Fansided

Luckiest jerseys in the NHL’s long and storied history

By Bruin Belisle

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /
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CIRCA 1970’s: Bobby Clarke #16 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates during an NHL Hockey game circa mid 1970’s. Clarke played for the Flyers from 1969-84. (Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
CIRCA 1970’s: Bobby Clarke #16 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates during an NHL Hockey game circa mid 1970’s. Clarke played for the Flyers from 1969-84. (Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images) /

9. Philadelphia Flyers

This is a tough one. To say that either Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup winning team was lucky is doing those teams a disservice. The broad street bullies were tough, mean, relentless and extremely gritty (get it?). There was zero luck involved in these teams as they would just beat the sh*t out of you and win games.

Led by Bobby Clarke, this team featured tough guys with equally tough nicknames. Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Andre “Moose” Dupont and Bob “Hound Dog” Kelly were the main trio of enforcers, but just about any player on that team could hold their own in a scrap. They were a nightmare to play against at the height of violence in the NHL and they won two Stanley Cups because of it.

The Flyers were an expansion team full of smaller, skilled players. Those players were getting beaten (literally) to a pulp by league enforcers like the Plager brothers in St. Louis. Flyers owner Ed Snider had seen enough. He went to management and proposed a plan to toughen up and it sounded like it was right out of a hockey movie (via Hockey News):

"Then the next year [1971-72] we weren’t in the playoffs, but during the season we were being manhandled. So I said to Keith, “Look, we’re an expansion team, we may not be able to skate, we may not have great players, but we can go out and get the toughest son-of-a-bitches in the world, and I don’t want to see our team ever get beat up again. I don’t give a goddamn about this having one policeman. Let’s have five or six.” And that’s the beginning of the Broad Street Bullies."

The point is, the Flyers don’t have a lucky jersey. Ask any recent Flyers fan if they’ve ever experienced any luck. Ask their seven goaltenders this season. There’s no luck here. It’s hard work, grit and toughness or it’s nothing. The city of Philadelphia still embodies those broad street bully days.

They lucked into Gritty though. That mascot is next-level.

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