Flyers Officially End An Era, Begin Another One With A New Voice
When the Flyers relieved GM Ron Hextall of his duties, you knew the writing was on the wall that head coach, Dave Hakstol, was next. Today, the Flyers did just that.
The Flyers announced Monday that head coach, Dave Hakstol, had been relieved of his duties. This coming less than 24 hours after Dave Isaac first broke the story Sunday afternoon.
“Its not fair, but it’s the business side of it,” Claude Giroux said Monday after practice. “There is alot of things going on with management, coaching, and all that stuff, but for us, we go back to work, get a win, and get our confidence back and start winning some hockey games here.”
Today started with the announcement that Flyers #1 prospect, Carter Hart, was recalled to the Flyers. But, the day will end with a new head coach and the end of an era for the Flyers.
Dave Hakstol was the only remaining piece of Ron Hextall’s puzzle he put into place to start the Flyers rebirth back in 2014. A rebirth that was supposed to take the Flyers from one-and-done years to multiple year cup runs. A plan that can still be had if the Flyers stay course.
“This is probably something everyone goes through during their career,” Flyers Travis Konecny said after practice Monday. “We hope the best for both sides and we hope it sparks something in here.”
When you look at other Philadelphia sports teams over the past decade, this seems to be the motto. Someone comes in to fix a situation. Then someone comes in to finish the job. It happened with the Phillies in 2005 with Pat Gillick taking over for Ed Wade. The Sixers have made strides towards doing the same with Sam Hinkie putting the pieces into place for now GM Elton Brand. The Flyers are just the next team to do so.
It started with letting GM Ron Hextall and bringing in Chuck Fletcher. Now, its stage 2 with bringing in a new coach to lead the charge. However, who is that coach? Who is the new leader of the Flyers?
“Its tough”, Flyers Oskar Lindblom said after practice Monday. “Hopefully we can get some new energy and get us to start going a little bit.”
In the interim, it will be Phantoms head coach, Scott Gordon. Scott Gordon was promoted to interim head coach until a new coach is chosen. A coach that could be himself if he succeeds. However, that is highly unlikely.
“Ultimately we just have to control what we can control and thats our play,” Flyers James van Riemsdyk said Monday after practice. “We just have to focus on doing our job every day and leave the rest of the stuff to the people that have to make those decisions.”
As reported by multiple sources, ex-Blackhawks coach and 3-time Stanley Cup winning coach, Joel Quenneville, is expected to be named the new head coach in coming time. What Quenneville would bring to the Flyers is experience, accountability, and a proven track record of getting the most out of his players. Something that looks like Dave Hakstol lost over the past season and a half.
But, according to Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher, that decision hasn’t even been discussed yet. “First off, Joel remains under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks and I can confirm I have not asked permission from the Blackhawks to speak with Joel.”
Whether this is denying the report again, like the Flyers did last night, or speaking truthfully, the Flyers head coaching position will look alot different next season. Be it Coach Quenneville or someone else.