Another Flyers season ends but the future remains bright

It really wasn't supposed to happen this way for the Flyers, at least not this season.  No, I'm not talking about how the Flyers weren't supposed to lose to the Devils; the Flyers weren't supposed to even get to the second round this season.

After making drastic changes last offseason, the Flyers instantly entered a rebuilding mode, one that will feature a number of young players who are years away from their primes.  Sure, the Flyers were still supposed to be competitive but they really weren't expected to be serious Cup contenders until the kids had a chance to develop.  Really, anything that happened this season was gravy.

So why is it still so disappointing to see them lose to the Devils on Tuesday and get ousted from the playoffs?  Mostly because of how much fun it was to see these upstart Flyers stick it to the Penguins in one of the most entertaining series of games in many years.  To follow up all of that entertainment with four straight losses to the Devils in a series of games that were very uneventful was what was so disappointing.

The future is very bright with these Flyers. Claude Giroux could still get better.  The 8 rookies that hogged all the ice time this season should only improve with even more experience.  Chris Pronger hopefully will return.  Ilya Bryzgalov will hopefully keep his head on straight.  There is a lot to like about the future of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Despite all of this, it still hurts to see them lose to a Devils team that doesn't really feel like a great team. Hey, we'll always have that Penguins series.
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