The Philadelphia Flyers will have plenty of head coaching experience and lot of familiar names behind their bench for the 2019-20 season.
The team announced on Monday that former head coaches Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo have been added to Alain Vigneault’s staff as assistants, where they will be joining returning coaches Ian Laperriere (assistant), Kim Dillabaugh (goaltending) and Adam Patterson (video).
“I am excited to add Michel and Mike on our coaching staff to work alongside Ian Laperriere, Kim Dillabaugh and Adam Patterson,” said Vigneault in a statement released by the team.
“Both men have enjoyed success at all levels throughout their coaching careers, including working together at the NHL level. Each brings a considerable amount of experience and knowledge to our group, which I have no doubt will help lead our team to immediate success.”
The Flyers also announced that Scott Gordon, who finished the 2018-19 season as the team’s interim head coach replacing Dave Hakstol, will return to be the head coach of the Flyers’ AHL team in Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia finished the season with a 25-22-4 mark under Gordon, briefly making a little bit of a run to climb back into playoff contention before once again fading down the stretch. The team definitely had a better record after he took over, but a lot of that was due to the significantly better goaltending than it had received earlier in the season under Hakstol, and not necessarily the coaching.
Vigneault was announced as the team’s newest head coach in mid-April.
The trio of Vigneault, Therrien, and Yeo has more than 2,500 games of head coaching experience at the NHL level with multiple teams (Vigneault with the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers; Yeo with the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues; Therrien with the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins) throughout their careers. It is also another sign that the NHL’s coaching recycling bin remains very, very, very active.
Related: Flyers hire Alain Vigneault as newest head coach
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.