PHILADELPHIA -- Surprisingly, Don Waddell was enjoying a last laugh of his NHL coaching career after his loseable but loveable Atlanta Thrashers pulled off a 7-4 victory in Philadelphia Monday night, ending a six-game winning streak for the Flyers and gracing Waddell's 10-game coaching career with an optimistic epilogue.

	GM Don Waddell enjoyed his 10-game stint behind the bench.

"I'll be the first coach to fire myself after a win," Waddell said with a grin.

Or was it just a burp of relief?

The Thrashers went 4-5-1 under Waddell, who will hand over the coaching reigns to Bob Hartley today. Waddell's tenure started with a victory in Carolina on Dec. 27, the Thrashers' first road win since Nov. 9 in Buffalo, and included three more wins on the road by the time Waddell spelled relief in Philly.

"There was a lot of emotion in the locker room before the game," said Waddell, 44. "Everybody knew what was going on. Nobody had to say anything. I heard guys talk about winning this one for myself. It's nice to hear that and nice to see them come out with this kind of effort.

"I came in with a win and we all wanted me to go out with a win. So I give the guys a lot of credit for pulling this out, not only for myself, but for all of them."

If that's the feeling Waddell is left with as he heads back upstairs, all the better ... if not completely true.

"Actually," Dany Heatley said when Waddell's words of appreciation were passed on to him, "we didn't really know everything that was going on here. You hear rumors, though. You know, with Don, it's not that much different. He's always around in the locker room with the guys, anyway."

When Waddell surprised no one by firing Curt Fraser on Dec. 26, he knew job security was at a premium on all levels of Atlanta's hockey hierarchy. Known the past few years as one of the NHL's best executive punchliners, Waddell knew it was time for a serious evaluation, and what better way to do that than become directly involved?

"It was a great experience for me," said Waddell, a front-office veteran whose only previous front-line coaching experience was in the defunct International Hockey League, last getting a taste of the action 11 years ago with the San Diego Gulls. "It's a whole different set of emotions coaching than as a GM. But it is a good feeling. I got to see guys right there in the war room. Not only between periods in the locker room, where you don't see them as a GM, but standing behind the bench when we had a lot of tough games. That helped me evaluate our players even better.

"You find that some guys are more leaders than you thought. Maybe they're not as vocal, but they're more of a leader by hard work. So no doubt, the evaluation process through these 10 games was really positive for me as a general manager."

He admitted he almost stayed on this thrill ride for the length of the season, and not only because of the way it ended in Philadelphia. There were, after all, that 8-1 loss in Ottawa and the 7-3 setback on Long Island to consider. Briefly.

So at other points in the near future, Waddell had to know he was going to be pulling at his correctly coifed scalp. Better that Hartley -- another guy who never seems to have a hair out of place -- handle the unavoidable tumbles.

Both know it will be best that way for the long haul.

"We talked about it, that we wanted to make the right decision, and not so much based on time," said Waddell, who interviewed current Flyers scout and veteran NHL head coach Terry Murray twice "I have to be honest, I was looking at the schedule the whole time in my mind and figuring that after this road trip we had to make a decision. We either had to hire somebody starting this week or I would have made the decision to stay on the rest of the season.

"In the end, we had some very, very strong people that I felt would do a good job for this hockey team. It was a tough decision to make, but there was one that I think is going to be great for our future, not only this year but for years to come.

"In this situation," Waddell added, "you look for the type of coach you want. We wanted the experienced guy that has dealt with young players. We have a young team that has potential superstars and you need somebody that can help those players continue to grow."

Hartley, who will have to hire at least one assistant coach -- only assistant Steve Weeks is retained from Fraser's staff -- is certainly more than qualified. The 41-year-old former paper mill worker was the first NHL coach to reach the conference finals in his first four seasons, but is still less than a month removed from feeling the shock of Pierre Lacroix's unforgiving axe in Colorado.

Instead of refined leaders such as Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, Hartley will have to deal with raw talents Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk. Collectively, that's all the offensive talent in the world. But it barely hints of defensive aptitude and cries for sharp-edged schooling.

"Discipline is a big factor for every coach now," said Waddell. "Being with a young team you have to be aware of your weaknesses and needs. Certainly our young players need structure, no doubt about it."

Start with Kovalchuk's constant cheating on defense, go to Heatley's wildly extended shifts, throw several looks toward whatever Patrik Stefan's doing ... Doctor Bob certainly has his work cut out for him. But Waddell says that at least now, he has seen for himself that with proper direction, this team can work.

"You learn the emotions of your players behind the bench," said Waddell. "As a GM, you don't see some of those things. Downstairs you find out about a lot of guys. But you also learn how hard these guys work and you learn to appreciate it a lot more."

Rob Parent of the Delaware County (Pa.) Times is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.