GLENDALE, Ariz. — After opening the season with a 4-2 win over the Kings at the STAPLES Center on Friday (see story), the Flyers are on course to engage several quite familiar with their culture and ways.
With commencement of the hockey marathon underway, the Flyers now head about 300 miles east to the desert and take on the Arizona Coyotes. Expect an encounter here of steep appreciation for the Flyers’ methodology, approach and history.
Sure, members of the Coyotes’ organization remember donning the orange and black with pride and skating out to a cheering band of zealots night after night. In the end, the shadow of Ed Snider, the way he built this team and earned iconic stature, remains seared in the memory of those who coached and played.
When the Flyers take on Arizona, two players from last season’s squad, center Ryan White and defenseman Luke Schenn, now sporting Sedona Red, have the ability to bring those elements of the culture so praised throughout the NHL. Plus, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett ended his playing career in Philadelphia, and still holds in high esteem the values and standards established by the Snider regime. Above all, Tippett recalls, Snider always had his fingerprints on the pulse and temper of the organization, and did things the right way.
After 10 seasons with Hartford, Washington and Pittsburgh, Tippett and Terry Simpson, the Flyers’ coach during the 1993-94 season and Tippett’s former junior coach, were reunited at Broad and Pattison. Though Kevin Dineen was the Flyers’ captain at the time and a former teammate of Tippett with the Whalers, it was Simpson who influenced Tippett to play his final NHL season at the Spectrum.
“I remember at the end of the year that I contemplated retirement,” Tippett said after a recent practice at the Gila River Arena. “[Snider] called me in to his office, we sat and talked for an hour about the history of the Flyers, and his part in building the new arena (the Wells Fargo Center). He was truly a remarkable man. He just had a demeanor that was phenomenal, and you see that throughout their whole organization.”
Since the Flyers captured back-to-back Stanley Cups in their first eight seasons, the shadow of this franchise stretches far beyond the walls of the Skate Zone and Wells Fargo Center. There is something quite permanent about playing for this team and the experience seems to follow. Players move to teams, others retire, and still others go into coaching and management. For those who remain and become great symbols of a glorious past, like Bernie Parent, the Watson brothers, Bob Kelly and so many luminaries, the sense of history and accomplishment is enduring and everywhere.
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“Playing for the Flyers was a dream come true,” White said. “You think about the players who played here, and what they did. It was just a great privilege to be there. I just hope I can bring those attributes to the Coyotes.”
A unique start
Though the Flyers are one game into the season, the contest at the Gila River Arena will be the Coyotes’ initial game.
This is also an opportunity for rising Arizona defenseman Connor Murphy to play in front of his father, Flyers assistant coach Gord Murphy. With the teams engaging so early in the season, and return to face each other again Oct. 27 at the Wells Fargo Center, this remains a unique father-son matchup.
“With all the emotions of opening night, the fans going wild, lining up at the blue line, the anthem, and then I play against my dad,” Connor said. “It’s crazy. We’ve texted over the past few weeks, but our schedules are so different. We haven’t communicated all that often. Plus, I’m out here in the Western time zone, and that’s tough for him.”
Though Gord handles the blueliners for coach Dave Hakstol, he offers little in way of instruction and advice to Connor. In turn, Gord watches his son whenever possible, and Connor admits to keeping track of the Flyers.
“If he sees something that’s recurring, he’ll let me know,” Connor added. “He knows how well-coached we are, and keeps a distance.”