VOORHEES, N.J. -- Ed Snider and Bob Clarke haven't decided Bill Barber's future just yet. The players have their own opinions about what should happen.

After failing to get past the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year under Barber and fourth time in five seasons, the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to make several changes this offseason.

The first move could be firing Barber, who was the NHL's coach of the year last season. Snider, the team chairman, and Clarke, the general manager, met with several players on Monday, but didn't speak to reporters.

Some of the players had plenty to say, however.

"There were a lot of problems, not only in the playoffs but in the last two and a half, three months," goaltender Brian Boucher said. "There were meetings about meetings, and it seemed like nothing got solved. Guys made suggestions about what we felt was needed. I think for the most part players felt we didn't get it.

"It was just frustrating because it wasn't something that just popped up at the end. It's been something that's been growing and festering and everybody knew it. We're a team that was playing like it was just coming out of training camp -- in March. We weren't playing like a team that was finely tuned. So, those are problems and we knew it."

Team captain Keith Primeau said players tried to talk to Barber and the coaching staff about some of the problems, but didn't get a positive reaction.

"Stop making suggestions, just go play. Work harder," Primeau said is what they were told.

With a payroll of $55.5 million and a roster at the start of the season that included seven players who have been All-Stars and three former 50-goal scorers, Philadelphia was a strong favorite to reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Instead, the Flyers established an NHL record for futility, becoming the first team to go five consecutive games -- dating to last season -- without scoring a goal in postseason regulation time.

"I'm disappointed as anybody is," Barber said. "I'm not going to sit here and harp on negatives. I've been through too much to sit here and dwell on the negatives."

The Flyers were 31-16-7 after Barber took over for Craig Ramsay in December 2000, but they lost in six games to Buffalo in the playoffs. They won the Atlantic Division and finished second in the conference this year, but lost to Ottawa in five games -- scoring only two goals.

"If you try and get 20 guys trying to coach, it's tough. But we tried," Boucher said. "The guys wanted to win, but it was really a tough situation to be in. We knew as a team we needed some direction, and it was just difficult because in the end our heads were going eight different ways."

Barber's season was even more difficult after he lost his wife Jenny to lung cancer in December.

Now, the players are criticizing his coaching methods.

"We had the worst power play in the league, why are we not practicing it?" Primeau said. "The tirades on the bench. All season long we said if someone makes a mistake, they're getting yelled at. We say when we come to the bench, make that adjustment. He wants the player to make the adjustment. Our job is to play. I felt like I was having to make the adjustments on the bench. I don't feel that's part of my job description."

While Barber seems to be getting all the blame, Clarke should at least share it. He spent $101 million on long-term contracts last summer, including a $45 million, five-year deal for forward John LeClair, who scored just 25 goals and was terrible in the playoffs with no points. He also traded a top prospect and three draft picks for 39-year-old center Adam Oates at the trade deadline.

The Flyers struggled at the start of the season, and were 15-10-5-1 by the middle of December. But, they went 18-5-1-2 over the next two months, and had the best record in the East at the Olympic break.

After returning from the break, Philadelphia won just nine of its last 26 games, a sign of the misery to come.

"I'm not going to sit here and fingerpoint at any players," Barber said. "We all have to assume that responsibility. I'll stand tall with everything, that's the way I am."

He could be standing alone soon.