Hockey Should Dave Hakstol be on the hot seat? by Chris Passarelli October 30, 2018 Dave Hakstol could not be more on the hot seat. The fourth year head coach has his team off to another brutal start, getting off on the wrong foot with a 4-7 record. As mentioned on the 5 Minute Major podcast, not even Gritty can save Hakstol. Hakstol’s teams have been a mix of gritty (no pun intended) when they’re playing right, and a sloppy mess when they’re not playing well. They are legitimately the most unpredictable team in the league, as you saw last season. Just a year ago, the Flyers followed up a ten game losing streak with a ten game winning streak. Is it all Hakstol’s fault? Absolutely not. Shayne Gostisbehere has been a ghost all season long, Nolan Patrick isn’t interested in shoring up the middle six, and the Flyers have a better shot calling Ron Hextall out of retirement than being able to rely on Michael Nevurith or Brian Elliott. The Flyers were good last season for two reasons; Claude Giroux had a career year with 100 points, on a very top heavy forward group, and Ivan Provarov stepped up as a top four D-man after not being relied upon early in the season. Giroux is having an alright season, but when Wayne Simmonds and Jake Voracek are struggling, Hakstol has no one to rely on in his bottom six and his defense has failed him time and time again. The Flyers look exhausted but it’s only been 11 games. Those failures have to be at least somewhat on the coach. So now the question becomes, should Dave Hakstol be on the hot seat for his team’s poor start? The answer is a resounding yes, but the solution is a bit more complex than just firing Hakstol. For starters, look at how the Flyers ended their season last year? It’s only been 11 games and pulling the trigger this early could send this team into a tailspin. There’s no reason to believe with all the talent that the Flyers have that they can’t turn it around within a month. The second and more important issue at task; Who is going to replace Hakstol if he’s fired? Is it Gord Murphy, who has been fired twice as an assistant coach and has never gotten a head coaching gig despite being an assistant for 15 years? What about Ian Laperriere, who is closer to playing again in the NHL than he is to coaching? There’s no alternative right now, and firing Hakstol may cause more harm than good. For now, the Flyers need to ride out this storm and hopefully improve by December. If November is just as bad as October was, then it may be time to pull the plug on this experiment. Until then, it’s the wild and unpredictable coaching of Dave Hakstol. Post Views: 1,319 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Chris Passarelli Football Editor - Hockey Editor - New York Islanders Lead Writer - New York Lizards Lead Writer - UConn Football Lead Writer Latest posts by Chris Passarelli (see all) NFL Network to Premiere ‘The Top 100 Players of 2020’ on July 26 - July 22, 2020 The ‘Toilet Bowl’ may be coming to Western New York - July 16, 2020 Bigger is Better; SoFi Stadium Completes Largest Videoboard in Sports - July 1, 2020 Smoltz, Vrabel and Brown talk American Century Championship and Everything in Between - June 30, 2020 Related TopicsClaude GirouxDave HakstolFeatureIvan ProvarovPhiladelphia FlyersShayne GostisbehereWayne Simmonds Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Whoop Rewards Employees With $100 Each Month To Sleep by Inesh Chari | posted on March 22, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 27, 2021 More in Hockey Tim Peel is Discharged After Caught on Hot Mic Tim Peel was Discharged from the NHL After He was Caught on the Hot... NHL, Amazon Web Services Partner to Develop New Stats, Data, and Insights The National Hockey League (NHL) is partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in an... You Know I’m Right, Episode 81: ESPN’s Arda Ocal (Audio/Video) On the 81st episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 80: MSG Network’s Bill Pidto (Audio/Video) On the 80th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... What’s the Deal with William Nylander? Islanders Puck Talk – Weekly Review (We’re Going Streaking!!!)