The Philadelphia Flyers have announced former captain and two-time Stanley Cup champion Ed Van Impe has passed away at the age of 84.
The Flyers mourn the loss of a leader and original Philadelphia Flyer in Ed Van Impe. We offer our deepest condolences to his teammates, who had the privilege to play beside him, and his family and friends who were close to him during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/chu1hvLnFu
Flyers website contributor Bill Meltzer first reported the news early Thursday morning.
A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Van Impe was known as a hard-nosed, physical defender during his time in the NHL. He spent five seasons in the AHL with the Buffalo Bisons before joining the Chicago Black Hawks in 1966-67. His impressive rookie season (8 goals, 11 assists) saw him finish second in Calder Trophy voting behind Boston Bruins defenseman and all-time great Bobby Orr.
The Black Hawks left Van Impe unprotected in the 1967 Expansion Draft and he was selected by the Flyers in the third round with the 16th overall pick.
An original member of the franchise, Van Impe went on to play parts of nine seasons in Philadelphia. He was named the second captain in Flyers history in 1968 after the departure of Lou Angotti and served in that role until midway through 1972-73 when franchise icon Bobby Clarke assumed the captaincy. He also appeared in three All-Star Games in 1969, 1974, and 1975. He was a staple of the Flyers’ two Stanley Cup championship teams in 1974 and 1975, forming a strong defensive corps on the “Broad Street Bullies” with Joe Watson, Jimmy Watson, Barry Ashbee, André Dupont, Tom Bladon, and Ted Harris during those seasons.
Van Impe is perhaps most famous for his play in the ‘76 Super Series game against the Red Army on January 11, 1976. The bruising blueliner laid a crushing hit on Valeri Kharlamov that the visiting Russians deemed dirty, and Red Army coach Konstantin Loktev pulled his team off the ice in response after no penalty was issued to Van Impe.
The team returned when they were threatened with no pay for their entire tour and proceeded to lose 4-1 to the Flyers at The Spectrum in what is still one of the most historic games in hockey history.
Van Impe was later traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 9, 1976 alongside Bobby Taylor for Gary Inness and future considerations. He would retire from the NHL after the 1976-77 season.
Van Impe went on to work on Flyers television broadcasts for five seasons and was later inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 620 regular season games as a Flyer, Van Impe recorded 126 points (19 goals, 107 assists) and 891 penalty minutes. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he racked up 12 points (1 goal, 11 assists) and 120 penalty minutes in 57 games. His +16 in the 1975 playoffs was tied for the league lead and his 141 penalty minutes in the 1967-68 season led all Flyers. Van Impe closed his NHL career with 703 regular season games played along with 66 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had 27 goals, 126 assists, and 1,024 PIM in the regular season and 1 goal, 12 assists, and 130 PIM in the postseason.
Van Impe still ranks third all-time among Flyers defensemen in PIM behind André Dupont and Glen Cochrane with 891, which is also 14th overall in franchise history. His 620 games played as a Flyer still ranks fourth among defensemen behind Chris Therien, Joe Watson, and Éric Desjardins, and 19th overall in franchise history.
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