On Friday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that Ron Hextall has been relieved of his duties as General Manager.
Why does this matter for the Philadelphia Flyers? Well, Hextall is looking for a job, it would be no surprise if the Flyers brought him back.
According to Tony Androckitis, following the news of Hextall being fired, he noted a Flyers reunion with the former goaltender is not out of the question.
“[Don’t] rule out the possibility of Hextall returning to the Flyers restructured front office.” Androckitis reported. “Something to keep an eye on during the off-season.”
Hextall and current GM Danny Briere were in the Flyers front office together in 2017. This was near the end of Hextall’s tenure, being fired a year later.
Hextall was arguably relieved of his duties before he could fully see the process he started to come to fruition. Focusing on rebuilding and becoming a contender in the foreseeable future.
The now 59-year-old, respectfully, had a plan and many fans seem to believe it was ever executed. Opening the door for Briere and the new regime, bringing Hextall back to help finish what he started.
When Hexy arrived, he was greeted with a depleted prospect system and a brutal cap strain. Nearing his departure, the pool blossomed with talent, and the club was no longer in cap hell. During his time, he would be involved in at least one trade involving draft picks changing hands every summer.
Through 2014-18, Hextall’s draft picks were great on paper. Five of the six listed below paved pretty successful careers in the orange and black.
2014: D Travis Sanheim (Rd 1, 17th Overall), F Oskar Lindblom (Rd 5, 138th Overall)
2015: D Ivan Provorov (Rd 1, 7th Overall) F Travis Konecny (Rd 1, 24th Overall)
2016: G Carter Hart (Rd 2, 48th Overall)
2017: F Nolan Patrick (Rd 1, 2nd Overall)
2018: F Joel Farabee (Rd 1, 14th Overall)
Everything has a price, however. In a not-so-fan-friendly move, Hextall dealt Brayden Schenn to St. Louis for Jori Lehtera and two first-round picks in 2017. Hextall drafted Nolan Patrick and Morgan Frost in the first round. Looking at 2016 is probably the best draft behind 2015, acquiring a franchise goalie in the 2nd round is really a steal.
Hextall knows the roster well and could help Briere out wherever necessary, not necessarily in a Manager role but something that gives Hextall more freedom. A role where he can help both the players and management in the best ways possible.
By: Dylan Robillard
brotherlypuck.com 