Fruits of Hextall’s Labors: A Look at His 5 Best Moves as Flyers’ GM
Fired just over a year ago on November 26, 2018, Ron Hextall’s tenure as the Flyers general manager was hard to judge.
His handling of a Flyers team who were stuck in a ‘cap hell’, burdened by poor contracts handed out by previous GM Paul Holmgren was admirable, to say the least. With names like Ilya Bryzgalov, Vincent Lecavalier, and Andrew MacDonald all on the books, he had his work cut out for him the day he was hired back in 2014.
Along with a bleak salary cap situation, the Flyers prospect pool was also looking barren as Scott Laughton and Samuel Morin looked to be the team’s top prospects.
While the argument can be made that he was too conservative, and he was, Hextall has set up the Flyers with a promising future as he slowly, but surely gathered the pieces for a strong team.
On the Flyers current roster, Hextall had a role in bringing 10 of them in (seven through the draft and three free agents)
Let’s take a look at some of Hextall’s best moves.
Drafting Carter Hart and Oskar Lindblom
The rate that mid-round picks pan out in the NHL is slim to none but Hextall got these two absolutely right. Hart, drafted in the second round of the 2016 draft, has shown the potential of a franchise goaltender. The first we’ve seen in over two decades. The first goaltender drafted in the 2016 draft, Hextall chose Hart 48th overall over three other second-round goaltenders in Tyler Parsons (54th), Filip Gustavsson (55th), and Evan Fitzpatrick (59th).
While Hart was a top goaltending prospect coming into the draft, Oskar Lindblom was a true diamond in the rough. Now leading the Flyers with 11 goals, selecting Lindblom in the fifth round of the 2014 Draft has been Hextall’s greatest find.
Sean Couturier’s contract
Becoming one of the league’s best centers over the past few seasons, Sean Couturier arguably could be the biggest value in the NHL.
Signing in the summer of 2015, Couturier’s cap hit sits at just $4.33 million until 2021 – ranking 77th among all centers. While Couturier was not nearly the player he is now as he was coming off just a 37-point season, Hextall had excellent foresight to lock up a future Selke candidate and allow him to use the money elsewhere.
Kimmo Timonen trade
At the time, this trade looked like it was just a favor to Timonen to get him on a Stanley Cup contender where he had a real chance to win a Cup but this turned out to be a pivotal trade for the Flyers’ future.
As the Flyers were selling at the deadline, Hextall sent the 39-year-old Timonen to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for what turned out to be two second-round picks. The first of those picks was used to trade up to the 24th spot in the 2016 draft and select Travis Konecny. Now the Flyers leading scorer.
The other pick became Wade Allison who has become one of the best forwards in NCAA and looks to have middle-six potential down the road. Timonen gets a cup with the Blackhawks. The Flyers get two pieces for their future.
A true win-win for both sides.
Moving Vincent Lecavalier’s contract
While the return of Jordan Weal and a pick that became Carsen Twarynski is nothing special, getting out of Lecavalier’s $4.5 million cap hit was much-needed for cap-strapped Flyers team.
Inked by Paul Holmgren to a five-year/$22.5 million deal, a past-his-prime Lecavalier put up just 58 points in 133 games with the Flyers. The move to LA along with Luke Schenn opened the door for Hextall to spend money elsewhere along with bringing in a player with fourth-line potential in Carsen Twarynski.
Trading Chris Pronger’s contract and Nicklas Grossmann
A few months before the trade of Lecavalier, Hextall began the movement to clear cap space by sending essentially-retired Chris Pronger’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes who were trying to reach the cap floor.
Not playing since the 2011-12 season, Pronger’s $4.9 million cap hit looked like it would be nearly impossible to move but Hextall was able to find a perfect trade partner in the Coyotes and for the price of just Nick Grossmann?
An easy win for Hextall.
Honorable Mentions
- Zac Rinaldo to Boston for a third-round pick which became goalie Kirill Ustimenko
- Sending Braydon Coburn to Tampa Bay for Radko Gudas, a first-round pick (used to trade up for Travis Konecny), and a third-round pick which became goalie Matej Tomek
- Trading Brayden Schenn for two first-round picks who became Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. Oh, and Jori Lehtera.
Hextall’s time with the Flyers needed to come to an end as he took much too long to take the inevitable next step to become a true contender but his efforts should be celebrated. His ability to draft and develop talent paired with the ability to maneuver the salary cap has proved pivotal in the Flyers’ future.
With Chuck Fletcher now at the helm, he has an ideal situation to work with thanks to Hextall.
Featured Image: DAVID MAIALETTI
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