Dismissed interim coach Yeo will go

VOORHEES, N.J. » In an NHL tradition of which they long ago advanced to the highest level, the Flyers Tuesday fired another coach. This time, it was Mike Yeo’s turn to go.

Not that Yeo did much to keep his job after replacing Alain Vigneault on an interim basis 22 games into the season, but there was a consensus among both critics and supporters that the veteran coach was in a difficult spot.

“We dealt Mike a really tough hand,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “He is a good coach and I thought he did a really good job under the circumstances. He kept our players competing and going hard until the end.”

Yeo coached the Flyers for 60 games, winning 17 and finishing the season on a three-game losing streak. But even for a franchise that has had more than its share of injuries, the 2021-22 Flyers experienced particularly poor health luck. Among the expected pillars unable to finish the sea

son due to injury were Sean Couturier, Carter Hart, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis. Others — among them Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton — were injured in season.

“I felt like there were a lot of positives, and that if you talked to the guys, the consistency of the message was there,” Yeo said, toward the end of the season. “I felt like certain things have been growing and building and it does take time. But, you know, when you have that many guys out, I don’t care. You could have Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman and it doesn’t matter who your coach is. You’re not going to win.”

While Fletcher understands that Yeo — formerly a head coach in Minnesota and St. Louis — will seek other opportunities, he made it clear that he would be welcomed back to the Flyers in some capacity should he find nothing else.

“Mike and I will continue to discuss that,” Fletcher said. “Obviously, he is free to speak to other teams about what options are there. Depending on how things go over the next six weeks, on his end and our end, I would love to find him an opportunity, whether that is in coaching, player development, the front office or scouting.”

While obvious in recent weeks that he would have an opening for a coach, Fletcher insisted Tuesday he’s in no hurry to fill the position, not even by the July 7 NHL Draft.

“Our hockey operations group is going to get together tomorrow,” the general manager said. “We are going to go through a very thorough discussion on what we are trying to achieve and what we are looking at. At this stage, all options are open.”

That Fletcher was so clear about taking his time was considered a signal that he could be interested in interviewing someone still involved in the Stanley Cup playoffs. One name that has begun to circulate is Jim Montgomery, an assistant to former Flyers coach Craig Berube in St. Louis.

Montgomery coached Dallas into the second round of the playoffs in 2019, but was fired by the Stars early last season. A former Flyer of mild playing accomplishment, Montgomery is credited as the first to use the term “Legion of Doom” to describe the legendary line of John LeClair, Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg.

Also available is former fan favorite Rick Tocchet, who this season entered the Flyers’ Hall of Fame. Tocchet has six years of NHL head coaching experience with Tampa Bay and Arizona, yet only once reached the playoffs. He did win Stanley Cups as an assistant coach in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.

Paul Maurice, who has 768 regular-season games of head coaching experience — and another 53 in the playoffs — is rumored to be high on Fletcher’s list. Ever animated John Tortorella, who guided the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup and who was fired last season by Columbus, could also be in the mix.

Fletcher would not share any names Tuesday, nor would he even be pinned down to the style of coach he would prefer.

“Again, we are going to sit down, try to build that ideal candidate profile and really keep all options open,” he said. “Maybe we will look at it from a little broader perspective. … I am sure there will be a lot of quality candidates.”

Fletcher fired Dave Hakstol in 2018, used Scott Gordon as an interim coach, then hired the veteran Vigneault before the 2019-20 season. Yeo was an assistant to Vigneault.

“He made a few adjustments that we started to see some progress in, in particular holding onto the puck a little bit more, zone entries, and scoring a little bit better by the end of the year,” Fletcher said. “He is a good hockey man.”