If ever there was a symbolic member of the famed Broad Street Bullies from the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s, Andre "Moose" Dupont certainly fit the bill. As a member of the Montreal Junior Canadiens Dupont amassed 212 penalty minutes in just 38 games.
Dupont was actually selected by the New York Rangers, eighth overall in the 1969 Amateur Draft, but he played just seven games with the Rangers in 1970-71. He toiled in the minors for most of two years with the Omaha Knights of the CHL. The Central League was known by hockey afficionados as being the roughest, and usually the dirtiest hockey league in North America. Dupont had 254 minutes in penalties in his rookie year and decided to mix it up even more the following year, putting up a staggering 308 minutes in penalties in just 54 games. But the Moose also managed to score 15 times and collect 31 assists for a prosperous 46-point season.
It was evident Dupont was not going to fit in with Ranger coach Emile Francis' hockey philosophies, so he moved on to the St. Louis Blues for the start of the 1971-72 season. In 60 games with the Blues, Dupont had 13 points and a toned down 147 penalty minutes.
Although he was a steadying influence on blue line, St. Louis traded the rugged defenseman to the Philadelphia Flyers early in the 1972-73 season. With the club already boasting the likes of bad boys Bobby Clarke, Gary Dornhoefer, Bob Kelly, Don Saleski, and Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, the final ingredients were being put in place for the establishment of the "Broad Street Bullies."
In 1973-74, Dupont played in 75 games, scoring three goals and 20 assists and 216 minutes in penalties. Dupont, like the rest of the team, elevated his game to another level in the playoffs, scoring four goals in just 16 games, surpassing his season total for goals in 59 fewer games. The Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals where their mission was to shut down Boston's Bobby Orr. The Flyers certainly went after Orr, but he gamely withstood the challenge. What Orr could not solve, however, was how to get the puck past Flyers' goalie Bernie Parent, who was outstanding in the Philadelphia net. The Flyers would go on to win the championship series four games to two.
The following year the Flyers were hungry to repeat as champions. Dupont by far had the finest season of his 13-year NHL career, scoring eleven goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 80 games. But his new found offensive touch did nothing to frighten him away from the rougher side of the game. He sat in the penalty box for 276 minutes, which was also an NHL career high for the Moose.
In 1975-76, the Broad Street Bullies were looking for their third Cup win in a row, but by now they were facing a new challenge. The Montreal Canadiens were poised at taking another run at the Cup following two disappointing seasons. Once again, the Moose was well over 200 minutes in penalties, like most of his Flyer pals, but now they had to figure out a way of stopping the speedy Canadiens. As it turns out, they were unable to do so. Montreal won the Cup, the first of what would be a run of four in a row.
Dupont remained with Philadelphia through the 1979-80 season, when the core of now-grisled veterans took one last leap at the Cup. Bernie Parent was long gone, as was Dornhoefer, Schultz, Kelly and Saleski, but they still had Clarke, Barber and Leach up front as well as Rick McLeish to lead the team. The Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for a fourth time, but were beaten by the upstart New York Islanders, another team that would go on to win four consecutive Cups, like the Canadiens five years earlier, and the Flyers were the victims of both dynasties getting their start.
From 1980 to 1983 Dupont patrolled the defense for the Quebec Nordiques, and was a solid contributor. However, the many years of physical play had taken their toll on his body and he retired, intact, with two Stanley Cup rings to his credit.
