It was inevitable for Keith. The ongoing concussion injury was constantly bothering him and he could never get medical clearance. Better for him to retire now at 34 instead of forcing/faking a recovery only to get hit again with a horrible result. Maybe the Flyers will have a new gig for him coaching because the leadership gap left in his wake was very telling last season.
Originally, I was not a big fan of the guy for a very stupid reason. He wasn’t very impressive in EA’s NHL 2001 on my PS2. Primeau didn’t have much of a chance in that version of the game neither. When one has Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mark Recchi on the Flyers, what more offensive punch did you need? He also got sent to the penalty box easily when I used him to get physical on opposing players. Then my growing interest in hockey led to me paying for the Center Ice package which resulted in me learning about the players better. Primeau was a tough guy, not a graceful skater (he is 6′ 5″ without skates) hence his nickname “Bambi” during his tenure with Detroit. Philly was the twilight of his career as Coach Ken Hitchcock shifted him from scoring center to defensive center on the third line. Most players bristle at the change but Primeau embraced it and he was quite good at it, another factor leading to the Flyers’ first-round exit last season.
The story about his nickname came from my friend Brian, a huge Detroit Red Wings fan and Primeau hater. When he was drafted as a first-round pick by the Red Wings in 1990, Primeau had a big ego and demanded to be on the scoring lines despite how much his legs bowed while he tried to skate quickly. Again, the nicknames Bambi and Primeau-donna were given to him for this. Eventually he was traded to the Hartford Whalers in a deal that entailed Brendan Shanahan. Brian feels Detroit definitely received the better end of the bargain. Recently, Brian had a reconciliation with Primeau when he saw how much the guy had matured and proved himself as the best Captain the Flyers have had in years.
Most Flyers fans will remember him for his real leadership after the Lindros debacle; his fantastic play in the 2004 Playoffs (he definitely forced Tampa to seven games in the Eastern Championship) which included a hat trick against New Jersey; his game-winning-goal in 2000 against Pittsburgh at 12:01 during the fifth overtime period (the longest game in modern NHL history); and him being brought to Philly in exchange for Rod Brind’amour because Brind’amour had some kind of altercation with Eric Lindros.
My personal favorite moment of Primeau was with Roenick. They had both been selected for the 2004 All-Star Game that season. For Roenick, it was expected, he’s JR! For Primeau, it was a thrill since it was only his second appearance. In a game before the All-Star Break, the Flyers were winning against some lousy team. With a minute to go, the opposing team pulled its goalie, took the man advantage but the puck got turned over. JR had it and tore off for the empty net but nstead of taking the easy goal, he dropped off the puck to Primeau to let him have the goal to the raves of the crowd. A classy play to the end.
Thus ends a pretty decent career for the 13th Captain of the Flyers. Now the next era of the Flyers truly begins.