DECONSTRUCTING HEXTALL STATE-OF-TEAM ADDRESS
Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall's lengthy end-of-season press conference on Wednesday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees was not all the different in spirit than many of his games as a Flyers Hall of Fame goaltender, minus the fiery emotional outbursts. Off the ice, Hextall was much more contemplative and deliberate, but no less competitive.
On Wednesday, Hextall faced a barrage of shots in the form of leading questions. He played his own angles, challenged and refused to yield any ground. He left out a few rebounds that led to even more pointed follow-up questions but he turned those away, too. In the end, very little got past him and he revealed only the limited information he wanted to present in the first place.
Fundamentally, Hextall restated that he has not changed his philosophy whatsoever from the views he laid out when he became the team's general manager last spring: the team will not trade draft picks and young players for veteran quick fixes but it will also simultaneously give an earnest effort to get into the playoffs (i.e. not strip-mining the roster of veterans and doing a complete rebuild).
On Wednesday, Hextall reiterated recent statements that he'd like to add another skilled forward and a two-way defenseman during the offseason, whether via free agency or trades that do not involve selling off young players (at least without getting the same back).
Hextall adamantly refused to tip his hand whatsoever about Craig Berube's fate as head coach or to announce a timeline for a decision. The same two basic questions were asked about a dozen different ways but always led back to Hextall stating that he was doing a comprehensive evaluation and would neither rush a decision to appease outsiders nor would he draw any conclusions until it was done.
Hextall said several times that his Berube evaluation is a self-contained process and is not dependent whatsoever on which other candidates may or may not come onto the job market in the very near future (Mike Babcock, Todd McLellan, Claude Julien, Dave Tippett, etc). While that is not entirely believable -- considering alternative directions beforehand is very much the part of arriving at a choice on whether to stay the course -- it was also the only thing Hextall could say so as not to tip his hand publicly.
One thing Hextall did say was that his evaluation ultimately boils down to this: Did Berube get the most out of the majority of the personnel he was given?
That led to a variety of questions hammering away at Berube's usage and motivational handling of several players: namely Sean Couturier (particularly whether his offensive development has been unduly hampered by his heavy defensive zone usage), Steve Mason (return from injuries, criticism) and Vincent Lecavalier (fourth line role, frequent healthy scratches, playing right wing instead of his preferred center position). Secondarily, there were questions about the numbers game on the blueline.
Hextall was put so heavily on the defensive that he had no other choice but to fire back with statements that, if taken at superficial face value, would support a conclusion that the GM thinks Berube has the team on the right track despite missing the playoffs.
However, the most telling aspect of the press conference was this: Hextall said that he does not want the evaluation to drag out too much longer, out of fairness to Berube. Just as telling, at no time on Wednesday did the GM say anything resembling a statement that he felt his own part of the responsibility -- roster composition -- was a bigger issue in his estimation than whether the players performed to their capabilities or the coach pushed the right buttons and established the best possible on-ice process for getting long-term results.
Yes, Hextall made generic "we're all responsible, whether we are players, coaches or the general manager" statements. That is simply a platitude. At the end of Hextall's evaluation, he is certainly not going to resign as GM or decide he needs to radically change his long-term vision of the team. That's not to say he hasn't been doing a self-evaluation all along, but he presently has a level of job security that the coaching staff does not.
In terms of his own moves to date, Hextall really no choice but to staunchly defend the Scott Hartnell for R.J. Umberger trade, saying he'd do it again now even with the 20/20 hindsight of knowing that Umberger had a poor year and a variety of physical issues. He said one year is not enough by which to draw conclusions on whether the trade helped or hurt the team in the big picture, in his opinion.
Hextall clearly does feel that one year with him at the GM helm is enough time by which to draw a conclusion on whether Berube should be brought back for the final year of his contract as head coach. He's not tipping his hand as to what the decision will be but it would be very surprising at this point if Berube is behind the bench on opening night.
No boss ever talks about being so deliberate in a decision or "being fair to someone" in not artificially dragging out an evaluation when the end point is ever going to be anything other than parting ways.
In days to come, there will be blogs looking individually at Couturier, Mason, Lecavalier and the defensive rotation as specifically relates to the central question of evaluating Berube's management of the roster.
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FLYERS FARM REPORT
* The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (33-32-7-1) are idle until the weekend. The season will conclude with road games on Friday (Norfolk) and Saturday (Hershey) before the home finale on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. against Wilkes Barre/Scranton. Presumably, Rob Zepp will be in goal for two of the final three games with Anthony Stolarz getting one (most likely the middle) game.
