Going Into the Road Trip, Dave Hakstol’s Ass Is On Fire
Well ladies and gentleman, we have officially have a coach on the hot seat. Now that Cleveland has purged all of its incompetent coaches, the movement has swung to the Wells Fargo Center. And it ain’t Brett Brown, folks. Ron Hextall and the Flyers could be forced a change depending on how Dave Hakstol fairs on a four game road trip. Hakstol is the 2nd most tenured coach in Philly and, shockingly, somehow the 5th most tenured coach in the NHL.
The news isn’t a surprise given how atrocious the Flyers have been this year. The first person to be slain by the pitchfork and torches HAS to be Hakstol. In the 3 years he has been in charge, the Flyers have been ousted from the first round twice and failed to make the playoffs once. In my opinion this move would be a year and a half too late. Given the start this year, it seems to be unanimous that his time is coming to a close.
With a total of 8 points in 11 games, the Flyers currently sit in 2nd to last in the Metro Division. Thankfully, the Rangers are terrible, saving us from being the biggest laughing stock. Most of our losses can be put on the defense and more so on injured goaltenders. Nuevy continues to be injury prone and Elliott can only do so much at an older age. It’s a tale as old as time. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” -Albert Einstein” -Flyers Fans.
If Hakstol does get canned after this road trip there would be some interesting candidates out there for hire. Darryl Sutter, Michel Therrien, and Dan Bylsma are all available and have winning NHL records with a couple Cups. Since Hextall set a precedent by hiring Hakstol, it may be more likely a coach with limited or no NHL experience gets the keys. Some interesting names would be Adam Oates, Dan Quinn, or Sheldon Keefe. Oates is currently a skills coach that works with numerous young stars in the league. Quinn has been very successful at Boston University and Keefe is the next big thing, currently coaching in the AHL. Needless to say, Hexy will sure have options if he gives Hakstol marching orders.
None of this matters if we win during this next stretch. The Ducks are due for a win and San Jose is a monster, but we can really butter our bread with wins in LA and Phoenix. We see Phoenix in Philadelphia for the first game after the trip. It’s now or never for this core.