Dave Hakstol was fired as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
The Flyers (12-15-4) lost the final four games of a five-game road trip (0-3-1) that ended with a 5-1 defeat to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. They’re last in the Metropolitan Division with 28 points, eight behind the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
Philadelphia plays the Detroit Red Wings at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, NBCSP, FS-D, NHL.TV).
Hakstol was not on the ice when the Flyers began practice at Virtual Center Flyers SkateZone in Voorhees, New Jersey on Monday and his firing was announced a short time later. Scott Gordon, who had been coaching Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, was named Hakstol’s replacement.
“After meeting this morning with Dave Hakstol and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to relieve him of his duties as head coach,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “As I continue to assess the team, I feel that this is the best course of action for our group moving forward. I’d like to thank Dave for his service to the team and the organization. Scott Gordon will serve as head coach on an interim basis.”
The Flyers fired GM Ron Hextall on Nov. 26. Fletcher was named his replacement Dec. 3.
Fletcher traveled with the Flyers on the road trip and before they left said it would give him an opportunity to get to know Hakstol and how he worked.
“I think you have to give people a chance to show how they’re going to work with you,” Fletcher said Dec. 5. “It’s easy to have an opinion on the outside. When you’re talking about making a decision on the future of a coaching staff I think you better have a little more specific information than I have right now. I want it to work. I want to be successful with this group. It’s not threats or anything, but if we don’t have solutions in-house we’ll look outside. There’s no timetable for any of that other than we want to get better, want to make the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs this year, want to win the Stanley Cup as soon as we can. Every decision we make will be towards that goal.”
Hakstol, 50, was hired by the Flyers on May 18, 2015, replacing Craig Berube. He had been the coach at the University of North Dakota the previous 11 seasons and was the third person to go from coaching college hockey to coaching in the NHL without previous experience in the League as a player or coach. Bob Johnson was hired by the Calgary Flames from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and Ned Harkness went from Cornell University to the Red Wings in 1970.
Hakstol was 134-101-42 in four seasons. His 277 regular-season games are third among Philadelphia coaches behind Fred Shero (554) and Mike Keenan (320).
The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice in Hakstol’s first three seasons but were eliminated in the Eastern Conference First Round in six games each time. They were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and the Washington Capitals in 2016.
Hakstol is the fifth coach fired this season after no coaches were fired during the 2017-18 season: John Stevens by the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 4, Joel Quenneville by the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov 6, and Mike Yeo by the St. Louis Blues and Todd McLellan by the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 20.
Gordon was in his fourth season as Lehigh Valley coach and 64-94-23 in 181 games as coach of the New York Islanders from Aug. 12, 2008 through Nov. 15, 2010. Gordon was also an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-14 and for the United States at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Gordon was a goalie with the Quebec Nordiques for two seasons, appearing in 23 games from 1989-91.
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