A day after firing general manager Ron Hextall to bring a new "philosophical approach" to the direction of the Philadelphia Flyers, the CEO of the team's parent company has suggested a coaching change may also be on the horizon.
In doing so, Comcast Spectacor's Dave Scott raised the possibility of the Flyers pursuing longtime Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville.
According to the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac, Scott said on Tuesday that Quenneville's name "came up immediately" after Chicago fired him on Nov. 6. Hextall, however, "wanted to keep on his path," Scott added, so Hextall's 2015 hire, current Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, remained in position. Quenneville may still be an option for Philadelphia, Isaac reported, but Scott hinted "it will be up to the new general manager," who has yet to be hired.
Following along? Let's recap: Dave Scott, one of the leading men in charge of the Flyers operation and the man who addressed Hextall's termination Tuesday alongside team president Paul Holmgren, openly suggested that Quenneville was on Philly's radar weeks ago. While he stopped short of confirming the Flyers are still interested in the ex-Blackhawks coach, he left the door open for a change, leading fans and media to believe that if it weren't for Hextall, Quenneville may have been pursued. And all of this was said with Hakstol still employed.
It's not insignificant news for Flyers fans, but it remains to be seen whether it's good or bad news. On one hand, Scott naming Quenneville as a potential target with Hakstol still running the team and before Hextall has been replaced smells of dysfunction -- the kind that may have gotten Hextall fired in the first place. On the other hand, who's to say Philly wouldn't welcome someone like Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups in Chicago, with open arms anyway?