PHILADELPHIA — Kraken coach Dave Hakstol will forever be linked to this city he says he “loved’ and learned plenty in during three-plus seasons here coaching the Flyers.
Hakstol jumped to NHL’s head coaching ranks with the Flyers in 2016-17 straight from the NCAA ranks with the University of North Dakota. They had a 134-101-42 record his first three seasons — making the playoffs twice, though losing in the first round — before he was fired midway through his fourth campaign in 2018-19 with the team at 12-15-4.
But after logging his first win here with the Kraken on Sunday in his third try against his former team, Hakstol wasn’t taking any victory laps.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” he said after the Kraken’s 4-3 win. “I talked about it before. I’ve got nothing but good feelings and memories of my time here. The organization here decided to make a change when they did and that’s the nature of the business. I love coming back here and it’s an important win for our hockey team. That’s what means the most to me.”
At times, Hakstol was dogged during his Flyers tenure by criticism he was a college coach and didn’t fully understand the NHL game. He was asked by a Philadelphia media member during Sunday’s pregame availability whether he felt he’d gotten a fair shot.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Hakstol said. “This is a tough league. You’ve got to take the opportunity. You’ve got to find your way through to success and we found a little bit of that. Ultimately, at the end of the day we came up a little bit short and that’s the nature of the business.
“So, my time here was great. You grow roots. And whether you’re in spots for five or 10 years, or in spots where I was here for 3½ years. You grow roots in that way. And at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to be successful and win. And in Year 4 — that was it. That’s somebody else’s choice, right?”
Indeed it was. Hakstol was fired and the team has gone through four head coaches since — two of them interim — before settling on current bench boss John Tortorella.
The Flyers have not won a Stanley Cup since capturing their only two during their “Broad Street Bullies” era in 1974 and 1975, losing to Montreal in 1976 and five additional times after that — most recently to Chicago in 2010. But their fan base is demanding — and occasionally bitter — and all of those near championships since the title run five decades ago can make this city a tough place for any coach.
Hakstol spent two seasons as a Toronto Maple Leafs assistant before becoming the Kraken’s first head coach. He was asked whether he’d learned anything from his Philadelphia tenure.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s the nature. Everywhere I’ve been. It’s the different cultures that you coach within. It’s the different people that you coach with and the players that you’re able to be around and work with on a daily basis. Every different environment and atmosphere gives you the ability to grow and learn.”
Notes
- After killing off 18 consecutive penalties over eight straight games, the Kraken have allowed five power-play goals in their last three contests. It took only 2:13 of playing time for Owen Tippett to open the scoring with the man advantage in this one, having been left all alone at the doorstep to netminder Philipp Grubauer’s right and slamming home the puck when it came to him off a goal mouth scramble.
- Ryan Donato appeared in the 300th game of his NHL career Sunday, starting on the fourth line’s left wing.
- The Kraken opted to stay behind after Sunday’s game in order to watch the Super Bowl before flying out to Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Monday before Tuesday night’s game against the Jets. A team watch party was organized inside a private room at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle restaurant, part of a high-end steakhouse chain, located in the city’s downtown core.
- There was plenty of football fever in the air throughout Sunday’s contest, with chants of “E-A-G-L-E-S!” going up frequently from the crowd. The Flyers had former Eagles special teams legend Vince Papale — played by Mark Wahlberg in the movie “Invincible” — bang their ceremonial drum pregame.