Ron Hextall. Two words, 10 letters, all meaning the same thing to a majority of Flyers fans: failure. Failure to launch, failure to progress, failure to succeed. Just an all-out failure. The funny thing is, it didn’t start that way. When Hextall took the reins from Paul Holmgren as General Manager of the Flyers, many viewed it as a breath of fresh air. The Flyers were getting back one of the best goalies in franchise history as their GM. While stellar on the ice or with a whack to the back of the knees, his tenure as GM was anything but.
Hextall began by preaching patience. A team that was plagued with so many bad contracts and aging veterans needed to be purged of just that. It needed to be done to move forward with Hextall’s master plan. Honestly, it started off on the right foot. Hextall made quick work and started clearing out veterans with big contracts, all the while getting back prospects and picks that he would hoard like your mother with all those terrible art projects from elementary school.
What quickly began with some promise ended up blowing up in our faces. There’s no need to recap every little move that made it that way just yet, but Hextall’s tenure ended how a lot of the Flyers seasons did while he was GM, disappointingly.
Even more disappointing is what came out today as part of the Cam & Strick podcast. On their latest episode, Cam Janssen & Andy Strickland talk to Flyers legend Bobby Clarke about a multitude of topics. The most eye-opening topic they discuss is Ron Hextall and his tenure as General Manager of the Flyers. While Clarke has always been a straight-shooter, his answers to some of Janssen & Strickland’s questions were even more to the point than many expected. To put it bluntly, Clarke pulled no punches when discussing how Ron Hextall was when at the helm of the Flyers.
Many of those answers solidified reports that have been out since Hextall’s firing. The candidness added to the sheer frustration boiling over in many of Hextall’s detractors. Whether it was his whiff at attempting to acquire Ryan O’Reilly from Buffalo or his decisions that nobody ever knew about, there were plenty of reasons to look at Hextall in a different light than the one shone upon him when first taking over in Philadelphia.
The biggest takeaway from Clarke’s time on “Cam & Strick” was that Hextall essentially went rogue, and almost right off the bat. Many of his decisions were made by him. Rarely did he consult with other members of the organization when making important decisions revolving around the team. Add it to the list of reasons why it really is ok to be mad at Ron Hextall for the job he did as GM of the Flyers.
Alienating the Organization
Hextall was known for his tight-lipped approach to everything. Whether it was the renowned “upper/lower body injury” or what the approach would be every off-season, his moves weren’t broadcasted like the Flyers have done in the past and even now, to an extent. Articles such as this one from Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad go into detail about how Hextall had a tyrannical-like grip on this franchise. Even moreso, Clarke detailed some more specifics when Hextall initially took over for the Flyers.
“(Hextall) alienated everybody right away. He shut his door. He locked his doors. He was the boss and nobody else was a part of it.”
Part of another quote from Clarke during the podcast elaborated on the current position of the team and how it’s gotten to be so bad.
“…That’s why we’re struggling. Hexy made some huge mistakes and more than that, just alienating everybody. He never included anybody. “
Draft choices were made without any scout being consulted. The same goes for when the Flyers made a trade on draft day. Nobody ever knew what Hextall was going to do because he never kept those in power in the loop. He was the only one in power, at least in his own mind. He made the decisions and it was his team. Clarke summed it up best with this gem.
“He made himself bigger than the team.”
The Only Voice that Matters
In making himself “bigger than the team,” Hextall convinced himself that his voice was the one that was to be heard. He was going to be the end-all, be-all. That was never more evident than the night of the 2017 NHL Draft. The Flyers came into the draft that year with the number two overall selection. Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick were the consensus top picks that year. While there were some well-documented issues for Patrick heading into the draft, it didn’t seem to phase the Flyers. Strike that, it didn’t seem to phase Ron Hextall.
“None of our scouts wanted Nolan Patrick… They wanted Makar, of course he went next. Now he’s a superstar & Patrick hasn’t played… Hextall made that choice himself.”
Forgoing the advice of his scouts is one thing when it comes to the draft. The gift of hindsight has shown us that the pick really was a whiff on Hextall’s part. Many will argue, “there would have been such an uproar if the Flyers hadn’t chosen Patrick at number two.” While correct in that assumption, there’s an uproar right now because that pick didn’t pan out. Is it easier to fathom a year-or-so long uproar before Makar turned into a superstar, and the uproar is squelched? How are fans coping with the fact that we made the “right” selection at the time even though Nolan Patrick is no longer part of the team and did next to nothing for this franchise during his time in Philadelphia?
