Philadelphia Flyers Top 5 Teams That Never Won a Cup

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The Philadelphia Flyers have only won two Stanley Cups but, they have iced some of the best teams to have fallen just short of hockey’s Holy Grail

As Philadelphia Flyers fans, we have heard the taunts from fans of other cities constantly. “Forty years and counting”, “Losers since 75”. We are constantly being reminded of the fact that the Flyers have only won two Cups during their 50 years of existence. But, here are a few undeniable facts.

The Flyers are second in the post expansion era of the NHL in winning percentage behind only the Montreal Canadians. They have appeared in eight Stanley Cup Finals, the most of any team since the NHL expanded in 1967. They still own the record for most games without a loss in all of professional sports with 35. So despite the fact that the Flyers have only won two Stanley Cups, they have been one of the most successful franchises in NHL history.

Even though the Flyers have only the two Stanley Cups, they have iced some of the best teams never to have won a Cup. Several factors have contributed to this. Injuries to key players at the most inopportune time, bad officiating, and coming up against teams that are still considered some of the greatest teams in the history of the sport just to name a few.

For a Flyers fan who wasn’t old enough to remember the Cup teams of the mid 70s and therefore hasn’t actually witnessed them winning a Cup, all the near misses in the Conference and Stanley Cup Finals have been sheer torture.it is why when they finally do win another one, words won’t be able to describe the joy that will come with it. So without further adieu, here is a list of the five best Philadelphia Flyers teams never to have won a Stanley Cup starting at number 5 and working up to Number 1.

Next: Number 5

Number 5 – 2003/2004

This is the last Flyers team that I thought had a legitimate chance to win a Stanley Cup. Even though the 2010 team went to the Finals, they had caught a lot of breaks on their way there with all of the top seeds in the east getting knocked out in the early rounds of the playoffs. Even though the Flyers were the seventh seed in the East, they had home ice advantage in the Conference Finals because they were playing the eighth seeded Montreal Canadians. And when they did reach the finals, they were a heavy underdog to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The 2004 team was a veteran laden team with the likes of Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, Eric Desjardins, Sami Kapanen, Keith Primeau, John Leclair and Mark Recchi with some young players like Simon Gagne and Joni Pitkanen sprinkled in with them. The Flyers won the Atlantic Division under coach Ken Hitchcock that year and were primed to make a long playoff run. They easily handled the New Jersey Devils in five games in the first round of the playoffs.

In round two, they handled the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. The Maple Leafs series was a hard fought, bitter series with a lot of bad blood on both sides. The OT and series winner by Jeremy Roenick was a microcosm of the whole series. After receiving a cheap shot elbow to the head from Darcy Tucker, instead of just lying on the ice, Sami Kapanen heroically stumbled his way to the Flyers bench to be replaced by Roenick. Soon after he stepped on the ice, Roenick found himself on a two on one and roofed a shot past the Toronto goalie for the series winner. it is considered one of the greatest moments in Flyers history.

in the third round, the Flyers were a slight underdog against the Tampa Bay Lighting. The highlight of the series for the Flyers came in Game 6 in Philadelphia. Down 3 games to 2 in the series and down 4-3 in Game 6 and facing elimination, Keith Primeau scored with less than a minute remaining in the game to tie it and then Simon Gagne scored in overtime to win it to force a Game 7. The Flyers fell short in Game 7, losing 2-1.

There were two main factors that contributed to the Flyers losing to the Lightening. The Flyers penalty killing fell way short in the series. When Tampa would go on the PP, it was almost a forgone conclusion that they would score on it. I still remember when the Flyers went a man down early in Game 7, I all but expected Tampa to score on it and sure enough they did on a goal by Rusty Fedotenko.

Another factor and a big reason for the Flyers struggling on the penalty kill was injuries. Top defensemen Eric Desjardins and Marcus Ragnarsson were both injured in the series and both men were key penalty killers for the Flyers. If the Flyers has somehow managed to get by Tampa, both were due back for the Stanley Cup finals. The Flyers would have played against the Calgary Flames in the Finals who they would have been a heavy favorite against. This is why the Game 7 loss against Tampa was so painful and it is why I put the 2004 team ahead of the 2010 team even though the 2010 advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Next: Number 4

Number 4 – 1985/86

Another team that failed to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals but, still one of the best teams the Flyers ever put on the ice. If it had not been for a tragedy that struck early in the season, it could have been their best team ever. The Flyers were coming off a year in 1984/85 where they finished with the best record in the NHL and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals with the youngest team in the league. They eventually lost to the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers in five games but the future could not have been any brighter entering the 1985/86 season.

After a slow start, the Flyers got on a roll and won 10 straight games. They were first in every major NHL statistical category except for goals scored where they were second behind only the Edmonton Oilers. After their tenth straight win against the Boston Bruins,a game i attended, Ed Snider turned to his wife at the time Martha as he was walking out of the Spectrum and said, “this is the best Flyers team we have ever assembled, Including the Cup teams.” And then tragedy struck.

Number 3 – 1986/87

The 1986/87 Flyers team is the first Stanley Cup Final team to make an appearance on the list. Coming off the disappointing first round loss the previous year to the Rangers, the Flyers decided a change in goal was needed. So after an impressive training camp, coach Mike Keenan named rookie Ron Hextall as his starter before their opening game against the Edmonton Oilers. Hextall never relinquished the net after that and Bob Froese was eventually traded.

