Icecapades 14, Olympic Edition: Creating a Lineup of Former Players Who Could Still Play

I thought of many things in between the Olympic break and the second half of the season. Some were about the Flyers, in particular my pleas to PLEASE TRADE SAM ERSSON, but others were about the Olympics. Watching Olympic hockey is a joy that I hope to do more often. But then I remembered seeing Rod Brind’Amour pacing at the bench at many Canes games, looking like he could rip off his shirt and jump onto the rink to play for 15 minutes. So I decided to write an article on former players who, in the parlance of the youth, “still got it.” I am also basing part of my judgment on whether a player has participated in Alumni games or other charity events and looked somewhat decent. Or in the case of Brind’Amour, showing his players he could still win face-offs and could easily be a player-coach if Gary Bettman wasn’t a coward.

I am calling my first line the “Oops, all Flyers” line. Rod Brind’Amour centers John LeClair and Mikael Renberg. The latter two players were a part of the infamous Legion of Doom line that I am unfortunately too young to remember. I have heard about their highlights from my parents, which was one of the reasons I picked the Flyers (and later, the Canes, because Brind’Amour coaches the team).

The second line doesn’t have a fun name, but it does have three players who have combined for a whopping 3,394 points. Carl Hagelin is a part of the iconic HBK (Hagelin, Bonino, Kessel) line that helped the Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups, so there’s that. Joe Sakic and Teemu Selanne are two of the most iconic players of hockey in the 1990s and 2000s—Sakic for his clutch goal scoring and Selanne for his speed and clutch goal scoring

The third line continues to have goal-scoring prowess with Patrick Sharp (Flyers legend), Joe Thornton, and Jarome Iginla. The less I say about Sharp after he got traded, the better for Flyers fans¹. Thornton never got a Stanley Cup, but I’m sure he can stick a Sharks logo on whichever Stanley he buys from Dicks Sporting Goods. Iginla also played with Sidney Crosby on the 2010 Canadian men’s Olympic team, which won the gold. It was also a factoid that I felt I saw everywhere, especially from social media accounts rooting for Team Canada.

And finally, my fourth line. While Scottie Upshall is a quintessential fourth liner—138 goals, 146 assists for a total of 246 points—his linemates, TJ Oshie and Jaromir Jagr are not. Oshie and Jagr have a total of 1,068 goals and 2,916 points. Oshie is also one of the best Capitals players, whereas Jagr is a Capitals legend. Blame the Penguins going bankrupt for him getting traded out of Pittsburgh, as well as his sheer willingness to play professional hockey for 38 years. If it wasn’t for the “Oops, all Flyers” line, they’d definitely be in the first line. At least Upshall will get more assists.

While we have Hall of Famers (or, in the case of Jagr, prospective Hall of Famers once he stops playing) on all four lines, our defensive pairs are a bit grittier. They’re the types of guys you’d call at 3 AM, which, as we all know, is when nothing good happens. I do have two Hall of Famers with Rod Blake and Niklas Lidstrom, but they were iconic defensemen of hockey in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Our first D Pair epitomizes this to a tee, with Tony Twist and Chris Pronger, yet another Flyers legend. You don’t want to see them in an alleyway (photographic proof below)

My point has been proven. They will be setting the tone. I know that my “Oops, all Flyers” line can (and will) handle themselves, but I don’t want to take any chances.

My second DPair features two Hall of Famers, Niklas Lidstrom and Rod Blake. Lidstrom played for much of the Red Wings dynasty (1992-2012) and also has seven Norris Trophies to add to his four Stanley Cup rings. While Blake won the Norris Trophy just once in his career, he did have the unenviable task of captaining the LA Kings after some guy named Wayne Gretzky left for St. Louis.

My third D Pair has dialectic opposites. Shooting left is Mike Commodore, a player who, despite creating the NHL Masters, ironically has a 0 plus minus. Shooting right is PK Subban, who was an explosive offensive defenseman at his peak in the mid 2010s.

My final D Pair has two legends and Flyers menaces—Darius Kasparitis and Mark Staal (who was a Flyers legend). Darius Kasparitis, who is public enemy #12.5 for Flyers fans after his hit on Eric Lindros in a 1998 game that knocked him out for 18 more. Good news for Lindros’ CTE fears is that I’m not picking him; he has aged into a former player who likes to watch the action rather than participate in it. Backing him up is Flyers legend Mark Staal, although he’s better known for his time with the Flyers’ division rival, the New York Rangers. While researching for this article, I found out he played for the Flyers in the 2023-2024 season. I don’t remember seeing him, but that might have been because he played 35 games for his division rival.

My two netminders hail from opposite sides of the Battle of Pennsylvania— Brian Boucher and Marc-Andre Fleury. It goes to show you how depleted the goaltending depth market is when teams are considering bringing Fleury out of retirement. I also believe that Boosh would be an upgrade over Ersson in net, but then again, a cardboard cutout would make a few more saves above expected than Samuel.