Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall and Head Coach Craig Berube addressed the media following practice on Friday.
Hextall is concerned with the recent stretch, but will not panic. He said that everybody has some part in the poor play: “Everybody is in this and we all have to do a better job”.
Hextall went on to say that he has “no plans” of replacing Berube as head coach.
Hextall preached a look-ahead mindset, rather than “felling sorry for ourselves” after back-to-back games in California earlier this week.
One reporter asked Hextall about tanking, who scoffed at the question, saying “I don’t know that word”.
Hextall wants to remain on the same track that he set out when he was hired, but he is “not going to do something that’s gonna hurt our future to try to get a few points or make the playoffs now”.
After a reporter asked Hextall about the prospects of getting Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the draft, he promised that those thoughts won’t even be in the discussion in a few weeks.
Hextall remains positive for the long-term despite the short-term failures.
Berube preached a more defensive style of play. Saying that “you lose hockey games in this league from a lack of defensive structure” before adding “games can be won two-to-one or one-to-nothing”.
Berube didn’t blame one player or unit, saying that it comes from “both” forwards and defensemen.
He added that “you got to work together there’s five guys on the ice, and your goalie.”
Hextall Video
Berube Video
Ryan Gilbert is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia and can be found on Twitter @RiskyBryzness
