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Emily KaplanESPN
The Philadelphia Flyers fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday.
Scott Gordon, the coach of the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, will serve as interim. Gordon has NHL head coaching experience with the New York Islanders (2008-10)
Hakstol, in his fourth year with the club, is the fifth NHL coach to be fired already this season; that comes after there were no head coach dismissals during the entire 2017-18 season, a first since Original Six expansion.
Despite playoff expectations — bolstered by the free agent acquisition of James van Riemsdyk, one of the best offensive players on the market — Philadelphia has tumbled.
As of Monday, the Flyers have the record in the Eastern Conference (12-15-4) and are on a four-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored 22-8. The team dismissed general manager Ron Hextall last month and replaced him with Chuck Fletcher, who was previously the GM of the Minnesota Wild for nine seasons.