The Philadelphia Flyers are set to undergo their fourth name change for their stadium which was built in 1996. Known as Wells Fargo Center from 2010 to today, the naming rights will be dropped after the 2024-25 season.
While a stadium name might just be corporate branding and all, there are memories that come with said name. What were some of the best that the Flyers formulated over the years at Wells Fargo Center?
First-Round Game 7 vs. Buffalo — April 26, 2011
After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their previous outing in the postseason, there were big expectations for the Flyers in 2010-11. In the regular season, they definitely lived up to the hype despite finishing with 88 points in 2009-10. On Feb. 24, 2011, the Flyers’ 40-15-6 record gave them the best points percentage in the NHL—then everything sort of took a turn. Going 7-8-5 in their final 21 contests, Philadelphia had basically no momentum entering the postseason and finished with just the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Buffalo Sabres saw a somewhat vulnerable Flyers team and took advantage. They took a 3-2 series lead heading back home, but that’s when things started clicking for Philadelphia. Ville Leino scored an overtime-winning goal to force Game 7, and that’s where the Flyers shined. In what stands as the Sabres’ last appearance in the postseason, the Orange and Black dominated and never looked back. They scored the first four goals of the night, eventually winning 5-2.
Unlike the season prior, the Flyers’ 3-0 series deficit against the Boston Bruins in the second round resulted in their demise. Still, their first-round win against the Sabres and excellent regular season provided hope that they were going somewhere.
Giroux’s Series-Altering Shift — April 22, 2012
In the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Flyers were finally on the other end of a 3-0 series lead. This time, they were letting it slip away. Entering Game 6 at home, the Orange and Black absolutely needed a win to end the madness and move on to the second round. Against their biggest rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Claude Giroux showed up like he had the entire series and basically advanced the Flyers to the next round with one shift.
Off the opening draw, Giroux had a nice check on Sidney Crosby to set the tone. But what came after was remarkable, scoring a bardown tally on Marc-Andre Fleury to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into Game 6. From there, the Flyers took charge and never gave the Penguins a chance. Winning 5-1, they ended a series filled with goals, fights, and pure hatred.
The Flyers, and Giroux especially, continued to dominate in Game 1 of the second round against the New Jersey Devils, but nothing was the same after that. Losing four straight contests, Philadelphia was eliminated. Still, they had a memorable playoff showing even if it only resulted in five postseason victories.
Simmonds’ Playoff Hat-Trick — April 29, 2014
In a do-or-die Game 6 in the first round against the New York Rangers, Wayne Simmonds came through for the Orange and Black. Lethal on the man advantage, his efforts were crucial in setting up a Game 7.
Simmonds recorded three of the first four goals of the night, two of which came on the power play. The physical, two-way winger hadn’t made much noise in the series before that point, but he basically put the Rangers’ backs against the wall by himself. Goaltender Steve Mason was also magnificent and was so for the entire series, but Simmonds mainly took the spotlight. The Flyers won 5-2 with one of their tallies being on an empty net, so the winger’s contributions were essential.
Philadelphia couldn’t find the same offense in Game 7, suffering a 2-1 loss at Madison Square Garden. This was a disappointing result, especially since New York went on to the Stanley Cup Final.
Flyers Clinch the Playoffs for Mr. Snider — April 9, 2016
Ed Snider, the founder of the Flyers’ franchise in 1967, always remained heavily involved with the team and its affairs—from trades to meeting the players, he was in the know. Even making his own non-profit organization to allow underprivileged youth to play the wonderful sport of hockey, Snider was respected by pretty much everyone in the hockey sphere. The 83-year-old, who lost his battle with bladder cancer on April 11, 2016, was who the team was fighting for in their quest for the postseason. Needing two points to clinch with two contests remaining, the Orange and Black were hunting a vintage moment. Against the Penguins, that’s exactly what they got.
Although the Penguins were without Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang for that game, the Flyers’ clutch victory was nonetheless impressive. Simmonds had two goals, while Pierre-Edouard Bellemare tacked on an empty-net dagger to seal a 3-1 victory. Mason was excellent between the pipes, stopping 18 of 19 Pittsburgh shots in a contest where he essentially had to be flawless.
