September 15, 2015
During his 11 years with the Flyers, Simon Gagne scored some pretty important goals. This one initially comes to mind:
As does this one:
And who can forget about this one?
Originally the Flyers’ first-round pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the 35-year-old winger also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, and Boston Bruins. In 2012, he was able to win the elusive Stanley Cup with the Kings. Today, Gagne retired after 14 NHL seasons.
“Today, I want to thank my trainers and teammates,” said Gagne in a press release. “You inspired me to surpass myself. You made me understand that you need more than talent; it takes sacrifice and discipline and you need to work harder than your rivals. I also wish to thank my fans. Every evening, you energized me and inspired me to perform.”
On the subject of big goals, Gagne’s playoff numbers are impressive. In 90 career playoff games with the Flyers, he scored 32 goals and had 15 assists. His 47 career points rank 18th all-time in Flyers playoff history. Those 32 goals are good for eighth in team playoff history, and his six game-winning goals are tied for seventh.
Gagne will speak on a conference call later today, so we will have his thoughts on a very good career that saw play in 882 NHL games and record 601 points.
Ron Hextall, who worked in the Flyers front office during much of Gagne's career in Philly, felt that Gagne's speed and skill-oriented game might have translated better if he came around a decade later.
"Sometimes the more distance you get from a player, the more you forget how good of a player he was, but he was a real impact player for us," Hextall said. "He was one of those guys that scored big goals, scored a lot of goals, his speed. If Simon was 20 years old right now, we'd be excited. His game certainly transitioned from when he started to now. He might be a more valuable player now, and he was a very valuable player. He was a hell of a player."
Hextall also worked for the Kings at the same time that Gagne was able to win a title late in his career.
"It's pretty neat when a player like that, Kimmo is probably the perfect ending, the perfect scenario," Hextall said. "Simon was behind that but it's pretty damn good when a guy puts in that much time and finally gets to lift the cup. It was neat."
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
