The Philadelphia Flyers have made many trades in franchise history. Here are ten of their most surprising. Some of these deals are only known by the hardest of hardcore fans. Others, are enlightening because of the historic names that are about to be mentioned.
This list has been prepared in chronological order, verses that of chosen importance.
#5: Rick MacLeish “traded” to the Boston Bruins – October 18, 1967
Yes, this trade took place in the 1960s, but MacLeish didn’t officially become a member of the Bruins until 1970.
The Flyers obtained Rosaire Paiment from the Bruins for their number one pick in the 1970 National Hockey League amateur draft. That number one pick was used to select MacLeish with the fourth pick.
#4: Barry Ashbee acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins – May 22, 1970
A vital part of the Flyers’ first Stanley Cup team, Ashbee suffered a career-ending eye injury in April 1974. He was originally acquired from the Penguins for Darryl Edestrand and Larry McKillop in the spring of 1970.
#3: Bernie Parent traded to Toronto Maple Leafs – January 31, 1971
Parent told me directly, during my one-on-one interview with him at his business office in the fall of 2010, that being traded from the Flyers to the Maple Leafs helped his career. While in Toronto he asked Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante, who was the Maple Leafs’ starting netminder at the time, to teach him how to play goal.
Plante’s lessons helped Parent to turn his career around and helped him to set the bar for excellence upon his return to the Flyers in May 1973.
#2: Reggie Leach acquired from the California Golden Seals – May 24, 1974
It’s not just that the Golden Seals dealt Leach after he had scored 51 goals for them in slightly over two seasons of play. But, they traded him to the Flyers for Larry Wright, Al MacAdam and the Flyers 1974 first-round draft pick. That draft pick was held by the team that had just won the Stanley Cup five days earlier.
Wright, who was a free agent, re-signed with the Flyers in September. MacAdam had only played five games for the Flyers until that point, but did later score 240 goals in his NHL career. The first round draft pick was used to select Ron Chipperfield, who jumped to the World Hockey Association and never played for the Seals.
#1: Fred Shero traded to the New York Rangers – June 2, 1978
The Flyers received a first-round draft pick, as agreed upon compensation, in return for Shero being allowed to accept a job as the Rangers’ head coach. The Flyers selected Ken Linseman with the seventh pick in the 1978 NHL amateur draft.
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Sean O’Brien is based in the Philadelphia region. He was a print sports writer for five years. You can follow him on Twitter @SeanyOB and also read his daily Sports Blog: Insight.