Struggling Flyers give Hextall the axe
PHILADELPHIA — Caught at a crossroads between a fullblown rebuild and a legitimate playoff push, the Philadelphia Flyers fired general manager Ron Hextall Monday, the latest front-office leader to fail to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 44 years.
The Flyers might not be done cleaning house.
Coach Dave Hakstol has lost his biggest backer and now his job clearly is in danger. The Flyers have a 10-11-2 record and have lost five of six. They are fresh off a 6-0 loss to Toronto in which an organization once stamped as the Broad Street Bullies played without a penalty.
“I feel a responsibility for what happened today,” Hakstol said. “Nobody feels good about that in our room.”
Hextall, a popular Flyers goalie in the 1980s and ’90s, was dismissed after 4½ seasons on the job in which he tried to revive a depleted farm system and patiently build a championship contender.
Flyers president Paul Holmgren thanked Hextall for his “many significant contributions, but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team.”
He added that an immediate change was in the team’s best interests and he hopes to have a new general manager “as soon as possible.”
The Flyers play Tuesday against Ottawa at home where a once-rabid fan base has stayed away from Wells Fargo Center in droves and the ones that come serenade another listless loss chanting “Fire Hakstol!”
Holmgren and Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Dave Scott said they will not comment further until a Tuesday news conference.
The new general manager will make the call on the fate of the coaching staff. Former Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup-champion coach Joel Quenneville is available after he was fired this season. Former Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, who won two Cups, also is on the market.
Hakstol ran practice Monday.
“I’m not looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I never have. I never do. I focus on the job at hand and going forward. Those are decisions that aren’t up to me.”
Hextall’s ouster could be tied in to his steadfast support of Hakstol, the coach he hired with no NHL experience out of the University of North Dakota in 2015. The move stunned the NHL and Hextall seemingly staked his career on Hakstol handling the grind of coaching in pressure-packed Philadelphia.