The Philadelphia Flyers have endured yet another mediocre start to their season and the pressure has been mounting on Dave Hakstol as a result…or so we thought. According to an official press release from the team, the Flyers have decided to relieve Ron Hextall from his duties as Flyers general manager.
OFFICIAL: The Flyers organization has decided to relieve Ron Hextall of his duties as Executive Vice President and General Manager. https://t.co/W1tKRlqG5d pic.twitter.com/iiAvQlaZoH
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) November 26, 2018
What does this mean? Well in short, the team are refusing to settle for what has been a trend of underwhelming seasons. Here’s a look at the teams’ record at thanksgiving since 2015:
2015-16- (7-10-5)
2016-17- (9-9-3)
2017-18- (8-9-5)
2018-19- (9-10-2)
It’s hardly awe inspiring and while Hextall has been absolutely pivotal in stashing the future of this franchise on the farm, the Flyers are lacking a product on the Ice that can win right now. The wording ‘ we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team’ certainly sounds harsh, but it’s probably accurate. The Flyers were a ‘few years away’ a few years ago and even though names like Shayne Gostisbehere, Nolan Patrick, Carter Hart and Tracis Konecny have all and will all contribute greatly in years to come, the fact is that right now, this team isn’t achieving what’s expected. Something our Flyers writer Jamey Baskow stated:
There’s no doubt the Flyers are very inconsistent to start the season once again. They win one game and lose the next, or they lose four and win three. Yes, injuries have played a large part of the inconsistencies for this team this season, mainly to the Goaltenders, but every team has an injury or two. However, this type of play cannot continue, and the orange and black should be better than a borderline .500 team right now. There are just no excuses for this type of play, and Hextall should have acted sooner. Hextall became the hunted, and Paul Holmgren dismissed him for not sharing the same, “Philosophical approach.”
The firing has come at an interesting time too. It gives the franchise time to find a replacement who does share in that ‘philosophical vision’ and be active prior to the trade deadline. If the vision is to win now, that would definitely point toward the timing of the firing.
The question is, does this leave the writing on the wall for Dave Hakstol, who has come out of this unscathed for now. There are a flurry of issues surrounding this Flyers team, but how many are on the coaches shoulders? That’s something that the team’s ownership and new general manager will have to judge.
When Ron Hextall took over as the General Manager of the Flyers on May 7, 2014, he envisioned a long-term commitment to the Draft, while preaching patience to the fans. Hextall has just been on a tear trying to keep this young Flyers core together for many years to come in the future. His hard-work and dedication to the team appeared to be paying off with making the playoffs 2 out of 3 seasons during the Dave Hakstol era. However, in year four of the Hakstol era, Hextall has been faced with some roadblocks. His young Flyers team is just flat-out inconsistent, and they needed a new face. Well, today it begins, as Hextall was relieved of his duties of General Manager of the Flyers. A shocker to many fans that he was canned before Hakstol.
One could objectively look at this situation and see that Hakstol and Hextall were on the same page. It was clear they both built this team with the long-term future in mind and if there was pressure on Hextall to fire Hakstol and he was reluctant to act, it may have forced the ownership’s hand. The real question now becomes whether or not that same group view Hakstol’s consistent mediocrity as something to build around an enrich, or wipe away completely and begin more of a ‘win-now’ process.
Stay locked in to Philly Sports Network for the latest on this developing story.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
