Report: Two former NHL GMs identified as replacements for Hextall in Philly

Yikes. Slim pickings for the Flyers at this point.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Report: Two former NHL GMs identified as replacements for Hextall in Philly
Zuma Press

In case you missed it, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that the team has relieved general manager Ron Hextall of his duties. In other words, the team fired their longtime franchise icon and sent him packing.

Check it out:



Now, Flyers president Paul Holmgren begins the process of finding Hextall’s replacement and, according to NHL insider Darren Dreger, two former NHL GM’s are already under consideration.

Dreger reported earlier today that former Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis and former Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher are early candidates for Hextall’s job in Philly.

Check it out:

Chuck Fletcher and Ron Francis among the early names as potential GM’s in Philly. Both experienced men. Francis is in the process of divesting equity in Carolina.


Interesting… the only problem is that Francis was fired in Carolina for much the same reasons Hextall was fired in Philly… his inability to stabilize the team in goal. Francis refused to give up on long time starter Cam Ward for far too long and then eventually platooned him along with Eddie Lack and Scott Darling. Both abject failures. As for Hextall he walked away from Steve Mason and attempted to replace him with Michal Neuvirth, Ray Emery, Brian Elliott and Petr Mrazek. Again… all abject failures.

As for Fletcher, the former Wild GM had some success in Minny but was simply unable to make the necessary moves to push the Wild over the top. Under Fletcher the team added top players like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Devan Dubnyk, Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter by free agency or trade and drafted top players like Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. There’s no doubt that he’s a viable option for the Flyers, but with few options on the market right now, you have to wonder if Holmgren will make a rushed decision or wait to see how things play out in the offseason.