If Ron Hextall Wants To Keep His Spot In The Flyers Hall Of Fame, He'll Rot The Penguins From Inside As The Next GM In Pittsburgh
Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.Well….this is just the worst.
Ron Hextall is one of the sickest bastards in the world of hockey. He has the all-time record for most penalty minutes by an NHL goaltender, and he has damn near 100 PIMs on Billy Smith at #2. He had over 100 penalty minutes in each of his first 3 seasons in the NHL. This man's wires are permanently crossed.
So I wouldn't be shocked if this maniac has been plotting his revenge ever since he was fired by Philly in November '18. And what better way to get that revenge than by taking the wheel in Pittsburgh?
The end of the Hextall era in Philly was obviously an absolute nightmare. Mostly because he was too stubborn and too arrogant to admit that he was wrong when he hired Dave Hakstol to coach this team. He was extremely set on doing this his way and if anybody disagreed, they could fuck off. He wasn't going to fire Hakstol. He wasn't going to call up Carter Hart. He wanted to control every little thing about the organization. But from a purely hockey perspective, Hextall mostly kicked ass at his job.
He drafted like a mad man. He was responsible for bringing in Provorov, Konecny, Sanheim, Carter Hart, Lindblom, Farabee and Frost. He built up the Flyers prospect pipeline and was the main architect behind the Flyers being a top 5 team in the league right now. I'm sure that if he would have just been able to admit that he fucked up when hiring Hakstol and canned him before Comcast had to step in, he'd still be here today. So he clearly knows how to patiently build a Stanley Cup contending roster, and now he also has the motivation to destroy the Flyers. Not good!
UNLESS….
Unless Comcast was smart enough to see this coming. That company might be a bunch of dirtballs who nickel and dime you to death on your internet bill, but they know how to do business. And it would be in their best interest if they were able to keep Ron Hextall in their pocket and eventually send him to Pittsburgh to do a little destruction from the inside. Double Oh 27.
A team who has maybe 2 years left on the window with Crosby and Malkin? Hexy can go in there and completely waste those final years of 87 and 71 while trying to construct a roster intended for the 2027-28 season. Send Guentzel packing. Give Cody Ceci a 5-year extension. Maybe put Tristan Jarry down in the AHL for the next few seasons.
If anything like that is the masterplan for Hextall in Pittsburgh? Well then he can keep his spot in the Flyers Hall of Fame for the rest of eternity. But I just have a horrible feeling that Hextall is joining the Empire right now and the Flyers will be his Alderaan.