Chuck Fletcher says the search for Dave Hakstol's replacement behind the Philadelphia Flyers' bench is wide open.

"At this point, everyone is a candidate moving forward," the general manager told reporters Monday. "This will be a process."

Hakstol was fired Monday following four straight losses and a 1-4 road trip.

Fletcher said he hasn't asked the Chicago Blackhawks for permission to interview former head coach Joel Quenneville, nor has he spoken to him, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. Quenneville was linked to the club in an earlier report that Hakstol had been fired.

Fletcher also said he expects Scott Gordon, who was named interim bench boss Monday, to remain head coach for the rest of the season.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have dismissed head coach Dave Hakstol, the club announced Monday.

Scott Gordon will serve as interim bench boss.

The Flyers have lost four games in a row, including a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Philadelphia currently holds the third-worst record in the NHL and sits in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Hakstol served behind the Flyers' bench for three-plus seasons, compiling a 134-101-42 record. He led the team to the playoffs in two of the three previous campaigns but lost in the first round both times.

Philadelphia also fired general manager Ron Hextall in late November before eventually replacing him with former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher.

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Kyle Dubas doesn't appear too concerned two of his best players could be targeted by opposing clubs in restricted free agency.

The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager downplayed the potential danger of having to match offer sheets for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in the summer of 2019.

“When I look around the league right now, for whatever reason, it seems like the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only team that is going to be a target of an offer sheet. Seems interesting to me," Dubas told reporters, including NHL.com's Dave McCarthy, on Monday.

"Our salary cap situation is set up (in a way) that we could defend any of those threats with no worry at all," the Leafs GM added. "They've become a huge topic of late, but I spend zero percent of my time having any worry about that."

Both Matthews and Marner are pending RFAs who could be signed to offer sheets if Toronto doesn't sign them to extensions before July 1. The Leafs are expected to have more than $23 million in cap space for 2019-20.

Dubas said Monday he is actively trying to get the Matthews and Marner deals done before July 1.

"We continue to have discussions with (Matthews' agent) Judd Moldaver and (Marner's representative) Darren Ferris, and both of their camps," the GM told McCarthy. "It will be our intention to try to get those (done) as soon as possible."

Toronto forward William Nylander reached restricted free agency last summer and missed roughly the first two months of this season while negotiating a new deal. The two sides eventually agreed upon a contract minutes before the deadline at 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 1.

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Ken Hitchcock wasn't happy with the way officials handled the Vancouver Canucks' tactics against Connor McDavid on Sunday night.

The Edmonton Oilers head coach didn't want to address the overall disparity in penalty calls after his team's 4-2 loss. But he did express displeasure with the way his superstar - in his view - was restricted without repercussions.

"I'm not going to comment on the penalties, but the stuff that really bothers me is what's happening to Connor," Hitchcock told reporters postgame. "We're a league that's supposed to showcase our top players - and you don't want to give them all the freedom - but the tug-of-war on him was absolutely ridiculous (Sunday) and that's a little bit discouraging, to be honest with you.

"I can see the whack-and-hacking going on when he's got the puck, but to me, it's all the stuff behind (the play) that doesn't allow him to showcase his speed, and if that's what we want, well, that's fine, but I think it's a real disservice to a player like him."

McDavid logged more than 23 minutes of ice time in the game but managed only one shot on goal. He tallied a lone assist on Alex Chiasson's third-period marker.

"He's not allowed to play give-and-go, it's give-and-hold, so we're going to have to figure out a way to fight through it, or we'll just play toughness with them and figure it out from there," Hitchcock said.

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Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford suffered a concussion after a collision during Sunday night's game against the San Jose Sharks, head coach Jeremy Colliton confirmed postgame, according to ChicagoBlackhawks.com's Chris Wescott.

Crawford was forced from Sunday's 7-3 loss late in the first period after Evander Kane shoved Dylan Strome into the veteran netminder after a failed scoring chance.

The 33-year-old missed the first five games of the season with a concussion he suffered last season. He previously hadn't played since Dec. 23, 2017.

"Crow is such a big part of our team," Connor Murphy said. "To lose him is not good. You just feel for him. In a game like that where there were parts where our goalie is hung out to dry and then for them to take guys crashing on him is not fair either."

Crawford's posted a 6-14-2 record with a 3.28 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage this season. His backup, Cam Ward, has recorded a 4.17 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.

The news is another blow to a struggling Blackhawks club that sits with just 26 points on the season, the second-lowest total in the NHL.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have denied a report that head coach Dave Hakstol has been fired and Joel Quenneville hired to be the team's new bench boss, with a spokesperson telling Sam Carchidi of The Inquirer that the organization had "nothing new to report."

Sources told Dave Isaac of the Courier Post on Sunday that the team had decided to move on from Hakstol and turn to the former Blackhawks coach to run the team.

Quenneville told Andy Strickland of FOX Sports Midwest shortly after that the report that he'd accepted the job wasn't true.

Hakstol is in his fourth season with the Flyers and has compiled a 134-101-42 record in 277 games. Under Hakstol, the Flyers have reached the postseason twice - last season and in 2015-16. They were dismissed in the first round in six games each time.

It's not been an easy go for the Flyers in December. They are 2-3-2 in seven games and are returning home after going 0-3-1 during a swing through Western Canada.

The club abruptly fired general manager Ron Hextall in late November and later replaced him with Chuck Fletcher. Since Hextall's dismissal, the Flyers have dropped six of their past eight games.

The club currently finds itself in last place in the Eastern Conference with 28 points in through 31 games.

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