Scott Gordon, former Islanders coach, will direct Phantoms

The Flyers have hired a coach with NHL experience to guide the American Hockey League's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The team announced Monday that Scott Gordon, 52, will coach the Phantoms, replacing Terry Murray, who is now an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres.

Gordon is looking forward to working with the team's prospects. "It's really exciting," Gordon said in a conference call with reporters.

He served as an assistant for three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011-14. Before that, he spent parts of three seasons as the New York Islanders' head coach, compiling a 64-94-23 record from 2008-10.

Gordon was the head coach of the AHL's Providence Bruins for parts of six seasons, compiling a 221-141-47 record and earning playoff berths five times.

He said the intriguing part about working in the AHL is that there is more time to teach the game. "For me, I was really shocked by the lack of practice time [in the NHL]," Gordon said. "That was the biggest difference."

The Flyers also announced that Riley Cote will return for his sixth season as a Phantoms assistant.

The salary arbitration date for restricted free-agent defenseman Michael Del Zotto will be July 21. The Flyers retained his rights with a $1.3 million qualifying offer.

@sjnard