Ron Hextall

At 59 years old, Ron Hextall has this physical status:

Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, and New York Islanders.

He served as assistant general manager for the Flyers for one season, and was promoted to general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, replacing Paul Holmgren on May 7, 2014.

He held this position for four and a half seasons.

Before this he served as assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Kings, who won the Stanley Cup in 2012. Hextall played 11 of his 13 seasons over two stints with the Flyers.

He holds several team records and is a member of the Flyers Hall of Fame.

During his rookie season in 1986–87, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender and led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Despite the Flyers' loss to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player, making him one of only five players to win the trophy in a losing effort.

Injuries in the middle of his career contributed to a drop in his playing ability; as a result, he was traded on three occasions in the off-seasons between 1992 and 1994 to the Quebec Nordiques, the New York Islanders and then back to the Flyers.

Upon his return to Philadelphia, Hextall regained confidence and form, recording goals against averages (GAA) below 3.00 in each of his five subsequent seasons – the lowest of his career.

He retired from the NHL at the end of the 1998–99 season. Hextall became the first NHL goaltender to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opponent's empty net, against the Boston Bruins in the 1987–88 season.

The following season, he became the first goaltender to score in the playoffs, by shooting the puck into the Washington Capitals' empty net.

His mobile style of play, in which he provided support to his defencemen by coming out of the goal area to play the puck was revolutionary, and inspired future generations of goaltenders, such as Martin Brodeur.

He was also known for being one of the NHL's most aggressive goaltenders: he was suspended for six or more games on three occasions, had more than 100 penalty minutes in each of his first three seasons, and set new records for the number of penalty minutes recorded by a goaltender in the NHL.

Early life

Ron Hextall was born on May 3, 1964 in Brandon, Manitoba, the third and youngest child of Bryan and Fay Hextall. Hextall is a third-generation NHL player - his grandfather, Hall of Famer Bryan Hextall, played 11 seasons with the New York Rangers, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. His father, Bryan Hextall, Jr., played in the NHL for 10 seasons, most notably for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and his uncle, Dennis Hextall, played 14 seasons of NHL hockey, not staying with any one club for longer than five years. During his youth, Hextall saw his father and uncle often roughed up by the Philadelphia Flyers, whose aggressive style of play for much of the 1970s gave the team the name "Broad Street Bullies". Hextall later reflected that during this period he "hated the Flyers."

Because of his father's career, Hextall's education was far from stable; each year began at Brandon, and once the hockey season commenced in October, he moved to a school nearer to where his father was playing. At school, he achieved B and C grades, putting in the minimum amount of effort, but his mind remained on hockey, and specifically goaltending. "Everybody else would be working and I'd be drawing pictures of Tony Esposito and Jimmy Rutherford," he recalled. Hextall came to mostly enjoy the constant moving, later saying "I got to hang around NHL rinks. What more would I have wanted?"

Although both his father and grandfather played as forwards, his father was happy for him to play in goal, but insisted that he try other positions to improve his skating: Bryan believed his son would have made a good defenceman. Hextall's mother thought her son's love for hockey exceeded that of her husband's teammates and believed it would drive him to achieve his aim of goaltending in the NHL. Each summer, Hextall received training at the hockey school at which his father taught, but the hockey programs in Pittsburgh and Atlanta were sub-standard, and meant that during his teenage years, he was behind many of his fellow players. He describes himself as "[not] what you would call real polished" in his first year of junior hockey, aged 17.

Personal life

Hextall married Diane Ogibowski, a former figure skater, and the pair have four children; Kristin, Brett, Rebecca, and Jeffrey.

Brett Hextall was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes as a sixth-round pick (159th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was signed to an entry-level contract with the team in April 2011 and played for four seasons in the minor leagues before retiring. Had he made it to the NHL, Brett Hextall would have become the second fourth-generation player in NHL history, after Blake Geoffrion.

