There’s a brewing storm in Philadelphia. With a lackluster start and embarrassing losses mounting for the Flyers, head coach Dave Hakstol is under fire.

The Flyers are currently 5-7-0, just a short step ahead of the New York Rangers for last place in the Metropolitan Division.

The backlash against Hakstol begs the question; if he’s gone, who steps in as the Flyers coach? GM Ron Hextall could stick with one of the assistant coaches like Kris Knoblauch, who was thought to be the eventual successor to Hakstol when he was hired by the Flyers.

They could also go with Ian Laperriere, who is the longest tenured of all of the Flyers coaches. One would have to think that the name Scott Gordon could also come up.

Gordon was hired in July of 2015 to take over the Phantoms following a stint as the head coach of the New York Islanders earlier in his career. With New York, his team won just 64 of the 181 games, but keep in mind that the Islanders system wasn’t exactly brimming with talent.

When you compare the candidates, Gordon could have a decent shot at being named the interim coach of the Flyers. He’s the only one of the three with experience as an NHL head coach, and he’s familiar with many of the current Flyers roster.

It might be a little unfair to hand the reins of a messed-up team to Knoblauch, who has seven years of experience as a head coach in the WHL and OHL, but just two years as an assistant coach in the NHL. Laperriere has plenty of assistant coaching experience, but none as a head coach.

One interesting option could be Flyers president Paul Holmgren, who like Gordon, has NHL coaching experience, but not much success in the role. It could be a move signaling to players that they are being closely scrutinized by the front office to determine just what their value is to a team needing some definite punch in the lineup. After all, it worked well for the Flyers neighbors, the Phillies, when they brought Dallas Green in from the front office in 1979 to take over in the manager’s office.

Of course, Hextall could also look outside the organization. At that point, it’s anybody’s guess which direction the team could go for their next head coach.

DOWN THE TURNPIKE ... Two members of the Phantoms, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Tyrell Goulbourne, were just recalled to help at the NHL level. One, because of an upper-body injury to Corban Knight, and the other to replace Mikhail Vorobyev, who was sent to the Phantoms on loan. Aube-Kubel is off to a good start to the season with Lehigh Valley and will be making his first trip to the NHL. Goulbourne made his NHL debut last January with the Flyers and appeared in nine games with Philadelphia.

YOU THE MAN ... Phil Varone was named the Phantoms Player of the Week as he continues a hot start. Currently, the forward has a seven-game point streak and notched five assists in the past week for the Phantoms. On Saturday in Binghamton, Varone picked up three assists, dishing off goals to Philippe Myers, T.J. Brennan and Aube-Kubel. On the season, Varone has a plus-four rating. Varone is the reigning MVP of the league.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (AND STILL) … The Phantoms are currently facing their longest road trip of the season, a six-game swing that has seen them go from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Bridgeport, to Hartford, to Binghamton, to Hershey and then wrapping up Friday night back in Binghamton. On Sunday, Lehigh Valley failed to pick up a standings point on the road for the first time this season when they lost to Hershey 3-1. On the season, Lehigh Valley is 4-1-0-1 following a 20-13-2-3 record last season away from the PPL Center. Lehigh Valley is back home Saturday when they host Binghamton, playing the Devils for the third time in four games.