Regeln im Forum » The Philadelphia Flyers turned to an outsider to try

PHILADELPHIA (AP) —and win their first Stanley Cup in nearly 45 years.The Flyers hired Chuck Fletcher as their general manager on Monday in hopes that he can resuscitate a playoff team from a year ago that has become one of the worst teams in the NHL. He’s the eighth GM in team history — and the first with no ties to the Flyers since Russ Farwell had the job from 1990 to 1994.“Our goal is to make the playoffs this year TJ Brodie Jersey , it’s that simple,” Fletcher said. “We have work to do and it will be a challenge. But there’s no reason why we can’t get better and we can’t push to make the playoffs and find a way to get in.”Fletcher, who replaces the fired Ron Hextall, had been working as a senior adviser to the New Jersey Devils after spending the last nine seasons as GM of the Minnesota Wild. The Wild had only two playoff series victories under Fletcher, a 25-year veteran of NHL management, and did not renew his contract in April. They went 15-29 in the playoffs during Fletcher’s tenure, enough evidence that the roster wasn’t built well enough despite all the success the team enjoyed in the regular season.That didn’t dissuade Flyers President Paul Holmgren from pursuing the 51-year-old Fletcher a week after he cut ties with Hextall following 4½ seasons. The Flyers are 11-12-2 and only the Devils are worse in the Eastern Conference. Holmgren fired Hextall citing “philosophical differences” and an “unyielding” approach toward sticking with his methodical rebuilding plan.Holmgren and parent company Comcast Spectacor want to win now and have squirmed as the Flyers have seen attendance dip while they drop in the standings and are losing a popularity contest to the 76ers, their fellow Wells Fargo Center tenant.“Chuck has earned success throughout his impressive NHL career and offers the right mix of expertise, business acumen and leadership qualities that the Flyers need today as we work to achieve our ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup Championship,” Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dave Scott said in a statement.The Flyers also purged the organization of their longtime assistant general manager and an assistant coach considered close confidants of Hextall. Hextall had distanced himself from many key figures inside the organization and cut off alumni access to the team, factors that led to his dismissal.Fletcher, who also has the executive vice president title Womens Travis Hamonic Jersey , will have to do more than play nice with the old Broad Street Bullies to bring the Flyers their first championship since they won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974-75.Holmgren said the new GM would decide the fate of coach Dave Hakstol, who is on the hot seat in his fourth season. Hakstol was hired by Hextall out of North Dakota and has led the Flyers to two first-round playoff exits.“I certainly have no intention of making a coaching change tomorrow,” Fletcher said. “I’m going to meet with Dave and we’re going to try to work together and push.”Hakstol has tried to mesh a roster heavy with pricey veterans like Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jake Voracek and James van Riemsdyk with potential blossoming stars in Ivan Provorov, Shayne Gostisbehere and Nolan Patrick. The Flyers desperately need a true No. 1 goalie; they’ve already matched a franchise record with five this season.“If we can’t find the solutions internally, I certainly will look externally,” Fletcher said.Will Fletcher want to trade prospects for veteran help or will he start breaking up a core — Simmonds is a free agent at the end of the season — that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2012? He’ll the needed flexibility to make moves, as the Flyers have roughly $7 million in available cap space.Fletcher, son of longtime NHL executive Cliff Fletcher, also has worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers.“He’s a very cerebral guy. He’s very good at building a playoff team, and he looks further ahead than just the year they’re in and next year Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys ,” Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leopold said. “He’s going to be very successful. He was bold with us. We made some big moves. He’s not afraid to make moves. I can tell you that. Bold he can do.”With the Wild, he made a pair of bold moves when he signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year contracts in 2012. Holmgren, Hextall’s predecessor, made a serious run at both players and now seems to have found a GM aligned with his hockey philosophies.“Throughout his career he has helped shape teams that have consistently competed in the playoffs,” Holmgren said. “In addition, Chuck’s tireless work ethic, wealth of knowledge and experience in the hockey community will be instrumental in leading our team into the future.” TORONTO (AP) William Nylander and Auston Matthews each had two goals and an assist as the playoff-bound Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night.Andreas Johnsson also scored as Maple Leafs extended a franchise record with their 48th win and matched the team mark for points (103) set in 2003-04. Backup goalie Curtis McElhinney stopped 32 shots to help Toronto win for the 15th time in the last 17 at home.Matthews extended his point streak to seven games in Toronto’s 28th home win of the season. He has five goals and 10 points on his run.Sam Reinhart got his career-high 24th goal for the last-place Sabres, and Jason Pominville also scored. Chad Johnson finished with 31 saves.KINGS 3, AVALANCHE 1LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dustin Brown’s short-handed goal helped Los Angeles move back into third place in the Pacific Division with a win over Colorado.Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who are one point ahead of Anaheim. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves and the Kings won their third consecutive home game.Alexander Kerfoot had a power-play goal and Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche.Colorado leads St. Louis by one point for the second Western Conference wild card, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Avalanche host the Blues on Saturday in the final game of the regular season for both.PANTHERS 3, HURRICANES 2SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Alexander Petrovic scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Florida snapped a three-game skid.Evgenii Dadonov and MacKenzie Weegar also scored to help the Panthers pull five points behind idle New Jersey for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Florida has four games remaining http://www.hurricanesshoponline.com/authentic-andrei-svechnikov-jersey , one more than the Devils. Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots.Derek Ryan and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored for Carolina, and Scott Darling finished with 32 saves.On the go-ahead goal, Petrovic shot from the boards above the right circle and beat Darling with 7:58 left for his second of the season.WILD 3, STARS 0ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves to blank his original team, pushing Minnesota to the brink of the playoffs.Playing for the first time in nearly three years without stalwart defenseman Ryan Suter, the Wild wrapped up their home schedule with a postseason-caliber performance punctuated by a staggering 21-3 shots advantage in the third period. Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal as the Wild finished 27-6-8 at Xcel Energy Center, currently the second-best home record in the NHL.Cam Talbot made 37 saves for the Oilers, who lost their fifth straight game and ensured a sub-80-point finish for the eighth time in the nine years.The Wild reached 98 points to match the fourth-most in franchise history.CAPITALS 4, BLUES 2ST. LOUIS (AP) – Nicklas Backstrom started a three-goal second period, Braden Holtby made 34 saves, and Washington won for the seventh time in eight games and 11th in the last 13.Alex Ovechkin got his league-leading 46th goal, and Alex Chiasson and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals. Holtby won for the fourth time in his last five starts Brock McGinn Jersey Kids , and improved to 7-0-0 in seven career starts against St. Louis.Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who lost their second straight. Jake Allen finished with 30 saves.JETS 6, SENATORS 5OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Blake Wheeler scored twice and Winnipeg held off Ottawa.Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist, and Josh Morrissey, Brandon Tanev and Mathieu Perreault also scored for the Jets, who pulled five points behind first-place Nashville in the Central Division with three games remaining. Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele each had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots.Thomas Chabot and Matt Duchene each scored twice and Christian Wolanin got his first NHL goal for Ottawa, which was playing its final home game of the season. Craig Anderson finished with 34 saves.—