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Playing career

In 1980, Hextall began his junior hockey with the Melville Millionaires in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). He played 37 games with a goal against average (GAA) of 6.57 in the 1980-81 season, the club's solitary season. Hextall shot 105 shots and made 84 saves in a game that season against the Prince Albert Raiders, earning a reputation for excellence by the Regina Leader-Post. Despite the fact that the Millionaires lost 21–2, the reporter noted that if it wasn't for Hextall, the Raiders may have scored "34 or 35." Mark Odnokon, a Millionaires teammate, lauded his results, particularly for the way "he listened to his duties and stayed in there until the end." In 2009, Hextall was inducted into the SJHL Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural members.

Hextall played for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League for the 1981–82 season (WHL). He appeared in 30 games for the Wheat Kings in the regular season, during which he had a GAA of 5.71. The Wheat Kings made it to the playoffs, but the Regina Pats beat them four games to none (4–0). Hextall participated in three of the games but only finished two and had a GAA of 9.32. At the time, critics and Hextall had to fight in each game. His team was regarded as a poor one by critics and Hextall had to fight in each game. Gerry Melnyk, the Flyers' scout, said he could understand why some clubs did not rate Hextall: "There were teams who believed he was loony." Melnyk said it was these characteristics that attracted him, and that Hextall would be a good match for the Flyers. The Flyers selected Hextall in the sixth round of the 1982 NHL Draft, 119th overall.

Hextall stayed with Brandon for two more seasons following his selection. He appeared in 44 games between 1982-1983 and 1984, a GAA of 5.77 in a season in which the Wheat Kings did not qualify for the playoffs. The following year was his best in the WHL, with a GAA of 4.29 across his 46 regular season games, with 29 victories in comparison to the previous two seasons combined. He appeared in ten of the 12 playoff games, winning five games and five losses, with a GAA of 3.75. During the 1983–84 season, Hextall set a record for the most penalty minutes accrued by a goaltender, being assessed for 117 minutes during the regular season.

In 1984, Hextall arrived at the Philadelphia Flyers training camp with the intention of playing in the NHL. However, the Flyers then sent him to their farm team in the International Hockey League (IHL), the Kalamazoo Wings. Despite being dissatisfied, Hextall was now playing at a higher level than in WHL and making his debut in professional hockey. He played 19 games for Kalamazoo, winning six games and a GAA of 4.35. He migrated to the Flyers' other farm team, the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played 11 times, with four victories, and a GAA of 3.68.

Hextall remained with Hershey in the following seasons, appearing in 53 games from 1985–86. He had 30 victories and the lowest GAA average of his career to that point, 3.4.41. The Bears won the John D. Chick Trophy as the South Division Champions at the conclusion of the regular season. During a single bench-clearing brawl, Hextall lived up to his ferocious reputation in the Conference final and met the St. Catharines Saints. After beating the New Haven Nighthawks 4–1 and the St. Catharines Saints 4–3, the Bears advanced to the Calder Cup final. They met the Adirondack Red Wings, who won the championship by four games to two in the final. Hextall played 13 games in the playoffs, of which his team won five, and his GAA was 3.23. He was named as the AHL's outstanding rookie champion as the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award winner. Despite his initial disappointment at not being invited to play for the Flyers straight away, Hextall continued to say, "the two years I spent in the American League brought me to a point where I was positive I could be a No. 67." "Iron Levy, the NHL goaltender," says the NHL goaltender.

Following his success in the AHL, Hextall was invited to the Flyers' training camp as a long shot. Hextall's appearance in four exhibition games prompted Flyers' head coach Mike Keenan to call him up to the NHL and to play him in the first game of the 1986-1987 season against the Edmonton Oilers. Hextall conceded a goal from the first shot he faced in the game but gave no more shots forward, leading to the game's victory of 2–1. Hextall continued to play with a tense demeanor, swinging his stick at Brad Smith and Troy Murray early in his first NHL season. Despite these swipes, Hextall said at the time that, "I used to be worse, I've learned to regulate my temper." Hextall was involved in a brawl against New Jersey Devils goaltender Alain Chevrier two months after making these remarks. The Flyers wanted revenge for Steve Richmond's punch on Kjell Samuelsson at the end of the game; Hextall struck Chevrier as "like a heavyweight against a lightweight." For their participation in the brawl, Hextall and seven other players were fined $300 each.