* At Wednesday's press conference in Voorhees, Hextall said that the Phantoms season was a disappointment in terms of missing the playoff but he felt that being decimated by injuries and emergency NHL call-ups prevented the team from icing anything close to the planned roster heading into the season. Moreover, Hextall said he saw overall positives in player development.
* The general manager said that the relatively close proximity from Philadelphia/Voorhees to Allentown made it much easier to make regular firsthand observations of the farm team. He also felt that the new facilities at the PPL Center have already started to pay some dividends in terms of aspects of player development, such as benefiting in-season conditioning.
* Hextall said that Terry Murray wants to continue coaching but "like everyone, he would like another NHL job. Hextall said he plans to talk with Murray soon. The tone of Hextall's comments suggested he feels Murray has done a good job in the areas with which the parent club is most concerned: teaching structure and professionalism to developing players. While Hextall stopped short of suggesting what the next steps will be, the generally positive at least hinted at Hextall wanting Murray to remain in the organization in some capacity and the option of staying on as Phantoms coach will at least partially be up to what Murray himself wants to do for next season.
* QMJHL playoffs: The Val-d'Or Foreurs staved off elimination in their second round series with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar as they claimed a 4-3 win in double overtime. Baie-Comeau led 3-0 in Game Four before Val-d'Or rallied back to force OT. Flyers 2014 second-round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel recorded one assist for the winning side. Game Five will be on Friday night. Even if his team is eliminated, it is unlikely the Flyers would sign the prospect (who is under a slide-rule eligible entry-level contract starting next season) to an ATO deal to play the final game of the season for the Phantoms.
* QMJHL playofs: The Rimouski Oceanic grabbed a three games to one lead in their second-round series with the Gatineau Olympiques as they earned a 3-0 shutout on the road in Game Four. Flyers 2013 first-round prospect Samuel Morin did not figure in the scoring. He was plus-one in the game with one shot on goal and two hits. He mixed it up at the end of the game with Gatineau's Tommy Veilleux, with both players getting slashing penalties with the game clock expired. Earlier in the game, Morin and Valentin Zykov went off for coincidental roughing penalties in the latter part of the first period.
* WHL playoffs: The Calgary Hitmen took a three games to one lead in their second-round series with the Medicine Hat Tigers as they claimed a road 2-1 win in overtime on Wednesday. Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim (four goals, 13 points in 11 playoff games to date) did not get a point in this game but logged huge ice time -- including shifts on right defense -- and was on the ice for his team's overtime winner by Jordy Stallard. Flyers 2014 sixth-round pick Radel Fazleev (three goals, 10 points in 11 postseason games) did not get on the scoresheet. Calgary will try to close out the series on home ice in Game Five on Friday.
* WHL playoffs: The Kelowna Rockets were unable to complete a second-round sweep of the Victoria Royals, dropping a 5-4 overtime verdict in Game Four on Wednesday. Flyers 2013 third-round pick Tyrell Goulbourne was not involved in any of the scoring and was an even plus-minus for the game without taking any penalties. Kelowna will look to end the series at home in Game Five on Friday.
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FLYERS ALUMNI UPDATES FROM FlyersAlumni.org
* The Flyers Alumni will host a fantasy hockey camp from August 21-24 in Atlantic City, open to anyone age 21 and older. Instructors and Alumni participants will include Bernie Parent, Brian Propp, Ian Laperriere, Todd Fedoruk, Andre "Moose" Dupont, Dave "the Hammer" Schultz, Joe Watson and Bob "the Hound" Kelly.
The registration deadline is June 1. Participation costs $3,000 apiece but it is free to
register a spot online. Over on the Flyers' Alumni website, there is
more information on camp-related activities and on-ice schedules.
* The 11th annual installment of the Goals for Giving benefit game to raise funds for NHS Human Services was a smashing success. The April 12 game at the Flyers Skate Zone in northeast Philadelphia raised over $118,000 on behalf of the organization.
Over the previous 10 years, the NHS Human Services Foundation Goals for Giving Hockey Benefit raised $386,000 to support the programs and services of NHS Human Services. NHS provides nutritious foods to the needy and teaches life skills and food preparation to people with disabilities.The organization also supports autism-sensitive schooling as well as housing programs for the needy.
It is still possible to donate to the 2015 Goals for Giving drive to help the Alumni and NHS reach their $125,000 fundraising target goal. For more information on helping the cause,
click here.
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