Because Leach wasn';t present for Philadelphia';s 1974 Stanley Cup and never
accumulated more than 63 penalty minutes in a season, he';s not a full member
of the Broad Street Bullies. Yet, his presence on the LCB Line during the
1974-75 season and beyond can';t be overlooked. He was an immediate success
with the Flyers, scoring 45 goals and 78 points in 80 regular season games his
first year. He was also productive during the 1975 Playoffs with eight goals
and 10 points in 17 games.

But it was his performance during the 1975-76 regular season and the 1976
postseason that he is best known for. In 80 regular season games, he had 61
goals and 91 points, was a plus-72, and was named to the second All-Star team.
His 61 goals led the league and remain a franchise single-season record. His
postseason numbers that year were out of this world. In 16 games, he led the
league with 19 goals and 24 points and won the Conn Smythe Trophy despite the
Flyers losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Canadiens.Reggie Leach (right)
playing against the Montreal Canadiens in the 1976 Stanley Cup Final. Leach won
 the Conn Smythe Trophy that year despite playing on the losing team. (Photo by
 Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)

In doing so, he became the only non-goaltender to be named playoff MVP in a
losing effort. Following the 1981-82 season, Leach departed Philadelphia to
play one season with the Red Wings before retiring. After his playing career
ended, he became a junior hockey coach and is now a scout in juniors. His son,
Jamie, played on Pittsburgh';s Cup-winning teams in 1991 and 1992.Left Wing Bob
 Kelly

The Flyers drafted Bob "Hound Dog" Kelly in the third round of the 1970 Entry
Draft. Prior to his NHL career, he played for the Oshawa Generals when they
were a member of the Ontario Hockey Association. Even in juniors he was a bit
of an enforcer with 100-plus penalty minutes both seasons. In the NHL, that
style of play continued with at least 100 penalty minutes in eight of his 12
seasons.

That includes the 1973-74 season when he had 130 and just missed the mark the
following season with 99 penalty minutes. He didn';t provide much offensively
with 15 goals and 45 points during the Stanley Cup years but he is famous for
scoring the Cup-winning goal in Game Six of the 1975 Final against the Sabres.

Kelly remained a Flyer through the 1979-80 season when he was traded to the
Washington Capitals. The next season he had career highs with 26 goals and 62
points and then retired partway through the 1981-82 season. Since his playing
career ended, he, along with Dornhoefer and Parent serve as hockey ambassadors
for the Flyers. In that capacity, he teaches children about the sport and
represents the team at charity events.The Flyers Were Really Good

As mentioned in the intro, the Flyers didn';t have the runs of the Canadiens,
Islanders, and Oilers of that era. Yet, they still went to three consecutive
Cup Finals and were the first expansion team to win a Stanley Cup. The 1974 and
 1975 Flyers didn';t have the names that those others teams had. If you include
 Shero, each of the Flyers'; Cup-winning rosters had four future Hockey Hall of
 Famers on them. By comparison, the 1975-76 Canadiens, whom the Flyers lost to
in the Stanley Cup Final, had 10 members on it.The Philadelphia Flyers
celebrating their Stanley Cup in 1974. (CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3....

Despite over four decades having passed since the Broad Street Bullies
entertained fans at the Spectrum, the guys who made up the group will forever
be immortalized in hockey lore, both due to their talent and willingness to
drop the gloves. Perhaps it';s because no team since has reached the heights of
 the 1974 and 1975 Flyers while playing that style.

I feel confident in saying that there will not be a modern version of the Broad
 Street Bullies. Violence is no longer as big a part of the game as it was in
previous decades. But that doesn';t dismiss what the Flyers did. As the league
gets further away from the Broad Street Bullies, all we';ll have left of them
will be the lore. Much like the story of Bill Barilko lives on in The
Tragically Hip';s "Fifty Mission Cap," the 1973-74 and 1974-75 Flyers teams
will live on in memory as not just two of the most entertaining teams in hockey
 history, but also two of the greatest.

The post Broad Street Bullies: More Than Goons, Fists & Enforcers appeared
first on The Hockey Writers.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHockeyWrite...
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)