Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese
Every once in a while, the Flyers go and make a trade that reverberates throughout the fanbase, and even has the rest of the NHL on notice. Fan-favorites throughout the years have not been exempt, and have often found themselves jettisoned to a new team.
This especially held true on Jan. 23, 2000. After nine years donning the Winged P, fan-favorite center Rod Brind'Amour and goalie prospect Jean-Marc Pelletier were sent to the Carolina Hurricanes for Keith Primeau, an established, gritty vet.
At the time of the trade, then-GM Bob Clarke wanted to add size to the Orange and Black's lineup. Brind'Amour had struggled mightily with injuries in 1999-2000, missing 34 games to that point with a broken foot. It was the first time in his Flyers career that Brind'Amour was ever out of the lineup for any reason. Speaking to reporters at the time, Clarke justified his need for size:
"We felt with the competition in our division, we needed a little more size," said Clarke, who was bedridden this weekend with the flu. "Primeau and [Eric] Lindros give us two real big centermen, which is extremely important against teams in our division. Rod has been a real warrior for our team, but this gives us a better team."
While Primeau was considered among the league's bigger-impact centers, his style of play was one that resonated with Clarke. Two years earlier, Clarke had picked Primeau to represent Team Canada in the NHL's first Olympic Games participation. Primeau recorded just two goals and an assist in the tournament — which saw Clarke's Canadian squad place fourth. Nonetheless, it began a period where the GM coveted the 6-foot-5 centerman, and when the Hurricanes and Primeau struggled to come to terms on a new contract, Clarke saw an opportunity.
Of course, like plenty of his other moves, Flyers fans were not on the same page as Clarke. Fans had long accustomed to Brind'Amour's relentless work ethic (where he was renowned for emphasizing strength training and conditioning in an era where it was not as common) and gritty style of play, and passing those up was not going to be easy to get over.
And, of course, with the trade came the rampant rumors. They all varied in iteration, but pointed to a single source — that upper management pulled the trigger on the deal to appease Eric Lindros, who allegedly had an affair with Brind'Amour's wife, leading to an alleged tense and distraction-filled dressing room. Of course, there hasn't been any confirmation of those rumors to this day, and there likely won't be any for as long as this franchise continues to ice a team. (Full disclosure — I'm not here to provide any truth to those rumors, or re-fuel any fires. But at the end of the day, the rumors still continued to spread).
Primeau went on to establish a decent career for himself as a Flyer, scoring 87 goals and 213 points in 312 games. Just over three months into his tenure with the organization, he scored one of the most epic playoff goals in franchise history, ending the five-overtime epic against Pittsburgh in Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Additionally, Primeau was named the 13th Captain in franchise history early in the 2001-02 season. His spirited play in the 2003-04 playoffs — where he posted nine goals and 16 points — was a rallying point, and led to the 'Supremeau' nickname as the Flyers advanced to within one game of the Stanley Cup final. Who could forget that tying goal with 1:49 to go in the third period of Game 6 against Tampa?
Unfortunately, Primeau's career ended with lingering post-concussion syndrome in 2005-06, thanks to a dirty elbow to the head from Montreal's Alexander Perezhogin. That same season, Brind'Amour captained the Hurricanes to their first (and, to date, only) Stanley Cup championship, beating the surprise Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
Brind'Amour's Hurricanes career lasted 10 seasons, where he registered 174 goals and 473 points in 694 games. He captained the team from 2005-06 through 2009-10, and established himself as one of the NHL's preeminent defensive forwards, winning the Selke Trophy in 2006 and 2007. Alongside Ron Francis, Glen Wesley and Eric Staal, Brind'Amour will always be a pillar of Hurricanes history.
As Brind'Amour was enshrined into the Flyers Hall of Fame on Monday, it's worth remembering the fond memories that he provided during his time with the organization — and believe me, there were plenty of those. But it also evokes memories of the sudden circumstances in which he left town, which many fans still pan to this day.
When two teams swap players, it always leads to analysis on who won the trade. The Rod Brind'Amour/Jean-Marc Pelletier-for-Keith Primeau swap was no different. Primeau created more than his fair share of memories during his time as a Flyer, which will last a lifetime, but one still has to wonder what might have been if Brind'Amour were never traded.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
