44 Days Until Flyers Hockey: History of the Number

There are now 44 days left until the Philadelphia Flyers play a regular-season hockey game, starting the season in Florida against the defending cup champion Panthers on October 9th. With that, I thought I’d try something new.

There are 44 days until the Flyers play a real, meaningful game. So, let’s look at some of the history of No. 44 in Flyers history.

16 players in franchise history have worn the number. There has been a Flyer rocking a No. 44 sweater in each season since 2019. The longest it has ever been worn by a Flyer is seven seasons, with two players tied for second with four years in the number.

So, let’s look into some of the history of the No. 44 in Philadelphia.

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The First

The first No. 44 in Philly was Glen Cochrane. 44 was one of four numbers that Cochrane was linked to in Philadelphia, alongside Nos. 9, 35, and 29.

Cochrane wore No. 44 in his very first appearance with the team in 1978, where he appeared in one game, tallied zero points, and had a -2 rating. In his full six years with the Flyers, Cochrane appeared in 257 games, scoring 16 goals and 61 assists for 77 points in a Flyers sweater. Great seasons between 1981 and 1984 pushed Cochrane’s career rating with the Flyers to 74. Not too bad for a defenseman.

My favorite Cochrane stat: in his 257 games in Philly, he had earned 1110 penalty minutes. That means he averaged over two minor penalties a game with the Flyers.

The Current

Currently, Nic Deslauriers wears the No. 44 for the Flyers.

It’s hard not to love Deslauriers. No, he’s not going to show up on the scoresheet often. Nor should he be expected to be a big goal scorer. He does not play in every game, but when he does, he is a physical presence.

Deslauriers has spent three seasons in Philadelphia and is entering his fourth. The Flyers are the sixth, and likely final stop in the journeyman’s 12-year (13 if he plays this season) career.

In three seasons in the orange and black 44, Deslauriers has played in 171 games, tallying nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points. He also has 240 penalty minutes, which you can imagine are primarily for fighting.

The Best

I don’t think there is really an argument for who the best Flyers to ever wear the No. 44 is. Kimmo Timonen is easily the best Flyer to ever wear 44.

He was the longest tenured No. 44 in Flyers history, along with being one of the best on the ice. Not to mention, he is probably the most revered No. 44 in Flyers history as well. While he is not in the team’s hall of fame, Timonen, in my mind, is easily one of the Flyers’ best defensemen in team history.

Not to age myself here, but Timonen played a significant role on the Flyers team I watched when I first got into the sport.

Timonen played 519 games for the Flyers, scoring 38 goals, 232 assists, and 270 total points. Easily the best to ever wear No. 44.

The Rest

The others to wear the number include: Mike Stothers, Willie Huber, Corey Fostoer, Shawn Cronin, Anatli Semenov, Janne Niinimaa, Dave Babych, Mark Eaton, P.J. Stock, Joni Pitkanen, Phil Varone, Chris Stewart, and Nate Thompson.

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