from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

Rarely does a team allow a coach to dangle out there like the Philadelphia Flyers did with Dave Hakstol, who was mercifully fired on Monday after parts of four seasons at the helm.

That a coaching change became necessary was no shock. The Flyers rolled over and quit on Hakstol on their swing through Western Canada.

It was the execution that was botched.

Hours after a report surfaced on Sunday that Hakstol was fired, the Flyers denied the story and said definitively: “Dave Hakstol is our coach.” A spokesman said practice would resume on Monday and even after the team took the ice without Hakstol, there was no official word.

A mess was made of Hakstol for the hockey world to see, an embarrassing fumble played out in real time on social media for one of the game’s proudest franchises.

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