Coach of Year candidate Hakstol appreciative of Philly experience

Former Flyers coach has Kraken on the move

With a 4-3 victory over the Flyers Sunday, Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol strengthened a longshot candidacy for the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year. His success, he will be sure to acknowledge, would not been without his three-plus seasons of experience in Philadelphia.

“Everywhere I’ve been, it has helped,” Hakstol said. “That’s the nature of it, right? It’s the different cultures that you coach in. It’s the different people that you coach with and the players that you are able to be around and work with on a daily basis. Every different environment and atmosphere gives you a different opportunity to grow and learn.”

Hakstol was 46 when he was hired by Ron Hextall to coach the Flyers in 2015 after a successful career at the University of North Dakota. He went 41-27-14 in his first season, pushing the Flyers into the postseason, missed the playoffs in his second year, and lost for a second time in the first playoff round in his third. When he began his fourth season at 12-15-4, he was replaced on an interim basis by Scott Gordon.

He had his chance and believed it was a fair one.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “This is a tough league. You’ve got to take the opportunity and find a way through to success. We found a little bit of that. Ultimately, at the end of the day we came up a little bit short. That’s the nature of the business.

“My time here was great. You grow roots whether you are in a spot for five or 10 years, or if you are there for 3 1/2 years. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to be successful. And then, in Year 4, that was it. That was somebody else’s choice, right?”

By 2021, it was the Kraken’s choice to allow Hakstol to guide it into an expansion season and beyond. In this, its second season, Seattle is 30-18-5 and likely headed to the playoffs. For that, Hakstol has been hovering at around 8-to-1 in the race for the Adams Award. Jim Montgomery of Boston is a heavy favorite, with the Devils’ Lindy Ruff high on the board.

After dropping both games to the Flyers last season, Hakstol Sunday finally gained a victory over the franchise that once gave him a chance.

“Man, I love this city,” he said. “I went out for a great dinner last night. I love walking back into the building here because of all the people at ice level. There are just phenomenal people in and around this team and in and around the game in this city.”

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The Flyers played three home games in four days and lost two. John Tortorella would not blame fatigue.

“I thought we were too fine,” he said. “We were trying to make too many little five-foot plays to someone on the weak side instead of just playing straight ahead. It’s not like we were giving them chances all over the place. I just don’t think we were good and we end up losing the game.”

“We weren’t very good tonight,” said Scott Laughton, who assisted on Owen Tippett’s first-period power play goal. “We have to get some good rest here and figure it out.”

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NOTES >> Nick Seeler played in his 200th NHL game … Tippett collected his 15th goal and 15th assist of the season … Ivan Provorov’s assist on Patrick Brown’s thirdperiod shorthanded goal was his 148th, tying Jimmy Watson for 10th among franchise defensemen.