After a humbling result in Montreal, the Flyers took the extra time to reflect and regroup together.
After of hearing all summer about how they were going to be bottom-tier team, how they should just tank and not even try to play well this season, the Philadelphia Flyers spent the majority of the 2023-24 season proving people wrong.
Not every win was pretty. Everyone went through slumps at some point. There were plenty of questions surrounding head coach John Tortorella and his decision-making. In a season branded as "A New Era Of Orange," Flyers fans really did get to meet what felt like a new team, a new management, and embrace a new culture. There was hope for this season, and a lot of it.
However, a disheartening eight-game losing streak during their playoff push brought everyone back down to earth. Make no mistake, the locker room cared and wanted more than anything to secure that playoff spot, but the on-ice performances didn't translate to the points they needed.
Their 9-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens all but drove the dagger fully into the hearts of everyone in the Flyers organization; it was basically confirmed that the clock had struck midnight on their Cinderella story.
The Flyers media that travelled to Montreal witnessed the reaction of the team firsthand, as reported by Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer, every player (even the scratches) sat still in their uniforms at their locker room stalls—a very unusual occurrence for postgame media obligations.
While the reasoning behind this is unclear (Spiegel confirmed it wasn't a team meeting, as the locker room opened to media at the usual time), Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty was present and met with each player individually.
GM Danny Briere could have influenced this decision, as one user pointed out that, apparently, a similar thing happened after a hard loss during Briere's time with the Buffalo Sabres.
Whether or not the public will get a clear answer as to why this decision was made after the game, the message was obvious: Win or lose, they stick together as a team.
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