Philadelphia Flyers progression towards Stanley Cup

The Flyers are showing some progression towards their potentially third Stanley Cup victory in franchise history.

The Philadelphia Flyers are set to begin the 2021 season on Wednesday evening.  The 2019-20 season was a turning point toward a new era for the team. The team had its most successful season since the 2011-12 campaign in terms of regular season point percentage and playoff success.

In the preceding seven season span, Philly has qualified for the playoffs only three times and did not advance past the first round once.

They could not muster series upsets against the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, or Pittsburgh Penguins in the three respective playoff appearances.

They have flipped the script with an Eastern Conference Quarterfinals win over the Montreal Canadiens last season.

Although the series victory wasn’t indicative of a team in contention for the Stanley Cup, it was finally an instance in which the Flyers were the higher seeded team with a noticeably superior roster.

The Flyers are just entering a window of opportunity during the regime of General Manager Chuck Fletcher and head coach Alain Vigneault that features compliment of veteran players like Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, and Jakub Voracek alongside up-and-coming young players like Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, and Carter Hart.

In the shortened 2021 NHL season, the Philadelphia Flyers fanbase shouldn’t expect total domination in a stacked East Division that features the winners of 5 of the last 12 Stanley Cups. They should, however, expect their team to continue to progress towards solidifying themselves with a status as an elite team and a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference.

Advancing to the Conference Finals would be a tangible improvement for the Flyers this season, but for the first time in awhile, it’s realistic for fans to hope for the team to win its first Stanley Cup since 1975.