Philadelphia Flyers have plenty to feel good about for the future

The Flyers were the latest team to skate away without a title, making the city’s big four sports teams 0-for-25 since the 76ers last won a championship in 1983 and celebrated with a parade down Broad Street. The Flyers extended their personal Stanley Cup drought to 33 years - nothing since back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975.

The only cup the Flyers will drink out of in June might come with a fancy umbrella at some swanky vacation resort.

Given the state of the four franchises, which also include the Phillies and the Eagles, the Flyers could be considered top contenders to snap the miserable skid. Yes, their season ended Sunday in a huge thud with their 6-0 loss to Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. But the stunning turnaround from worst team in the NHL last season to conference finalists this year has the Flyers flying high about their future.

“We’ll remember all the good things we did, the fact that nobody gave us a chance to even make the playoffs at the beginning of the year,” centre Danny Briere said. “Hopefully, we were able to gain that experience that’s going to make us even better next year. I think we took a step in the right direction, but right now it’s kind of tough to look at the big picture.”