At a Friday press conference that was ostensibly intended to preview the upcoming NHL Draft but instead focused largely on the team's announcement that new head coach Dave Hakstol's assistant coaching staff would consist solely of the three holdover assistants -- Ian Laperriere, Gord Murphy and Joe Mullen -- plus a new and yet-to-hired goaltending coach, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said both he and the head coach felt that adding any more assistants into the mix would be overkill.
Taking a quick look around the NHL reveals that, if goaltender coaches are excluded, no NHL teams currently have more than three assistants on staff. Then again, there is only team in the NHL without a single coach on staff who has any previous NHL head coaching experience heading into the 2015-16 season.
Hakstol has spent his entire previous coaching career at the University of North Dakota. Laperriere, who coaches penalty killing, works with the forwards, suffers as the "good cop" or buffer assistant around the dressing room and oversees conditional skating for healthy scratches and rehabbing players, is entering his third season as a Flyers assistant. Mullen, who coaches the power play, has 13 seasons of experience as an NHL and AHL assistant and spent 56 games of the 2005-06 season as the head coach of the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Murphy, who coaches the defense, has 12 years of assistant coaching experience in the NHL.
All three of the assistants are good at what they do. They're all smart hockey people. They are all team-oriented, with reputations of being easy people with whom to work. As such, it was not surprising that Hakstol individually felt comfortable with all three men.
Of the three, the retention of Laperriere at the NHL level probably caught the most people by surprise. He has taken heat over the past year because of the Flyers' 27th-ranked penalty kill last season. The team killed penalties at an unacceptable 77.1 percent clip, including an abysmal 72.1 percent on the road.
The critics' argument goes like this: Although Laperriere was himself one of the NHL's top penalty killers during his playing days, that does not automatically mean he can impart what he did into others any more than a former scoring star or playmaking wizard can turn a team into an offensive juggernaut simply by being named coach. Even if his coaching wasn't the problem, "Lappy" wasn't solving the issue.
Theoretically, that is true. However, this was really a combined issue of personnel and in-game execution lapses by the holdovers who had previously been important parts of what was previously one of the NHL's high-ranked penalty killing.
Kimmo Timonen, the team's most poised and savvy penalty killing defenseman, was no longer there. Braydon Coburn was in and out of the lineup before he was traded to Tampa Bay. Matt Read did not have one of his better penalty killing years, nor did defenseman Nicklas Grossmann. As gaudy as Steve Mason's even-strength save percentage was in 2014-15, his penalty killing save percentage dipped. There were too many failed clears with open lanes, too many shots that needed to get blocked did not. There were also stretches where players -- even likes of Sean Couturier -- uncharacteristically got out of position or were too passive in shutting down passing lanes.
In short, it was a collective failure. Yes, when things fail, it is quite often the coach who takes the fall (ask deposed head coach Craig Berube, who lost his job largely because the Flyers were a terrible road team in 2014-15). Laperriere gets a mulligan here, though, because the PK was a solid 84.7 percent (seventh-ranked in the NHL) the previous season and was still an adequate if unspectacular 81.7 percent at home in 2014-15.
Moreover, Laperriere's effusive personality and easy ability to bond with players could be an effective counterweight to Hakstol's hard-driving intensity. Laperriere is a born competitor with a tireless work ethic but he has a way of putting those around him at ease simply by having him in the foxhole with them. As such, it was really no surprise that, after meeting Laperriere, Hakstol told the general manager that he wanted Laperriere to stay.
Mullen's retention was not surprising whatsoever. The Flyers power play has consistently ranked in the top one-third of the NHL -- often in the top five -- in recent years. In short, if it ain't broke, don't "fix" it. Moreover, Mullen is the most experienced assistant on staff and the only with with any amount of pro-level head coaching experience (albeit briefly and at the AHL level) off which Hakstol can use as a sounding board.
There are some who even find quibbles with the Flyers' power play, but those nitpicks are misplaced. Every power play is going to have its ups and downs; it's the nature of the beast. Few if any teams do not experience drop-offs in quality between their first and second units in today's NHL (and even if there are some quality power play guys who spill over into the second unit, they often only get about 20 to 30 seconds per power play opportunity to try and do anything).
