If Flyers axe Craig Berube, they should hire Dan Bylsma

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Editor's note: The Flyers fired Craig Berube on Friday. This ran on Thursday. 

For an organization that once marketed “Vengeance Now,” the path of “Decision Eventually” would appear to fit the Flyers as well as Ilya Bryzgalov.

But Ron Hextall’s decision to slow-play his coaching decision is prudent. There’s no need to rush despite the external pressure to do so. Flyers training camp opens in September. Waiting until the third week of April to decide your coach’s fate is just fine.

In his season closing press conference, the Flyers’ general manager was reticent to define which factors will factor into the decision to retain or remove Craig Berube. Without knowing what Hextall is looking for, the safe decision would be to allow Berube a third season.

The Flyers are admittedly not in a win-at-all-costs mode. So why incur more costs by paying two coaches simultaneously? The players may have been inconsistent, but they did not quit on their coach. Top scorer Jakub Voracek said as much Thursday on Breakfast on Broad. And to be honest, that’s 95 percent of the battle in hockey. See level, compete.

There are some fences to mend for Berube with his best player, Steve Mason. That’s not a little concern. But any fraying in their relationship did not seem to affect Mason’s play at the end of the season.

For a franchise that’s inclined to wait and see if its prospects can develop into key parts of a championship contender, the same strategy would make sense with their coach.

That said, Hextall should target one person in particular if he looks to make a change: Dan Bylsma.

Flyers fans would likely shudder at the thought of bringing in the former Penguins bench boss, especially considering his tenure in Pittsburgh was marred by upset defeats in the playoffs.

But let’s look at this by eliminating the other big names that will be the subjects of speculation:

Mike Babcock
The Red Wings' coach becomes a free agent as soon as his team’s season ends. He has a Stanley Cup pedigree and is one of the best in-game managers in the sport. But you don’t pay an interior designer major money to oversee a construction project. Babcock is a hire you make when you need a finisher. The Flyers are closer to the starting line.

Claude Julien
The Bruins' coach finds himself in limbo with Berube. Expect whoever the B’s hire as their new general manager to bring in his own hire. Much of what applies to Babcock also holds true with Julien.

Todd McLellan
That’s a hard pass. The Sharks are a mess. The players are questioning the team’s “culture.” There’s a good chance McLellan won’t be using Joe Thornton as a reference if the Flyers come calling.

All of which leads us back to Bylsma. Hextall said the team’s immediate goal next season is to make the playoffs. “Disco Dan” never failed to make it to the second season — six for six with 66’s team.

More importantly, look at the type of team that Bylsma worked with in Pittsburgh.

Top-heavy with offensive talent.

Minimal depth.

Suspect defense.

A super-talented goaltender with confidence and mindset concerns always lurking.

Does any of that sound familiar? As much as they seem to hate each other, the Flyers and Penguins are pretty similar.

But that’s just part of the story. The top reason to hire Bylsma is that his teams thrived in the area that cost the Flyers a playoff spot this season: shootouts.

The Flyers went 3-11 in shootouts this season. And the franchise’s history suggests that was not an accident. For whatever reason, the organization has repeatedly deemphasized the only part of the game that leads directly to a point in the standings. Not liking shootouts as a means of deciding a game is one thing. But failing to address them as a significant part of the game is absurd. It’s tantamount to an NFL team failing to sign a placekicker because field goals aren’t “real football.”

During his time in Pittsburgh, Bylsma treated shootouts as the precious point producers they are. His teams practiced breakaways in nearly every practice session. He also held “Mustache Man” competitions monthly, which saw every player on the team take part in the shootout. The last player left to not score would be forced to grow a mustache for the next month.

Not surprisingly, this emphasis in practice led to results in games. In his five full seasons as Penguins coach, Bylsma’s teams posted a 37-11 record in shootouts, easily the best record in the league. For those who say it’s easy to win a skills contest with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pens went 4-6 this year under Mike Johnston in the shootouts with the same talent.

The NHL will likely move to 3-on-3 overtime next season, which will negate the shootout to some extent. But if you think coaches won’t be able to scheme and bog down the 3-on-3 game like they have 4-on-4, then you’re not paying attention to the league. There will be plenty of shootouts moving forward.

If Hextall is inclined to make a change behind the bench, it should also include a shift in mindset about the shootouts. Dan Bylsma is the man for both jobs.

And if a cross-state move for Bylsma keeps the Flyers-Penguins rivalry boiling, that’s not a bad thing either.

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