Yup, Hartnell and Kimmo are 2nd. Unless you count draft picks, no one is left from Clarke's regime.
That's so cool (in a way). Got to watch Braydon when he played for the Winterhawks (although when he played here, they were the "Winter Hawks"). I was so happy when Homer landed him.
like Gagne, like Richards, like Carter, like Lindros
stop making those prediction, it will hurt you more in the future.
In these franchise we always have to be prepared for everything in any moment.....
Yesterday we are a contender, today we are a good team, tomorrow we are full of rookies.... who knows
but it is what it is
The question was 'who is the new face of the Flyers?' and you said "lets look forward" and I do agree, lets look forward. Everyone is aware of what happened with Lindros, Carter, Richards etc...but aside from that, what we have to go on right at this moment is how much management, teammates, fans etc love Giroux. And for that, my opinion is that Giroux is the new face of the Flyers.
While I believe that Claude Giroux will be the "face of the franchise", I think it is important to realize what the "face of the franchise" really means. Giroux has had a really awesome professional career so far and looks as if he is about to continue his growth, but he is not there yet.
However, to me, the "face of the franchise" is a player that you instantly associate with the franchise when you see his face in the paper, hear his name on the radio or see highlights on SportsCenter. In all honesty, I feel that more people in Philadelphia, hockey fans or not, most likely do not know of Claude Giroux's magic. However, I bet the quickest association with the Flyers is Daniel Briere because of what he has done for the Flyers in the playoffs post lockout, his high contract price plus years as a UFA, and his past decade of excellence in the NHL (Buffalo and Philly).
Even before the offseason, people would have a legitimate claim that Briere was the "face of the franchise" as he showed up huge in the '10 playoffs, was the key free agent that helped turn the team around, and was an upstanding member of the community. Now with the other two leading contenders for the "face of the franchise" shipped to LA and Columbus for potential, I don't see how Briere is not the "face of the franchise".
When people think of the Flyers, they still think of Clarke and the Bullies. But a lot of people fit the bill to be the face of the franchise. Pronger, Giroux, Briere, JVR and Bryz (if he does well).
It's Giroux for now. If you look to the best player on the team, it's Giroux.
In the future Schenn may challenge that.
Pronger is most eligible for Captaincy, but he isn't the face going forward, because at this point Giroux is more prized than him, and Prongs will retire in a couple of years.