As for Murphy, the Flyers' current blueline personnel is what it is. He is a perfectly competent coach and a pretty sharp guy in general. Most of the Flyers defensemen are one-dimensional specialists with at least one glaring hole in their games. Under tough circumstances, Murphy did an underrated job last season at having players work within their strengths. When the forwards provided sufficient back pressure and the defensemen provided some intelligent pinches at the offensive end, the defensemen's limitations were managed. Of course, Mason's outstanding overall season in goal certainly helped a great deal, too.
Keep this in mind: Murphy was hand-picked as the defense coach only a year ago. While Hextall said several times on Friday that he wasn't going to force anyone on Hakstol, unless the coach had particularly strong feelings for or against a certain candidate -- it's tough to fathom anyone having a strong objection to Gord Murphy as a defense coach -- the fact that Hakstol is unfamiliar with the Flyers' personnel and many NHL players and opponents in general greatly increased the chances that at least two incumbent assistants would be retained.
As such, on a one-by-one basis, it is not hard to understand why Laperriere, Mullen and Murphy were retained. Collectively, though, it's a surprise.
Reportedly, Hakstol hoped to bring along his longtime UND assistant Dane Jackson -- a former NHL player and AHL assistant -- to Philadelphia but Jackson declined because his family did not want to relocate. Hakstol's other trusted longtime assistant, Brad Berry, was named his replacement as UND's head coach almost simultaneously to Hakstol announcing his departure.
With Berry and Jackson out of the picture, and in light of Hakstol being at UND for so long with those two, the chances of Hakstol hand-picking his own assistant coaches (as most newly hired NHL coaches do) greatly decreased. Given the circumstances, however, why did the Flyers not add a fourth NHL assistant -- one with previous NHL head coaching experience?
The obvious choice in that regard was Terry Murray. Murray met at length with Hakstol and, according to both Murray and Hextall, the meeting was highly productive and enjoyable for both men. Nevertheless, there was no follow-up meeting and no job offer forthcoming. Ultimately, Murray decided to accept an assistant coaching offer with the Buffalo Sabres.
The reason there was no job offer to Murray, according to Hextall, was that both he and Hakstol felt that three assistants (plus a goaltending coach as the fourth assistant) was sufficient. In explaining how the puzzle pieces fit in the decision-makers' estimation, Hextall said that he felt a former forward should be coaching the forwards, there should ideally be a buffer bench assistant, and a former defenseman coaching the defensemen.
In essence, then, the Flyers chose Laperriere over "Murph" because Lappy is a former forward and because he is much younger and more of a players' confidant than the 64-year-old Murray. Likewise, even though they would never directly say so, age probably played a part in why the 48-year-old Murphy will still be coaching the defensemen. It's also hard to entirely dismiss the fact that Murphy is the only assistant who was directly hired during Hextall's GM tenure.
In January 2013, the Flyers decided to carry an extra non-goaltending assistant, assigned to work under head coach Peter Laviolette. John Paddock, then an assistant general manager was reassigned from that post to serve as an "eye in the sky" assistant coach, working from the press box rather than being on the bench during games.
With much consternation over the Flyers' lapses in team defense, Paddock's assigned role was to pick up on things he saw both the Flyers and the opposing team doing right and wrong. The arrangement did not work out especially well, although Paddock remained an assistant through the 2013-14 season after the early-season dismissals of Laviolette and his longtime defense-coach assistant Kevin McCarthy. Paddock finished out the season as the defense coach under Berube.
Although Paddock was well-liked on a personal level, Hextall had no interest in bringing back "Too Tall" as an assistant coach. Instead, Paddock ended up coaching the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats this past season, while Berube and Hextall brought in Murphy.
The semi-recent failure of having a fourth non-goalie assistant was probably still fresh in Flyers management's minds and Hakstol himself is used to working with a two-man assistant crew plus a goalie coach. However, a compelling case could have been made that Hakstol really could have used Murray -- or a similarly experienced longtime pro-level head coach -- as an assistant.
As a matter of fact, on the day that Hakstol was hired, both he and Hextall were asked if the team would be seeking an assistant with previous pro-level head coaching experience. While not directly committing to doing so -- Hextall said the team would take its time in assembling a staff and the current assistants would be candidates -- both conceded that it would be ideal if one of the assistants had some previous pro head coaching background.
