Vigneault rips Flyers after embarrassing loss to Penguins, threatens major changes

In case you missed it last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins absolutely railroaded the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 7-1. It was a dreadful showing by the Flyers against their biggest rival and it has the team’s new head coach Alain Vigneault fired up.

After the game Vigneault made it clear to his team that if things don’t begin to change, then GM Chuck Fletcher won’t hesitate to make the necessary changes.

Check out these post-game comments from AV:

“Some guys we may have thought previously were capable of doing things, whether it be moving the puck [or something else]. … and when you see them live, they may not be exactly what you anticipated. We have decisions to make. Chuck [Fletcher, the general manager] and I are talking constantly about our group and that’s what we’ll continue to do until we’re happy,” he said.

Vigneault would go on to say that he’s not seeing consistency in his players and… well, he doesn’t have much confidence in his group right now.

Check it out:

“I still don’t have quite yet the handle on our group. We still have some players I’ve seen do things the way they need to be done to win, but I’ve also seen them do it the other way, so I don’t know if they can do it consistently.”

One thing’s clear, the Flyers’ 5-5-1 record to start the season is a massive disappointment. After hiring Vigneault and making some significant changes this offseason, it was expected that the Flyers would be able to compete for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. Currently they’re just one win up on the New York Rangers for 7th place in the division. Not good enough. Is it time for more big changes in Philly? Is it even possible?

If things continue down this road, would Fletcher take offers on veteran players like captain Claude Giroux or sniper Jakub Voracek? The pair carry HUGE contracts and, to be honest, there aren't many palatable contracts for the Flyers to move on the trade market. If Fletch and Vigneault pull the trigger on a move or two, they'll likely have to take two steps back before taking a step forward.