Garnet Hathaway had always been a thorn in the Flyers' side, a particularly pointy one when he was with the Capitals for parts of four seasons.
While in Washington from 2019-20 to a part of 2022-23, the depth winger put up five goals, five assists and a plus-11 rating over 20 games against the Flyers. He threw out a team-leading 68 hits, blocked 12 shots and ruffled some feathers.
He definitely had his battles with Sean Couturier, a player that competes for every inch of the ice. So it's no surprise those two got after it.
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Hathaway is now a Flyer after signing a two-year, $4.75 million contract 10 days ago. He's eager to join Couturier in the tough-to-play-against mission.
"For Sean and a lot of the guys, I think it's a lot better to be on the same side after battling against those guys for so many years," Hathaway said Tuesday in a Zoom press conference. "I'm excited to get to know Sean and see him as a player on the other side. It's always difficult to go up against him and, so to see him, especially in training camp and as we get throughout the season, really be competitive and battle in practice, but then be able to celebrate when he does something on the ice positive, I'm looking forward to that."
The Flyers are optimistic about Couturier being healthy and back in the lineup to open the 2023-24 season. The first-line center hasn't played since December 2021 because of two back surgeries. For a rebuilding team trying to reform its identity, the Flyers know how important the influence of Couturier can be on and off the ice.
Last season, the juggernaut Bruins acquired Hathaway in a February trade for his hard-nosed makeup. A reason why the Flyers were interested in the 31-year-old this offseason was his culture-building qualities. Hathaway's career highs in scoring are 14 goals and 26 points. His career high in ice time is 13:23 minutes per game. But the Flyers like that he'll compete to no end, kill penalties and help their younger pieces play more freely and confidently.
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With a shorter-term commitment to Hathaway and no trade protection, the Flyers can reassess where he stands in their rebuild throughout the next two seasons. One would think he'd appeal to contending teams when the stretch drive rolls around. General manager Danny Briere called him "a Flyer-type player."
"You look at it as a whole, this organization has been really tough to play against my entire career," Hathaway said. "Now, they're in a spot, and I think our conversation mimicked that, was they want to get back to that position where they're really difficult to play against and to build up into a competitive team or more competitive team. That's something I take a lot of pride in, is being difficult to play against. I'm super excited to get that opportunity, especially in this organization.
"Talking to them, feeling wanted, feeling like there was a lot of interest, and then hearing all the positive things about the organization, that just made me even more excited about them."
More: Why Staal, Poehling wanted to join a Flyers rebuild
Hathaway reached out to players who had played for Flyers head coach John Tortorella in the past.
He liked the feedback he received.
"It was a long list, to be honest with you," Hathaway said. "I talked to a lot of guys from different stages in their career and different teams that they had played for him. It was a lot of what you hear from guys who play for him now — a very honest coach, not someone who is going to sugarcoat things, but is going to demand the best out of you, effort-wise, too.
"I think that's going to go really hand in hand with being a competitive team. Getting to this process where every game you want to build your game out throughout the season, you want to be better than the game prior and you want to continue that.
"I heard get ready for camp because I don't think there's another one like it. But I think once you put that effort in and you have that willingness to work hard to get to that goal that you achieve within that room, it makes it all worth it."
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