dinner or movies or whatever we did on the road. There was always that consistent thing that your best friend was there to have."

Hartnell was traded to the Flyers along with Timonen prior to the 2007-08 season. Hartnell also reflected on his time with several current Flyers that he played with for most of his seven years in Philadelphia, like Claude Giroux.

"It's one of those teams where I liked every guy on the team and I definitely kept in touch with a lot of them," Hartnell said. "At the same time, they've moved on and they're playing well and we've kind of struggled here."

Hartnell has endured some tough seasons of late. In the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Hartnell had just eight goals and 11 points in 32 games. This followed a career year in 2011-12 where Hartnell scored 37 goals and registered 67 points.

This season, Hartnell has five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 15 games. The return for the Flyers in the Hartnell trade, R.J. Umberger, has one goal and two assists in 14 games.

Hartnell was a success on the ice for the Flyers in his seven seasons, scoring at least 20 goals five times including his final season in the Orange and Black. But Hartnell may be better known for his work off the ice.

He took the comical "Hartnell Down" – a joke referencing his falls on the ice – and turned it into a charity effort. The Hartnell Down Foundation generated $14,500 last season for his signature moment during the regular season and playoffs.

Hartnell was under contract with the Flyers through the 2018-19 season, which made the trade this summer somewhat shocking. The Flyers traded a player that was secure with the team for another five seasons and had a difficult contract to move. Hartnell had a theory about the trade.

"You think of what happened and why me," Hartnell said. "I'm sure [Flyers head coach Craig Berube] had a big part of that or a big opinion in whether to part ways or not. But I'm not going to sit here and worry about it and lose sleep over it, that's for sure." 

Berube's response vehemently denied Hartnell's claim.

"I don't have inputs in trades," Berube said. "It's not my job. He did a lot for the team and the organization. We all like him from outside of the hockey rink to on the ice. He's a good player and good in the room. But people move on and that's the way it is."

So whether it was one of Hartnell's clutch goals against Pittsburgh, a Stanley Cup Playoff moment from the 2010 run or just another Hartnell Down or "Suck it, Phaneuf!" moment, Hartnell made his mark on the fans as a Flyer.

We leave you with one of our favorite memories of Hartnell, which I'm sure is one of yours as well. From the 2011-12 season, Hartnell had some fun with Pittsburgh fans during one of the Flyers wins at Consol Energy Center, showing off Hulk Hogan's signature move.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.