Bidding Farewell to Flyers’ Suddenly Discarded Black Jerseys

Though he wasn’t able to light the lamp one last time in Philadelphia, Giroux did contribute to a Flyers win, with Joel Farabee breaking a 4-4 tie in the final two minutes of regulation. That maximized the ovation Giroux received in one final post-game skate at the then Wells Fargo Center, wearing a jersey that resembled the team’s primary home jersey when he first broke into the league 14 seasons prior.

Feb. 28, 2020: Fight or Flight

The 2019-20 Flyers were starting to peak in February, winning four straight games before their second home meeting with the New York Rangers. The Flyers wore the black sweaters and hung a five-spot against the Rangers back on Dec. 23, 2019, and their offense delivered an identical output to end the month.

This was a much happier night for Giroux, who scored consecutive goals. Kevin Hayes, who potted two in his first game against his old team as a Flyer in December, added another one as well. But the most memorable scene didn’t go down on the scoresheet.

The iconic image of Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton chirping Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux (who would briefly become a Flyer in the 2022-23 season) became a rallying cry across social media. It helped that the Flyers also won their next four games, their longest win streak since the 2016-17 season. The COVID-19 pandemic would ultimately sap that momentum, but at the time, the Flyers felt on top of the world (and were near the top of the standings, as well).

Feb. 16, 2019: It Was 5-1

Speaking of hot streaks and memorable celebrations, the Flyers appeared to have an easy win in the bag against the hapless Detroit Red Wings as they tried to make an improbable playoff push in 2019. Three different Flyers recorded multiple points, and five lit the lamp in regulation, with two goals in the first two minutes of the third period seemingly putting it out of reach.

However, within two minutes of their multi-goal blitz, the Red Wings put together one of their own. Then, two tallies from Anthony Mantha, the latter coming with the goaltender pulled and only seven seconds remaining on the clock, brought the game back to level.

Staring down a devastating collapse, the Flyers were able to regroup in 3-on-3 play. A slick pass from Sean Couturier sent Travis Konecny behind the Detroit goal, emerging on the far side before Jonathan Bernier (who hadn’t allowed a goal yet after entering in relief) could stick his left pad out. Konecny let his emotions out in an embrace with future Red Wing Shayne Gostisbehere, as the Flyers avoided humiliation and emerged victorious.

Will Black Ever Be Back?

As mentioned above, there was never any formal announcement that the black jerseys were going away, which isn’t particularly unusual. However, the jerseys appear as active alternates in EA Sports NHL 26 (retired jerseys have the year they were last worn next to them in the menus, which the Flyers’ black sweaters don’t).

While EA Sports games have been inaccurate in the past, the jerseys are now updated to reflect the new color of the Flyers’ jersey sponsor patch, which features Independence Blue Cross (the patch’s color shifted from blue to white ahead of this season). If nothing else, it’s a way to see what the Flyers would look like if they were still wearing their alternate uniforms in 2026.

This decision also comes at a time when black seems to be in vogue. The Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning have all introduced a new black third jersey over the last few seasons. The Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames returned their classic Goathead and Blasty logos with black jerseys a few seasons ago. Additionally, the Ottawa Senators changed their primary sweaters from red to black at the start of the decade.

Some fans online have speculated that this could mean a new alternate jersey may come to fill the void. The last time the Flyers didn’t have an alternate of any kind was 2013-14 (excluding 2017-18, when the entire league didn’t have a third jersey due to the NHL switching jersey partners from Reebok to Adidas). The Flyers may have ended their “New Era of Orange” campaign, but maybe they’ll be a new shade of orange (and/or black) next season.