Hextall then turns around and trades Brayden Schenn for Jori Lehtera and two first-round picks. Par the course for Hextall’s plan to stock up on picks and prospects, but not par the course for the scouts and Bob Clarke, who had no idea this was happening.
“Nobody knew it. Hexy made that on his own. All our scouts that were at the draft, our scouts were so mad at Hexy for doing that… I sat at the table three seats away from him when he traded Schenn. Didn’t have a clue.”
Not only does the man completely disregard the department that is responsible for reporting on the players in the NHL draft. He then goes and makes a trade without consulting with anyone else before making said trade. An argument could be made that he is the General Manager and what he says goes. However, it’s a bit reckless and irresponsible to not involve those responsible for the scouting reports on the prospects. It’s also reckless and irresponsible to not include the NHL scouts whose job it is to report on other teams to him.
What Could Have Been
What could have been will always be the mantra to Ron Hextall’s tenure as GM of the Flyers. Hextall will always wonder what could have been if he was afforded the opportunity to see his plan through. Fans will always wonder what could have been if the Flyers hired a GM that actually listened to his advisors. If the Flyers had, they would likely have either Cale Makar or Miro Heiskanen on their blueline.
The fun doesn’t stop there!
Apparently, the Flyers had their crack at acquiring Ryan O’Reilly when he was on the market as well. The former Buffalo Sabre was up for grabs during the summer of 2018. Bob Clarke mentioned the circumstances surrounding his availability and what happened behind the scenes with the Flyers in regards to acquiring the former Conn Smythe winning center.
“We also had a chance to get O’Reilly from Buffalo but we didn’t. Obviously, that was the manager’s decision but it was another one that the scouts weren’t consulted on.”
A game of “what-ifs” is always fun, but never as much fun if the “what-if” is something that could or should have been. After the Brayden Schenn deal, the Flyers needed depth at center. O’Reilly would have been a wonderful compliment to a blossoming Sean Couturier, providing a solid one-two punch down the middle of the ice. The fact that Ron Hextall balked at acquiring him only solidifies the feeling of resentment towards him for many.
You could still play the “what-if” game with Brayden Schenn as well. If the Flyers had kept him, they may not be in the position they’re in now. It’s no secret that their center depth is lacking. Since being acquired by St. Louis, Schenn has 91 goals and 139 assists in 303 games for the Blues.
Keeping him would have put the Flyers in a better position than they are currently in. Sure, the Flyers got Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost for Schenn. That’s fair.Frost has played 38 NHL games since being drafted in 2017 and has 13 points to show for it. Farabee has been pretty good, but Schenn is much more established in this league.
Drafting
While many tout Hextall’s drafting prowess as his biggest strength, fans are finally seeing that it may not have been. Sure, 14 of his 36 draft choices have played in the NHL. That’s a succession rate of 38.9% which isn’t terrible.
Breaking that down however, you see that only five of those 14 are regular NHL players. Carter Hart, Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, and if you want to consider him a regular, Nolan Patrick. Two of those 14 have seen two or less games in the NHL, Felix Sandstrom and Maksim Sushko. The other seven players are tweeners, floating between the NHL and AHL, some even the ECHL.
14 of those players never made it to the AHL for the Flyers. Cooper Marody and Wyatt Kalynuk have since made it, but with the Bakersfield Condors and the Rockford Icehogs, respectfully.
For a man that was highly regarded as a draft guru, many of Hextall’s picks never panned out for the Flyers. The next best step was for them to be valuable trade chips, but the best return they might have gotten for one of Hextall’s picks was a third rounder for seventh-round selection Cooper Marody.
Summing it up
Feel how you want to feel. That’s the beauty of life, right? Everyone is entitled to feel one way or another about everything. You can say that you liked Ron Hextall and what he did while with the Flyers wasn’t all bad. Sure. You can absolutely despise the man for setting the franchise back for an entire decade. That’s cool too.
Either way you want to feel, you’re justified in feeling that way. It’s no secret that Ron Hextall had his successes. He was able to rid the Flyers of some of the worst contracts they’ve had in recent memory. He also completely neglected the NHL roster, rendering this team as frustrating to watch as most of us could handle.
It’s ok to feel one way or the other. It’s ok to blame Ron Hextall for this current teams shortcomings. Quite frankly, the problems they’re facing are somewhat of a direct result of Hextall’s drafting and decision making. Hearing the points made by Bob Clarke himself should reaffirm that stance.
In all reality, Hextall did set this franchise back a good bit. Fans have every right to be frustrated. Let them cope how they want to cope.
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