Fascinating blog today with a ton of new info.

The thing I find so hard to come to grips with is Hextall getting daggers in the back on the way out for micro managing and not looking after Former Flyers the right way. Meanwhile the head coach he hired and gave carte blanche to is still doing whatever he (frank)ing feels like with the lineup (just like he always has), and the Former Flyer in charge of the league's worst penalty kill survived Hextall and seemingly has more job security than the Pope.

Man, the more information rolls out to us, the more this feels almost exactly like the Chip Kelly situation. Brought in, given all the power, management gives them free reign to succeed or fail and in the end their downfall is kind of forgetting the people around then in their rigidity or in Kelly's case his arrogance.
- shekkie

This is the right analogy.

All of the controlling, suffocating stuff is fine....when you actually win stuff.

Great writeup, Bill. Gives a lot of insight to not only the situation but your take on certain aspects!

Absolutely. Going to either extreme when it comes to team building won't end well. You have to balance development and building a strong farm system with putting a winning team on the ice.
- BiggE

Many of the panic stricken automatically assume that Holmgrem learned nothing from Hextall or from the mistakes that he (Holmgren) and the organization made while he was GM. I just don't think that's the case.

The team needs someone in between what Holmgren did, over-reached many times, and Hextall, who was the polar opposite in that regard.
- DraftandDestroy

I agree.

Fascinating blog today with a ton of new info.

The thing I find so hard to come to grips with is Hextall getting daggers in the back on the way out for micro managing and not looking after Former Flyers the right way. Meanwhile the head coach he hired and gave carte blanche to is still doing whatever he (frank)ing feels like with the lineup (just like he always has), and the Former Flyer in charge of the league's worst penalty kill survived Hextall and seemingly has more job security than the Pope.
- Feanor

I'm pretty sure that the new GM will be making changes to the coaching staff. Once the decision was made to fire Hextall, I don't think they had too many options. They weren't going to bring in a new head coach and then go and hire a GM and tell him "here's your new coach, make it work". So, what options did they have? If you fire the current coaching staff without a new GM in place to hire a new staff, now what? Is Holmgren going to step in as coach until the new GM is in place and hires the new guy? Or would you rather they promote Gordon and just let him run things in the interim with no assistants?

There will be a new coach. If not soon, certainly right after this season ends.

Many of the panic stricken automatically assume that Holmgrem learned nothing from Hextall or from the mistakes that he (Holmgren) and the organization made while he was GM. I just don't think that's the case.
- Sinisalo4vr

Agreed.

A lot of fans hate how patient Hextall was with the AHL prospects. This year he called up NAK, and Hak played him 5 minutes a night on the 4th line. If Hextall was such a micro manager, why would he call up a guy and then let the coach play him one or two shifts per period?

You can go back to Sanheim last season. Hextall put him on the roster, and then at Christmas when Manning returned from injury, Hak stopped playing Sanheim for almost a month, forcing Hextall to finally send him down. A micro managing GM would have just ordered his coach to put his first ever draft pick back in the lineup.

Of course there are many off ice areas where a GM can micro manage and it sounds like Hextall did, but if anyone thinks Hak was being held back from coaching the team the way he wanted, they're kidding themselves.

I saw Columbus gave permission to interview Zito. Also Davidson threw support behind Zito saying he deserves it.
- J35Bacher

My I ask where you seen this?

I'm pretty sure that the new GM will be making changes to the coaching staff. Once the decision was made to fire Hextall, I don't think they had too many options. They weren't going to bring in a new head coach and then go and hire a GM and tell him "here's your new coach, make it work". So, what options did they have? If you fire the current coaching staff without a new GM in place to hire a new staff, now what? Is Holmgren going to step in as coach until the new GM is in place and hires the new guy? Or would you rather they promote Gordon and just let him run things in the interim with no assistants?

There will be a new coach. If not soon, certainly right after this season ends.
- BiggE

I agree, and I didn't expect a new head or PK coach right away. I just find it funny that Hextall was apparently unsympathetic to alumni when he was also the guy keeping Lappy around despite 4+ years of objectively terrible results.

A lot of fans hate how patient Hextall was with the AHL prospects. This year he called up NAK, and Hak played him 5 minutes a night on the 4th line. If Hextall was such a micro manager, why would he call up a guy and then let the coach play him one or two shifts per period?

You can go back to Sanheim last season. Hextall put him on the roster, and then at Christmas when Manning returned from injury, Hak stopped playing Sanheim for almost a month, forcing Hextall to finally send him down. A micro managing GM would have just ordered his coach to put his first ever draft pick back in the lineup.

Of course there are many off ice areas where a GM can micro manage and it sounds like Hextall did, but if anyone thinks Hak was being held back from coaching the team the way he wanted, they're kidding themselves.
- Feanor

I don't think Hextall interfered with lineup and roster usage decisions, but I do think it's at least odd not to have given the head coach any input to the hiring/firing of his assistant coaches. We also don't know what went on behind the scenes. Did Hakstol at some point go to the GM and say something like "we cannot win at this level with Calvin Pickard as my #1 option in goal, you need to get me an NHL goaltender" or "Ron, I need some better options at center." If the response to statements/requests like these was "sorry Dave, but I'm not going to surrender any assets for immediate upgrades" than I can't blame both the coach and Hextall's superiors for being upset.

Fascinating blog today with a ton of new info.

