Rod Brind’Amour, Jeremy Roenick lead 5 Flyers with cases for the Hockey Hall of Fame

Twenty-two members of hockey’s hallowed halls have ties to the Flyers organization, including 2023 inductee Ken Hitchcock in the builder’s category and 2022 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner Bill Clement, who won two Stanley Cups with the organization as a player.

And while they are all worthy, that doesn’t mean the Hockey Hall of Fame doesn’t have space for a few more who donned the Orange and Black. Who gets the call from chairman Lanny McDonald is anyone’s guess every year — and whoever doesn’t will stupefy everyone (i.e. Alexander Mogilny) — but the five guys highlighted below, in alphabetical order, are more than deserving of hockey’s highest honor.

Position: Center

Stats: 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists) in 1,484 regular-season games; 111 points (51 goals, 60 assists) in 159 playoff games

Awards: Stanley Cup (2006); Selke Trophy (2006, 2007); All-Star (1992); All-Rookie team (1990); World Championship gold (1994); Flyers Hall of Fame (2015)

» READ MORE: Flyers great Rod Brind’Amour’s case for the Hockey Hall of Fame

The case: This list may be in alphabetical order, but Brind’Amour would have been at the top of it even if it wasn’t. This is the easiest one, and how he keeps getting snubbed is mystifying. Before he was a Jack Adams-winning head coach, Brind’Amour was one of the game’s top defensive forwards while also having a scoring touch. A two-time Selke winner who captained the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2006, he ranks 21st in points among players who have played in at least 1,400 NHL games. Everyone above him but Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Jaromír Jágr, if he ever retires, is in the Hall of Fame. As Justin Williams said in January 2022, “He just checks every single box.”

Position: Goalie

Stats: 296-214-69, 2.98 goals-against average, .895 save percentage and 23 shutouts in 608 regular-season games; 47-43, 3.03 GAA, .897 save percentage and two shutouts in 93 playoff games

Awards: Vezina Trophy (1987); Conn Smythe Trophy (1987); All-Rookie team (1987); All-Star (1988); Flyers Hall of Fame (2008)

» READ MORE: Ranking the 50 greatest Flyers

The case: We can all agree Hextall won’t get into the Hall of Fame as an executive, but surely what he did on the ice is more than deserving. The netminder won the Vezina as a rookie — he finished second to Luc Robitaille for the Calder Trophy — and backstopped the Flyers to the 1987 Stanley Cup Final, where he won the Conn Smythe despite being on the losing end. Known for his goaltending and stickhandling, he ended his career with two legitimate goals into empty nets. The Hockey Hall of Fame committee is notoriously known to not select goalies — only 44 are in the Hall, including the three from the 2023 class in Henrik Lundqvist, Tom Barrasso, and Mike Vernon — so it’s not a huge surprise Hextall has had to wait. He didn’t hit the 300-win mark (ranks No. 42 in wins), which could hurt his chances, but among the guys who earned more wins, only four who are eligible for selection have won a Vezina.

Position: Left wing

Stats: 819 points (406 goals, 413 assists) in 967 regular-season games; 89 points (42 goals, 47 assists) in 154 playoff games

Awards: All-Star (1996-00); All-Star first team (1995, 1998); All-Star second team (1996, 1997, 1999); NHL Plus/Minus Award (1997, 1999); Stanley Cup (1993); Olympics silver medal (2002); Olympics All-Star team (2002); World Cup gold medal (1996); World Cup All-Star team (1996); Flyers Hall of Fame (2014); U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (2009)

The case: Here is the first reminder that the Hockey Hall of Fame is not the NHL Hall of Fame. LeClair never won a major award in the NHL, but he was one of the most gifted American players to ever play the game at a time when American hockey was just starting to get hot, consistently. The Vermont native played in two IIHF World Junior Championships and two Olympic Games and helped lead the U.S. to an upset of Canada at the 1996 World Cup, one of the defining moments in American hockey history. A member of the high-flying Legion of Doom line with the Flyers, he hit the 40-goal mark in five consecutive seasons (1995-2000), including eclipsing the 50-goal mark three times to become the first U.S.-born player to achieve the feat.

Position: Left wing

Stats: 1,004 points (425 goals, 579 assists) in 1,016 regular-season games; 148 points (64 goals, 84 assists) in 160 playoff games

Awards: All-Star (1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990); World Championship bronze medal (1982, 1983); Canada Cup championship (1987); Flyers Hall of Fame (1999); Canadian Junior all-time team (1999)

The case: Like LeClair, Propp never won an individual award, but unlike LeClair, he never won a Cup. It wasn’t without trying. The five-time All-Star played in five Stanley Cup Finals, including three with the Flyers. Propp’s name is all over the Flyers’ record book: fourth in games played (790) and points (849); second in goals (369), even-strength goals (246), and game-winning goals (55); and third in assists (480), power-play goals (103), and points per game (1.07). The guys who are usually above him are Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber — both in the Hall of Fame — and Claude Giroux, who is still lighting the lamp and also could have a case for the Hall. Propp also has a strong international record and, while it probably won’t give him any points in the Hall of Fame column, he did use the “Guffaw” often after scoring — and who doesn’t love some flair?

Position: Center

Stats: 1,216 points (513 goals, 703 assists) in 1,363 regular-season games; 122 points (53 goals, 69 assists) in 154 playoff games

Awards: All-Star (1991-94, 1999-00, 2002-04); Olympic silver medal (2002); World Juniors All-Star (1989); Canada Cup silver medal (1991); Canada Cup all-tournament team (1991); U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (2010)

The case: Rinse and repeat. Like LeClair, on the ice, Roenick is one of the greatest American players to ever suit up in the NHL. He is fifth in points (1,216), fourth in goals (513), third in power-play goals (184), and tied for second in game-winners with Mike Modano (92). Overall, he ranks 47th in points among NHL greats, and the only players above him not in the Hall of Fame are Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Thornton, and Jágr — guys not yet eligible. Always a showman and known for his accuracy, he scored more than 100 points in three straight seasons for the Blackhawks from 1991 to 1994 and is the only player in NHL history to lead his team in goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes in two seasons (1999-00, 2000-01) as a member of the Coyotes, according to USA Hockey. He played only three seasons with the Flyers, but he notched 173 points in 216 games, leading the team in points in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Across his career, he played in six Game 7′s and scored six goals, tied with a number of players, including Wayne Gretzky, for second. Roenick also has a storied history with USA Hockey, helping the team win Olympic silver in Salt Lake City and at the Canada Cup in 1991. He also held the points record for USA Hockey at World Juniors (25) until 2010.

Honorable mentions: Vincent Lecavalier, Rick MacLeish, Rick Tocchet, and Joe Watson.

Waiting for eligibility: Claude Giroux and Jágr.

Hockey Hall of Fame members with ties to the Flyers: Keith Allen, Bill Barber, Bobby Clarke, Bill Clement, Paul Coffey, Peter Forsberg, Gene Hart, Dale Hawerchuk, Ken Hitchcock, Mark Howe, Eric Lindros, Roger Neilson, Adam Oates, Bernie Parent, Bud Poile, Chris Pronger, Pat Quinn, Mark Recchi, Fred Shero, Darryl Sittler, Ed Snider, and Allan Stanley.