Any time a new head coach takes over an NHL team, changes to the assistant coaching staff are inevitable. The Philadelphia Flyers under Dave Hakstol are unlikely to be an exception. While general manager Ron Hextall has a strong hand in the selection process, it is ultimately Hakstol himself who must work side-by-side with his assistants on a daily basis.

Hakstol had interest in bringing at least one of his former University of North Dakota assistants along with him to Philadelphia. However, Brad Berry has already accepted the UND head coaching position to succeed Hakstol and fellow longtime assistant Dane Jackson -- a former NHL player with past AHL assistant coaching experience with the Manchester Monarchs -- is currently unwilling to relocate.

It is believed that Terry Murray has a strong shot at landing a Flyers assistant coaching spot, where we would play a similar role to the one he performed when John Stevens was a promising but inexperienced head coach with the Flyers. Hextall and Hakstol must also make decisions about incumbent assistants Joey Mullen (power play), Ian Laperriere (penalty kill, forwards, extra skating with scratched and rehabbing players) and Gord Murphy (defensemen).

The search for a goaltending coach to replace Jeff Reese is more Hextall's domain than Hakstol's but it is worth noting that UND goalie coach Karl Goehring is one of the more highly regarded young goaltending coaches on the scene and has some pedigree both as a longtime former pro (mostly AHL) goaltender who spent a year as an AHL goalie coach with the Syracuse Crunch before returning to alma mater UND.

Goehring's most recent charge at UND, Boston Bruins prospect Zane McIntyre, won the Mike Richter Award as the top netminder in NCAA college hockey in 2014-15. McIntyre gave huge credit to Goehring's assistance and support over the last three seasons.

Assuming Murray does not return to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers must also hire a new head coach for their top minor league affiliate. Erie Otters head coach Kris Knoblauch denied a recent newspaper report that he interviewed with Philadelphia.

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