Craig Berube Gets Canned And Thoughts On A Replacement For The Flyers
Flyers – The Philadelphia Flyers have relieved head coach Craig Berube of his duties with the club, according to general manager Ron Hextall.
Berube was the 18th head coach in Flyers history and was named to the post on October 7, 2013. He recently completed his second season as head coach and leaves the position with a record of 75-58-28 (.553). Prior to being named head coach, Berube spent six seasons as a Flyers assistant. He has spent 18 seasons with the organization as a player, assistant coach and head coach, doing all three with both the Flyers and Phantoms.
The team will begin a search for a new head coach immediately.
Well it’s about goddamn time, no? Sexy Hexy really made us sweat that one out. Before we get started here, I’d just like to offer this quick open-invitation to Craig Berube even though we’ve had our differences in the past.
After taking over in the beginning of last season, things with Craig Berube just haven’t worked out. Like Smitty said earlier, that team last year overachieved by making the playoffs. This season, they ended up exactly where they should have been and are on the outside looking in. 75-58-28 is a piss poor record and even though Craig Berube wasn’t the only problem with this Flyers team, I have no problem with saying he was the biggest. He’s just not fit to be a head coach in the NHL. He lacks competency in both hockey sense and in how to be a leader of men. This whole season was a goddamn train wreck with the carousel of healthy-scratches. It’s not like this a high school JV team that is going to respond well to negative reinforcement. It just made Berube look like an incompetent goon who couldn’t figure out a way to get his system to work so in desperation, he would go with a guy like Zac Rinaldo over Vincent Lecavalier because that’ll certainly send the right message to the locker room. I highly doubt he’ll find another head coaching position in the NHL, but he could still be useful as an assistant somewhere.
As for the next coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, I put together a short list of options.
1) Mike Babcock
2) Gordon Bombay
3) Dan Bylsma
4) Not John Tortorella
Now obviously everyone in the world wants Babcock and obviously the Flyers would have to wait and see what happens with him in Detroit. But the Flyers are a team that would be a great fit for Mikey B. There’s a lot of talent on offense in Voracek, Giroux and Simmonds. Then there are guys like Couturier and B. Schenn who could finally take that last step in finding their game with Babcock on the bench. And with a guy like Babcock, the Flyers could finally get what they were expecting to get out of Lecavalier. You can’t expect to get a ton of production out of a guy if you’re constantly keeping him down on the 4th line. Defensively, there needs to be a lot of changes but luckily there are a nice little stockpile of young guys to pull from in the meantime. Mason is the guy moving forward. This team, on paper, is a deep playoff team, and Hextall seems like a guy who knows what he’s doing right now. This should all be very enticing for Babcock if his time in Detroit comes to an end.
As for Bylsma, I realize that relative to the roster he had in Pittsburgh he should be viewed as an underachiever. But the guy has still been there before, I think guys would really like to play for him, and he’s an American. He’s a very strong Plan B right now, especially considering how the past few seasons have gone.
As for anyone else, I just really don’t want to see the Flyers bring someone back who has been a part of the organization before. I know this is all just in my head and doesn’t really have any impact in real life, but they need new blood. The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in 40 years. It’s been 40 straight years of losers in that locker room. That’s not to say that there haven’t been a ton of great years within those past 40, but what does it all really mean if you don’t have a banner up in the rafters? There are people who knows what it takes to win, and there are people who don’t. The Flyers have been breeding losers for a while now, and I’d just like to see someone new whose name isn’t John Tortorella. And for comedic purpose, I wouldn’t mind bringing in Randy Carlyle or Claude Julien. But for hockey purposes, I’d rather not. Wouldn’t hate Paul MacLean either.
So adios, Chief. And see everyone at the draft lotto tomorrow. Just remember, there’s still a chance.