Hextall won 37 games in his rookie year in 66 regular season games. He was awarded the Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender by the NHL general managers, but he was second in the polls to Luc Robitaille for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which was given to the "most skilled player" in his first year of play. Hextall led the Flyers to top their Conference and win the Prince of Wales Trophy. The Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers, defeating the New York Rangers 4–2, the New York Islanders 4–3, and the Montreal Canadiens 4–2. After a string of victories over Montreal, Flyers captain Dave Poulin named Hextall as the team's top performer. Hextall received two points, first a ten-minute misconduct penalty for "expressing his displeasure with the fourth Oiler goal," and then a five-minute penalty for slashing Kent Nilsson. Hextall had been slashled by Glenn Anderson in the earlier case, but Hextall retaliated by striking the back of Nilsson's knees. After the game, Hextall expressed regret for hitting the wrong player but not for his conduct:

The success of Hextall in the upcoming game tied the series and sparked the seventh game; at the end, the Flyers team surrounded Hextall in congratulation, while Oilers player Kevin Lowe said that the players "held them in it." Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers' forward, said Hextall was "probably the best goaltender I've ever played against in the NHL" between the sixth and the seventh games. Edmonton claimed the Stanley Cup in the final game of the series. The team won the competition "without their mark, those endless waves of madcap scoring," according to Robin Finn, a columnist for The New York Times, largely due to the team's "heroics of Hextall." Rick Tocchet, a Flyers teammate, said that when he knew his team was going to lose, he felt sorry for Ronny Hextall because he did everything he could to get us here and hold us in it." Hextall was named the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs, becoming only the fourth player from a losing side to be honoured with the award. After his slash on Nilsson during the off-season, Hextall was suspended for eight games for the start of the 1987–88 season. Brian O'Neill, a player's repulsiation, said he had no excuse, and this is especially true for a goaltender whose stick, due to its weight, may result in significant injury."

The Flyers had a slow start to the 1988–88 season, in large part due to Keenan's absence from the team. In a 2–2 tie, Hextall returned to the Flyers' lineup against the New York Rangers, making over 40 saves. Just over a month later, Hextall became the first goaltender to shoot at goal and score in the NHL when he scored an empty net goal against the Boston Bruins. The Flyers won by 4–2 in a contest that caused the Bruins to forfeit their goaltender in favour of a new attacker. The puck was delivered by the Bruins into the Philadelphia zone by the Bruins, and Hextall took it up without a single player near him; he fired into the air, bounced, and rolled into the net. Hextall had intended to become the "first NHL goaltender to score a true goal" over a year ago, and the game's announcer admitted, "I knew I could do it." It was a matter of time." Despite his early season suspension and a shoulder injury late in the season that forced him to miss five games, Hextall appeared in 62 of the 67 games for which he was available during the regular season. He had 30 victories and a GAA of 3.4 percent, marginally higher than his rookie year. Hextall had trouble in the playoffs: he was suspended in two games of the series against the Washington Capitals after losing four goals in each. In the final two games of the season, which the Capitals won 4–3, Hextall scored a further 12 goals and finished the playoffs with a GAA of 4.75.

