Flyers Prohibitive Favorite to Fire Their Coach First!

Screen Shot 2013-07-05 at 8.23.48 AMThe Flyers sure have some reputation.

Bovada has Peter Laviolette listed as the favorite to lose his job first this year:

Screen Shot 2013-10-01 at 4.13.24 PM

And Frank Seravalli over at Philly.com writes that Paul Holmgren is (very much rightfully because he should’ve been fired already) on the hot seat:

Paul Holmgren is feeling the heat.

So much so, in fact, that Holmgren wasn’t going to wait until the regular season starts tomorrow to voice his displeasure with the performance of a few of his players in a characterless 1-5-1 preseason.

“We weren’t a playoff team last year. Then to have a preseason like we had, it bothers me,” Holmgren said. “I’ve addressed a couple individuals. In the last couple days, I think the players that we have realized it and picked it up a couple notches in practice.”

Can’t say that either one losing their job, if it happened at some point this season, would be a surprise. Lavs has been given about as much slack for a Flyers coach that I can remember. But missing the playoffs is a big no-no in Snider land, and that came after two disappointing May exits. If the Flyers aren’t in the top six in their conference by January, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a coaching change.

And regarding Holmgren: I don’t know how he has a job now.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

12 Responses

  1. Christ. Why must we suffer this joke of a franchise? It’s like they’re always caught in this twilight area of not knowing whether to be fast, or big, or tough, or European. And this gm who is incapable of managing a salary cap. Meanwhile, cities like Tampa and Calgary and Anaheim and Pittsburgh (three times!!!) win cups. We’re so fucking lame, and I’m tired of it.

  2. Is there any doubt? Ed Snider knows how to do 3 things in his old age: write 8-15 year guaranteed contracts, trade budding stars, and fire his coach before Christmas to send a message.

  3. If only Snider could fire himself…also Philly has to have the worst collective front offices out of cities with all four sports right?

  4. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! realize that its Holmgren…NOT LAVIOLETTE who is destroying this team… Laviolette show what he can do with a competent team (He took them to the stanley cup finals for christs sake)…..he is not the problem…but what does Holmgren do after a season of them being there?…trades half the team away that got him there..i could see maybe trading Carter away for a piece that they didnt have to take the next step ( i was not opposed too it) but to trade Richards away to was unacceptable and extremeley poor GM’ing! Before this team does ANYTHING to make the actual coach an team better..it has to look at who its bring i to run things….this team was a Stanley Cup team in 2010…dont tell me they got lucky in the playoffs…because they were picked by most media outlets to be in the Finals that year (IN THE PRESEASON)….yes they didnt have the best regular season but they figured it out in time for playoffs (THE REAL DEAL)….and that team within the past 3 years would have won a Stanley Cup in my opinion and Laviolette would have had a big part in that…so before they do anything with Laviolette they have took look at the guy who turned them into a BORDERLINE playoff team within the last 2 seasons of make the Staley Cup Finals

    1. Not excusing Holmgren, but Laviolette absolutely deserves to be in the hot seat. Since hes been here, his teams have yet to put together a complete season. You can talk all you want about 2010, but face reality dude, they got the 8th seed on the last day of the regular season, when they shouldve locked up a spot weeks before. 2011 they went from the best team in hockey in the first half to losing their way out of the top seed. They barely beat a very beatable and mediocre buffalo and got rolled by a real contender next round. Laviolette had no answers for boston and didnt adjust his schemes one bit. And was it Holmgrens fault that Lavi pulled Bob from thr playoffs after one stinkin game and shattered his confidence, which created that whole goalie carousel and provoked snider to demand a trade in the first place? Say all you want about the richards/carter trades, but they werent any worse off on offense the next year, and even beat pittsburgh…Problem is that they shluldnt have even had to play pitt in the first round, but they did because once again they sputtered in the second half and lost ground in the rankings. And as in 2011, in 2012 against nj laviolette got completely out coached.

      1. Dil, you completely nailed it, totally agree.

        And Laviolette is not that great of a game-day coach, he doesn’t make changes at all. And he fucked up Bob. He doesn’t change his in-game system(s) at all.

  5. Could the best thing to happen to this team be that they start off losing 4-6 games in a row, we have a Clarke/Hitchcock-esque clearing of the house, insert Hextall as the GM and he chooses a new coach?

    The players would get a kick in the pants. Maybe they switch to a system that doesn’t require shut down defensemen (of which we don’t have any)?

    Methinks that might be good for us.

  6. Lavi and CHIP are in the same boat. Good enough coaches but literally have next to no weapons to work with. Hartnell is a damn 3 line player and he manages to play on our top 2 lines yearly. Hopefully the G- Vinny connection is pure fire cause we don’t have much else to work with.

  7. WTF
    Lavi is not the problem… It’s Ed Snider sitting on his old ass counting our hard earned money. Snider is the biggest loser ever. His teams won 2 cups…….40 years ago! He has done nothing but count his money since! Hires nothing but frigon yes men from days gone by, who kiss his old tired ass and blame coaches, goalies and and superstars who don’t “fit their program” for all of the teams problems. WAKE UP PHILADELPHIA and stop handing your money over to this guy. The Flyers will never win another cup as long as that old bastard and his long line of retired has beens are running things. The only thing Snider has changed in the last 40 years are wives….. Why doesn’t he keep the old crusty ones that are ready for retirement? The only curse left in this town is Mr. Ed! OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH Wilbur!

  8. You really make it seem so easy together with your presentation however
    I to find this topic to be really something that I think I would
    never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and very large for me.
    I am having a look ahead to your subsequent put up, I’ll try to get
    the hang of it!

Comments are closed.