Just when you thought the Philadelphia Flyers were done with their coaching search (a search that ended up with arguably the most interesting hire of the 2015 offseason), it's going to have to start back up again.
GM Ron Hextall can cross hiring a head coach off this summer's to-do list. He can cross off finding assistant coaches as well. It seemed like all the team needed to do was find a goalie coach for the first time since 2009, but now, hiring a new coach for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms has found its way to that list.
After three years behind the Phantoms' bench, Terry Murray departed for a position as an assistant in Buffalo under Dan Bylsma — his first job in the NHL since 2011-12. Murray's return to the Flyers organization ends with a 94-111-12-11 record and three missed playoff berths.
At Flyerdelphia, we've discussed before how Murray wasn't the best fit to run the Phantoms. While the rate of roster turnover at the AHL level is high, the Phantoms were still missing the playoffs, never finished with a winning record and finished no higher than third in their respective divisions. Mediocrity of that caliber is enough to damage the confidence of the prospects that are working to eventually don the Orange and Black.
The best thing for the Flyers to consider when finding a new Phantoms coach will be one that employs a similar system that Dave Hakstol will be utilizing behind the Flyers' bench, to ensure seamless transitions when players are called up to The Show. It's a line of thinking that led to the Grand Rapids Griffins becoming one of the AHL's elite clubs during Jeff Blashill's tenure, and what helped players thrive when called up to play for Mike Babcock in Detroit.
So far, several candidates have emerged for the Phantoms' next coach. Kris Knoblauch, the coach of the Ontario League's Erie Otters, has been speculated. It was reported that Knoblauch had actually interviewed for the position earlier this month, but he has since denied such reports.
Ex-Flyers enforcer Riley Cote has been another candidate speculated for the position. Cote has served as an assistant behind the Phantoms' bench since retiring from hockey at the end of the 2009-10 season.
Finding a coach for the team's AHL prospects isn't the Flyers' top priority right now, as it shouldn't be with the Draft coming up this week. It's something the team will take care of in July, along with finding that replacement goalie coach.
For all of Terry Murray's accomplishments behind an NHL bench — to his credit, nobody coaches 1,012 games and countless more as an assistant by accident — he simply wasn't getting the job done with the Phantoms. The organization now has the opportunity to move on from his mediocre tenure, and look to end their six-year Calder Cup playoff drought.
With a heap of prospects that will find their respective ways to Allentown in the coming seasons, it's best for the Flyers to find the best possible candidate to groom them for NHL play.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
