May 10, 2026
James Lang/Imagn Images
The Flyers want this run to be just the start of where they're going.
You can take your pick of the moment you realized that something was different about the Philadelphia Flyers.
Maybe it was when they flew out to Minnesota to face a good Wild team for the tail end of a back-to-back, and actually won, when in the several years prior, that would've been all but an automatic loss.
Maybe it was that West Coast road trip not long after, when they swept all three games through Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose to leave themselves with a path, albeit a narrow one.
Maybe it was when Porter Martone's freshman season at Michigan State ended, and when the 19-year-old took the immediate jump straight into the NHL, or maybe a week later, when he planted himself right in front of the net in overtime against Boston to jam home that first career goal and send a noticeably fuller Xfinity Mobile Arena into a frenzy.
Maybe it was that second-to-last game of the season, when, so suddenly, they closed the gap in the standings and even pulled ahead. Then, in a drag-out battle against Carolina that went all the way to the shootout, because of course it did, Tyson Foerster, who shouldn't have even been back from injury, scored the only goal they needed, while Dan Vladar made that last save to stand up in glory over the fact that they had fully rallied to make the playoffs.
Or maybe it was once they were finally there, with a chip on their shoulder and the 3.8 percent shirts that let it be known, when Philadelphia could see and remember what playoff hockey was, and after five apathetic years of having zero reason to, could bring itself to believe in the Flyers again.
Maybe it was that rollercoaster of a Game 3 in South Philly, against the notorious Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, when vicious words and gloved fists flew, the penalty boxes filled up, and then with one missile of a one-timer unleashed by Trevor Zegras, the home arena – and an at-capacity Philadelphia sin bin – lost its collective mind to create an image that fans will be talking about forever.
Or it could've been, if it took that long, when Cam York sent his stick flying into a euphoric crowd after an arduous Game 6, once he sailed the shot deep into overtime that finally got past Arturs Silovs, finally put the rival Penguins away after a two-game stumble and then some, and cued the handshake line on a first-round series that just showed the world that the Flyers were maybe capable of much more than most on the outside realized.
Maybe it was every little play, crushing check thrown, or every big Vladar save in between that a sea of orange-adorned fans stood and roared behind.
Or maybe it was at the end on Saturday night, when the Flyers were on the other side of the line for a much shorter second round, after fighting that same, but much better Carolina team with everything they had, yet still leaving the ice swept in four games.
But just not before every fan in the home building stood, applauded, and kept "LET'S GO FLYERS" chants echoing, as the team moved back to center ice to salute them, then made their turn to step off the ice and down the tunnel – for the final time this season, but for what they hope is only just the start of where they're going.
LOUD "Let's Go Flyers" chant from the crowd...
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 10, 2026
Not the result they wanted but the future is bright 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Sq1IYXUZV2
You can take your pick, or lean on all of it, even back to the very beginning when Zegras first withstood two checks into the boards at once to somehow stay up and still get a scoring feed out to Sean Couturier way back in October.
It all goes to the same place in the end: These Philadelphia Flyers are different.
They're younger, they got tougher, and through a rush of a past two months where they basically had to play win-or-go-home hockey nonstop, it all clicked. They got better.
And maybe above all, after taking such major strides, they believe in what they can really be, and got the Delaware Valley and fans everywhere else – whether lapsed, new, or there the whole time just waiting – to believe again, too.
The Flyers are on their way. Danny Brière and Keith Jones' plan, which started its course three years ago, it's showing the tangible signs that it's working. And after it was all said and done, and the calm started to settle in, no one in the locker room was satisfied either.
They all wanted to come back for more.
"That's a good thing for the guys to understand this summer. We get the fans behind this, we get this organization back on the map, and we got a taste of what it's gonna take," said head coach Rick Tocchet, who, through all the ups and downs, did lead the team far in his first year behind the bench. "But I really, really like to thank the fans for that. That was wonderful."
"It's been fun," said veteran captain Sean Couturier, who reignited his career by pivoting into playing his meanest hockey ever. "To play here this year, and the last couple years, actually. Through the dance, too, they were behind us. It all feels good to have the support, and I think it helped us along the way, for sure."
The next steps, however, are going to need some time to figure out.
One final salute to the Flyers Faithful. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/wqpVzZc68L
— x - Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 10, 2026
Couturier admitted in the immediate moment postgame that he didn't have the answers just yet when it came to the specifics for how the team can improve coming back for next year, like with fixing a broken power play or tapping into a better scoring touch, which ultimately did them in against Carolina.
The emotions were still raw and would take a couple of days to sort through, he said.
Veteran winger Travis Konecny, who also had to endure all those down years before finally seeing this breakthrough, echoed similar sentiments. But he noted, too, that internally, the belief was always there that this team was different, that it was on its way.
You just had to take your pick for when you realized it, too.
"I knew we were heading in this direction. I think a lot of guys did," Konecny said. "That's why guys want to be here. I signed a long deal to be here. [Christian Dvorak] did. Guys want to be here. We understand what's happening, we understand the talent we have, we understand what we're doing, and where we're headed.
"I think a lot of people were surprised that we made it in with the push we made, but we weren't because we knew that was our goal the whole year."
And now they just saw everything they can be, and what it takes to be more.
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