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Emily KaplanESPN
Despite a report on Sunday that the Philadelphia Flyers made a coaching change, a team spokesperson confirmed that “Dave Hakstol is our coach.”
Philadelphia is one of the NHL’s biggest disappointments this season. Entering Sunday, the Flyers had the worst record in the Eastern Conference (12-15-4), and they are on a four-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored 22-8. The team dismissed general manager Ron Hextall last month and replaced him with Chuck Fletcher, who was previously the GM of the Minnesota Wild for nine seasons.
When Fletcher was hired on Dec. 3, he said he wanted time to evaluate Hakstol. But on Sunday, the Courier Post of New Jersey reported that Hakstol had been fired and would be replaced with longtime Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. All the while, the Flyers — including Hakstol and Fletcher — were on a team plane returning from a West Coast road trip.
Hakstol was hired before the 2015-16 season and has made the playoffs in two of three seasons.
Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, was fired on Nov. 6, and has since kept a low profile (one of his few public appearances was tailgating with fans outside Soldier Field before the Chicago Bears‘ Sunday night game against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 18).
Sources say Quenneville is taking time off in Colorado and waiting for the “right opportunity” to coach again — and would take a job that gave him the “best chance to win right away.”
This isn’t the first time there has been speculation about Hakstol’s job status. There were rumblings about his fate last December after the team endured a 10-game losing streak. The Flyers went on to finish third in the Metropolitan Division and made the playoffs.
The Flyers next play Tuesday against the visiting Detroit Red Wings. They have a scheduled practice Monday at the team practice facility.