Although they themselves were unable to make it this far, the Philadelphia Flyers will be well represented in this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
On one side, we have the Eastern Conference Champion Carolina Hurricanes, who had to get through the Flyers to get here in the first place, and on the other, the Vegas Golden Knights, who improbably swept and made quick work of the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
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Both sides are spearheaded by men who proudly went to battle for the Flyers for years: John Tortorella, who coaches Vegas and coached the Flyers, and Rod Brind’Amour, who coaches the Hurricanes and played for the Flyers.
With the Golden Knights, Tortorella has reunited with former Flyers goalie Carter Hart, who has enjoyed a blazing playoff run to this point. Hart, 27, is 12-4-0 this postseason with a 2.22 GAA and .924 save percentage.
The Hurricanes are where things get more nostalgic, though.
Led by Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes boast a decently sized contingent of former Flyers, which includes Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Walker, and Nick Deslauriers, who was traded to Carolina at the NHL trade deadline as a favor to the Flyers’ tough guy and locker room favorite.
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They also have forward Eric Robinson, a Bellmawr, New Jersey, native who played youth hockey for the Philadelphia Flyers Elite 14UAAA and Virtua Hockey 16 UAAAA, 16U, and 18U teams before moving on to the USHL and NCAA.
No matter the outcome, one recent Flyer will come away with a Stanley Cup triumph added to their resume.
Tortorella, Walker, and Deslauriers were all on the Flyers together just over two calendar years ago, with Walker the first to leave after being sent to Colorado at the trade deadline in March 2024.
Tortorella was next in 2025, and then Deslauriers this past deadline in 2026.
This year’s Stanley Cup may sting for some, but it’s important to remember that many of these departures were necessary, with the obvious exception of Gostisbehere, whose exile from Philadelphia remains head-scratching to this day.
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