Colin Campbell has turned down a chance to clean up the NHL mess that is the Philadelphia Flyers.

The league's director of hockey operations notified Flyers owner Ed Snider of his decision following a discussion about the vacant general manager's job.

Colin Campbell was an assistant coach with the 1994 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers.
(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

"We had discussions earlier on, not recently, after they decided to make changes there," Campbell told the Canadian Press on Wednesday. "Mr. Snider and myself work closely together with the competition committee. We did discuss the situation with his team after Bob Clarke decided to step down.

"But it wasn't the right thing for me, personally, for that discussion to continue at this particular time."

Clarke resigned as GM on Oct. 22 after the Flyers opened the season with a 1-6-1 record, their worst start in 17 years.

Paul Holmgren took over as interim GM. He will continue in that role, Snider said in a statement released Wednesday by the Flyers. "There will be no other statements concerning this issue."

Campbell played 11 NHL seasons before retiring in 1985 and joining the Detroit Red Wings as an assistant coach.

He joined the New York Rangers in 1990 as an assistant under head coach Mike Keenan, and was part of the coaching staff when the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the 1994 Stanley Cup.

Campbell replaced Keenan after the Cup win, and held the position until joining the NHL as an executive in 1998.

Campbell, who works out of the league's Toronto office, was also linked to a GM job with the St. Louis Blues late last season but Larry Pleau was re-signed after new ownership took over in the spring.

Philadelphia has improved to 3-7-1 under coach John Stevens, who replaced the fired Ken Hitchcock on Oct. 22, but the team remains last in the 15-team Eastern Conference.