Getting Defensive

You may be as surprised as I was to find out that the Flyers defenseman with the most all-time games is none other than the turtleneck wearing, cigarette bumming Chris Therien. Too bad Therien was a giant pussy with limited offensive ability or he could have made this team. The guys who did make this team are the most revered and skilled defenseman the Flyers have ever had. For those of you think the first pairing might be Dimitri Yuskevich and Janne Ninnima, let me walk you through my selection for the top 6 Flyers defensemen of all-time.

1st Pair: Mark Howe and Kimmo Timonen
There's no arguing with the numbers - Howe had 480 points in 594 games as a Flyer . The son of Gordie Howe didn't fall far from the tree even though he was a defenseman, as he was one of the best two-way defensemen of the '80's. He anchored the Flyers defense to an Eastern Conference Championship and was the runner-up for the Norris Trophy 3 times. Kimmo, although only having been with the Flyers a short time, is one of the premiere two-way defensemen of the modern era. The Finn has put up six 40 point seasons in a row (two of them over 50) while defending the opposition's top players. He's going to be a valuable part of the Flyers organization for the next 5 years.

2nd Pair: Eric Dejardins and Joe Watson
Rico, as some people call him and I do not, played almost as many games as Therien, but was actually good. He served as captain of the Flyers when there wasn't a suitable one and averaged over 1/2 a point a game during the clutch and grab era. I'm not sure that Joe Watson can be summed up any better than Hockey Legends did:

Joe Watson was a salt-of-the-earth player who had to work harder than most to earn his spot at the top of the hockey world. He was gifted in no aspects of his game, save his sense of team spirit and his commitment to take the sum of his average parts and raise them into a greater whole.

Talk about being born to be a Philadelphia Flyer. Arron Asham could take a couple lessons from Watson, and maybe in exchange Asham could teach Watson how to make Chicken and Broccoli. Watson was a key member of both of the Flyers Stanley Cup teams. Always ready to block shots, great positionally, and almost 200 points in 746 games as a Flyer.

3rd pair: Moose Dupont and Jimmy Watson

If Dave Shultz was the face of the Broad Street Bullies Andre Dupont was the right fist. Moose became an offensively gifted defenseman after being traded to the Flyers, but never gave up his penchant for the rough stuff. During his first three full seasons with the Flyers, two of which ended with Stanley Cup parades, he had 91points and 706 penalty minutes. If I had to compare him to a modern day Flyers defenseman... I wouldn't. The younger brother of the aforementioned Joe Watson, Jimmy was lucky enough to win the Stanley Cup in his first two seasons. He was a little more offensively gifted than his older brother and managed almost the same number of points in over 200 less games. Jimmy was a five time All-Star and let me tell you something - he deserved it. I had the honor of being coached by him when I was 15 so I know firsthand - great guy, huge head. The fact that that guy could walk, much less play in the NHL while he was lugging that wrecking ball around, is a miracle.

Tomorrow the goalies!