Philadelphia Flyers fire head coach Peter Laviolette
Today, NHL.com is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers have officially fired Head Coach Peter Laviolette and Assistant Coach Kevin McCarthy.
Laviolette and McCarthy worked together once before as a part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
After going 0-3 so far this season, most ironically with their third loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren decided that it was time for a change.
While he felt that the Flyers have made some significant changes in the offseason with the acquisition of Mark Streit from the New York Islanders and Vincent Lecavalier from the Tampa Bay Lightning; however, he had what he referred to as a “gut feeling” on the plane ride home from Carolina.
"“Right from day 1 at Training Camp, I was concerned about how the team looked.” Holmgren said. “0-3 is 0-3, we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of the season, but it was more about how we played, and it was unacceptable. We don’t look like a team at all, and I felt just a gut feeling that I needed to make the decision.” ~ NHL Network"
The Flyers extended an offer to Assistant Coach Craig Berube to step into the position of Head Coach, of which he accepted. As some of you probably already know, Berube has been with the Philadelphia Flyers as an Assistant Coach for going on seven seasons now.
According to his interview with NHL Network, Holmgren has no intention of letting the players off the hook for their lack of performance.
"“We have some work to do. Craig has some work to do. He understands that. I’m not going to let the players off the hook, we’ll meet with them later today.” He said. “Things have to get better, and they will.” Holmgren concludes."
It looks like we may be in store for a new and improved Philadelphia Flyers sooner rather than later.
Berube’s first game behind the Flyers’ bench as Head Coach will be against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Now, we sit and wait as Coach Berube attempts to turn the Flyers’ 0-3 start into a string of wins, starting with the Panthers.
Do you think the Flyers organization made the right decision in relieving Laviolette of his duties? Do you think Berube will be able to turn this season around for the Flyers? Let’s discuss in the comments below.