I'm curious how many people here think Hextall did a good job? I wish I know how to do a poll on here.

Here is a fact that shows how non competitive this team is.

Flyers have lost 7 games by 5 goals or more. 7 out of 42 games. So once in every 6 games they are losing by 5 goals or more. 17% of the games.

The Buffalo Sabres who had an 18 game losing streak, have lost 1 game in 42 by 5 goals or more.

can we protect less than the required number of players? this was looking like a tough decision not long ago, now I think there would be multiple players they'd be thrilled to lose.

Hextall was given the reigns as GM to turn around a team that had been run like there was no salary cap. This doesn't happen overnight and management knew what they were getting when they hired him. They also knew it was going to take time. A lot of time. Time to get bad contracts off the books. Time to draft and develop players properly. Time to change the culture of a team maximizing resources every year to go for it every year.

Hextall was given four to five years before management's balls shriveled up into themselves amid falling profits. Opting to sign a GM with an "action bias". Now we see that despite this action bias and maximizing of resources the team is still in the exact same spot its been in. Only now its worse due to the flat cap environment and resources maximized.

To Fletcher's credit, he has held off the barbarians at the gate for the most part so far but the way this season is playing out I am not at all optimistic about what happens this summer.
- StepfordSam

Do you have evidence of falling profits? Flyers attendance before 2019-20 stayed in the top 6 in each of the previous 5 seasons.

I don't know. I am just asking. Most NHL clubs get revenue from tix sales. With sales that high, I don't see much scope for fall.

who knew? Buffalo has a Ristolainen and a Ruotsalainen. And neither are related to Reijo.

Hextall was given the reigns as GM to turn around a team that had been run like there was no salary cap. This doesn't happen overnight and management knew what they were getting when they hired him. They also knew it was going to take time. A lot of time. Time to get bad contracts off the books. Time to draft and develop players properly. Time to change the culture of a team maximizing resources every year to go for it every year.

Hextall was given four to five years before management's balls shriveled up into themselves amid falling profits. Opting to sign a GM with an "action bias". Now we see that despite this action bias and maximizing of resources the team is still in the exact same spot its been in. Only now its worse due to the flat cap environment and resources maximized.

To Fletcher's credit, he has held off the barbarians at the gate for the most part so far but the way this season is playing out I am not at all optimistic about what happens this summer.
- StepfordSam

I fully agree wit your post. I give Fletch credit so far. No stupid deals at the deadline. The fix this team needs comes in the offseason. I am hoping that they don't make a monumental shift from the plan they wanted Hextall to execute, as it won't work in this era.

who knew? Buffalo has a Ristolainen and a Ruotsalainen. And neither are related to Reijo.
- backfire

I was certain that the latter would be related somehow.

dbth

I'm curious how many people here think Hextall did a good job? I wish I know how to do a poll on here.
- bradster

He is graded at an Incomplete.

For what its worth, I did disagree with Hextall on one issue, and that was originally maintaining the core of this team. I think it needed to be tweaked, especially after already going through a number of coaches and situations with the same issues present that we are seeing this season. But I don't think he was allowed to do that as the short term pain of the team would've been too great for management to handle.

Someone in your position could do us all a favour and call out what's become an absolute embarrassment to a once proud franchise. A management/ownership group that is an insult to what Snider's passion meant for us who have followed them.

No Bill. It's not just the players, or the fans that the media crew loves to blame. Its far above that.

The beat writers of this franchise are just as culpable in the accepted failure that has allowed to fester. To continue to stand pat, and not even attempt hold those in charge accountable is disgusting.

If you really are a fan of this team, then help them. Sitting by, in your position is unacceptable.
- FlyerFan3260

\

I love posts like this. lol

Please provide examples of what he can do. A march down Broad Street holding a banner? Resign his position? Write an angry column?

Then please explain how any of this will make an iota of difference to anything.
- PT21

yup

There is no evidence for it whatsoever as far as I can see. Based on what Bill said yesterday, the hockey part of the organization (Hexy/Holmgren) believed in 2014 that they could do a partial rebuild to contender status in 3-4 years while "staying competitive."

Unless we hear evidence that Dave Scott was responsible for the staying competitive part, it seems this is truly what the hockey guys thought.

And that's pretty stupid and shows that the absence of talent extends into the heart of the organization and has nothing to do with bean counters.
- PT21

Especially stupid when you had neglected the organizational depth for a full decade before deciding to partially rebuild. To think they could have turned it around in 3-4 years is laughable. They had almost nothing in the system at that point.

Please provide examples of what he can do. A march down Broad Street holding a banner? Resign his position? Write an angry column?

Then please explain how any of this will make an iota of difference to anything.
- PT21

This!

Hextall was given the reigns as GM to turn around a team that had been run like there was no salary cap. This doesn't happen overnight and management knew what they were getting when they hired him. They also knew it was going to take time. A lot of time. Time to get bad contracts off the books. Time to draft and develop players properly. Time to change the culture of a team maximizing resources every year to go for it every year.

Hextall was given four to five years before management's balls shriveled up into themselves amid falling profits. Opting to sign a GM with an "action bias". Now we see that despite this action bias and maximizing of resources the team is still in the exact same spot its been in. Only now its worse due to the flat cap environment and resources maximized.

