We’re still many months away, but it’s a topic of conversation in relevance to the future standing of the Philadelphia Flyers. With Mike Yeo getting the stamp of approval to remain the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, do the Flyers retain his services moving forward, or do they plunge into the abyss of available coaches and hope that the 7th bench boss in the last 10 years is the answer?
Seven games since the firing of Alain Vigneault and the Philadelphia Flyers look a little better and a little different. For starters, they’re 4-2-1, have scored 4+ goals in 5 of those 7 games, and are currently on a 5-game point streak after losing 10 consecutive games. It was painfully obvious that Vigneault had lost the locker room and that everything coming out of his mouth was falling on deaf ears. With Yeo being named the interim, the Flyers still have a steady voice behind the bench as he was the head coach of the Minnesota Wild (2011-12 to 2015-16) and the St. Louis Blues (2016-17 to 2018-19).
On top of being a head coach in the NHL years ago, he also has familiarity with the Flyers after serving as the assistant coach since 2019-20. General manager Chuck Fletcher didn’t seem too enticed by the idea of firing his head coach and it seemed that Dave Scott served as the hammer to Vigneault’s nail. Naming an immediate head coach wasn’t entirely necessary with Yeo’s previous experience.
Now, nothing is set in stone as to who will coach the Flyers in 2022-23, but it all depends on how this season plays out. If the Flyers continue chipping in points and notching wins, I’m sure Fletcher will be inclined to keep Yeo around for another year or so. If the Flyers can actually show their mettle and turn their season around in a positive way, it would only make sense to see what Yeo can do with a full off-season and training camp.
It’s a small sample size, but the re-emergence of Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Oskar Lindblom in such short order is definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward. All three players seemed repressed in Vigneault’s system and tutelage and have since returned to their roots and are playing fantastic hockey in the last seven games.
If, for whatever reason, the Flyers decide to dip their toes into the free agent pool of coaches, who will be the lucky guy to take over and try to win this franchise their first Stanley Cup since 1975? With Bruce Boudreau having been hired by the Vancouver Canucks, that’s one name to cross off the list, however there remains several intriguing options should the Flyers choose this route.
If you want old-school and experience then look no further than Mike Babcock, Claude Julien, and John Tortorella. If you’re looking for experience without the old-school mentality then there’s Rick Tocchet and Dan Bylsma. Jim Montgomery and Rikard Grönberg also remain viable options should the Flyers explore any further.
Mike Babcock
Old school vibes are all too familiar in Philadelphia, and that essentially spelled doom for Alain Vigneault. Everyone is familiar with Mike Babcock, he did wonderful things in Anaheim and Detroit, but his tenure in Toronto brought about a lot of media attention. There were several off-ice verbal allegations he had to face from his latter half in Detroit as well and ever since 2019, he has been out of the NHL.
He coached 16 full seasons and part of a 17th, made the playoffs in all but two, and won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2007-08. He made the finals with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in his first season in 2002-03 and with the Red Wings again in 2008-09. He was tasked to lead the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs into a successful era, but flamed out in the first round all three years when they made the playoffs.
When he was coming off his final year in Detroit, he was the big man on campus and the Flyers were one of the teams seemingly interested. The Flyers chose Dave Hakstol instead but one wonders if the Flyers would do that again if he were made available. He is a head coach of 1,301 games, 700 wins, 90 playoff wins, and 14 playoff appearances. He was hired by the University of Saskatchewan to be their head coach but one would have to think that a coach of his valour is eyeing a return to the NHL.
Claude Julien
Claude Julien has been an NHL head coach for 19 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens (twice), the New Jersey Devils, and the Boston Bruins. He led the Bruins to the playoffs in seven straight seasons, which included two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, winning it all in 2010-11. His second tenure in Montreal was a lot harder as he made the playoffs in two of his five seasons. He interestingly enough got fired with the Canadiens in a playoff spot and playing good hockey.
A head coach of 1,275 games, 667 wins, and 68 playoff wins, Julien is looking to return to the NHL and possibly continue the success he had before being abruptly fired. He is eerily similar to former French bench boss Alain Vigneault, so for those who were enamoured with the former Flyers coach, they might welcome Julien with open arms. He is also the recipient of the Jack Adams Award for his efforts in the 2008-09 season.
John Tortorella
John Tortorella is quite honestly the most outspoken head coach in recent memory and everyone remembers him more for his press-conferences and post-game interviews than anything else. He’s currently an analyst on ESPN and has driven most hockey fans insane due to some his stances on the “new age” of hockey.
He is the 2nd-most winningest American head coach in history and has won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that was way back in 2003-04. He has coached for the New York Rangers (2008-09 to 2012-13), the Vancouver Canucks for one season (2013-14), and then most recently in Columbus for the Blue Jackets (2015-16 to 2020-21). He has done some wonderful things on teams that didn’t look like they had much of a chance but had trouble advancing in the playoffs. Tortorella-coached teams haven’t made it out of the second round since 2011-12, which is a span of 8 seasons.
