When the Philadelphia Flyers open their next season, it seems likely that someone other than Craig Berube will be standing behind the bench as the team's head coach. There will also likely be some turnover among the assistant coaching staff.

Change can usually be expected when a team is in the position the Flyers find themselves; playing out the schedule as a non-playoff team well in advance of the end of the regular season. Everyone, including Berube, understands that hockey is a business.

It is a moot point to debate whether Berube is a good NHL head coach, an average one or a below-average one. People inside, on the fringes and outside the game will all have their own opinions. It is futile to try to persuade someone whose mind is already made up on the issue to see it differently. Nevertheless, a balanced consideration of Berube's tenure is in order.

Ultimately, what matters is this: Do the Flyers see Berube as the right head coach to move the team forward beyond the disappointing 2014-15 season? Are the players buying into his system and adaptable to his coaching methods?

When all is said and done after general manager Ron Hextall does his post-season due diligence -- revisiting objectives from before the season and re-testing them against the actual outcomes, conducting player exit interviews on what they thought went right and wrong in a variety of aspects, talking to Berube and all the assistants and then making final assessments before embarking on off-season moves -- there seems to be a high degree of likelihood that the team will not retain the current head coach.

There has not been a vote of confidence in the head coach beyond the one general manager Ron Hextall made in early December, which pertained to the current season only. Hextall has only said that everyone and everything will be re-evaluated after the season but the team's record means that there is a lot of shared blame to go around.

When most Flyers players have been asked if they want Berube back next season, they have given a non-answer by demurring to the issue being a decision solely in the hands of club management and adding words to the effect of "I am just focused on playing right now, the rest is out of my hands."

Mind you, even when a GM says "I have total confidence in our head coach" or players say, "We'd feel horrible if we cost [insert coach's nickname] his job", there are no guarantees of the status quo remaining in place. Such questions only get asked when things aren't going as well as hoped, and continued underachievement will eventually mean a coaching change.

As always, it's easier to replace a coach or two than 20 players. Coaches are hired to be fired and the same-team life expectancy of most NHL head coaches is particularly dubious (especially in the rabid Philadelphia market). Berube accepted his promotion from longtime assistant coach to head coach after Peter Laviolette's dismissal three games into the 2013-14 season knowing full well that he was gaining power as the bench boss but sacrificing job security.

Although Berube was promoted to head coach by then-GM and now club president Paul Holmgren and not by Hextall, the frequently mentioned angle that "most every GM brings in his own hire to coach" really need not apply here. Hextall was already being groomed as the next Flyers general manager and no doubt was asked to provide some input and post-hire feedback prior to becoming the general manager.

If things had gone better this season, I do not think Hextall would have had a problem staying the course with Berube even though Chief was not directly hired by Hextall. In terms of their working relationship, they need not see eye-to-eye on everything to be comfortable working together. However, the fact that Hextall and Berube have known each other for the better part of 30 years and are former teammates will not save Berube's job if Hextall decides a change is necessary.

The true reason(s) for the sudden departure of goaltending Jeff Reese are known only to a few people, and have been kept under tight wraps even internally. The story that was reported in the Philadelphia Daily News has been denied vehemently but with no further explanation on-record or off-the-record from anyone who could reliably be considered in the know.

In certain aspects -- most notably a heavy emphasis on conditioning and an abhorrence of perceived excuse-making -- Berube and Hextall are cut from a similar cloth. In other aspects. they seem to have different perceptions of the team's progression toward its over-arching goals of winning consistently.

Berube has said multiple times in the second half of the season that he has seen solid progress from the start of the season in areas such as teamwide commitment to back-pressure, keeping opponents to the perimeter, puck support on the walls, smoother breakouts, and other process-oriented aspects of his system.

The head coach believes that inconsistent scoring -- stemming largely from a reluctance of many players to shoot the puck and from a need to do a better job as a team of getting to the "greasy" areas -- and penalty killing have been the main causes of the team's disappointing record. He concedes that these issues have been particularly glaring on the road and that the severe downturn in the team's road record from last season's 18-16-7 to this year's 9-20-10 reflects these issues.

Perhaps for related reasons in his own mind, Berube has punted on opportunities to publicly single out the play of goaltender Steve Mason for praise. Berube has only gone so far as to say things such as "he's had some good games for us." However, he also hastens to add that he doesn't care what Mason's statistics say, he cares only about wins and losses. Berube has said on several occasions that, in his view, the goaltender's record -- especially on the road -- is reflective of him having some letdowns of his own in low-scoring games and having as much room for improvement as everyone else.

Berube has drawn a lot of criticism for his treatment of Mason and in-game handling of the goaltenders this season and especially in recent months. In my view, at least, these are valid criticisms.