The Flyers had such a candidate already in-house and did not hire him among a mix of three nor were they willing to expand the mix to four despite some obviously extenuating circumstances that would have justified it. As a matter of fact, if the current three were retained, adding a fourth should have been a no-brainer decision.
In an organization that has a second-year NHL GM, and a head coach with no pro experience surrounded by a staff with no one who has ever been an NHL head coach or even a minor-league head coach for one entire season, how is there no role for someone with whom the head coach supposedly felt instant chemistry during a five-hour meeting and who has over 30 years worth of pro-level coaching experience including parts of 15 seasons as an NHL head coach?
Something just did not add up with the way the picture was presented. There would still have been enough responsibilities to go around in a four-man assistant staff, even if Murray's main role would have been assisting in game-prep and picking up on other team's adjustments.
In regard to the search for a goaltending coach, Hextall said he had not been able to spend much time on it yet. That will more likely happen over the summer. Hakstol may put in a good word for UND goaltending coach Karl Goehring -- someone who is already considered a potential future NHL goaltending coach -- but it will pretty much solely Hextall's decision to make.
It will be interesting to see if Hextall thinks as much outside the box with his choice of goaltending coach to replace Jeff Reese as he did in hiring Hakstol as head coach. It was reported in a recent 30 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman, Hextall would like to interview Los Angeles Kings goaltending development coach Kim Dillabaugh for the Flyers' vacant goaltender coach position at the NHL level. The two have worked together in the past during Hextall's tenure in Los Angeles.
Toronto also had interest in interviewing Dillabaugh, according to Friedman. However, last year, the Carolina Hurricanes asked the Kings for permission to interview Dillabaugh and were denied by Kings general manager Dean Lombardi. Despite Lombardi's close relationship with Hextall and past ties to the Flyers organization, it is not a slam-dunk that the Kings would give Dillabaugh permission to seek an NHL goalie coaching opportunity this summer.
Friedman also speculated that Hextall may have interest in interviewing Bill Ranford, who has been the Kings' goaltending coach at the NHL level for the last eight years. Doing so, of course, would also require permission from Lombardi.
Along similar lines to Dillabaugh, the Flyers would need permission from the Edmonton Oilers to talk to Sylvain Rodrigue, who works for the team as a goaltending development consultant. Rodrigue built a sterling reputation in Europe before the Oilers hired him.
Likewise, there are many who feel that Erik Granqvist is one of the top goaltending coaches in the world. He was a serious candidate in Pittsburgh a couple years ago, but did not get the job. The team ultimately decided to promote Mike Bales from within. An NHL team that wants to think a little outside the box could do far worse than to higher Granqvist as the first European-trained NHL goaltending coach.I f Hextall is looking for a goaltending coach whom a host of former charges have credited with helping to noticeably sharpen their skills and consistency, it's pretty hard to argue with Granqvist's credentials.
In terms of other capable -- and more familiar in North America -- names who might be available for NHL hire, Corey Hirsch, Steve Shields, Ty Conklin, Alex Auld, Scott Murray and Bob Janosz (longtime Rochester Americans goalie coach) are all well-regarded goaltending coaches.
An interesting dark horse: former Flyers first-round pick Maxime Ouellet has had success as a goaltending coach both in the QMJHL (currently with the Val-d'Or Foreurs) and the DEL (where he worked well with Rob Zepp while both were with Eisbà¤ren Berlin). The 33-year-old is considered a fast-riser in the goalie coach ranks and his relative youth works in his favor because he is still not all that far removed from his own professional playing days and now has accumulated several years of coaching experience as well.
If the Flyers were to look within the current organization, it is possible that Neil Little could make the transition from scouting to the role of goalie coach. After Reese's departure, Little was asked to do a little part-time consulting with the Flyers' goaltenders although he did not run practices. He has previously also done some goalie developmental coaching work when asked.
An increasing number of NHL organizations are hiring full-time goaltending development coaches. The Dallas Stars, who recently hired Reese and reassigned Mike Valley from NHL goaltending coach to development coach, are the latest to do so. Given Hextall's heavy emphasis on player development and the organization already having a full-time defenseman development coach in Kjell Samuelsson and a full-time forward development coach in John Riley, why not also have a full-time development for the goaltending prospects in the system rather than having that task mostly fall on the guy whose primary concern is the NHL goaltenders?