It's Not All Fabulous in Philly: Is Coach Stevens' Head About To Roll?

(Photo by Len Redkoles/Getty Images)

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

Marred in a three-game losing streak, the Philadelphia Flyers fans are looking for answers. Where are all the questions being directed at? You guessed it, head coach John Stevens.

Ok, so this isn’t the first time that Flyers fans have come running at Stevens with an axe in their hands in hopes of beheading their teams leader—quite the contrary.

Fact is, this is a finicky bunch of fans, a loyal, if not “fanatical” group of well versed hockey people, who, if things aren’t going their way, would sacrifice kittens and kidnap your Grandmother if it meant bringing another Stanley Cup to the “City of Brotherly Love.”

Stevens has been the target of Flyer fans in the past, sometimes with good reason, sometimes out of spite and overreaction. It’s still early in the 2009/10 season and already we are hearing Flyers fans calling for Stevens’ head. Question is, are the rumors justified or just plain stupid?

Stevens' overall record with the Flyers has been decent enough. Stevens has led the Flyers to two consecutive 40-plus-win seasons and he has made the playoffs in two out of the three seasons he has been behind the bench.

Trouble is, Stevens has also been behind the bench for three 10-game losing streaks (a Flyers record) and, worse still, he was the man leading the troops when the Flyers lost playoff series to hated rival Pittsburgh Penguins in back-to-back seasons.

Making the playoffs is great, losing to Pittsburgh on any night, never mind the playoffs is a sin that most Flyers fans will never forgive. Do it once, “mehh”... do it twice, “grrrrr”...do it again and you’re likely to wake up with a horses head beside you!

Overall, Stevens' resume is impressive. He spent six seasons with the Flyers AHL affiliate Philadelphia Phantoms, leading the team to the playoffs four out of six seasons, culminating his efforts into an Calder Cup title in 2005.

Just eight games into the 2006 season, with the Flyers off to a miserable 1-6-1 start, Stevens was promoted to head coach. At the time, the move came as a surprise to many Flyers fans.

Sure, Stevens had won at the AHL level, but the Flyers fans were looking for more of the “Gucci” type of coach, someone with a long history of success. The usual suspects were high on the Flyers fans list, Mike Keenan being one of them.

At the time of his hiring, Flyers management viewed Stevens as as a innovator, someone who would command the respect of the players, the kind of coach that your organization could grow around and, with a major rebuilding of the roster just months away, they figured Stevens’ ability to tutor was more valuable than the experience that a coach of Keenen’s ilk would bring to the table.

For the most part, Stevens has delivered. Youngsters Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and, to a lesser extent, Matt Carle, have all developed into all-star calibre players under the watch of Stevens.

On the other hand, there are many fans out there that point to the failing of Daniel Briere who went from scoring 95 points and posting a plus +17 rating as a member of the Buffalo Sabres in 2006/07 to a player who looked out of sorts in 2007/08 with the Flyers, posting 72 points and a horrible minus -22 rating to boot.

There has been plenty of talk about the Flyers goaltending, or lack-thereof while Stevens has been in charge, but that’s hardly been the cause of the majority of the Flyers trials and tribulations. Martin Biron won 59 games over the past two seasons and with save percentages of .918 (2007/08) and .915 (2008/09), Biron was hardly a “Goat.”

Further, the Flyers were ridiculed for their terrible play down the stretch in 2008/09, a stretch that saw the team essentially mail in the final six weeks of the season, costing the Flyers any chance at Home Ice advantage through the playoffs. Still, the Flyers finished the 2008/09 season with 99 points, hardly a failure.

The playoff loses to the Flyers arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins the past two seasons still lingers in the minds of Flyers fans. Any losing streak is bound to turn into an effort to fire Stevens, even if it makes little to no sense.

The players need to step up and take responsibility for the Flyers' short comings. Clearly, the blame lays on their shoulders as well as coach Stevens'. Fly together, die together, right?

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?