Good afternoon everyone, James Muffie here. I've been barraged with tweets, emails and texts about the situation in Philadelphia. Here we'll take a look at some of the potential hires on the market.
Dave Tippett: Odds on favorite to be the Flyers primary target. Given they fired Berube after only one loss, it's likely that they had been planning on making the move for a while, but that the candidate they wanted wasn't available during the offseason. Tippett being replaced by Valk could be what they were waiting for.
Michel Therrien: If it wasn't the Tippett dismissal that prompted Berube's firing, then it may have been the sudden availability of Therrien after his mysterious firing in Montreal. Not much has been said about that situation, but it'd get pretty spicy in the East if Therrien ended up with the Flyers.
Terry Murray: The current coach of the Flyers AHL affiliate Phantoms, he could be in line for a promotion. He's been a head coach previously in the NHL with the Capitals, Flyers, Panthers and Kings. In three seasons as head coach of the Flyers (1994–95 through 1996–97), Murray compiled a 118-64-30 record and coached the team to two Atlantic Division Championships (1994–95 and 1995–96) and to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals as the Eastern Conference Champion.
Guy Boucher: Currently in the Swiss National League, it's believed that he's been trying to work his way back into the NHL since his dismissal from the Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Flyers are looking to go younger and more progressive, this may be their man.
Marc Crawford: Like Boucher, currently coaching overseas, he's currently employed by the ZSC Lions in the National League. He hasn't coached in the NHL since the end of the 2010/11 season but has a wealth of NHL experience behind the bench.
And a name that won't go away, Barry Melrose. Rumor is that GM Mike Sawaryn has long been a fan of Melrose's mind for the game and it's believed that a shot at being a head coach again would convince him to forgo his commitments as a commentator and analyst for the EEHL Network. If this is the move, we would consider no mullet safe and that Ryan Smyth would likely be added as the new captain in very short order.
There's every chance that it won't be anybody from this list or that, like in Montreal, the GM may take his time in finding a new hire and test the job out for a while himself and see how it fits. We'll keep you updated as we find out more.