Hextall played 104 penalty minutes during his first two seasons, the first time a goaltender had earned more than 100 points in any of his first two seasons. He broke his own record by scoring 113 penalty minutes in 1988-89, the most by any goaltender in a NHL season (as of 2015). He won his third straight season in which he had scored so many, and the first time a goaltender had scored 30 victories in each of their first three seasons in the NHL. The Flyers finished fourth in the Patrick Division and qualified for the playoffs. In the first round, they met the Washington Capitals, and the teams played together for the first four games. Despite being 5–4 down in the third period, the Flyers won the fifth. Mark Howe, the Flyers' defenseman, attributed their victory to Hextall. The Capitals pulled their goaltender late in the game, and Hextall scored his second goal of his career. Scott Stevens fired the puck into the Flyers' left defensive zone, and Hextall went around the back of his net, chased the puck, and shot at the goal. He was the first goaltender to score a goal in the NHL playoffs. The Flyers won the series 4–2, which Joe Sexton of The New York Times attributed in large part to Hextall's return to form.

Hextall's results against the Penguins in the Patrick Division Final were mixed: he under-performed early in the series, and the Flyers lost twice in game five and was reinstated twice. In the game, Hextall fired 17 shots, losing nine of the Penguins' goals. Despite attacking one of the players and chasing Rob Brown around the ice, he denied being out of control after the game. "I like to believe I'm healthy physically," he said. Well, if I was as out of control as others say I am, I wouldn't be in the National Hockey League. Gene Ubriaco, the Penguins' head coach, agreed with Hextall's assessment and believes the goaltender abused control intentionally: "In a sense, he uses a lack of control to his advantage." He's the perfect example of controlled brutality. "They [the Flyers] live and die with it." The Flyers won the next game to advance to a decision, but Hextall was ruled out of the competition with a first-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. Hextall's injury kept him out of the first three games of the series against the Canadiens, during which the Canadiens took the lead by 21-0. He returned for his fourth game, but his side could not stop his team from losing 3–0. The Flyers won the following game to stretch the series to six games, but the Flyers lost the next game 4–2, and were disqualified. During the final minutes of game six, Hextall showed his brutal character, skating out of his crease to assault Chris Chelios. When Chelios caught Flyer Propp with a "flying elbow" to the side of the head, Hextall claimed it was revenge for Chelios' assault on his Flyer teammate Brian Propp in game one, rendering him unconscious. At the start of the 1989–90 season, Hextall received a 12-game suspension for his conduct. Following the news of the suspension, Hextall expressed his dissatisfaction and said he was determined to combat rather than hurt Chelios.

He became angry that his eight-year, $4 million contract was only paying him $325,000 a year, and Ritch Winter, a litigator, wanted him to renegotiate his employment prior to the 1989-90 season. Hextall refused to deal with the agent, and the Flyers refused to take part in the team's training camp, which culminated in a tearful press conference. Hextall returned to practice with the team on October 20, 42 days after being in talks about which neither side or the other revealed information. During his first game back, Hextall suffered a tiny groin pull, and in his second game, he strained his left hamstring. He was carried off the ice after suffering from his groin just under a month later while playing for the Hershey Bears in an attempt to regain his fitness. In total, Hextall appeared nine times, twice for the Bears in the AHL and eight times for the Flyers. He had a GAA of 4.15 in the NHL, the highest he had in any single season of the NHL.

During the 1990–91 season, Hextall's left groin muscle was still strained, particularly during two seasons. Dr. Arthur Bartolozzi, the Flyers' orthopaedist, suggested a possible explanation for his string of injuries:

In 1990–91, Hextall appeared in 36 NHL games, but only in half of those that were played by the Flyers that season. He won 13 games out of a GAA of 3.13. The Flyers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second year in a row. During a preseason game, Hextall sustained his third significant suspension of his career, missing six games for slashing Detroit forward Jim Cummins. For the Flyers, Hextall appeared 45 times, with suspension, more injuries, and a lack of form. During the season, he won 16 games, resulting in his lowest win percentage in the NHL, 35.6%.

