The story drags on for now. Ron Hextall has not made a decision on Craig Berube's future as head coach.
That was how the Flyers GM opened his press conference on Wednesday, emphasizing diligence in all decisions to be made this offseason.
"As soon as I sort through that I’ll let you know," Hextall said. "The process is going on. At this point the decision hasn’t been made. The wait is that I want to be methodical. I want to make the right decision. I am not going to make a quick decision to appease people or to follow along what is supposed to be done. I am not going to make a hasty decision and then regret it later.
"This is singular in itself. There's no waiting around to see if someone becomes available or what else it out there. Not part of the equation."
That's been Hextall's approach from Day 1. Patience. It's going to take time for the Flyers to put all of the pieces together, but it will happen as long as Hextall has anything to do with it.
"I'm going to do everything I can to gather all the information out there to make the right decision," Hextall said. "I'm going to do everything I can to do the due diligence that's appropriate to make the decision. That goes for a lot of decisions we have to make."
On the immediately list of needs, Hextall has two things on his wish list.
"I’d like to find an upgrade on defense, a skilled forward," Hextall said. "That’s my wish list."
But the stance remains the same. While that's what Hextall would like to add to the team, he won't do it if it means risking the future of the franchise.
"We are not going to throw away our future to try and win the Stanley Cup next year," Hextall said. "I can assure you of that. Are we going to try to win the Stanley Cup? Yes we are, along with the other 29 teams.
"We're not going to trade top young players for 29 and 30-year-olds to try to take a one-year run at the Cup. That is not going to happen."
That said, Hextall already likes the way the roster shapes up. He still believes the Flyers can make the playoffs next season.
"We’re not going to mortgage the future but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to make the playoffs," Hextall said. "Anybody who thinks we're going to sit here for two or three years and just wait for the kids, it's not happening. We can get better. If we can sign players, if we can find a trade that makes sense, we're going to do it.
"We're not happy here not making the playoffs. No one's happy. In saying that, we're not going to trade for a one or two-year window. We will move forward and do anything we can do to become a better team this summer. Part of that is making our players better."
Hextall went into detail about what could have derailed a playoff run for the Flyers this year. He had a laundry list of reasons, but noted that the team was closer than the standings made it appear.
"There's a lot of one-percenters. You look at the one-goal games. The difference between winning and losing is right there. It's coaching, it's players, it's me putting the right players on the ice. It's a lot of little things. It's nutrition, it's getting the proper rest. There's a whole bunch of things out there that we've got to try to get a little bit better at and we're going to try to improve our team on the ice as well."
One of the topics that came up on break-up day on Sean Couturier's role with the team. Berube made the comparison to Patrice Bergeron. Hextall made no comparisons but talked about the importance of having Couturier, and the other young players the Flyers have, turn into two-way players.
"We don't want him to be a shut-down player either. We want him to be a 200-foot player," Hextall said. "That's how you win championships and playoff series, you make the playoffs with 200-foot players. Sean Couturier is a good two-way player.
"He's also 22 years old. Be really careful. Do we want more from him? Yes. Does he want more from himself? Yes. Is he going to be in more offensive roles as we move forward? It's a coach's decision but I suspect he will. He did a lot of good things. Did he play where we hoped? Probably not quite, but it's not like Sean had a disastrous year."
The Flyers have certainly acknowledged a lack of consistency in several areas throughout the season and one of those areas has been leadership. Hextall backed the leadership group of team, emphasizing again, the youth of those players.
"Our team has been turned over to [Claude Giroux] and [Jake Voracek] and Wayne Simmonds," Hextall said. "Wayne Simmonds took a huge jump this year in terms of leadership. Jake Voracek took a huge jump. [Steve Mason] took a huge jump. The fact of the matter is our leadership is young, it needs to get better and it needs to grow from within.
"I can tell you things that those guys are talking about now are a lot different than they were talking about last summer. So to add a guy that's 35 years old and a so-called 'leader,' the older you get, the less your role becomes, the less you lead. We expect our players to become better leaders. They have showed a lot of growth and I believe they will continue to show a lot of growth."
So do the Flyers have a leadership problem? Not according to Hextall's first rule of leadership.
"The first thing in leadership is going out on that rink every day, every practice, every drill, every game and playing hard," Hextall said. "And if you look at Simmer, Jake and G, they do that. That's the first part. You can't lead without that."
Leadership was a popular topic in the absence of Kimmo Timonen this past season. Having to play without Timonen's calming influence is the next step for the Flyers young group of leaders.
"I think probably the biggest thing with him is that he's a calming influence. He puts things into perspective," Hextall said. "We can get better at that. Our guys are younger and we're building something here. We've got top players and I believe that in the next two or three years, you won't be talking about our leadership."
There is one decision Hextall seems to have made already. Michael Del Zotto is a restricted free agent, and Hextall was very straight-forward in his response about his plans for Del Zotto.
"We'll re-sign him," Hextall said. "He's restricted. There's no rush."
So the wait continues as Hextall ponders a plethora of moves and improvements that could be made. But the plan remains the same moving forward.
And in the immediate future, the goal, as always, is to win.
"You go into every season trying to compete for the Stanley Cup. To win the Stanley Cup, you have to make the playoffs," Hextall said. "Our goal next year is to make the playoffs.
"My job right now is to keep our future going, keep our picks, draft well, but also make our team better in October. I don't like sitting here today. I'd much rather be sitting here in two months. So, we're not happy with where we're at, we're very disappointed, and we're going to do everything we can to get better for October."
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
