Flyers-Flames: Who Has the Best Top Three Defense Corps?

There is no question that the two teams with the best top-three defensive corps in the NHL are the Calgary Flames and the Philadelphia Flyers.

With the Flames having a top defensive pairing (at least on the depth chart) of Dion Phaneuf and Jay Bouwmeester and the Flyers having Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen (all four of whom have played in All Star games), they are four of the best in the world.

But the third defensemen on each team could be the determining factor; Robyn Regehr for Calgary and Braydon Coburn for Philadelphia.

So which of these two teams have the best top-three?

No. 1 Defenseman

Jay Bouwmeester
The third overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Bouwmeester is a heaping 6-foot-4, 214-pound defenseman. With at least 37 points in every year since the lockout, he signed a 5-year, $33.4 million deal just hours before becoming a UFA.

Bouwmeester has an incredible skating ability, great hockey sense and is a shutdown defender who can play on both sides of the puck. Unfortunately, he does not play much of a physical game, which hurts his credibility a bit. He also is often called the most overrated player in the NHL by some media outlets.

Chris Pronger
The second overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Hartford Whalers, Pronger is the biggest defender on the Flyers roster at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds. He has posted at least 46 points in every full season but one since the 1998-99 season. Since the lockout, he has not posted less than 11 goals and 43 points.

One of the best one-on-one defenders in the league, he can punish forwards with his incredible body checks and start the rush the other way. He is also and excellent power play specialist and a vocal leader in the locker room. On the negative side, he is known as a dirty player and tends to take many bad penalties. Since October 2000, Pronger has been suspended six times by the NHL.

Advantage: Flyers

No. 2 Defenseman

Dion Phaneuf
Drafted ninth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Phaneuf was a Calder Trophy finalist along with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in the 2005-06 season. He has posted at least 47 points in every season and had a career year in 2007-08, when he posted 60 points and 182 PIM in 82 games.

Phaneuf is as good a hitter as Chris Pronger. He unleashes a powerful shot from the point and displays great all-around ability in the offensive zone. His defensive zone coverage needs to improve, though. He sometimes gets himself out of position by trying too hard to make a big hit.

Kimmo Timonen
A diamond in the rough, Timonen was drafted in the tenth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He made his NHL debut six five years later and has posted at least 40 points every year since the 2001-02 season. His career high came in 2006-07 with the Nashville Predators when he posted 55 points in 80 games; a number that included 13 goals.

Timonen’s biggest assets are his speed and hockey sense. He can quarterback the power play and is a master on the rush. His play in the defensive zone is second-to-none. However, due to his small 5-foot-10 stature, he rarely plays physically and often gets worn down by physical play.

Advantage: Flames

No. 3 Defenseman

Robyn Regehr
The 19th overall pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Regehr has only known one NHL team; Calgary. He is known more for his defensive play as opposed to putting up points, although he does have almost 130 points in his career. He is a bulky guy, clocking in at 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds.

He has an accurate point shot, good hockey sense and an incredible work ethic. It’s tough to get the puck around him going down one-on-one in the offensive zone. However, he is very hesitant with the puck and therefore makes many mistakes on the rush and the breakout.

Braydon Coburn
The Atlanta Thrashers’ eighth overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, he was traded to the Flyers for Alexei Zhitnik, the worst trade in Thrashers history. Coburn’s 6-foot-5, 220 pound frame has been able to surpass the 25-point mark the last two years.

Coburn is a great all-around defenseman who can play well in the offensive and defensive zone. He has a booming shot and great hands that can put up numbers offensively. However, he is very inconsistent and often has trouble using his size effectively.

Advantage: Flyers

It is very close, with three completely different types of defensemen on each roster: the bruiser, the point producer and the defensive player. However, the Flyers seem to have the advantage going into the 2009-10 NHL season. A top pairing of Pronger and Timonen will scare any team that steps on the ice against the Orange and Black, while Bouwmeester has yet to prove that he indeed can play high-quality hockey on both sides of the puck.

Unfortunately, each of these teams only meet once in the regular season.

But perhaps they will meet again in a distant seven-game series.

Backchecking: Clarke Continues Legacy in Front Office

This article was first published on TheHockeyNews.com. You can see the original article here.


If we could all accomplish just a fraction of what Bob Clarke did in his career, I’m sure we would all be content with our lives.

Clarkie, as he is affectionately referred to by fans and friends, was playing for the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior League and had put up impressive numbers. However, he was rarely scouted, as few teams sent scouts to Western Canada in the 1960s. Clarke believed the only teams scouting him at the time were Detroit and Philadelphia.

