When Riley Cote laced up his skates for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2000s, he carried the weight of an identity that stretched back decades: toughness. The Flyers, once notorious as the “Broad Street Bullies,” built their culture on intimidation, grit, and a relentless style of play. But as Cote sees it, the modern NHL — and the Flyers within it — has changed.
Asked whether fighting has faded because of concussion concerns, Cote dismissed the idea that safety was the main driver. “I’m not even sure it really has anything to do with concussions and the negative side of fighting,” he explained. “I think it’s just because the skill is so high. These young kids — ten years old — have more ability than I ever had. The way they skate and the way they move, it’s incredible.”
Cote contrasted today’s players with those of his own era. “Back in the early 2000s you had a lot of big men who didn’t move that well, but they filled up space. There’s no more of that. Having one-dimensional guys that could skate in a straight line, hit, and fight a little bit — there’s no roster spot for those guys anymore, unless you’re also that good of a player.”
Still, Cote doesn’t believe the Flyers’ identity has disappeared. Instead, it has evolved. “It’s never going back to the Broad Street Bullies. Maybe you take the essence of what the Broad Street Bullies represented. Yes, it was seemingly about fighting and bullying, but it was deeper than that. It was really about sticking up for each other, about being hard to play against.”
For Cote, that’s the standard the Flyers must reclaim: not intimidation through fists, but through relentlessness. “The modern-day NHL isn’t about intimidating anybody through fighting. It’s about being a hard team to play against. You look at the Florida Panthers — nobody’s trembling to go into Florida, but you know it’s going to be a hard night. Back in the day, teams were trembling to go into Philly. That’s what needs to be extracted from the Broad Street Bullies — just being a hard team. Not taking any shit, but doing it by being tough in all areas.”
In Cote’s eyes, the Flyers’ future identity won’t be built on staged fights or enforcers. Instead, it will come from recapturing the spirit of Philadelphia hockey: relentless, unforgiving, and always a nightmare to play against.
REUTERS/Shaun Best (CANADA SPORT ICE HOCKEY)
