Does Big Fish in Coaching Free Agent Pool Change Flyers Plans? – Sports Talk Philly

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor  That big splash you heard on Monday morning was one of the NHL’s elite coaches suddenly becoming a free agent. In a surprising move, the New York Islanders fired Barry Trotz after four seasons. The Islanders join the Flyers, as well as the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets, as teams with current coaching vacancies. The Chicago Blackhawks currently have Derek King in an interim role. So do the Florida Panthers with Andrew Brunette and the Edmonton Oilers with Jay Woodcroft, though both are in the playoffs at the moment. The Flyers made the announcement last week that they would be undergoing a coaching search for a new head coach. Mike Yeo served as the interim for the remainder of the season following the firing of Alain Vigneault on Dec. 6. So does the entry of Barry Trotz into the coaching free agent market change things for the Flyers? There are cases for both answers. Obviously Trotz comes with a hefty resume. Assuming he is hired by another team this offseason, Trotz will continue a streak of 23 straight seasons in a head coaching role. At age 36, he took his first head…
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