If there’s one person who would be qualified to comment on the recent announcement regarding the Flyers Hall of Fame future inductions of Bob Kelly and Simon Gagne, it would be Bob Clarke.
After all, Clarke was captain of that 1975 Flyers team which used Kelly’s winning goal in Game 6 of the Finals in Buffalo to secure a second straight Stanley Cup.
Plus, he was the general manager of the team when it selected Gagne in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1998 NHL Draft.
Kelly, who went by the nickname “The Hound,” and Gagne will be inducted into the shrine on Feb. 27.
In a telephone interview, Clarke said both players made contributions which heightened the folklore of the organization.
After retirement as a player, Kelly spent decades with the team as a goodwill ambassador.
“They’re both very deserving,” Clarke said. “The Hound, he did as much for us as a player as he did for us in our offices. He’s a special man. He had the ability to work every day and not just as a hockey player but as a man who goes to work.
“He’s a worker and he gave the majority of his adult life to the Flyers.”
Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Rick MacLeish and so on garnered most of the headlines those days and all have been recognized for their accomplishments.
So it’s nice to see one of the less glorified players get some attention.
“I think it’s proof once again to all teams that the team is better than the individual,” Clarke said. “I know how great Bernie was but he didn’t win it by himself. Our whole team, everybody contributed. For a lot of years we were like that.
“We had pretty good talent individually but we were still just a team. Everyone was expected to contribute. At times we had to drag some guys into it but we did. That was our responsibility, all of us.”
Kelly was one of those guys who didn’t have to be dragged. He was one of the leaders of the famed “Broad Street Bullies” and he was more than willing to lay it on the line every night.
The teamwork paid off. In the 1975-76 season, the Flyers compiled an amazing record of 36-2-2 on their home Spectrum ice. Kelly and the gang made it miserable to play there. A lot of visiting players developed cases of the “Flyer Flu.”
“The players have to contribute to the team,” Clarke said. “And then the team will be strong. That’s what we had and the Hound represented that.”
Gagne, a fleet left wing with a deft scoring touch, made big contributions to the 2000 and 2004 teams which made the Eastern Conference finals and the 2010 squad which got to the Stanley Cup Finals.
“Simon was a great player,” Clarke recalled. “Great talent. In junior he was a centerman. He ate up the Sundin brothers (Henrik and Daniel) in the 1999 World Juniors (Gagne had seven goals in seven games).
“(Flyers coach) Roger Nielson put him back at wing. We were very close to sending him back to junior. We had some injuries and Roger put him in there.”
The rest became history. During his career, Gagne posted a pair of 40-goal seasons. For his time with the Flyers he was a plus-140.
“So much talent,” Clarke said. “No nights off. He just played at a high level all the time. Real good teammate.”
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