Provorov throws Dave Hakstol under the bus minutes after he is officially fired.

Ouch.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Provorov throws Dave Hakstol under the bus minutes after he is officially fired.
Kostas Lymperopoulos/CSM/Zuma

On Monday the Philadelphia Flyers officially announced that they had fired head coach Dave Hakstol.

It came off as one of the least surprising coach firings in a very long time due to the fact that leaks regarding Hakstol's termination had started to come out as early as Saturday. Those leaks eventually built to a fever pitch on Sunday when several very credible reporters attached their name to the story, only to have the Flyers issue a stern denial on Sunday night, and then repeating that denial again on Monday morning prior to the firing itself.

It has been a poorly handled situation by the Flyers to be sure and it speaks to a level of dysfunction internally within the organization. There were reports that surfaced after the firing of former Flyers general manager Ron Hextall this season that spoke to a general manager who ran every part of his team with an iron fist, and the dysfunction around this announcement may be a consequence of the fallout from the Hextall firing. 

That being said it has also become quite clear that there are some within the organization who truly felt this was a necessary move. Although of course no one will come right out and admit that publicly, at least not anyone currently under the employment of the Philadelphia Flyers, one of Hakstol's now former players has already come out and effectively tossed his coach under the bus. 

According to a report from Philadelphia Flyers insider Sam Carchidi, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov commented on the firing of Dave Hakstol shortly after the announcement was made official. Although it seems clear that Provorov did not mean any harm by his comments, in fact he took the time to thank Hakstol for his hard work as a Flyer, he also indicated that he felt this would be a change that would benefit the team in the long run.

This may not rise to the level of a player attacking his coach, but this is definitely far more vocal than you ever see the vast majority of hockey players get, especially on matters this sensitive. If the players wanted Hakstol out then the writing may have been on the wall for a while now.

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