Although he was a dangerous offensive threat, many teams passed on his services in the 1969 NHL draft because he had diabetes. “Just pissed me off,” Clarke said of teams not willing to take a chance on him. “But anyone who’s competitive would just say ‘(screw) you.’ ”

The Philadelphia Flyers decided to take that chance by drafting Clarke in the second round, 17th overall in 1969.

Fifteen seasons, two Stanley Cups, 358 goals and 1210 points later, Clarke had silenced his doubters.

He retired from his playing career in 1984 and was offered a position in Flyers management. The love and pride of an entire city would now be moving from leading the team to running the team. But the transition from the ice to the front office wasn’t an easy one for Clarke.

“It was really difficult to go from being part of what’s going on on the ice to just sitting there watching, not being able to do anything,” Clarke said. “So many times you have to just sit patiently and it can be frustrating if your team is struggling and you can’t do anything about it.”

One of the toughest tasks Clarke had to accomplish as GM of the Flyers was building a competitive team for the “New NHL” after the ’04-05 lockout.

“It was an impossibility to create a team for the new changes in the game, because we had no time to do it,” Clarke said. “All of a sudden we’re playing a game that none of us knew. Some teams had the right players for it, but it was all luck, none of it was by design. Some of us didn’t have the right type of players for the new game, but you’re still responsible.”

After the Flyers’ 2006-07 season began poorly, Clarke resigned from the GM position, citing a lack of desire and burnout from the game. A few months later, he was offered his current position of senior vice president.

“Paul Holmgren will ask me questions of things I’ve gone through in similar situations - talk to me about making trades,” Clarke said of his role on the team. “He uses me to talk to so he can bounce things off of me because of my experience.

“For me, it keeps me with the Flyers, it keeps me involved in the game and you still sleep better at night in this position,” Clarke said with a laugh.

The Flyers have consistently been a tough team to play against throughout its history, owning the NHL’s second-best all-time winning percentage behind the Montreal Canadiens. Clarke attributes that to the tremendous support of owner Ed Snider.

“We were allowed to spend the money, we always tried to win,” Clarke said. “We didn’t do what Pittsburgh did; lose seven years in a row so they could get good. They did it twice, in fact. They went through six or seven different owners. We’ve had one owner.”

Clarke finds the strategies of some current teams appalling when considering the way other organizations have built competitive teams.

“It’s somewhat embarrassing that three of the last teams (in the 2009 playoffs) missed the playoffs six or seven years in a row; Washington, Chicago, and Pittsburgh,” he said. “Now they’re good and the teams that try to win all the time get penalized. Our philosophy has never changed since 1967.”

Although Clarke was never able to capture a Stanley Cup in the front office, it wasn’t for lack of effort or desire.

“We do everything we can to win; it is our responsibility to our fans.”

Best NHL Calls of All Time

1. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” Al Michaels, 1980 Olympics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGACsSW4Iqw

This call is the top call on the list of NHL play-by-play calls for many reasons. For one, it almost guaranteed a gold medal was coming to the United States. The USA is not a big market for hockey, contrary to Mr. Bettman’s beliefs. But this game, this goal, this call, brought America out of the dumps of the Cold War, out of a horrible economy and a possible world conflict with the Soviet Union, by watching their team defeat the mighty hockey dynasty. It was a lot more than hockey game, as many say. It was a sort of political statement (unfortunately) that showed the world of the USA’s power and ability to answer to adversity. And these young college kids did just that.

2. “Heeeeeenderson, has scored for Canada!” Foster Hewitt, 1972 Summit Series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWwN9kHnsKI&feature=related

No goal in hockey history changed Canada like Paul Henderson’s goal to defeat the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series. Many have argued he should be in the Hall of Fame for this, though the election committee (and myself) do not agree. For those of you that argue it should be number one, hear me out before you chew me out (then chew me out anyway). Yes, this goal was incredible, it came at a perfect time, and it lifted a nation out of a horrible mindset. Nonetheless, it was an exhibition game. The Summit Series winner was not given anything but the satisfaction of beating another country. Nothing else. It does not take away from the accomplishment of winning the series. It was still amazing.

3. “The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions, and this one will last a lifetime!” Sam Rosen, 1994 Stanley Cup Final

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzq2AhbXSeY

The curse is over. Well, it was. Now they have another curse. It’s called Glen Sather.

4. “The Soviets are leaving! They’re going home!” 1976 Flyers-Red Army game

http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=451292&navid=DL|PHI|home

Bob Cole calls the Soviet Red Army team skating off the ice after a nasty hit on Valeri Kharlamov of the Soviet team. What did the Flyers fans do? The same thing they always do. Taunt. Anger. Show the passion they have for their team.

