Philadelphia Flyers: 5 best captains in franchise history
By Tim Boyle
4. Best Philadelphia Flyers Captain – Bill Barber
Bill Barber was not the captain of the Flyers for too long. His tenure went from October 9, 1981, until January 6, 1983. He qualifies nonetheless. And if you’re familiar with Flyers history, you know how important he was to the team for his 12 seasons in Philadelphia.
Barber was a high-scoring forward throughout the 1970s and even into the early 1980s. I think he defined the Broad Street Bully mentality well. He could score but also was willing to get rough. In fact, his 420 goals with the Flyers is more than anyone else.
No season displayed this more than the 1975-1976 season. Barber put the puck in the net 50 times, added 62 assists to give him 112 total points, and even had 104 penalty minutes. All were career highs for him. A plus/minus of plus 74 made this one of those ridiculous seasons by a Flyers player.
There was no other team Barber ever suited up for in the NHL. So, it made sense to make him the captain at the start of the 1981-1982 season.
Although his best days could have been behind, Barber was a huge success on the ice scoring 45 goals and adding 44 assists. Arguably his second-best season from a statistical standpoint, the team remained competitive in those final years of his career while he wore the C.