BREAKING: Philadelphia Wings will not return at season’s end
MATT VOLZ
Editor in Chief
A dismal season for the Philadelphia Wings just got even worse.
The organization posted on social media this morning that at the end of this season, they will “cease operations” as part of the Comcast Spectacor portfolio.
Comcast Spectacor is a Philadelphia-based media organization who has owned the team since they were brought back as an expansion franchise for the 2019 season.
The second iteration of the Wings took the floor nearly five years after the original franchise of the same name left for New England to become the Black Wolves after the 2014 season.
After eight seasons, it appears this version of the Wings is done in Philadelphia, too.
In the league’s early years, the original Wings were the organization to beat.
Across the first 16 seasons of the franchise’s history, the Wings missed the playoffs just once.
They won six championships in that span, including two separate repeats in 1989 and 1990 and again in 1994 and 1995.
The Wings, along with the Bandits, essentially ran the league in the mid-90s.
They faced each other in the championship game four times in five years, including each of the first three years of Buffalo’s existence from 1992 to 1994.
The Bandits won back to back in 1992 and 1993, before the Wings got revenge in 1994.
The Bandits would ultimately get the last laugh, however, beating the Wings for the championship in their last game at The Aud in 1996.
But after winning their sixth championship in 2001, Philadelphia’s success faded.
Over the next 13 seasons from 2002 through 2014, the Wings reached the playoffs just four times.
They never won another playoff game after that 2001 championship.
After a 6-12 season in 2014, the organization packed their bags and headed to Connecticut to become the Black Wolves.
It wasn’t uncommon to see the team relocate, and it’s not uncommon anymore, either.
But seeing an organization that used to dominate the league depart from the city where the league is headquartered was significant.
Philadelphia fans watched their old team make a run to the playoffs in 2016, where the Black Wolves came up short in the Eastern Division Finals against the Bandits.
It was only a few years, though, before the Wings were back.
In 2019, the new Wings began their journey as an expansion franchise, and their first game was a matchup against an old nemesis — the Bandits.
Buffalo rudely greeted the new expansion team with two goals in the first two minutes of the game, a game that ended with a 17-15 win for the Bandits.
The Wings dropped each of their first six games of the season, but four of their losses were by two goals or less.
Philadelphia finally brought home a win in their seventh game of the season on Feb. 1, defeating Rochester in overtime in front of a home crowd of over 10,000 fans.
They finished the season at 4-14, concluding the first season of their return as the worst team in the league.
The following season, they showed early signs of promise.
The Wings were 7-3 through the first 10 games of the 2020 season, and it looked like they’d be in line for a return to the playoffs.
Despite a three-game losing streak in late February and early March, Philadelphia rebounded with a 12-11 win at Georgia on March 8.
That’s when fate struck their promising season down.
COVID-19 shut down the NLL and everything else in the world, and no games were played until the start of the 2022 season.
The 2022 season brought several changes. The league’s experiment with three divisions was over, and it was back to just the East and West Divisions.
The original Wings also moved a second time, leaving New England for Albany to become the FireWolves.
The season also saw Philadelphia’s return to the postseason.
Despite a fifth-place finish in the East Division, they had a better record than the Rush, who finished fourth in the West.
So, in a weird twist, the Wings took Saskatchewan’s spot and headed to San Diego for the opening round of the playoffs.
They nearly pulled off an upset against the top-seeded Seals, but ultimately fell, 9-8.
Despite showing promise in 2022, the Wings haven’t returned to the playoffs since.
Now, they may never get another chance.
At this point, it is unclear what exactly will happen with the organization.
While the team’s statement said that the organization will cease operations, the NLL released a statement that described the move as a “transition out of ownership” for Comcast Spectacor.
“The League has already initiated a comprehensive process to identify the next ownership group and evaluate the strongest long-term market opportunity for the franchise,” the statement read.
Fans remain hopeful for a sale, but the possibility of the franchise folding altogether still exists.
The Texas-based Panther City Lacrosse Club endured a similar experience two years ago, folding after a 2024 season in which they made the playoffs.
If the Wings do collapse, the league’s next step would likely follow the same steps as Panther City’s termination two years ago.
In that scenario, the league held a dispersal draft to send Panther City’s top players to other teams.
Some other teams received significant boosts, as Will Malcom returned to Colorado while Las Vegas picked up Jonathan Donville.
In a cruel twist of fate, goalie Nick Damude may be faced with deja vu.
He was Panther City’s goalie when the organization folded in 2024, and he’s now the goalie for the Wings as they face this crisis.
If the team folds, he’ll be up for grabs yet again, alongside young star Brennan O’Neill and other solid contributors.
“Our priority is to position this franchise for sustained success and long-term value creation,” commissioner Brett Frood said in a statement. “The League’s momentum continues to build, and we are confident this transition will lead to an exciting new chapter for the franchise and its players.”
The Wings have two games left, and it appears that the franchise’s final game in Philadelphia will be Saturday, April 11 against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Stats for this story were provided by nllstats.com, a league-wide database run by NLL writer Graeme Perrow.
Check out his commentary on nllchatter.com as well as his updates on X (@GraemePerrow).