A head coach of 1,383 games, 673 wins, and 2 Jack Adams Awards, he would best represent what Flyers fans have been clamouring for for years and that’s accountability, leadership, and responsibility. He keeps his team in check, his players in line, and he’s not afraid of voicing his opinions, but he has his players’ backs, which is very important in today’s climate. He isn’t afraid of letting his players, star or depth, know if they’re doing something wrong or bench them if they have been struggling.
Jim Montgomery
When initially hired out of the University of Denver by the Dallas Stars in 2018-19, it looked like an amazing idea and one similar to the Dave Hakstol hiring the Flyers had previously made. In his first season, he led the Stars to the second round of the playoffs and continued to have success into the 2019-20 season going 17-11-3 in the team’s first 31 games.
However, he mysteriously got fired but the stories started piling up shortly after. Dallas Stars general manger Jim Nill said that Montgomery got fired for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars”. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman backed it up by stating that he was fired for a personal behaviour that later turned out to be related to alcohol abuse as he checked into rehab not too long after. 9 months later, he was hired as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues.
So there’s a little bit of a checkered past, but he had a great standing in the NCAA and even short and quick success in the NHL. His hiring could represent a redemption story of sorts and he’d definitely be a clearer and fresher voice behind the bench than some of the names previously mentioned.
Rick Tocchet
A former Flyer and recent Flyers Hall of Fame inductee, Rick Tocchet would be a fan choice and a fan favourite rather instantly. Always known for his ruggedness and hard-nosed play as a player, Tocchet’s coaching career has been short. He was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09 and 2009-10 with little to no success, and then took over the Arizona Coyotes for four seasons from 2017-18 to 2020-21. He made the playoffs in 2019-20 in the COVID-shortened season and lost in the first round after winning their play-in series.
As a head coach in a city that he loves and he is beloved in, it could be a match made in heaven. Like Craig Berube, I don’t think it’s hard to envision him having success in the early parts of his tenure. He is well respected and wasn’t given a fair shake in Arizona, considering the team and upper management he had to deal with in those four seasons. He has also won the Stanley Cup twice but as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dan Bylsma
Almost every Flyers fan will remember Dan Bylsma from his head coaching duties in Pittsburgh, especially since he was on the opposite side at the peak of the Flyers-Penguins rivalry. He spent six seasons as the bench boss for the Penguins, winning the Stanley Cup in his first season in 2008-09. He coached for 2 years in Buffalo but failed to make the playoffs in each of those seasons.
His tenure with the Sabres was very rocky as it ended because several Sabre players refused to want to return or threatened not to sign an extension if Bylsma remained the head coach, including Jack Eichel. He took on an assistant role in Detroit for the 2018 season and spent 3 seasons with the Red Wings before recently taking an assistant role for the Seattle Kraken’s temporary AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
As a head coach he won 320 games, 43 in the playoffs, and won the Jack Adams Award for best coach in 2011. He was considered new school and did extremely well with the Penguins in short order, and he became the all-time winningest head coach in franchise history in 2014. He also became the fastest coach to 250 wins in only 395 games, and also represented the United States Olympic Hockey Team at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Rikard Grönberg
Rikard Grönberg would be a very outside the box hire considering the fact that he’s currently in Europe and hasn’t had any North American coaching experience since 2008-09. He has been the coach for the Swedish national team since 2016, he also represented Sweden as an assistant coach, scout, and/or coach at the junior level as early as 2007-08. He currently coaches in Switzerland for the ZSC Lions.
He’s held that position since 2019 and he expects to run out his contract and possibly looking for employment in the NHL. He’s been a sought-after candidate for several teams recently looking for a head coach but mum’s the word as no one knows exactly where his heart is set; Europe or possibly the NHL.
Before COVID cancelled their season in 2019-20, Grönberg led Zurich to the top of the league standings with a 31-13-6 record. Currently they sit 6th place and are holding onto a playoff spot. Grönberg would be a hire that would shift and shock the culture, not only in Philadelphia but the NHL as a whole. The Flyers started the trend of NCAA coaches by hiring Dave Hakstol, so maybe they try the same with European coaches.
It’s very possible the Flyers consider some or all of these names for their possible coaching vacancy. All of this is hearsay for the time being as Mike Yeo is currently the interim until season’s end.
If the Flyers figure a way out of their current predicament and somehow make the playoffs, it seems very unlikely that the Flyers part ways with Mike Yeo. He has shown that he can get the best out some of his players like Konecny, Sanheim, and Lindblom. His new system has the Flyers playing better hockey and a little more confident, which is all you can really hope for from a mid-season coaching change.
Names like Mike Babcock and John Tortorella would definitely have the city abuzz but the league on fire as well. Wherever they go, the media follows them, good or bad. All these head coaches have had success in the past and for a lengthy amount. If the Flyers really want a culture shock then hiring some of these savvy coaches, will be the way to do it.
