Noel Acciari got a front-row look at what Flyers fans can be like when he was wearing a Penguins sweater last season, and now he’s ready to feel that energy from the other side.
The 34-year-old forward signed a two-year, $5.6 million deal with Philadelphia at the start of free agency, and he made it clear last Tuesday that the move came with no hesitation.
“I'm glad I have them on my side now because they are very passionate and they're all up in your face,” Acciari said in a Zoom press conference. “It's fun to play against, but at the same time, I'm happy I get to play on the same side.”
Acciari’s view of the Flyers was shaped by more than one tense night. In October, he was involved in a skirmish with Trevor Zegras during a heated game finish.
Then in the first round of the playoffs, Game 3 turned into a penalty-filled mess with the teams combining for 50 penalty minutes. A week later, Cam York was tossing his stick into the crowd after the Flyers sealed the series with an overtime win.
Philadelphia saw enough from Acciari in that series to believe he fits what they want. He scored 13 goals with 12 assists for Pittsburgh last season and finished plus-14, while also winning 61 percent of his faceoffs against the Flyers in the postseason. Philadelphia took the series in six games.
“The way he played in the playoffs, he was hard to face,” general manager Danny Briere said a week and a half ago. “Our guys did not like playing against him.
He completely dominated us in the faceoff circle. We thought that would be a player that could really help us.”
The Flyers also left their own mark on Acciari. They finished the postseason by winning 18 of their last 25 games, and they were one of the NHL’s top teams after the Olympic break. Youth was a big part of that surge, too, with three rookies combining for four goals against the Penguins in the playoffs.
That run made an impression.
“Choosing Philly was an easy decision,” he said. “Just kind of seeing how their momentum was after the break, it's a young team, to be able to do what they did was pretty special to watch and play against.
I just wanted to be a part of that. I saw how close they were, I've heard great things about the locker room.”
Philadelphia also frustrated Pittsburgh by holding the Penguins to 1.83 goals per game in the series, and Acciari said the Flyers’ discipline stood out.
“Their attention to detail was really good, it made it difficult for us in Pittsburgh to get anything going,” Acciari said. “They didn't give us much, that's a testament to them, how dialed they were, just being stingy.”
Now he gets to line up with them instead of against them. And when he and Zegras cross paths as teammates for the first time, the October dust-up should at least make for a laugh.
“It's all water under the bridge, have a good laugh at it now,” Acciari said with a smile. “He does what he needs to do on the ice to get under guys' skin, he does a good job and he's effective at it.”
After three seasons in Pittsburgh, Acciari is looking forward to seeing the rivalry through a different lens.
“Just seeing how passionate the fans are,” Acciari said. “To be able to experience it when they're cheering for you this time, I'm so excited for.”
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For Philadelphia, the dates matter because Jamie Drysdale is first up on July 20, followed by Trevor Zegras on July 22, putting two key cases near the front of the line. Teams can still settle before a hearing, and once an award is issued they have 48 hours to accept it or walk away, so the Flyers may not have to wait long to learn how much of their summer flexibility is going to be tied up in the arbitration process. [Read more 🡒]