End of an Era: Holmgen steps down as Flyers president
Holmgren steps aside, leaves Scott and Fletcher in charge of Flyers
Paul Holmgren, who has spent time with the Flyers everywhere from the penalty box to the presidential suite, has stepped away from making meaningful organizational decisions.
A former player, head coach and general manager, and for the past five years the Flyers’ president, Holmgren will serve Flyers’ governor Dave Scott only as a senior adviser, the club announced Thursday.
With that, general manager Chuck Fletcher was promoted to the newly created position of President of Hockey Operations and General Manager and will report directly to Scott. And with that, another hands-on tie to the Flyers past was cut.
“I’m not really moving away,” said Holmgren, 63. “I’m going to be around town, so I’ll be available to Dave whenever he needs me or whenever he wants to talk. Same with Chuck. It’s more on what they want to do. I’m not going to go away totally. I’m sure I’ll be at some games.
“I love the Flyers. I want the Flyers to do well and anything I can help Dave or Chuck with in the future, I will be around.”
Holmgren first joined the Flyers as a player for the 1975-76 season, their first after winning consecutive Stanley Cups. Having had occasional stops elsewhere in the NHL, last season was his 40th in the Flyers’ organization.
Citing a desire to spend more time with his eight grandchildren, Holmgren said he approached Scott about the shift last summer.
“We talked about where I was in life and how I wanted to start spending more time with my grandchildren and my family,” Holmgren said. “It kind of started there and we went through the year and nailed down the details as we went along.”
With a background in the cable TV industry, Scott emerged as the CEO of Comcast-Spectacor in 2013, replacing Flyers founder and owner Ed Snider. Snider died in 2016.
Scott has often said he was new to hockey and needed time to learn the business. Holmgren, he acknowledged, was critical to that education. But by Thursday, Scott was comfortable enough in his position of command to make it clear: He is at the top, Fletcher will report to him, and together they will run the hockey operation.
“Paul, Chuck and I have worked together,” Scott said. “It was a pretty thorough process, so I’ve gotten to know Chuck well. But, yes, I will be spending more time with him directly.”
Holmgren served the Flyers as a player, scout, assistant coach, head coach, general manager and president. He was involved in five Flyers runs to a Stanley Cup final.
“Paul has been an invaluable leader within the Flyers family for more than 40 years, and instrumental in placing the organization in a strong position for future success,” Scott said. “Paul has earned a place among the organization’s alltime greats and certainly fits the role exemplified by our late chairman, Ed Snider: ‘A Flyer Forever.’”
Among the reasons Holmgren felt comfortable sliding down a line was his confidence in Fletcher, whom he helped to hire last December to replace the fired Ron Hextall.
“I’m not going to speak for Dave, but again, my perception at the time was we are going in the right direction,” Holmgren said. “Everything Chuck was trying to do and talking about doing, and culminating with the things he did prior to the draft, I’m excited about it.
“And I just thought it was the right time.”
Fletcher is the ninth general manager in Flyers history. Previously, he worked in high level positions with New Jersey, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Anaheim and Florida.
“Chuck has a really good grab on things,” Holmgren said. “He loves the Flyers. He knows the iconic brand that is out there for the Flyers. He knows how important the Flyers are to the city of Philadelphia and wants to get us back to where we should be. Once I recognized that, and I believe Dave did too, that’s when I thought this is a good time for me to let Chuck do his thing.
“He is a good guy. He’s good at what he does.”
A sixth-round draft choice out of the University of Minnesota, Holmgren played his first 500 NHL games with the Flyers, for whom he provided 138 goals, 171 assists, 309 points and 1,600 penalty minutes.
“I want to be around,” Holmgren said. “I’ve spent a long time in the hockey world. It’s been a long time with the Flyers and I felt as I went through the year particularly, I thought it’s time to step aside and move on to a different phase in my life.”