Hextall was a member of the 1992 offseason and the Philadelphia Flyers traded Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindros, who had been drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991-1992 season, declined to play for Quebec during the 1991–92 season, causing the club's owner Marcel Aubut to trade him. Aubut traded Lindros to both the Flyers and the Rangers in order to determine which team should get him while deciding which team should get him. There was a lot of rumors about which Flyers' and Rangers' players were involved in the future trades during the ten days between the trades being completed and the arbitrator's decision. Hextall was one of the participants mentioned, but he was dissatisfied with what he was told. Hextall confessed to being "scared to death" about the possibility of moving with his family to the French-speaking region, according to his handler. The arbitrator ruled in favour of the Philadelphia Flyers on July 30, and Hextall was traded to Quebec along with five other players, two first round picks (in 1993 and 1994) and $30,000,000 for Lindros.

Hextall is characterized as "inconsistent and injury-prone" in The New York Times' preview of the Adams Division for the 1992-93 season, while the Lindros players were collectively dubbed "good players but no superstars" in the Adams division. Hextall regained some of the self-confidence he displayed in his first years in Philadelphia, and although a strained thigh muscle kept him out early in the season, the Nordiques helped the Nordiques advance to the playoffs for the first time since 1987. In the first round, Quebec defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4–2, with Hextall being praised as being "at the top of his game."

Hextall was traded to the New York Islanders in restitution for Mark Fitzpatrick on June 20, 1993, a departure made because the Nordiques could only guarantee one goalie for the expansion draft, so rather than losing him, the Nordiques moved him to Long Island. In addition, the two teams sold first-round draft picks. Hextall's family had settled in Quebec, but his family was surprised by the change. The Islanders' General Manager, Don Maloney, described the trade as "too bad to pass up." The trade was praised by The New York Times as possibly "the best in the league over the off season." Hextall was off to a rocky start to his career as an Islander, conceded 23 goals in 14 periods from the 1993-94 season, resulting in his replacement against the New Jersey Devils in mid-October. Hextall was booed by the crowd during the game, something to which he had become accustomed during his time with Philadelphia. Hextall's coworkers supported him, taking some of the blame themselves and showing their faith in their new colleague in contrast to the fans' ridicule. Hextall was "one of the best goalies in the league, comfortably in the top five or ten," according to Steve Thomas, who said that "We're not playing well in front of the goaltender and can only be as strong as the guys in front of him." Any suggestions that Arbour might have had regarding swapping Hextall as the team's top goaltender were limited by his back-up, Tom Draper, who had a GAA of 4.23 in the seven NHL games he played that season. This, as well as the lack of experienced goaltenders at the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, resulted in Hextall playing 20 games in a row before Jamie McLennan was recalled from the Golden Eagles.

The break, as well as the challenge, that McLennan's call-up, helped him to resurrect his form, and in February, he shut downs against the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals. In his next home game against the Flyers, he had another shutout, and was named shortly thereafter as the NHL's Player of the Week. Hextall had a career-best five shutouts and a GAA of 3.08 during his rookie season with the Islanders, his highest performance since his rookie year. Hextall's time with the team was described as "a slow start and a disappointing end," Maloney referred to. The Islanders advanced to the playoffs, but the New York Rangers defeated them 4–0. Hextall played three of the four games, conceding 16 goals for a GAA of 6.08, the lowest average of his NHL career by some distance. Maloney said after the season ended, he felt that only two Islanders players had distinguished themselves during the 1993–94 season, with one of those being Jamie McLennan. During his long string of starts, Hextall's career was lauded, but Maloney traded Hextall back to Philadelphia five months later. McLennan characterized the move as two-pronged: it would appease the fans and prevent the team's derisory calls when the team was struggling, and it would give him the opportunity to name himself as the team's number one goaltender. In exchange for goaltender Tommy Söderström, Hextall and a sixth round draft pick were exchanged to the Flyers.

