May 23, 2023

Report: Flyers to play in NHL outdoor game at MetLife Stadium

The Flyers will face the Devils as part of an outdoor series at MetLife Stadium, per reports on NHL's 2024 Stadium Series games.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

It looks like the Flyers are due up to play outside again.

Per the Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, and corroborated by ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes, the Flyers will be part of the NHL's Stadium Series event – or at least one of them – next season up at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

According to both reports, the plan is to have an outdoor game on back-to-back days, with Philly facing off against the Devils in one then Islanders vs. Rangers in the other for a midseason tri-state showdown.

As per my initial report a few months back ; there will be 2 @NHL Outdoor games at @MetLifeStadium next season, in addition to Music Concert.@NYRangers / @NYIslanders , @NJDevils / @NHLFlyers . @espn @NHLNetwork @DKSportsbook #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/v0UDZjnjyo
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) May 23, 2023

If it holds, this will be the sixth time the Flyers have been tabbed to play outdoors, with the last being that highly forgettable 7-3 drubbing from the Boston Bruins at Lake Tahoe in early 2021, back when the COVID-19 pandemic was still at its peak.

Since then the Flyers have completely bottomed out while the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils have either maintained or broken out into playoff contention.

But even so, Philadelphia is still one of the NHL's major markets, and after committing to a rebuild under a new front office now led by Danny Brière and Keith Jones, the Flyers could use this coming season and that big stage in the Meadowlands to mark themselves as a team slowly but surely on the rise.

Whispers of a Stadium Series game (or games) at MetLife Stadium began popping up in February alongside the possibility of one in Tampa between the Lightning and Panthers.

Usually, the NHL uses Stadium Series as a more flexible, untraditional, and locally-focused run of outdoor games while keeping the Winter Classic as a marquee New Year's Day event in celebration of hockey history.

The Flyers have been a part of both multiple times now, with the last they hosted in front of fans being the 2019 Stadium Series at a rain-soaked Lincoln Financial Field.

Down 3-1 to the Penguins in the third period of that game, Philly mounted a furious comeback and then won it off the stick of former captain Claude Giroux in overtime.

And with the season already lost by that point and the front office looking to sell at the approaching trade deadline, it would go on to be fan-favorite Wayne Simmonds' last game as a Flyer. He was dealt to Nashville soon after.