PAST FLYERS TIES SHOULDN'T AUTOMATICALLY WORK AGAINST COACH CANDIDATES
There is a vocal segment of Flyers observers who feel the team should avoid at all costs hiring a new head coach who had previous ties to the organization, regardless of the person's skills and qualifications for the post. Presumably, this applies to former Flyers captain Kevin Dineen, as well as previous head coach John Stevens, former assistant coach Mike Stothers and a few others.
The line of thinking goes like this: The organization needs someone with fresh ideas behind the bench rather than a candidate steeped in the "traditional Flyers way" of doing things.
I'm not sure why that's automatically a bad thing, given that the Flyers have historically been one of the NHL's more successful franchises and that long Stanley Cup droughts are part of every NHL organization's history at some point.
However, it is true that even good things can get stagnant over time. The Flyers are clearly in a transitional phase at the present time. General manager Ron Hextall has an eye toward the longer-term future while also pushing to contend for a playoff spot, and is casting a wide net for coaching candidates.
My question to hardliners on considering only "outsider" candidates: How far removed from the organization does someone with past ties need to be to have sufficiently "non-Flyers organization" ideas to be hired in 2015 by the Flyers themselves? There is a danger of going overboard with that premise. Kevin Dineen played several seasons for the team and was one of its more notable players of the early-to-mid 1990s. his father, Bill, was the team's coach for a time as well as a scouting stint. However, Kevin Dineen is nearly 20 years removed from the team and has never coached in the organization. Additionally, 82-year-old Bill Dineen has not been part of the organization for many years.
Stevens would be considered by many to be too much of a retread since he both coached and played in Phladelphia, yet he has been with the LA Kings since 2010. Is that far enough removed from Philly? Isn't there at least a possibility that he has evolved as a coach and would do certain things differently a second time? Or is it not even worth bringing Stevens in for an interview despite credentials that would make him a viable head coaching candidate for other teams (including his current employer)?
Meanwhile, fellow Kings assistant Davis Payne would be considered an "outsider" hire since he never played or coached in the Flyers organization yet he is well known to Hextall from their time together in LA and is highly regarded by Dean Lombardi as well as other hockey people with past or current Flyers ties.
Keep in mind that the Kings hired Lombardi away from a Flyers scouting job to become their GM. Lombardi brought Hextall along with him and established an identity in Los Angeles that had the Kings dubbed "Flyers West" for several years. The Kings selected Terry Murray to lay the coaching groundwork, hired Stevens as an assistant the season after he was dismissed mid-season as Flyers head coach and acquired multiple former Flyers players on the rosters of their Cup-winning team.
The Kings have differentiated themselves in other hockey ops ways under Lombardi, some of which Hextall has brought back with him to Philadelphia as GM. If the Flyers were to hire Payne away from the LA, it would in some ways be every bit as "comfortable" of a hire of someone with a stamp of approval familiar to the Flyers GM.
Would that automatically make Payne a bad hire? Absolutely not. The former St. Louis Blues head coach is a bright and savvy hockey man whom many think will be a fine NHL head coach when he gets another shot.
However, the same thing could be said of Kevin Dineen's potential candidacy. He did an underrated job under extremely tough circumstances with the Florida Panthers and has paid his coaching dues along the way.
Is Dineen the right man for the Flyers' head coaching job? Maybe he is or maybe he's not. The point is that he should -- and will -- be considered on his own merits with his long-since-past ties to the organization being a non-factor in the final decision.
Dave Tippett spent the final season of his 721-game NHL playing career as a member of the Flyers in 1993-94. That was the extent of his Flyers employment, as he never otherwise played or coached in Philadelphia. Would one playing season here over 20 years ago make him any less of an outside hire than Mike Babcock or Claude Julien or Todd McLellan?
Hell, if you really want to split hairs, McLellan never played or coached for the Flyers, he was drafted in 1986 (by the New York Islanders) with a selection that originally belonged to the Flyers. Does that put an orange and black "stain" on his resume?
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CHL PLAYOFFS: FIVE FLYERS DRAFTEES IN SEMIS
Five Flyers prospects will be involved in semifinal playoff series in their respective CHL-affiliated leagues. The three series involving Flyers draftees all get underway on Friday night.
In the QMJHL, Flyers 2013 first-round draft pick Samuel Morin (Rimouski Oceanic) will go head-to-head with Flyers 2014 second-rounder Nicolas Aube-Kubel (Val-d'Or Foreurs). Game One is slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT. Rimouski is favored to win the series but defending champion Val-d'Or is coming off a dramatic comeback from a three games to zero deficit against Baie-Comeau that featured overtime wins in Game Four after trailing 3-0 and Game Seven after trailing 3-1. The winner of the series will play the winner of the Quebec Remparts vs. Moncton Wildcats series. Quebec took Game One by a 4-1 count on Thursday.
In the WHL, Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim and sixth-rounder Radel Fazleev will suit up for the Calgary Hitmen in Game One of the semifinals against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Brandon was the Western League's top team during the regular season and will hold home-ice advantage. Among other notables, the Wheat Kings feature highly touted defenseman Ivan Provorov, who is one of the players whom the Flyers may consider selecting with the seventh overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft. Game One is slated for 9:30 p.m. EDT.
The winner of the Calgary vs. Brandon series will take on the winner of the other semifinal series, pitting the Kelowna Rockets against the Portland Winterhawks. Kelowna, featuring Flyers 2013 third-round pick Tyrell Goulbourne as one of their overage players (Goulbourne turned 21 in late January), rolled to first place in the WHL's Western Conference this season and has breezed through the playoffs thus far in sweeping Tri-City and then needing five games to beat Victoria. Game One is set for 10:00 p.m. EDT. ********
FLYERS ALUMNI IN ACTION FOR SATURDAY BENEFIT GAME
On Saturday, April 25, the Flyers Alumni Team will play a benefit game at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. Game time is 1 p.m. on the Flyers (left-side) rink. All proceeds will go to benefit the Willis Foundation, Historic Philadelphia and to charitable causes.
Unlike many Alumni Team games, this event is designed to be a small-group setting with only eight to 10 admissions for the general public. Attendees will have the opportunity to have a meet-and-greet afterwards with the participating Alumni players, which will allow for greater interaction.
The cost for the game and meet-and-greet is $50. Contact event organizer Joe Clark at 610-254-5664.