In the 1994–95 season, Hextall's first season in Philadelphia, he had 31 games and saw his lowest GAA in a season to that point, 2.89. For the first time in six years, the Flyers reached the playoffs. The Flyers met the New York Rangers in the second round after defeating the Buffalo Sabres in the first round. The Rangers' supporters yelled "We Want Hex-tall!" after Rangers' sweep of the Islanders last season. During their game-six victory in the first round, they defeated the United States on a whimsy. Terry Murray, the Flyers' head coach, dismissed the chants, saying that "emotionally he's really under control." The New York Times supported this belief, claiming that "this isn't the same Ron Hextall they remember so fondly." The Flyers won the first two games of the season, but Hextall played a quiet game in which he had even displayed a calming influence to teammates Kevin Haller and Dmitri Yushkevich, a departure from his earlier aggressiveness. The Flyers defeated the Rangers 4–0 and advanced to the Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils, who lost 4–2. Hextall's playoff records were his best since his rookie year: he won ten games with a GAA of 2.81.

Hextall was not traded during the off-season for the first time in three seasons, and he stayed with the Flyers for the 1995–96 season. For the first time since 1988–89, Hextall regained control of his figures from the previous year, winning 30 for the first time since 1988–89. His GAA of 2.17 was both the highest in the NHL this year and the highest of Hextall's career. Hextall appeared in all twelve of the Flyers' games, including a 4–2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 4–2 loss to the Florida Panthers. His GAA of 2.13 was his lowest level in any postseason. He continued to do well over the next two seasons, winning 30 in 1996–97 and adding nine shutouts to the four he had made in 1995–96. Hextall's first five seasons in the NHL only made one shutout, during his final six seasons, when he did the feat on nineteen occasions. The Flyers advanced to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, but Hextall appeared in eight playoff games, finishing seven of them. The unpredictability in goals culminated in Hextall and Garth Snow swapping positions on a regular basis throughout the season and playoffs. During the first two rounds, Snow played nine of the ten games, but Hextall was recalled in game two of the Conference Finals, and remained the starting goaltender for the remainder of the series. Coach Murray had to change to Snow for the second game after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals. Both players were back for games three and four, but the Flyers were swept 4–0 by the Red Wings.

In his two playing seasons, Hextall made fewer appearances; he played 46 games in 1997-98, and 23 in 1998–99. In each of his final five seasons in the NHL, he maintained a sub-3.00 GAA in each year, repeating the success in each of his last five seasons but had yet to do so in the previous eight seasons. Hextall was waived by the Flyers from 1998-99, and after going unclaimed in the expansion draft, he announced his resignation on September 6, 1999.

International career

When he was selected as part of Team Canada's squad for the 1987 Canada Cup, Hextall's first international recognition came when he was introduced. During a practice session, he chopped Sylvain Turgeon's arm with his stick during a scrimmage, claiming that the left wing was too close to the goal. Turgeon was forced to miss the tournament due to a fractured arm; Hextall was back-up to Grant Fuhr and did not appear in a single game. In the quarter-finals, he later represented Canada in the 1992 World Championships, winning five games and a GAA of 2.86.

Management career

Hextall joined the Philadelphia Flyers' staff as a professional scout following his release from playing in 1999. He was named as director of professional player services by the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame three years later and was regarded by the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame as a key factor in the Flyers' triumph in the early 2000s, when they won the Atlantic Division three times and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals on two occasions. Hextall took over as Vice President and Assistant General Manager in June 2006 when he joined the Los Angeles Kings. In addition, Hextall served as the general manager of the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, the Kings' primary minor league affiliate. Hextall was eventually recognized as the Kings' assistant general manager on June 11, 2012, after he had been indifferent to the Kings' assistant general manager. Hextall returned to the Flyers on July 15, 2013 and was named assistant general manager and director of hockey operations. Following Paul Holmgren's promotion to team president, Hextall was named general manager of the Flyers on May 7, 2014. Hextall was fired as the Flyers' general manager on November 26, 2018. He worked with the Kings' Hockey Operations team as an advisor. He was announced as the Pittsburgh Penguins' new general manager on February 9, 2021.

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