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Flyers’ front office faces pivotal season

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Whether you blame the players, the front office or several other factors, the bottom line is that the 2013 campaign was a disaster for the Philadelphia Flyers. GM Paul Holmgren and head coach Peter Laviolette survived that wretched season with their jobs intact, but it’s tough to imagine them surviving if 2013-14 is similarly dour.

Let’s look at each front office member’s situation.

Holmgren might be running low on chances

It’s tough not to place a lot of the blame on Holmgren.

After all, many of his home run swings have actually turned out to be big whiffs. Huge transactions often involve coaches and other staff members, yet in the minds of many, the Ilya Bryzgalov train wreck and other gaffes have Holmgren’s stamp on it.

As often as Philly seems to pull about-faces personnel-wise, the team’s actually been fairly patient with general managers. Still, there’s a key difference (beyond money wasted buying out Bryzgalov and Danny Briere) this summer: they hired potential heir apparent Ron Hextall as assistant GM.

Laviolette tasked with a challenge

While he isn’t often mentioned among the NHL’s elite coaches, Laviolette has done some great things in his stints with the Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, going 1-for-2 in Stanley Cup Final appearances.

Fair or not, this could be a make-or-break season for the opinionated bench boss after some rumblings in 2013.

He was fired during his fifth season with Carolina and enters season No. 5 with Philly, although two of those campaigns were for fewer than 82 games.
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The Flyers are among the league’s biggest spending team and they’re certainly not afraid to make big moves. That can be a double-edged sword for coaches and general managers, as Holmgren and Laviolette might find out if the team suffers through another dud.

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Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins