Paul Holmgren Paul Howard Holmgren ( born December 2 , 1955 ) is a retired American professional player and is the current President of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Playing career . Holmgren was selected by the Edmonton Oilers 67th overall in the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft . He never played for Edmonton as his WHA rights were traded to the Minnesota Fighting Saints . A year later he was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers 108th overall in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft . He began his professional career with the Fighting Saints in 1975 – 76 , but left the team three days before it folded on February 28 , 1976 , because of financial problems . He signed with the Flyers shortly after and made his NHL debut a month later . Holmgren ' s hectic first professional season nearly ended in tragic fashion . While playing for the Richmond Robins , the Flyers AHL affiliate at the time , he suffered a scratched cornea . He was rushed to surgery in a Boston hospital and an allergic reaction to the anesthetic nearly cost him his life . Holmgren spent the next eight seasons in Philadelphia and was annually among the team ' s leaders in penalty minutes and was also able to contribute offense . He posted career highs in goals ( 30 ) and points ( 65 ) in 1979 – 80 and added 10 goals and 10 assists during the Flyers playoff run . His three goals in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals was the first time a U . S . - born player scored a hat trick in a Cup Finals game . The next season , he was invited to the 1981 NHL All - Star game and also the United States 1981 Canada Cup team ( he separated his shoulder at Team USA ' s Canada Cup training camp in August 1981 and missed the tournament itself as well as the start of the 1981 – 82 NHL season ) . Holmgren was traded to the Minnesota North Stars mid - way through 1983 – 84 . He left Philly with 1 , 600 penalty minutes , the most in Flyers franchise history up until Rick Tocchet broke the record during the 1991 – 92 season . He only played 27 regular season and 15 playoff games with the North Stars as he retired after the 1984 – 85 season . Coaching / Management career . Holmgren immediately moved into coaching upon retiring , becoming an Assistant Coach with the Flyers under second - year coach Mike Keenan . After Keenan was fired following the 1987 – 88 season , Holmgren became the first former Flyer to be named the team ' s Head Coach . During his first season as coach the Flyers made an unexpected run to the Wales Conference Finals before bowing out to the Montreal Canadiens in six games . This playoff run included an improbable 4 games to 3 second - round victory over Mario Lemieux ' s Pittsburgh Penguins ; with the clincher coming on the road in a thrilling game 7 . The team missed the playoffs the next two seasons , however , and midway through his fourth season as coach he was fired . He remained with the organization as a scout until he moved on to the Hartford Whalers , where he spent time as Head Coach and Interim General Manager of the club . He returned to Philadelphia during the 1995 – 96 season as the Director of Pro Scouting . He was named the Director of Player Personnel following the 1996 – 97 season and was named Assistant General Manager following the 1998 – 99 season . He served in that position under General Manager Bob Clarke until Clarke resigned a month into the 2006 – 07 season . Holmgren was named General Manager of the club and has been signed on through the 2008 – 09 season . Some of Holmgren ' s most notable transacations to date include the acquisitions of Martin Biron , Braydon Coburn , Daniel Briere , Scott Hartnell , Joffrey Lupul , Jason Smith and Kimmo Timonen . On May 7 , 2014 , Holmgren was named the new president of the Philadelphia Flyers .