With the 40th anniversary of the death of former Flyers goaltender Pelle Lindbergh coming up on Tuesday, many will remember the man, his brilliant career and the tragic way he left us.
Some consider him the second-greatest netminder in team history, behind only Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Parent, who died a couple of months ago at age 80.
Lindbergh’s future was bright in the 1985-86 season. The Flyers were coming off an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. There was nothing to suggest the Flyers couldn’t make it two finals appearances in a row. The reckless car accident that killed Lindbergh and severely injured two passengers has been reviewed countless times.
But what of Lindbergh’s teammates, who had to pick up the emotional pieces and play hockey again just a few days later?
At the center was Flyers captain Dave Poulin, who brought his comrades together at his house the morning after the accident and tried to rally their spirits. It wasn’t easy.
“It was enormous pressure I felt at that point,” he told me several years back. “To do what, I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to do, I just did it. It was almost innate. But then again, I was 25 years old.’’
Bob Clarke, a 36-year-old in just his second year as general manager, watched the drama unfold. Clarke said he felt fortunate to have such a natural leader as captain at that time.
“How could it get any more important than that?’’ Clarke said. “He was trying to lead a group of men to get them through it, get their emotions through it. Somehow get a hold of the sadness. And then go out and translate it back to the ice. It’s a pretty severe test of a man. Obviously, he passed it with flying colors.’’
When the Flyers had to play again, substitute goalie Darren Jensen was in net. Somehow, the team found a way to beat the Oilers, who were in the middle of a run of five Stanley Cups in seven years.
“Dave was captain of the team, it was his responsibility (to bring the players together),’’ Clarke said. “He did it very well. It was on his own. It was his own instinct. That’s why he was a good captain. It took those kinds of instincts to know what to do.’’
What Poulin did that day transcended sport.
He went from the captain of a hockey team to a leader of men.
“In Dave’s case, he also had to worry about the feelings of his teammates,’’ Clarke said. “Knowing they had to go back and play again. It’s bigger than any sport when anybody dies. But a captain has to make sure that team stays focused and has a purpose for going back on the ice.
“As much you would like to, you can’t use a teammate’s death as a reason to lose. And Dave didn’t allow them to.’’
Holmgren receives honor
Former Flyers player, coach, GM and president Paul Holmgren was honored Thursday night with his induction to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
Holmgren was a rugged competitor who became the first American-born player to record a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1980. Later, as coach, he took a 1988-89 team, which began with low expectations, to the Eastern Conference finals.
During his tenure as GM, the team reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010.
Remembering Bernie
Clarke plans to travel from his Florida home back to Philadelphia this month to attend a special tribute to Parent.
The two were close teammates. The most memorable photograph from the two Stanley Cup championships features Clarke and Parent, huge smiles on their faces, lugging the Stanley Cup around the Spectrum as the place goes wild.
“It’s interesting,” Clarke said in a recent telephone interview. “Our hockey careers are only a short time in your life. In Bernie’s case, he rose to the occasion to win two Stanley Cups. Everybody on the team was equally important. But Bernie was the best. More importantly, he was a father, a husband, a grandfather. … He associated with people, he helped charities. He did a lot of really good things in his life for a lot longer period than he played hockey.”
Parent and Clarke kept in touch over the past 45 years. It was a bond of mutual respect. Each knew they could not have won those championships without the other.
Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com.
