Lavy Fired, Berube Takes Over...Holmgren Next?
Posted 1:52 PM ET | Comments 0
Well, many people could see this one coming after the poor start the Flyers had. I had a gut feeling this one was coming. Not even just because of a 0-3 start, but just how the team looks in general. I for one, had great optimism for the Flyers because of their offseason additions this year and felt they would get back on track with a training camp and full season. Now, I am not sure what to think. Yes, it is only 3 games into the season. But I agree with Holmgren, the Flyers just don't look like a team at all right now.
The worst part is that Laviolette had to get fired for the Flyers poor play and a number of other factors. I liked the passion and fire Lavy brought to Philadelphia and had the pleasure to meet him in person, as his son played hockey with my younger brother. He really cared about the city and the fans and his players. But hockey is a business and hard decisions need to be made.
Even though I liked Lavy, you could see his system had major flaws. First, there was absolutely no defense. I barely saw much defensive support and to me, just led to goals that shouldn't have been given up. Another problem was Lavy wanting the defensemen to rush the puck up and join the play when we don't have the personnel to do that besides Kimmo, maybe Streit.
Now that Craig Berube has taken over, I am excited to see how he responds to everything and how he will change the system. Berube is a tough, no BS type of guy who knows the little things it takes to win. He has already said he wants 5 guys in each zone supporting each other. You know who else does that? Claude Julien and Mike Babcock, in my opinion, the top two coaches in the world. And with the guys on the Flyers roster, it may suit them best. We won't know what the problem was until Berube gets a few games under his belt. Maybe it was the coaching and system, maybe it's the players. Time will tell.
Regardless of who is behind the bench, the Flyers star players need to show up. Giroux, Hartnell, Jake, Simmonds, and Read need to start finding ways to not even just score, but pick up their play and not look invisible out there. If the Flyers want to get back to the postseason, we need the Captain to get back to the form where he could single handedly dominate a game. We need Hartnell to get back to his All-Star form. We need Jake to have a repeat year. The two I am least worried about are Simmonds and Read, as they are usually consistent throughout the year so I'm certain they will get back on track fairly soon.
Surpringsly, the goaltending hasn't been the key issue. Mason has played fairly well in his two games, with Emery doing okay in his first game. However, the defense needs to play better in front of the two tenders as they are doing all they can to keep the Flyers in the game, something Bryz could not do last year.
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Now that Lavy is gone, could Homer be next? With the organization getting impatient and having the 'win now' attitude, will they finally move Holmgren out of his current position and have him with Bobby Clarke? We all know Ron Hextall is set to take over as GM when it is Homer's time to move on, hence the Flyers bringing Hextall over in the offseason. But will we see him sooner than we expected?
If the Flyers miss the playoffs again, I can definitely see the organization going in that direction and bringing a new guy in to take over the reins and have the team go under Hextall, a fan favorite in his playing days. Everyone knows the Homer and the Flyers have not been patient with their prospects and always try to add, maybe even a little too much, to their roster. Hextall comes from the Kings organization where their core guys are guys they brought up through their system and were patient with them. Hextall knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup and how to construct a winning team, working alongside Dean Lombardi. While I like Homer and hope he stays for a few more years, if the Flyers miss the playoffs, I wouldn't be surprised if Homer was let go of his position and a new era occurred under Hextall.
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Flyers take on the Panthers tonight at 7 as new coach Craig Berube makes his NHL Head Coaching debut. Hopefully the Flyers come out with a little more energy and bite tonight against a young Panthers squad with a few vets sprinkled throughout the lineup. With Berube juggling the lines in practice this morning, here are the projected lineups, with subject to change.
Hartnell - Giroux - Simmonds
Schenn - Lecalvier - Voracek
Talbot - Couturier - Read
Newbury - Hall - Rinaldo
*Rosehill
Timonen - Schenn
Coburn - Grossman
Streit - Meszaros
*Gustavsson, Gill
Emery
Mason
Go Flyers and Thanks for reading!
TG
The worst part is that Laviolette had to get fired for the Flyers poor play and a number of other factors. I liked the passion and fire Lavy brought to Philadelphia and had the pleasure to meet him in person, as his son played hockey with my younger brother. He really cared about the city and the fans and his players. But hockey is a business and hard decisions need to be made.
Even though I liked Lavy, you could see his system had major flaws. First, there was absolutely no defense. I barely saw much defensive support and to me, just led to goals that shouldn't have been given up. Another problem was Lavy wanting the defensemen to rush the puck up and join the play when we don't have the personnel to do that besides Kimmo, maybe Streit.
Now that Craig Berube has taken over, I am excited to see how he responds to everything and how he will change the system. Berube is a tough, no BS type of guy who knows the little things it takes to win. He has already said he wants 5 guys in each zone supporting each other. You know who else does that? Claude Julien and Mike Babcock, in my opinion, the top two coaches in the world. And with the guys on the Flyers roster, it may suit them best. We won't know what the problem was until Berube gets a few games under his belt. Maybe it was the coaching and system, maybe it's the players. Time will tell.
Regardless of who is behind the bench, the Flyers star players need to show up. Giroux, Hartnell, Jake, Simmonds, and Read need to start finding ways to not even just score, but pick up their play and not look invisible out there. If the Flyers want to get back to the postseason, we need the Captain to get back to the form where he could single handedly dominate a game. We need Hartnell to get back to his All-Star form. We need Jake to have a repeat year. The two I am least worried about are Simmonds and Read, as they are usually consistent throughout the year so I'm certain they will get back on track fairly soon.
Surpringsly, the goaltending hasn't been the key issue. Mason has played fairly well in his two games, with Emery doing okay in his first game. However, the defense needs to play better in front of the two tenders as they are doing all they can to keep the Flyers in the game, something Bryz could not do last year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that Lavy is gone, could Homer be next? With the organization getting impatient and having the 'win now' attitude, will they finally move Holmgren out of his current position and have him with Bobby Clarke? We all know Ron Hextall is set to take over as GM when it is Homer's time to move on, hence the Flyers bringing Hextall over in the offseason. But will we see him sooner than we expected?
If the Flyers miss the playoffs again, I can definitely see the organization going in that direction and bringing a new guy in to take over the reins and have the team go under Hextall, a fan favorite in his playing days. Everyone knows the Homer and the Flyers have not been patient with their prospects and always try to add, maybe even a little too much, to their roster. Hextall comes from the Kings organization where their core guys are guys they brought up through their system and were patient with them. Hextall knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup and how to construct a winning team, working alongside Dean Lombardi. While I like Homer and hope he stays for a few more years, if the Flyers miss the playoffs, I wouldn't be surprised if Homer was let go of his position and a new era occurred under Hextall.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flyers take on the Panthers tonight at 7 as new coach Craig Berube makes his NHL Head Coaching debut. Hopefully the Flyers come out with a little more energy and bite tonight against a young Panthers squad with a few vets sprinkled throughout the lineup. With Berube juggling the lines in practice this morning, here are the projected lineups, with subject to change.
Hartnell - Giroux - Simmonds
Schenn - Lecalvier - Voracek
Talbot - Couturier - Read
Newbury - Hall - Rinaldo
*Rosehill
Timonen - Schenn
Coburn - Grossman
Streit - Meszaros
*Gustavsson, Gill
Emery
Mason
Go Flyers and Thanks for reading!
TG