Ron Hextall being let go as General Manager of the Flyers earlier on Monday came as a shock to many. While some expected some changes to be made, relieving a GM midseason isn’t something that happens too frequently; the last one occurred in 2013 when Columbus relieved Scott Howson of his duties. Instead, usually the head coach takes the fall or a substantial trade is made to shake up the core but that isn’t happening here, at least for now. There has been plenty of mixed reaction to this around the hockey world today, some of which are highlighted below.
- Kevin Allen of USA Today suggests that Hextall’s inability to find a long-term solution between the pipes was his biggest failing as GM. While there is certainly optimism surrounding Carter Hart, he may still be a couple of years away from being ready to make an NHL impact after a slow start in the minors. Rather than change things up this summer, he opted to stay with veterans Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth and the two have helped lead Philadelphia to a league-worst save percentage. (Both happen to be injured at the moment as well.)
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News believes that while a change needed to be made, this wasn’t it. He notes that Hextall had finally alleviated their long-time salary cap concerns and had positioned themselves to make a trade of significance in the days to come. He also speculates that a new GM could come in and clean house behind the bench which could create another potential landing spot for former Chicago bench boss Joel Quenneville.
- Mike Sielski, also of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, opines that Philadelphia’s playoff berths in 2016 and 2018 were ultimately counterproductive as Hextall was still in the process of reshaping and building up their infrastructure. However, the fact that they made the postseason created a level of urgency and impatience which goes against Hextall’s patient approach.
- TSN’s Frank Seravalli notes (video link) that in Hextall’s tenure as GM, there wasn’t a single trade made to significantly bolster their talent level – they were filling holes, clearing cap space, or building for the future. As a result, his legacy will ultimately be complicated – while the team is better positioned for the long-term now compared to when he took over, his teams will largely be remembered for their mediocrity and inability to live up to expectations.
Hextall didn’t really improve the defense in front of his goalies either. The goaltending has been poor for sure, but the defense in front of the goalies hasn’t been great either. They make a lot of mistakes & that makes your goalie issues more pronounced. A bad defense combined with suspect goaltending is not a formula for success
How can you improve the defense and goaltending when you have zero cap space & no surplus of talent in the minors to trade away? They need this season and next to tank before they are ready to make moves and be really good for the next 10 years. it’s the same thing the Phillies had to admit and go through. There was finally light at the end of the tunnel. Sure the coach has to go and it’s time to dump some of the veterans but you need some type of product on the ice to hold things over and that’s what Hextall was doing. Hey front office…its not the 70’s.
Provorov and Gostisbehere are young and talented though.
Holmgren signed Ghost,not Hextall
Holmgren didn’t even know Ghost, he had to be sold on him by Chris Pryor and John Riley. Riley had been scouting him for awhile and sent video to Pryor. Holmgren officially drafted him but I give him zero credit. Flyers just fired the guy who should get a lot of credit for most of if not all of the Flyers draft success.
This is silly, Hextall tried to rebuild this franchise, but the people above him wanted to continue to compete and be playoff contenders. Why hire the known to be patient Hextall if you don’t want to deal with the poor to mediocre teams involved in a rebuild. Hextall never even got a chance to 100% commit to the rebuild. Forced to patch up holes to compete instead of trade away older, more expensive players for picks and younger assets. You can’t be impatient and go half ass rebuild and expect it to work.