Flyers GM Hextall: Staying home could aid in fast start
The Philadelphia Flyers are intent on getting off to a fast start this season, and general manager Ron Hextall believes that begins with staying at home.
The Flyers will spend their entire training camp in Voorhees, N.J., as opposed making trips to Cape Cod (last year) and Lake Placid, N.Y. (2013).
"We felt we needed to change something," Hextall told Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We'll be local. It's a mentality. The preseason matters. I want guys to play hard every game and try to win every game. It's a habit."
The Flyers have made a habit of slow starts of late. Philadelphia lost six of eight to begin the lockout-shortened 2013 season, seven of eight to start the following campaign and its first four (0-2-2) in 2014-15.
The sputtering starts didn't help with the finishes for the Flyers (33-31-18), who missed the playoffs last season following a sixth-place performance in the Metropolitan Division. The ending didn't sit well in Philadelphia as the team replaced Craig Berube with former North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol in the summer.
(h/t Philly.com)
