The National Hockey League in conjunction with the Philadelphia Flyers have named 12 players making up the First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2000-2025.
Both the First Team and Second Team consists of three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender. The nominees were selected by a panel of media, retired players and executives specific to the club.
Starting at the NHL Winter Classic on January 1st and continuing daily through January, the NHL will reveal each Club’s First and Second Quarter-Century Teams. Once all the teams are announced, the fans along with the players named to the club’s first quarter-century teams will vote on the top 25 NHL players of the past 25 years.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS QUARTER-CENTURY TEAM
FIRST TEAM (alphabetical order)
Forwards: Simon Gagne, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards
Defensemen: Eric Desjardins, Kimmo Timonen
Goaltender: Roman Cechmanek
The Flyers First Century Team played a combined 3,575 games for the club tallying a total of 2,451 points and 819 goals. The six of them had a combined 18 NHL All-Star Game appearances, while four of them have a Stanley Cup Championship in their arsenal.
Gagne was drafted 22nd overall in the 1998 NHL Draft and quickly made an impact with the Flyers. Over 11 seasons with the Flyers, Gagné recorded 535 points (264 goals, 271 assists) in 691 games, including back-to-back 40-goal campaigns in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and served as an alternate captain for five seasons (2005-2010). He was especially known for his clutch performances having recorded several memorable playoff goals, which included the overtime winner in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final vs Tampa in 2004. He also scored the game-winning tally in Game 7 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, completing the Flyers’ historic comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the Boston Bruins.
Giroux is regarded as one of the best Flyers to play in Philadelphia. He ranks second in points in franchise history with 900, only behind Bobby Clarke who had 1,210 points. Drafted 22nd overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Giroux became the face of the team, serving as the longest tenured captain in team history from 2013 until his departure in 2022. He is a seven-time NHL All Star while his standout season with the club was in 2017-18 when he recorded a career high 102 points, finishing second in the NHL scoring race. Giroux played 1000 games as a Flyer; he is only the second Flyer to do so.
Richards was a cornerstone of the Philadelphia Flyers during his six seasons with the team. He tallied 133 goals and 349 points during his six seasons (2005-2011) with the club. He became the Flyers captain in 2008 until he was traded in 2011. Richards was a standout penalty killer and often delivered in clutch moments, including scoring shorthanded goals – he ranks fifth all-time in Flyers franchise history for short-handed goals with 23. He led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and registered the second most points on their run with 23 (7g-16a).
Desjardins is in the Philadelphia Flyers history books as second all-time in points among Flyers defensemen, only trailing Mark Howe with 396 points (93g-303a). A seven-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner as the Flyers’ best defenseman, Desjardins was instrumental in helping the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1997 and numerous deep playoff runs.
Timonen served as an alternate captain for the Flyers for all seven seasons (2007-2014) he played for the club. He ranks third all-time in points among defensemen in franchise history with 270 points (38g-232a). The blueliner won the Barry Ashbee Trophy as the Flyers’ best defenseman five times during his time with the club. He also played a big part in the Flyers Cup run in 2010 putting up one goal and 11 assists.
Cechmanek was a standout goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers during his three seasons with the team from 2000 to 2003. Signed out of the Czech Republic, Cechmanek made an immediate impact in his rookie season, he was the runner up for the Vezina Trophy as he posted an impressive 2.01 goals-against average (GAA) with 10 shutouts. His 10 shut outs ranks second in franchise history for most shutouts in a single season. In his final season with the club (2002-2003) he was awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against in a single season (minimum 25 games played).
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