Mason has always struck me as a standup and introspective guy as well as a gifted goaltender who has developed a tremendous work ethic in practice. He has never shied away from personal accountability and I do not grasp why there is an apparent perception by the coach that Mason is not a good team player. Perhaps I've read the tea leaves all wrong but I've never gotten that vibe from Mason's teammates when they talk about him.

Again, without any direct knowledge of why Reese is no longer with the organization and whether it directly or indirectly had anything to do with a clash with Berube (and/or Hextall) over the handling of the goalies in general and Mason in particular, I do not think it's fair to vilify anyone.

What I do feel comfortable talking about is the fact that Reese was a good goaltending coach for the team.

It has never been Reese's personality to call attention to himself. When praised, he would always deflect credit to the work ethic of his charges and always preferred that the focus be on the player and not the coach. Nevertheless, he had a strong work ethic and was with the goaltenders each and every step of the way. Each and every day, Reese was out on the ice well ahead of practice or a morning skate, working with one or both goaltenders. He was clearly someone who loved his work and poured his heart and soul into it.

On a personal level, Reese was always approachable. While positive-outcome focused, he was also a straight shooter who would not sugar coat the truth. If there was an area where someone needed improvement, such as tracking the puck or competing in scrambles around the net, he would be honest about it. Overall, he was protective of the goalies and focused on putting them in position to succeed.

Reese was also very detail oriented. A couple of years ago, he told me about a young goalie he was working with who had been using the wrong size stick with his previous team. Getting him to use a proper stick was an early corrective step.

Above all, Reese was a strong communicator with his goaltenders. On Jan. 30, the day after Mason stopped 36 of 38 shots -- after two early goals got past him -- against the Winnipeg Jets, Mason talked at length about his postgame discussion with Reese the previous night (Reese and Mason regularly had postgame debriefings after the goalie coach watched his performance from the pressbox).

The gist of the discussion was that Mason had shown just how much he has matured as a goaltender. He showed a degree of mental toughness in that game -- as well as strong physical technique -- rather than letting the game get away from him. This was exactly the sort of game that showed the difference between Mason in his early years in Columbus and the player he has become since coming to Philadelphia.

Reese's pride in Mason was always obvious when one spoke to him. Even so, he would never take any credit for the way Mason has turned around a career that seemed endangered after experiencing a Calder Trophy winning season and then several years of frequent adversity. He always said the credit belonged to the player.

For Mason's part, though, the goalie was always quick to talk about how instrumental his relationship with Reese has been in his success. Even so, Mason is now 26 years old and hitting the prime of his career. The mere fact of Reese's departure, no matter how abrupt, should not cause the goalie to go into a tailspin. He's been around the game long enough to know that nothing lasts forever, and things in hockey have a way of changing in a hurry.

How fast to things change? Last year at this time, I don't think many folks would predicted the trade that sent Scott Hartnell to Columbus for R.J. Umberger; a deal that Berube and Hextall alike insisted would be beneficial on the ice even if Umberger did not produce as many goals as Hartnell.

In hindsight, it was apparent at times last year and even during his assistant coaching tenure that Berube was not thrilled by certain things he saw from Hartnell in terms of conditioning and penalties. While Hartnell was very well-liked among his teammates, Hextall and Berube alike seemed to feel the club was better off moving on without him even apart from the unwieldy length of the power forward's contract.

The first-year returns on that trade did not work out well at all for the Flyers. Umberger was ineffective and, apparently, played most of the season with hip and abdominal issues that recently required season-ending surgery. Hextall conceded that the team knew about the hip issue even last summer but hoped it would not significantly impede the player in 2014-15 before undergoing summer surgery.

That revelation turned a questionable trade that at least had a plausible line of hockey reasoning behind it apart from salary cap relief in three years instead of five into a baffling move. Both Berube and Hextall point to the team relying on self-reports from players to know their own bodies -- whether it is Mason and his right knee, Umberger's middle-body issues (and back and other issues from his final season in Columbus) or Matt Read playing through a reported high ankle sprain -- and when they feel well enough to play.

While players certainly have to take responsibility for themselves along with being forthright with trainer Jim McCrossin and team doctors, the coach and GM don't get a free pass on the handling of injuries this season.

For example, when now ex-Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn's return from his opening night foot injury had several false starts where the player practiced and said he was not feeling ready to return, Berube publicly said he had no problem with it and trusted that the player knew better than anyone else when he was able to play. However, while Berube's words said one thing, his tone of voice and smoldering eyes suggested he was not happy with the player.

In the meantime, the marriage of Vincent Lecavalier and the Flyers went sour pretty quickly last season, after Berube took over for Peter Laviolette (whose attack-heavy system of play was one of the main selling points by which Lecavalier made his decision to turn down comparable competing contract offers after he has bought out by Tampa Bay). Even as Lecavalier posted an unsatisfying 20 goals while being moved all around the lineup in an effort to find chemistry and limit the exposure of some of the veteran's limitations, it was clear that things weren't clicking.

