Barber happy to be back as Flyers honor him on banner night

For some, No. 7 is a lucky number.

For Bill Barber, who was drafted seventh overall by the Flyers in 1972, it was the number handed to him in his first training camp.

Last night, Barber's No. 7 was handed back to him in an on-ice ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center, in the form of his retirement banner that gracefully hung in the Spectrum for nearly 20 years.

"It's quite an honor," Barber said. "It's good to get back. I can't thank the Flyers enough for where I am today and being part of it. I have always been proud to have a longevity of being part of them for 30 years and not having to change teams as a player, which I took a lot of pride in.

"I believe in honor and all of those good things that go along with staying with one team."

Barber spent all 12 of his NHL seasons in a Flyers uniform. But what's more impressive is that his numbers have stood the test of time. Barber is still the Flyers' career leader in goals and points by a left winger.

In fact, no Flyer is within 50 goals of Barber's team record of 420, which was set when he retired because of a knee injury in 1983-84.

Barber was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 and his number was retired by the Flyers on Oct. 7 of that same year. Barber was the last of the Flyers' four retired banner honorees, as Barry Ashbee, Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent had their moment in the spotlight at separate times earlier this season.

Barber admitted that last night's ceremony, which included a video presentation and his banner being folded up and handed to his two small grandsons, would "hit home" and make him emotional. His grandchildren, Conner and Cameron, flew in from Kansas City, Mo., to join him.

"It will make you teary-eyed," Barber said, "no matter who you are or how strong you are. I think it will be a thrill for them and a bigger thrill for me. They are 6 and 8 years old now, so I think that they have an idea of what's going on."

Though Barber spent six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and won a third Stanley Cup in 2004 as director of player personnel after being fired as the Flyers' head coach in 2002, he rejoined the Flyers in 2008 as a scouting consultant.

For Barber, a native of Callander, Ontario, Philadelphia has always been his home.

"I think we all realized, in a short period of time, even after winning the second Cup, that guys wanted to make their lives here in Philly," Barber said. "When you are in an area where you win, you really don't want to leave that. I think that's the case here." *