André Lacroix, an original member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the WHA's all-time leading scorer, has died at 81.

The center's résumé reads like a tour of hockey's wildest era. Black Hawks. Whalers. A Canada sweater in the Summit Series.

The news reaches Philadelphia on a game day, with the Flyers heading into Washington tonight.

Think about what original Flyer actually means. Before there was any tradition to protect, somebody had to skate out and start one.

Advertisement

Expansion clubs don't inherit an identity. They borrow it from the guys who show up first, and Lacroix was one of them.

Then there's the WHA. Nobody who played in that rebel league ever outscored him.

So why does that crown still get treated like a trivia answer instead of a real accomplishment?

The WHA scoring crown hockey still refuses to respect

Here's where I land. Treating WHA numbers like Monopoly money is lazy history, and Lacroix pays for it more than anyone.

Outscoring every single player in a league's entire existence doesn't happen by accident. Not in any league.

Advertisement

And Canada didn't hand out Summit Series spots as a favor. Being picked meant the country trusted him on its biggest stage.

Today's Flyers could badly use that kind of finishing. They've scored 27 goals and allowed 46, a gap that's hard to hide.

Last night brought a 4-3 overtime loss to Columbus at home. That's two straight defeats for a club sitting last in its division.

Away from home, the Flyers are just 1-4-1, which makes tonight's trip even less forgiving.

If anyone on this roster carries a pure scorer's instinct right now, it's Matvei Michkov. The 21-year-old has five goals over his last five games.

Advertisement

Trevor Zegras leads the team with 12 points. Rick Tocchet needs both producing tonight, with Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett on injured reserve.

Daniel Briere's front office now runs the club Lacroix helped launch, and a 3-7-4 start has it sitting 29th in the league.

Lacroix's passing won't settle the WHA argument. It should drag it back into the room, though, and the Flyers owe him a better answer than a losing streak.