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Philadelphia Flyers: Ron Hextall’s stubbornness this year led to his demise

By Benjamin Gabrych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 29: General Manager Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers speaks to the media in regards to the NHL trade deadline that had recently passed prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on February 29, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 29: General Manager Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers speaks to the media in regards to the NHL trade deadline that had recently passed prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on February 29, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall made a lot of good moves for the team, but his stubborn nature to stand behind his coaching staff and not make some sort of move ultimately led to his demise.

In a shocking turn of events, the Philadelphia Flyers announced on Monday morning that they relieved General Manager Ron Hextall of his duties with the team. Team President Paul Holmgren stated that Hextall and the organization “no longer shared the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team.” and Hextall was let go because of it.

With that quote clearly stating Hextall and Holmgren weren’t on the same page, it leads to ask what exactly led to the now former general manager’s demise? Hextall made some head-scratching decisions in the past, but it was his stubbornness to keep things the same this season that caused his downfall.

It has been more than clear that the Flyers needed some sort of change given their struggles this season. They rank last in overall team save percentage, second to last in penalty-kill percentage, and third to last in total Goals-Against. These poor statistics would normally lead to a Head Coach getting fired, but Hextall latched on to the boat of Dave Hakstol and ultimately sunk himself in doing so.

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He did nothing to fix the goaltending or penalty-killing units, either. Hextall went into this season with two often injured goaltenders in Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, truly thinking they would magically stay healthy. I personally didn’t have a problem with the Elliott signing, but signing Neuvirth to a two-year extension during the 2016-17 season was just an awful move.

Neuvirth had one of his worst statistical campaigns as a NHL goaltender that year and again showed he could never consistently stay healthy. He had plenty of opportunities to right that wrong, but decided to stand pat with what he had. Now, just 22 games in the 2018-19 campaign, Calvin Pickard is the starter while Elliott and Neuvirth nurse injuries. Pickard, whom Hextall acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on the waiver-wire earlier in the year, is obviously not the answer with a sub .900 save percentage for the Flyers this season.

All of this boils down to one thing, Ron Hextall’s refusal to make any changes to a team drowning in a sea of mediocrity. It’s always sad to see somebody lose their job, especially with all of the good work he did draft and salary-cap wise, but Hextall dug his own grave on this one. He should find work somewhere in the near future, and as somebody who was a fan of his, I hope he can learn from these mistakes.

Aube-Kubel looked solid in brief stint with the Flyers. dark. Next

The future of this Flyers team now rests in the hands of Holmgren, who will lead the search for a new General Manager. The pressure is certainly on given how high expectations were of this team coming into the season. Hopefully, he can make the correct decision.

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