The Flyers went on to lose against the top-seeded Washington Capitals in a six-game series in the opening round, originally trailing 3-0 but bouncing back to force a Game 6. Inevitably, the Flyers’ lack of depth coupled with underwhelming performances from their top stars was the nail in the coffin for their season. Still, the whole ordeal was a pretty special moment.
Giroux’s Playoff-Clinching Hat-Trick — April 7, 2018
From four years prior when they met in the first round, the Rangers were exiting their era of dominance while the Flyers were hovering right around the same place—the brink of the playoffs. In the last game of the 2017-18 season for the Orange and Black, they needed a win on their home ice to reach the postseason against the club that had eliminated them in 2014. Giroux, amid an MVP-caliber campaign, came through.
Giroux was sitting on 99 points before the game, looking to notch his 100th. He did far more than that, reaching 102 thanks to what stands as his only hat-trick in the regular season during his career. He beat Henrik Lundqvist three separate times in Philadelphia’s 5-0 win, helping his team clinch the postseason.
Even though he probably deserved to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy at the very least, Giroux not only finished fourth place in voting for the award but lost in the first round in crushing fashion to the two-time defending champion Penguins. The Flyers lost at home in Game 6, letting a 4-2 lead slip away.
Flyers Extend Winning Streak to Nine Games — March 7, 2020
Since the 2020 playoffs were held at a neutral site due to COVID-19, the Flyers don’t have any memories in their building in that postseason despite winning their first playoff round since 2012. Mere days before the NHL—and the world—shut down, the Orange and Black were cruising.
Before the Flyers went on their nine-game winning streak, they sat at 32-20-7, holding onto a playoff spot by one singular point with multiple teams right behind them—the Eastern Conference was loaded that season. But as the wins started piling up, Philadelphia was more so focused on winning the Metropolitan Division than just making the playoffs. At that point, every single point mattered as they were chasing the top spot—they got every point.
Giroux notched two goals in the Flyers’ 3-1 win against the Sabres to move their streak to nine contests, achieving just the seventh winning streak of at least that many games in franchise history and moving to an otherworldly 25-5-4 record at Wells Fargo Center. That victory tied the Flyers for first place in the Metropolitan Division with the Capitals—both teams sat at 41-20-7. Philadelphia had their winning streak finally ended by the NHL’s top-seeded Bruins on March 10, but the league’s action came to a close the next day so it was a burn that didn’t last very long.
Giroux’s Finale — March 17, 2022
With some decent prospects and a team that was a game away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final just two seasons prior, you wouldn’t think that a collapse to becoming one of the worst teams in the NHL would happen so quickly. Nevertheless, the Flyers had a disastrous 2021-22 season and entered a rebuild because of it. However, there was one bittersweet moment that defined that campaign: the departure of their captain.
Giroux, who had spent 999 games with the Flyers and captained the team since 2012-13, was in the last season of his contract at 34 years of age. The Orange and Black, needing pieces for their rebuild and having basically zero need for a player like Giroux, knew what they had to do—a trade was necessary. The trade deadline and the captain’s 1,000th game with Philadelphia coincided almost perfectly, so it was a chance for a proper send-off. Even though the Flyers struggled to win games that season (10-26-8 in their previous 44 contests), they got it done.
Following a ceremony to respect Giroux and his contributions to the team, the Flyers went out and played for their captain. The 35-21-4 Nashville Predators were looking to feast on a vulnerable team, but that’s not what happened. In a back-and-forth affair, the Orange and Black trailed 4-3 for almost the entire third period but knotted the game up at 4-4 with just over four minutes remaining. Then, Joel Farabee scored a tap-in goal off a feed from Kevin Hayes with 1:19 left in the final frame to clinch a 5-4 win. The whole night, and especially the aftermath, was pretty emotional, but the ending couldn’t have been any better.
After that win, the Flyers lost 16 of their final 22 games in regulation, sinking to the fourth-worst record in the league. It was a pretty dark time for the franchise, especially considering they traded their 2022 first-round pick, Cutter Gauthier, just a year and a half after drafting him. But for one moment, the struggle seemed worth it.
Related: Flyers Failures Have Hindered Claude Giroux’s Career
The Flyers still have one more season to make some memories at Wells Fargo Center. They haven’t hosted a postseason game in the building since their Game 6 loss against the Penguins in 2018–could Philadelphia’s 2024-25 campaign change that?