The Flyers again finished with the second best record in the league behind only Edmonton. The Flyers avenged their first round loss to the Rangers from the previous year in the opening round of the playoffs, beating the Rangers in 6 games. After taking a three games to one lead against the Islanders, the Islanders put a scare in to the Flyers by winning games five and six to force a Game 7. The Flyers dominated Game 7 and advanced to the Conference Finals where they were to meet the defending Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadians.

The highlight, or maybe the low light depending on what your views are on fighting in hockey, was a pregame brawl before Game 6 at the old Montreal Forum. There were members of the Flyers who were out on the ice in nothing but their shorts and undershirts because they were still in the process of dressing when the brawl broke out. The Flyers went on to win that game and the series to set up a rematch of the 85 Finals against the Oilers.

The Flyers lost the first two games of the 87 finals. Game 2 in OT. In Game 3, the Flyers looked like they were headed towards being swept. Already down 2-0 in the series, the Flyers fell behind 3-0 in Game 3 and seemed all but buried. But, they stormed all the way back with Scott Mellanby scoring to tie it at 3 and then Brad Mcrimmon scoring less than a minute later to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead and the eventual win. The Flyers didn’t capitalize on any momentum that should have come with the comeback win and lost Game 4 of the series to fall behind three games to one. The city of Edmonton was so sure that the Oilers would win Game 5 back in Edmonton that they went ahead and planned a parade for the following day. The Flyers foiled the Oilers parade plans by once again winning in comeback fashion. They fell behind 3-1 but rallied to win Game 5 4-3.

The Flyers fell behind in Game 6 yet again, this time by a 2-0 score. Once again though, the Flyers rallied back. Brian Propp scored on a power play to tie the game at 2 and then minutes later, one of the most iconic goals in Flyers history was scored. Peter Zezel carried the puck up the right wing boards. He tried a cross ice pass that was picked off by Jari Kurri. Kurri banked the puck off the boards but not with enough force to get it out of his zone. Flyers defensman JJ Daigneult swooped in and let got a rocket from the point that zipped past Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr. The eruption from the crowd at the Spectrum was something that every Flyer fan who was there to see it still talks about to this day. The Flyers held on to win Game 6 but lost Game 7 in Edmonton to fall just short of winning their third Cup and the suffering of Flyers fans continued.

This was a case of the Flyers coming up against one of the great teams the NHL has ever seen Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Glen Anderson, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr are all members of the hockey hall of fame. injuries were a factor for the Flyers too. They were without 50 goal scorer Tim Kerr for most of the playoffs and for the whole series against the Oilers. Dave Poulin was in and out of the line up with broken ribs. Ron Sutter and Ilka Sinisalo were also hurt for long stretches of their playoff run. Since the 87 team made it to the Finals and pushed one of the best teams in hockey history to 7 games in the Finals, I rank them at number 3.

Next: Number 2

Number 2 – 1975/76

Hat Trick in 76 was the slogan going in to the 1975/76 season for the Philadelphia Flyers. Following their two straight Cup victories in 1974 and 75 the Flyers were shooting for three straight. You could easily make the case that the 76 team was even better than the two Cup winning teams in 74 and 75. In 74, the Flyers had 109 points, in 75 they had 113 and in 76 they had 118. They only lost two games at home that whole year. 1976 was also the year that the Flyers were the only NHL team to beat the Soviet Red Army team.

There as only one problem though. The 1976 Montreal Canadians. They finished the season with a stunning 127 points and only lost one home game in the entire season. That is how dominant the Canadians were. The Flyers would wind up playing the Canadians in the finals and were swept four games to none. But, the first three games of the series were decided by one goal and Game 4 was a 5-3 final.

Also, the Flyers were ravaged with injuries. Two time Conn Smythe winning goaltender Bernie Parent was injured in the middle of the season and wasn’t available for the playoffs. The Flyers were also without 40 goal scorer Rick MacLeish, All star defenseman Jimmy Watson and checking forward Orest Kindrachuck. It’s not a stretch at all to say that had the Flyers had all of their guns the series could have turned out differently. So when you consider the fact that this Flyers team was trying to win it’s third consecutive Cup, finished with an even better record than the two cup winning teams, lost some very key players to injuries and had to go up against one of hockey’s greatest teams in the Finals, I put the 1975/76 team at Number 2.

Next: Number 1

Number 1 – 1979/80

For me personally, this is still the most painful finals loss in Flyers history. This was the year of the 35 game unbeaten streak. It is one of my favorite Flyer teams because it was a great combination of the Broad Street Bully holdovers like Bobby Clarke, Rick McLeash, Reggie Leach, Andre Dupont, Jimmy Watson, and Bill Barber who were all still very capable players combined with young players like Ken Linseman, Paul Holgrem Bob Dailey and Brian Propp.

The Flyers struggled a little bit after the streak was broken but rebounded and were playing well going in to the playoffs. They swept the Oilers, and then beat the Rangers and the Minnesota North Stars in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Islanders. The 1980 Finals was a series of close games and blowouts. The Flyers lost Game 1 of the series 4-3 in overtime, won Game 2 8-3, lost Games 3 and 4 in New York 6-2 and 5-2 and then came back to Philadelphia and won Game 5 6-3.

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