The 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have come and gone. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Flyers missed the postseason despite an overachieving season that saw the rebuilding club fight until the last day of the regular season for a berth.
As the Flyers themselves gear up for an important offseason and further build themselves into a contender, quite a few former players who donned the Orange and Black were vying for a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Let’s take a look at how a few former Flyers fared throughout the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NICOLAS AUBÉ-KUBEL – WASHINGTON CAPITALS
(Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)
Aubé-Kubel and the Capitals snuck into the playoffs after defeating the Flyers in the final game of the regular season. They received a date with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers as a result.
The Rangers disposed of the Capitals with ease in a four-game sweep. Aubé-Kubel, a Flyer of 115 combined regular season and playoff games, appeared in Games 1, 2, and 4 of the series and did not register a point.
SERGEI BOBROVSKY – FLORIDA PANTHERS
(Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bobrovsky and the Panthers went through a gauntlet on their way to the Stanley Cup.
He went 4-1 against the Lightning with an .896 SV%, 4-2 against the Bruins with a .907 SV%, 4-2 against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers with a .921 SV%, and finally 4-3 against the Oilers with an .899 SV%. Collectively, he posted a .906 SV%, 2.32 GAA, and 2 shutouts on his way to leading Florida to their first ever Stanley Cup title.
Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida defense keeping the puck out of the net off an unreal save#LetsGoOilers #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/zAhTwUbg5N
— Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) June 25, 2024
A Flyer for 90 combined regular season and playoff games from 2010 to 2012, Sergei Bobrovsky is a Stanley Cup champion.
PATRICK BROWN – BOSTON BRUINS
(Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
Brown spent most of the 2023-24 campaign with AHL Providence, only playing in 11 regular season NHL contests. After the P-Bruins were eliminated in the Calder Cup Playoffs by Hartford, Brown was recalled to Boston.
The former Flyers forward of 87 games skated in the Bruins’ 5-1 victory over Florida in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals before being scratched the rest of the series, in which Boston lost 4-2. Brown recorded no points in the Game 1 victory.
NICK COUSINS – FLORIDA PANTHERS
(Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
Cousins appeared in 12 playoff games and was used sparingly after the Panthers’ opening round victory against Tampa Bay.
After playing in all five games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, in which he recorded an assist in Game 3, Cousins played in just three of six games against Boston and three of six games against New York. Cousins appeared in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, his lone game in the championship round.
After appearing in 113 regular season and postseason games with the Flyers from 2015 to 2017, Nick Cousins is a Stanley Cup champion.
TONY DEANGELO – CAROLINA HURRICANES
(Heather Barry Images, LLC)
DeAngelo skated in 9 playoff games for the Hurricanes, posting 2 assists, as Carolina defeated the New York Islanders in the first round only to fall to the New York Rangers.
MARK FRIEDMAN – VANCOUVER CANUCKS
(Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports)
Friedman was a healthy scratch for all six of Vancouver’s games against Nashville in the first round. The Canucks won the series, 4-2.
Friedman again was scratched throughout the Canucks’ seven-game loss to Edmonton in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The former Flyers defenseman of 11 games across three seasons registered one assist in 23 contests for the Canucks in the regular season.
SAM GAGNER – EDMONTON OILERS
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Gagner was up and down between Edmonton and AHL Bakersfield this season before coming back to the Oilers ahead of the playoffs.
A Flyer of 59 regular season and playoff games in 2015-16, Gagner served as a healthy scratch for the Oilers’ entire playoff run but was still vocal in the locker room and looked upon as a veteran leader. Gagner’s Oilers would lose in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers.
ERIK GUSTAFSSON – NEW YORK RANGERS
(Danny Wild/USA TODAY Sports)
Gustafsson and the Rangers took the Capitals to the woodshed in four games before dispatching of the Hurricanes in six games. They then met their match in the Eastern Conference Final against the Panthers, where they fell in six games.
Gustafsson recorded three assists in 16 games, with two coming against Washington and one against Carolina.
MARTIN JONES – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
(John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports)
After Joseph Woll was injured in Game 6, Jones dressed as the Maple Leafs’ backup goalie in their Game 7 overtime loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals after being scratched in the previous six games.
The Flyers’ former backup netminder in 2021-22, Jones went 11-8-1 with a .902 SV%, 2.87 GAA, and 2 shutouts in the regular season for Toronto.
BRENDAN LEMIEUX – CAROLINA HURRICANES
(Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
Lemieux was scratched for all 10 games of Carolina’s postseason run as they lost to the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The former Flyer of 18 games in 2022-23 posted just five points in 32 games in the regular season for the Hurricanes.
CALVIN PICKARD – EDMONTON OILERS
(Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Pickard backed up Stuart Skinner in all five games of Edmonton’s first round victory over Los Angeles.
The former Flyer of 11 games in 2018-19 appeared in three games in the Western Conference Semifinals after Skinner was benched. After relieving the starter in Game 3, Pickard went 1-1 in Games 4 and 5 before Edmonton went back to Skinner to close out the comeback series victory.
calvin pickard with a big stop on brock boeser. pic.twitter.com/gn8TNX7DV4
— zach (@zjlaing) May 15, 2024
Pickard took his usual spot on the bench in the Western Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final as the Oilers fell to the Florida Panthers in seven games. He finished the postseason with a 1-1 record, .915 SV%, and 2.21 GAA.
LUKE SCHENN – NASHVILLE PREDATORS
(John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
Schenn appeared in five of Nashville’s six games in their opening round loss to Vancouver.
The former Flyers blueliner from 2013 to 2016 recorded no points, 14 hits, and 5 blocked shots for the Predators in the series.
ANTHONY STOLARZ – FLORIDA PANTHERS
(Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
Stolarz served very well in his backup role this past season and while Sergei Bobrovsky started every game in the playoffs for Florida, Stolarz featured into one contest as well.
The former 2012 second-round pick of the Flyers relieved Bobrovsky in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, where the Panthers lost 8-1. Stolarz stopped 16 of 19 shots he saw in 34:50 of relief.
In the regular season, Stolarz went 16-7-2 with a .925 SV%, 2.03 GAA, and 2 shutouts. His save percentage and GAA led the entire league.
After 19 games as a Flyer from 2016 to 2019, Anthony Stolarz is a Stanley Cup champion.
CAM TALBOT – LOS ANGELES KINGS
(Heather Barry Images, LLC)
Talbot had a less than memorable performance in the Kings’ five-game loss to the Oilers in the opening round of the playoffs.
The former Flyer of four games in 2018-19 went 1-2 with a 5.30 GAA and .861 SV% in the first three games of the series before being benched for David Rittich.
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK – BOSTON BRUINS
(Heather Barry Images, LLC)
van Riemsdyk got a late start to the Bruins’ playoff party, not dressing until Game 3 of the opening round against Toronto.
JVR scored his only goal of the playoffs in Game 4 to open the scoring in an eventual 3-1 Bruins win.
JVR gettin' silky. pic.twitter.com/45fWtb60Kt
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 28, 2024
van Riemsdyk racked up 4 assists along the way as well to total 5 points in 11 postseason contests as the Bruins were eliminated by the Panthers in the second round.
SEAN WALKER – COLORADO AVALANCHE
(Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images)
Traded for a 2025 first round pick and Ryan Johansen, Walker made an impact almost immediately for Colorado in the regular season but faded in the playoffs.
Walker appeared in all 11 of the Avalanche’s playoff games but failed to record a point. He also posted a -5 and 6 penalty minutes while playing around 18 minutes per game.
