The Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly decided to fire head coach Alain Vigneault. The team, which has lost eight consecutive games, is moving on from Vigneault in the middle of his third season at the helm in Philly, according to the Associated Press.
According to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor, assistant coach Mike Yeo will serve as the team’s interim head coach. The Flyers’ most recent loss came on Sunday, when they fell 7-1 at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Vigneault, 60, was hired back in 2019 after the Flyers parted ways with Dave Hakstol. Overall, the team has played well under him, as the head coach put together a 74-24-19 record in his three seasons with the franchise.
But that does not excuse the current slide that Philly is in.
The Flyers currently sit in seventh place in the eight-team Metropolitan Division with an 8-10-4 record (20 points). Philadelphia returns to the ice on Monday as they take on the Colorado Avalanche.
Vigneault led the Flyers to a 41-21-7 record during the 2019-20 season and the franchise finished second in the Metropolitan Division. After the resumption of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the First Round before losing to the New York Islanders in seven games in the Second Round.
Meanwhile, the coach’s reported interim replacement, Yeo, does have NHL head coaching experience. He has a career record of 216-181-55 as he spent time as the head coach of the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. Most recently, Yeo served as the Blues head coach from 2016 to 2019, but was relieved of his duties after 19 games during the 2018-19 season.