To Fletcher's credit, he has held off the barbarians at the gate for the most part so far but the way this season is playing out I am not at all optimistic about what happens this summer.
- StepfordSam

Fletcher will have very little cap space to work with this summer. Players with NMC, players they will have to eat money to move etc.

Outside of trading Couturier or Provorov what can he do to bring back an impact player?

who knew? Buffalo has a Ristolainen and a Ruotsalainen. And neither are related to Reijo.
- backfire

I'd have assumed that Ristolainen wasn't.

who knew? Buffalo has a Ristolainen and a Ruotsalainen. And neither are related to Reijo.
- backfire

Common Finnish last names. BTW, Ruotsalainen literally means "Swedish". Have never gotten a full explanation about how that particular surname came about because those in Finland from Swedish origins generally just have Swedish surnames: Johansson, Holmström, Lindberg, Forslund,Dahlqvist, etc.

Fletcher will have very little cap space to work with this summer. Players with NMC, players they will have to eat money to move etc.

Outside of trading Couturier or Provorov what can he do to bring back an impact player?
- PLindbergh31

They have one player with an NMC past next season. They need Seattle to take Jake. You can move JVR and Ghost with salary retention. That is an additional $8-13mil in cap space. Easier said than done I know.

Realistically two of those players will be moved this offseason.

Especially stupid when you had neglected the organizational depth for a full decade before deciding to partially rebuild. To think they could have turned it around in 3-4 years is laughable. They had almost nothing in the system at that point.
- mickel25

The fact that Holmgren and Clarke are still pulling strings in this organization is proof positive of how inept Comcast is at running this franchise. Those two got us into this mess originally with all the crappy contracts. Maybe Mr. Snider didn’t help with his win now at any cost attitude. But Hexy had to dig out of a mess but these two guys are still pulling the strings. When Hexy was too patient, they got rid of him. Now we are stuck on stupid.

Especially stupid when you had neglected the organizational depth for a full decade before deciding to partially rebuild. To think they could have turned it around in 3-4 years is laughable. They had almost nothing in the system at that point.
- mickel25

That is precisely the difference between LA Hextall and Flyers Hextall. I have heard off-hand comparisons here that Hextall was following the same model that he was part of implementing in LA. That is absolutely not true.

Hextall joined LA in 2006. From 2003-2009 (6 years), LA did not make the playoffs. This would of course mean the first 3 years of his reign. They did not try to "stay competitive" and hope for luck in their draft picks.

From that 6 year period came: Brown (#13), Kopitar (#11), Quick (#72), Doughty (#2) and Schenn (#5), who was the centerpiece of the Richards trade.

They built their non-goalie championship core by picking high. As essentially everyone does. Then they added around it with players like Williams, Carter, Richards and so on.

Just have to put this out there... a lot of people are analyzing and complaining about the young players. People most of them are slotted wrong and player where they shouldn’t. Bee isn’t ready for top line role. Sanheim Myers aren’t ready for top steady roles. Patrick is and has been a bust please stop thinking he’s not. We need a true top dman a true top center (sorry mjl coots is not one) and we need a true top line goal scoring winger.

I wonder if we'll see the return of "Back With a Vengeance"!

I still have my t-shirt from the last time the organization collapsed!

Common Finnish last names. BTW, Ruotsalainen literally means "Swedish". Have never gotten a full explanation about how that particular surname came about because those in Finland from Swedish origins generally just have Swedish surnames: Johansson, Holmström, Lindberg, Forslund,Dahlqvist, etc.
- bmeltzer

Do you speak/read Finnish and/or Swedish?

Fletcher will have very little cap space to work with this summer. Players with NMC, players they will have to eat money to move etc.

Outside of trading Couturier or Provorov what can he do to bring back an impact player?
- PLindbergh31

Can start with trading our good players for other teams good players for a different makeup of players. I mentioned last blog TK for Reinhart trade, need someone that will actually go to the net.

There's a lot of hockey trades you can make where other teams need a shake up also. Calgary Buff Columbus come to mind. Even playoff teams that need to get over the hump will be looking to make some changes.

So true. If they were losing with effort I would watch. Still wouldn’t like losing but at least they are trying.

This is not what I grew up watching. This team is unwatchable.
- mickel25

Again this is why I am so upset and frustrated about the situation. I have watched losing teams, I am from Philly so that comes with it, but this way is different than anything I have experienced before in my life. The last 9-10 whatever years its been now is just unacceptable. Even the years they made the playoffs they put in way too many disgusting performances.

I just want to know what goes through a person's mind sitting in that locker room before the game, during intermission and after the game. Do the players really not give a (frank)? I can even understand if one or a couple guys are off or not trying, but a full lineup? You would think it would ONLY take one period for a player who will do anything to win to stand up and say "I'm busting my ass out there, WTF are you guys doing!?" At this point it has nothing to do with who wears the C or who has been there the longest or who scores the most points, it's about character of each and every individual on the ice. If there are any players on the Flyers that really do give a poop I would be ok if they asked to be traded, they do not deserve to be treated this way.

Then again maybe the motto in the locker room is "Keep doing what you are doing, eventually it will work out by itself." Maybe they use the Bryzgalov method "The Universe will tell them when it's time".

I wonder if we'll see the return of "Back With a Vengeance"!

I still have my t-shirt from the last time the organization collapsed!
- MrBuzzcut

Me too