When Was the Last Time the Philadelphia Flyers Won the Stanley Cup?

With Matvei Michkov potentially on his way to North America from the KHL as early as June, with rumors intensifying this week, the Philadelphia Flyers are making the requisite strides toward re-establishing themselves as Stanley Cup contenders.

For the last time the Flyers were true Stanley Cup contenders, though, we’ll have to go back over a decade.

The Flyers last made it past the second round in the 2009-10 season during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the Stanley Cup Finals. These were the days of Peter Laviolette behind the bench at the Wells Fargo Center (and the Wachovia Center). ‘Lavy’ guided the Flyers to the postseason three times in parts of five seasons with the team, though the Finals loss to the Blackhawks in 2010 was the closest he’s come to achieving the ultimate prize in 20 years.

And, that loss to the Blackhawks was the only time the Orange and Black have been in the Finals since the 1990s, when Eric Lindros and Co. were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers also lost to Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the 1987 Finals and in five games in the 1985 Finals.

They had plenty of other chances to win a Stanley Cup, too, including a six-game loss to the New York Islanders in 1980 and a sweep at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in 1976.

And that’s how we arrive at the two most recent Flyers Stanley Cups–back-to-back victories in 1974 and 1975.

Club legends like Bobby Clarke, Joe Watson, Bill Barber, Reggie Leach, Gary Dornhoefer, Dave Schultz, and Bernie Parent twice guided Philadelphia to a Stanley Cup triumph, with their last, of course, coming in 1975. As noted above, this star-studded crew was ultimately denied the three-peat after being outclassed by the Canadiens in 1976.

The Flyers’ active 48-season Stanley Cup drought is the second-longest of any NHL team that has won the Cup; the Toronto Maple Leafs are now up to 56 seasons since their last victory.