It is common knowledge that the Flyers tried hard to trade Lecavalier last summer but were unable to do so. To Lecavalier's credit, the veteran has remained classy and avoided rocking the boat this season after lengthy stints as a healthy scratch and being largely confined to a fourth-line winger's role when he dressed.

In fairness to Berube from a hockey standpoint, Lecavalier's pacing and style may simply be a poor fit with the way the coach wants the team to play. Berube did spend considerable time and effort last season trying to make it work but the player's flaws (which perhaps were exacerbated by a back injury) outweighed his sporadic production after a hot start.

This season, Berube seemed to simply throw up his hands very quickly and concluded that it was better to either not play Lecavalier or keep him out of the top nine than to try to jam a perceived square peg into a round hole. Oddly enough, Lecavalier has played an extremely simple and conservative game on the fourth line (although he will never be a stellar defensive forward) to the exclusion of looking to make things happen offensively even when potential opportunities present themselves.

Berube tends to be unforgiving of defensive miscues -- especially risky plays with the puck and getting caught on the wrong side of the puck after a turnover -- by offensive-oriented players.

Diagonal passes in the defensive zone and perceived soft plays overall were among the key things that got Jason Akeson buried in the doghouse, waived (and unclaimed) and then sent back to the AHL for the rest of the season. Michael Del Zotto going off-system led to him being ridden hard by the coach early in the season and perhaps contributed to a nine-game stint as a healthy scratch; and yet Berube now praises Del Zotto's overall play as one of the season's successes.

Something else about Berube: He has never been one to take criticism personally and he's never cared about winning any popularity contests. Berube is unpolished and unpretentious, laconic and (much like his fighting and checking style when he played) does not yield ground willingly. He is actually much more approachable than some think, with a dry sense of humor.

Back during his playing days, Berube always kept himself in excellent shape. He detested excuse-making (including injuries) and believed that a player's only responsibility is to have his teammates' backs and to perform his assigned role effectively per the coaching staff's instructions. It worked for "Chief", as he played over 1,000 games as an enforcer.

Contrary to his public image, Berube is not lost the past of trying to coach the game how it used to be played. He is not against the use of analytics as a piece of the puzzle -- but only a small piece -- and he frequently talks after practices and in pregame small-group interviews about the ways that today's game is one that emphasizes skating and structured positional support to create puck possession.

In terms of the regular use of players who may not have good puck possession numbers, Berube has said that just as he does not judge players based primarily on points, he is not concerned about shot-attempt differentials for players whose primary role is to perform specified tasks away from the puck. Likewise, one of the reasons why he has arranged his blueline lineup as he has is that he prefers if possible to have a puck-mover paired with more of a shot-blocker or physically powerful player when possible.

People can like Berube's style and philosophies or hate them. That's fair game. However, there is a rationale for everything he does. He runs solidly up-tempo practices, especially early in the season, and one thing that he is very consistent about throughout the season is his commitment to structure and conditioning. That particular message never wavers but has to be embraced teamwide and the process replicated in game situations with much greater consistency than the current team has shown.

Finally, it must be said that when it comes to assessing players as well as coaches, people who work inside the game sometimes have a markedly different point of view than fans or media.

It might come as a surprise to many Flyers fans that there is no shortage of veteran hockey people around the NHL who think that Berube has actually done a strong overall job of playing the personnel hand he's been dealt the last two seasons.

The case they make: Despite lacking a bonafide top-pairing defenseman and with an inconsistent middle-six in the forward lineup, Berube and his staff coaxed a playoff season -- and seven-game first-round playoff series against a clearly superior New York Rangers team -- in 2013-14 after a dreadful start to the season. The Flyers had a difficult schedule down the stretch last season, and a run of strong games against top teams (including successively sweeping Pittsburgh in a home-and-home, and then beating Chicago, Dallas and St. Louis) helped springboard the team into the postseason.

This season, with a team that statistically ranks in the bottom third of the league both offensively and defensively and was counted out numerous times throughout the season, the club somehow had a chance on March 7 to pull within two points of Boston in the Eastern Conference wildcard race.

Of course, the Flyers did not win in Boston and they have been in a tailspin ever since. Right now, there's a lot of drama -- most of it self-made -- and it seems like the next step is start anew with a different head coach and wipe the slate clean.

That does not make Craig Berube a bad guy or an incompetent head coach who should never get another opportunity behind an NHL bench. It certainly does not suggest that merely changing coaches will fix the team's roster-construction flaws.

It's just the nature of the game. A coach is only as "smart" as his players make him look, but the buck stops with him when the final assessment is made on whether the team is moving in the right direction at a reasonable pace. The Flyers have not done so in the last year at the NHL level, and so a coaching change is likely.

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