Joel Quenneville rumors: 5 ideal landing spots
3. Philadelphia Flyers
Why Quenneville’s a fit for them: The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a slow start this season. And it sure isn’t from a lack of talent. Not when you have Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Nolan Patrick, and Sean Couturier (among others).
Much of the blame has been directed towards the abysmal goaltending and the coaching of head coach Dave Hakstol. The team seems to have no structure or direction. They look lost far more often than they should. Usually, when this is the case, the coaching is to blame. Quenneville could immediately turn the Flyers back into the fringe Stanley Cup contenders they were before the 2018-19 season began.
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Why the Flyers are a fit for Quenneville: As mentioned earlier, the Flyers are loaded with talent. Much like Quenneville’s Blackhawks during their dynasty days. Maybe not as much, but it’s at least comparable. Their ownership has shown in the past they aren’t afraid to open up their checkbooks either.
While the Flyers current goaltending is a flaming dumpster fire, top goaltending prospect Carter Hart has a resume matched by very few goalies his age throughout history. That could be tempting for Quenneville if he’s itching to get a job sooner rather than later.
Why it won’t happen: General Manager Ron Hextall is a bit stubborn. He hasn’t fired Hakstol yet despite seeing the baffling decisions he commonly makes.
But…: If the Flyers tell Hextall to either fire Hakstol or they’ll hire someone who will fire him, that should get the ball rolling in the right direction.