By Sam Bush
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall (left) was brought in by owner Ed Snider to right the team’s sinking ship.
The season ends today, and for the second time in three seasons the Flyers are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which is unfathomable.
Many pundits believe the team is just a few pieces away from becoming a contender — though a cynic might say those pieces are named Gretzky, Hull and Parent.
However, one area Hextall has no choice to address right away is coach Craig Berube (photo above).
Were the Flyers terrible this season because they simply weren’t good enough or was the coach the big problem?
Hextall was asked again after Friday’s practice about Berube’s status. His response was similar to what he’s been saying:”We’ll evaluate everything over the course of the next week and weeks.”
What should we make of this? One school of thought is that if Berube was returning for sure, then Hextall would have said so by now. Another possibility is that Hextall will decide whether or not he makes a coaching change after seeing which other coaches around the league are let go.
For instance, maybe Berube stays if the pool of potential replacements doesn’t include San Jose’s Todd McLellan, Arizona’s Dave Tippett and/or Detroit’s Mike Babcock.
Stay tuned.