5. “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! The Rangers are headed to the finals!” Howie Rose, 1994 Conference Final, Game 7, Overtime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZDsIaTmO_k

The excitement of the Rangers getting a chance to play for the Stanley Cup is reflected in Howie Rose’s call of Matteau’s overtime game winner in the Eastern Conference Final.

6. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Flyers are going to win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers win the Stanley Cup! The Flyers have won the Stanley Cup!” Gene Hart, 1974 Stanley Cup Final

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-feMY5gi1M&feature=fvw

As a Flyers fan, I’ve seen and heard this hundreds of times. And it never gets old. The Flyers even have a ringtone for your phone with this call. Don’t worry, I’m not that much of a freak.

7. “Bobby Orr, behind the net to Sanderson to Orr! Bobby Orr! Scores! And the Boston Bruins have won the Stanley Cup!” Game 4, May 10, 1970, Bruins vs. Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4yZZLXLmJk&feature=related

The goal. One of the most important and famous in NHL history.

8a. “The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup! Raymond Bourque! A dream has come true!” Gary Thorne, 2001 Stanley Cup Final, Game 7

8b. “Joe Sakic will come out to receive it as captain, the Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche, and after 22 years…RAYMOND BOURQUE!” Gary Thorne, 2001 Stanley Cup Final, Game 7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGovDkf6JHs&feature=related

Ray Bourque was moved to Colorado in hopes that he would be able to both bring them and himself a championship, something he hadn’t done in his long NHL career. It took 22 years, but Bourque finally found himself on the winning side of an NHL season. The 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche helped make Bourque’s wish come true, as did captain and future Hall-of Famer Joe Sakic when he handed the Cup straight to Bourque after receiving it from Commissioner Bettman.

9. “Rolston ahead, shoves it on, bearing back in is Zajac…backhander, he scooooores! …no!” Doc Emrick, calling a Phantom goal on March 23, 2009 (Flyers vs. Devils)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwoZSqsA-rQ

If I may say, this is one of the funniest moments in recent memory. As everyone knows, Doc Emrick gets a bit crazy when a goal is scored. So what happens when he thinks a goal is scored, but it isn’t? Well, check out the clip that keeps my friends and I laughing on a regular basis.

10. “The drop comes to Kunitz moving in, to Crosby, ohhhhh! What a save! My goodness what a save by Varlamov! The save of the playoffs!” Doc Emrick, May 2, 2009, Penguins vs. Capitals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwtNoIIWCLk&feature=fvw

In the semifinals, Penguins vs. Capitals, a two-on-one with Kunitz and Crosby occurs. Crosby has a wide open net and just barely tips it towards the goal. He puts his arms in the air to celebrate, only to see rookie nobody Simeon Varlamov reach back with his stick and just barely tip the puck away, in one of the most incredible saves of the 2008-09 season. Play-by-play man Doc Emrick went crazy (as he always does), yelling at the top of his lungs. The simple excitement of the game, the call, and the play itself, all combined, just barely puts it on this list.

Honorable Mentions

“He scores! He scores! Jeremy Roenick! Sends the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals! Sudden death magic for JR and the Flyers move on!” Jim Jackson, 2004 Semifinals, Game 6, Overtime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4GWnqUeZVQ

Jeremy Roenick scores in Game 6 of the 2004 Semifinals in the Air Canada Centre to send the Flyers to Tampa Bay for the third round. Unbelievable moment, one of the most memorable. Watch the clip and you’ll understand why it’s so incredible. Simply chaos. But let’s let Flyers’ play-by-play man Jim Jackson explain why it’s one of his favorite calls.

“That call when JR scored in Toronto jumps out to me because I was out of voice. Basically what happened was play had gone back and forth for quite a long time and Kapanen got hit and I’m describing that and Toronto had a ton of chances, Robert Esche made some great saves and I know that in overtime, I was just about out of gas. And then here they come, two-on-one, I was out of breath, I was pretty much by the time he scores, sucking for air...that call certainly stands out, because I was lucky I made it through it, to be honest (laughs).”

“Here’s May going in on goal, he shoots, he scores! May Day! May Day! May Day!” April 24, 1993, Buffalo vs. Boston.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0xxSsEqjIk

Bray May is mainly known for his grit and physical play. However, one of the greatest moments in his NHL career came while on the Buffalo Sabres. In the 1992-93 season, the Sabres had finished fourth in their division and were set to face the first place Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. Extreme underdogs, the Sabres went out and dominated the B’s, culminating in Brad May’s game four overtime series clincher, leading to long-time Sabres broadcast Rick Jeanneret’s famous proclamation.

Alan Bass is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report, the Community Leader for the NHL and Philadelphia Flyers’ section, and a writer for TheHockeyNews.com, Prohockeynews.com, Insidehockey.com and Hockey54.com. You can contact him at BergHockey24@gmail.com.