Going End to End today are NBC Sports Philadelphia's Brooke Destra, Katie Emmer, Taryn Hatcher, Joe Fordyce and Jordan Hall.
The topic: Should Simon Gagne make the Flyers Hall of Fame?
Destra
If you don’t think Gagne deserves to be in the Flyers Hall of Fame, did you even watch him play?
During his time in Philadelphia, he became one of the most well-respected athletes to ever come through the organization. On top of that, his performance night in and night out was some of the best we’ve seen since the century turned.
There were three separate times during his career when he led the team in goals — two of those coming in back-to-back seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07 (when he also led in points overall). His 47-goal season is the best by a Flyer since 1997-98 when John LeClair finished with 51 goals.
And let’s be honest … these two goals alone should rightfully earn him a spot.
NHL
Emmer
While Gagne wasn’t the most consistent point-getter throughout his 11 seasons, the fact that the Flyers were in the playoffs 10 out of his 11 seasons goes without saying — this guy made a difference.
He had some great seasons in Philadelphia.
The 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons were some of his best:
2005-06
• 33 even strength goals (most in NHL)
• 47 goals (seventh most in NHL)
• 0.65 goals per game (fourth best in NHL)
• plus-31 (tied for sixth best in NHL)
• 334 shots (fifth most in NHL)
2006-07
• 26 even strength goals (tied for eighth most in NHL)
• 41 goals (ninth most in NHL)
• 0.54 goals per game (seventh best in NHL)
• 2007 All-Star Game
While it would have been nice to see consistent production from Gagne, he still managed to help the Flyers achieve postseason runs every single year he played in Philadelphia except for one and had 524 total points with the club from 1999-00 to 2009-10.
Could he have done more? Maybe, but he gave the majority of his NHL career to the Flyers, he had some ups and some downs, like all good players do.
He should land in the Flyers Hall of Fame.
Hatcher
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals. Gagne misses the Flyers' first three games in a best-of-seven series against the Bruins with an injured toe and the Flyers fail to record a single win while he’s sidelined. Gagne comes back for Games 4-7 and everything’s different. He scored game-winning and game-changing goals multiple times in the remainder of that series, a series the Flyers went on to win.
Gagne was an impact player for the Flyers for more than a decade. He accumulated 535 points and tallied 264 goals during that time, which (statistically speaking) puts him alongside Flyers left wing legends like Bill Barber, Brian Propp and LeClair.
Fordyce
This is a no-brainer, Gagne’s name belongs in the Flyers Hall of Fame.
In 11 seasons with the Flyers, Gagne eclipsed 25 goals five different times, twice scoring more than 40 goals, including the 2005-06 season when Gagne scored 47 goals in just 72 games played. Gagne played 80 games in his rookie season as a 19-year-old scoring 20 goals and registering 28 assists, and was in the top five in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie.
Another attribute to Gagne’s robust Flyers résumé was his tendency to score big goals. In 2004, he forced a Game 7 against the eventual Stanley Cup champs the Tampa Bay Lightning by scoring the game-winner in overtime of Game 6. His return from injury during the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bruins in 2010 marked the turning point in the series, as the Flyers became the third team to ever come from down 3-0 to win a playoff series, with Gagne netting the game-winner in Game 7.
Plain and simple, he’s a Flyers Hall of Famer.
Hall
A telltale sign Gagne is Flyers Hall of Fame bound can be found in the franchise's top-10 goal-scoring club.
Gagne is No. 9 on the list with 264 goals, ahead of Claude Giroux at No. 10 with 257. Everyone among the top eight is in the Flyers Hall of Fame and we know Giroux will one day be inducted.
It would be surprising to see one of the organization's top-10 goal-scorers not get in. Gagne was drafted and groomed by the Flyers, played a long time in Philly and is among the team's better all-time goal-scorers — both regular season and postseason.
That should get him in.
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