Flyers honor one of their own in Desjardins

HOCKEY people know.

Quietly, Eric Desjardins was inducted into the Flyers' Hall of Fame last night.

Quietly, he was the most consistent player on the Flyers teams that terrorized the Eastern Conference for a decade.

Quietly, he became the second-best defenseman in Flyers history.

Mark Howe is the best.

Howe is the essence of a hockey person, by bloodline and by trade. He was inducted into the Flyers' Hall in 2001; a decade later, he followed his father, Gordie, into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

These days, Mark Howe runs Detroit's pro scouting department. His duties last night dictated that he be at Madison Square Garden to scout a game against the Canucks.

That's why Howe initially declined the Flyers' request to be at Desjardins' induction. Then, Howe considered the man and the moment, and he reconsidered his priorities.

A great hockey person was being honored, and Howe was honored to attend.

"Eric was the epitome of consistency. He was a factor every single game," Howe said. "That's something I took pride in."

Desjardins was disciplined and tireless and polished, but not perfect. Neither was Howe:

"I used to shoot for playing 19 out of 20 good games,'' he said. "It started from the second I got up in the morning, had breakfast, went to the morning skate. When the game was over, I'd ask myself, 'Was I totally focused? Did I give it my all?' If I did that, I could walk away from the rink happy."

Howe paused.

"In scouting, I watched Eric Dejardins play. You definitely saw that in his game every day."

So, last night, Howe showed up, and the team took advantage of a wonderful photo opportunity: Howe, Desjardins and current Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, clearly the three best blue liners in club history.

It was a cool ceremony, but the Wells Fargo Center was not as electric as it has been on other big nights. That suited the occasion because of the man.

Maybe there is a bit of Enshrinement Fatigue, what with Legion of Doom pillars Eric Lindros and John LeClair having been inducted earlier this season. Maybe it's just that Desjardins has never been the kind of guy who commanded a spotlight.

But make no mistake: Rico was the glue.

"There was a lot of fanfare about the Legion of Doom, and they were obviously extremely special players," said Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn, "and maybe I'm biased because I'm a D-man, too.

"I always felt Eric Desjardins was the backbone of those strong Flyers teams of the '90s and early 2000s."

He's not alone.

"The backbone of the success that we had when I was here . . . Eric was the reason why," said LeClair. "Without him back there, and the way he controlled the game and the things that he did, that helped us so much as forwards. I don't think other people realize how much of an asset he was and what he did for everybody on the ice."

"He was amazing," Lindros said.

Desjardins mainly stayed at home, and he shut down the best lines in the NHL, but he could join the rush, get the puck to the net and bolster any special-teams unit. He lacked no skill, and did it all, for 738 games as a Flyer.

His defense partner, Chris Therien, handled the induction duties, during which he dubbed Desjardins, "The best player I ever played with." The ceremony included Lindros and LeClair.

Bobby Clarke, the greatest Flyer and the man who traded with Montreal for Desjardins, said Desjardins was a favorite of his. Current general manager Ron Hextall said it was "an honor" to play in goal behind Desjardins, and said Desjardins was egregiously underrated.

Desjardins made three All-Star teams and finished among the top 10 in voting for the Norris Trophy five times as a Flyer. He looks as if he could play again tomorrow.

Fit and trim at 45, nearly a decade after his last game, Desjardins retains the elegant accent of his hometown, Montreal, where he won a Stanley Cup in 1993. In an eloquent acceptance speech he thanked his teammates by nickname; his trainers, coaches, brass and owner Ed Snider; his wife; and, beautifully, he thanked his mother, in French.

Merci beaucoup, Maman.

Howe loved that part. As a pro scout, he occasionally finds himself scheduled to attend games that include ceremonies like last night's, which delayed the start by 1 hour. Some scouts stay away from those games, or show up late. Howe gets there early.

"Part of this game is giving back, especially to the players," Howe said. "It was important for people to have me here. It's nice to be a part of this. There'll be other games for me to scout. I've been to these for [Scott] Niedermayer, [Mark] Messier, [Adam] Graves."

And, now, Desjardins.

Howe's a hockey person. It's what hockey people do.

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