Calgary Flames v Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers fans were waiting for a major change after a slow start to this season, and on Monday, they got it. It may not have been in the place they expected, though.

The club announced the firing of executive vice president and general manager Ron Hextall on Monday morning, citing a "philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team."

"The Flyers organization has decided to relieve Ron Hextall of his duties as Executive Vice President and General Manager," wrote Flyers President Paul Holmgren in a statement. "We thank Ron for his many significant contributions, but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team. In light of these differences, we feel it's in the organization's best interests to make a change, effective immediately. I have already begun a process to identify and select our next General Manager, which we hope to complete as soon as possible."

That philosophical difference have strong roots in the man currently behind the bench in Philadelphia. A year after being named GM in 2014, Hextall brought in Dave Hakstol, who coached Hextall's son at North Dakota, to be coach in Philly. Hextall has shown reluctance to go in another direction behind the bench, even during a 10-game skid last year and a thoroughly disappointing start to this season. 

As such, Hextall's dismissal could be bad news for Hakstol if the Flyers don't turn things around soon. The club is 10-11-2 to start this season and are currently four points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They've had goaltending issues once again this year and their special teams units have been bad as well, with their power play ranked 25th and their penalty kill ranked 30th.

Hextall, who spent 11 years as a goaltender in the Flyers' organization, was in his fifth season as general manager. The team qualified for the playoffs twice in that time but were eliminated in the first round on both occasions.