Philadelphia Flyers: Jeff Carter and 6 Others Betrayed by the Organization

As one of the most historic franchises in the NHL, the Philadelphia Flyers have their share of stories, positive and negative. 

Players, coaches and managers have achieved varying degrees of success in Philly, and the fans have never been quiet about showing their appreciation—or frustration.

Once in a blue moon, however, the organization makes a move that seems sly and underhanded and leaves the hockey world questioning the motivation of the move. For better or for worse, there are certainly a number of people who associate the franchise with a sense of betrayal.

The following are seven Flyers that, at one point or another, were unexpectedly betrayed by the team.

Rod Brind'Amour

It is arguable that no Flyers player in the last 20 years was loved by the city more than Rod Brind’Amour. A blue-collar player whose skills was exceeded only by his grit, Brind’Amour and Philadelphia seemed like a perfect match.

Unfortunately, Brind’Amour was traded away because he wasn’t big enough. Bobby Clarke traded him for Keith Primeau, who averaged 12 fewer points and twice as many penalty minutes and did not have Brind’Amour’s reputation for being a fantastic shut-down center.

But, Primeau had four inches and 20 pounds on Rod, and that was enough to chase Philly’s most popular athlete out of the city.

To this day, the city still honors him anytime he is on the ice, but the organization never loved Rod the way Rod loved the organization.

Bill Flett

“Cowboy” Bill Flett appeared to be losing his scoring touch when the Los Angeles Kings traded him, along with Ross Lonsberry and Ed Joyal in 1972. Philadelphia was such an undesirable place to play that Joyal never bothered to fly out to Philadelphia and Lonsberry returned to LA before finally settling into the City of Brotherly Love. 

Flett, however, immediately thrived in Philly, putting up more points in his 31 games there than he did in 45 with the Kings. He would go on to have a career year in 1972-73 and was a part of the Flyers first Stanley Cup in 1974.

Eight days after hoisting Lord Stanley’s hardware, Flett received news while vacationing in Puerto Rico that he had been traded to Toronto. The man who had been enthusiastic to play in Philly when no one else wanted to was traded only days after his moment of glory, and his tenure in Toronto saw him lose the spark he had found while wearing the Orange and Black.

Photo courtesy of sports.ca.msn.com

Bill Clement

Long before his voice was heard on copies of NHL 12 everywhere, Bill Clement was winning Stanley Cups with the Flyers. After toughing through a knee injury en route to a championship, Clement was an undoubted fan favorite and appeared to be a Flyer-for-life. 

But similarly to “Cowboy” Bill Flett, Clement was sent packing a mere week after helping the Flyers capture the Cup, despite his great chemistry with the team and his popularity with the people in the stands. Worst of all, Clement went from the world champions to the worst team in all of hockey, a Capitals team that had won eight games and lost 67 the year before.

The franchise would redeem itself down the road by supporting Clement’s successful broadcasting career, and now his voice graces hockey games of all types, from local to national to virtual.

Bobby Clarke

The name “Philadelphia Flyers” is almost as synonymous with “Bobby Clarke” as Clarke’s name is synonymous to the Flyers; it’s nearly impossible to talk about one without thinking of the other.

Clarke captained the Flyers to their only two Stanley Cup championships, and as his career began to wind down, Flyers owner Ed Snider immediately offered him a position as the team’s General Manager. Clarke helped to put together the Flyers teams that saw so much success in the 1980s. 

Following the 1989-90 season, Clarke was fired by Snider, who had decided to move to California and leave the day-to-day tasks of his position to his son, Jay. Despite all the history with the organization, Snider saw it fit to rid himself of Clarke and bring in new GM Russ Farwell (whose first big move was to pass on Jaromir Jagr in order to draft Mike Ricci).

Even when he was brought back to the organization, Clarke was initially little more than a figurehead, serving as an occasional advisor to Farwell. Eventually, Clarke regained his former title, only to lose it again in 2006-07. He is now Senior Vice President of the club.

Mike Keenan

Mike Keenan was arguably the Flyers most successful coach not to win a Stanley Cup, though he made two appearances in three years and became the youngest NHL coach to win 150 games during his tenure in Philadelphia.

Keenan was legendary for his aggressive approach to coaching his own players, sometimes bordering on cruelty, but his results could not be argued with. That aggression trickled down to the players and was the catalyst for a brawl between the Flyers and Canadiens during pregame warm-ups in a 1986 playoff game.

When players heard that Chico Resch and Ed Hospodar had picked a fight with Shayne Corson and Claude Lemieux, they rushed onto the ice to participate, with Keenan only hold his star goaltender Ron Hextall back. Owner Ed Snider ordered Keenan to stop the fight, but Keenan refused.

The Flyers would go on to beat Montreal and take the Oilers to seven games in the Finals that playoff year, but Snider and Keenan never saw eye-to-eye again, and a season later, Keenan would be fired despite all his coaching success and his bright future.

Mike Richards

Former captain Mike Richards seemed to be the face of the franchise when he signed a 12-year extension in 2007, essentially making him a Flyer for life. He was given the C the following season and began to draw comparisons to the great Bobby Clarke. 

Whatever the reason—Dry Island scandal, giving the cold shoulder to the coach or simply clearing cap space—Richards was traded this past June relatively unexpectedly, not long before his no-trade clause kicked in. In exchange, the Flyers got a top prospect and a power forward.

Richards was the type of player who loved Philadelphia no matter how demanding the city became, and he was disappointed not to be remembered that way.  A series of tweets after his final press conference complained about answering questions only about partying and locker room drama instead of reflecting on his contributions.

Whether one considers the reasons valid or not, it did not take long for the organization to stop considering Richards the center of the team for more than a decade and start shopping him as if he were a common pest.

Jeff Carter

Early in 2010-11, Jeff Carter signed an 11-year deal with the Flyers, allowing the team to ensure Carter wasn’t lost to free agency. Most people speculate that Carter took less money than he could have received on the market because of his desire to play in Philly.

His contract—cash, no-trade clause and all—was set to kick in on July 1.  Eight days beforehand, Carter would be traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Had he not been signed in the first place, Carter would have gotten to choose where he went. He would have been able to get more money. He wouldn’t have been roped into an 11-year commitment on a team he may not even like.

Whether they had planned to or not, the Flyers played Jeff Carter like a fiddle in 2010-11. Some fans griped that Carter didn’t show enough emotion playing in Philadelphia, but you can bet the next time he’s in the building, he’ll sure as hell show how he feels.