The thing I find so hard to come to grips with is Hextall getting daggers in the back on the way out for micro managing and not looking after Former Flyers the right way. Meanwhile the head coach he hired and gave carte blanche to is still doing whatever he (frank)ing feels like with the lineup (just like he always has), and the Former Flyer in charge of the league's worst penalty kill survived Hextall and seemingly has more job security than the Pope.
- Feanor

Let's see what happens with the coaching staff once a new GM is in place.

As far as the daggers, we'll probably never know if it was really that bad or people just had hurt feelings and now feel free to express them. From how Bill describes his personal experiences with Hextall, I find it hard to believe he was outright dismissive of the advice he received.

The team needs someone in between what Holmgren did, over-reached many times, and Hextall, who was the polar opposite in that regard.
- DraftandDestroy

A Holmtall or a Hexgren.

A lot of fans hate how patient Hextall was with the AHL prospects. This year he called up NAK, and Hak played him 5 minutes a night on the 4th line. If Hextall was such a micro manager, why would he call up a guy and then let the coach play him one or two shifts per period?

You can go back to Sanheim last season. Hextall put him on the roster, and then at Christmas when Manning returned from injury, Hak stopped playing Sanheim for almost a month, forcing Hextall to finally send him down. A micro managing GM would have just ordered his coach to put his first ever draft pick back in the lineup.

Of course there are many off ice areas where a GM can micro manage and it sounds like Hextall did, but if anyone thinks Hak was being held back from coaching the team the way he wanted, they're kidding themselves.
- Feanor

It appears, to me, Hakstol has a lot stronger personality than it outwardly appears.

I agree, and I didn't expect a new head or PK coach right away. I just find it funny that Hextall was apparently unsympathetic to alumni when he was also the guy keeping Lappy around despite 4+ years of objectively terrible results.
- Feanor

I agree with that 100%. For Hextall to not have addressed the goaltending or PK situation in an offseason where he stated it's time for the team to take the next step is very troubling to say the least.

A Holmtall or a Hexgren.
- Feanor

Whomever it is, I'm pretty sure Scott and Holmgren will give their current requirements on improving the team RIGHT NOW!!

I don't think Hextall interfered with lineup and roster usage decisions, but I do think it's at least odd not to have given the head coach any input to the hiring/firing of his assistant coaches. We also don't know what went on behind the scenes. Did Hakstol at some point go to the GM and say something like "we cannot win at this level with Calvin Pickard as my #1 option in goal, you need to get me an NHL goaltender" or "Ron, I need some better options at center." If the response to statements/requests like these was "sorry Dave, but I'm not going to surrender any assets for immediate upgrades" than I can't blame both the coach and Hextall's superiors for being upset.
- BiggE

I'll be happy to give Hak credit if it turns out he was begging Hextall to fire Lappy for years and Hextall refused. Given the fact it was Murphy who got the axe yesterday, that doesn't seem likely.

As for centers, if you recall there was a lot of excitement at the start of the season about the potential of Vorobyev. But at the first sign of him struggling, Hak cut his ice time then benched him. Now Lindblom is on the 4th line. The Flyers are in the awful situation of not letting the on-the-bubble kids play thru their struggles, and also being in the bottom five of the league.

My I ask where you seen this?
- Duane B

From Bill's blog:
Lebrun mentioned Columbus assistant general manager Bill Zito and Buffalo Sabres assistant general manager Steve Greeley as candidates. I am not sure of Greeley's status but received confirmation that Columbus team president John Davidson has given the Flyers permission to interview Zito and gave his personal endorsement for his NHL GM worthiness.

I agree with that 100%. For Hextall to not have addressed the goaltending or PK situation in an offseason where he stated it's time for the team to take the next step is very troubling to say the least.
- BiggE

Love what he did cleaning up the Cap issues Holmgren created and his drafting but I was feeling like he's wasting good money on Giroux and Voracek if he's gonna just sit on his hands and not attempt to fix what needs fixin!

From Bill's blog:
Lebrun mentioned Columbus assistant general manager Bill Zito and Buffalo Sabres assistant general manager Steve Greeley as candidates. I am not sure of Greeley's status but received confirmation that Columbus team president John Davidson has given the Flyers permission to interview Zito and gave his personal endorsement for his NHL GM worthiness.
- missingmike

Thanks I must have missed it

I agree, and I didn't expect a new head or PK coach right away. I just find it funny that Hextall was apparently unsympathetic to alumni when he was also the guy keeping Lappy around despite 4+ years of objectively terrible results.
- Feanor

The whole thing about the alumni or people saying Hextall didn't take their advice is probably being overblown a bit now. Hextall should have dealt with Holmgen's advice better, but personally don't care if the alumni or others feelings were hurt because Hextall didn't take their advice. Advice is often no more than opinions. The only opinion that matters is your boss'.

Bravo Bill, thanks for the great insight.

I'll be happy to give Hak credit if it turns out he was begging Hextall to fire Lappy for years and Hextall refused. Given the fact it was Murphy who got the axe yesterday, that doesn't seem likely.

As for centers, if you recall there was a lot of excitement at the start of the season about the potential of Vorobyev. But at the first sign of him struggling, Hak cut his ice time then benched him. Now Lindblom is on the 4th line. The Flyers are in the awful situation of not letting the on-the-bubble kids play thru their struggles, and also being in the bottom five of the league.
- Feanor

No argument there and I'm no big fan of Hakstol. I'd truly be shocked if the next GM didn't bring in his own coach along with a new group of assistants.

My I ask where you seen this?
- Duane B

I am looking. i read it this morning and now can't find it.

at Pit
CBJ
at Buf
at Wpg
at Cgy
at Edm
at Van