PHILADELPHIA —Caught at a crossroads between a full-blown rebuild and a legitimate playoff push, the Philadelphia Flyers fired General Manager Ron Hextall on Monday, the latest front-office leader to fail to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 44 years.
The Flyers might not be done cleaning house.
Coach Dave Hakstol has lost his biggest backer and his job clearly is in danger. The Flyers have a 10-11-2 record and have lost 5 of 6. They are fresh off a 6-0 loss to Toronto in which an organization once stamped as “Broad Street Bullies” played without a penalty.
“I feel a responsibility for what happened today,” Hakstol said. “Nobody feels good about that in our room.”
Hextall, a popular Flyers goalie in the 1980s and `90s, was dismissed after four seasons in which he tried to revive a depleted farm system and patiently build a championship contender.
The team president, Paul Holmgren thanked Hextall for his “many significant contributions, but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team.”
He added that an immediate change was in the team’s best interests and he hopes to have a new GM “as soon as possible.”
The Flyers play Tuesday against Ottawa at home where a once-rabid fan base has stayed away in droves, and the ones that come serenade another listless loss chanting “Fire Hakstol!”
The new GM will make the call on the fate of the coaching staff. Joel Quenneville, the former Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup champion coach, is available after he was fired this season. Dean Lombardi, a former Los Angeles Kings GM who won two Cups, is a former Flyers scout who returned this season to assist the front office.
Hakstol ran practice Monday.
“I’m not looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I never have. I never do. I focus on the job at hand and going forward. Those are decisions that aren’t up to me.”
CANADIENS: Montreal placed defenseman Karl Alzner, 30, on waivers.
Alzner has an assist in eight games this season.
MONDAY’S GAME
CAPITALS 4, ISLANDERS 1: Tom Wilson scored twice, Braden Holtby stopped 32 shots and Washington won at New York, beating former coach Barry Trotz for its season-high sixth straight win.
Nic Dowd and Alex Ovechkin also scored for Washington, which won after giving up the first goal for the fifth time during its win streak that has catapulted the defending champions to first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Valtteri Filppula scored and Thomas Greiss finished with 20 saves for the Islanders, who lost for the third time in five games.
Trotz was facing the Caps for the first time since leading them to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup title in June. Trotz also led Washington to the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
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