Report: Ron Hextall has been offered the GM job in Pittsburgh

Talk about adding fuel to the Pens/Flyers rivalry! Love it!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Report: Ron Hextall has been offered the GM job in Pittsburgh
Zuma Press

According to a report from NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, former Philadelphia Flyers GM and all around Flyers franchise icon Ron Hextall is the frontrunner to take over as GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins following former GM Jim Rutherford's abrupt resignation. LeBrun reports that Hextall is the clear frontrunner for the job, but that the Penguins will spend the next few days reviewing and potentially interviewing other candidates.


Hextall, of course, is absolutely hated in Pittsburgh given his illustrious career with the Flyers. Not only is Hextall one of the most beloved icons in Philadelphia sports history, he's also arguably the greatest goaltender in the team's history and he's responsible for drafting or acquiring much of the team's current roster from his time as the Flyers' GM from 2014 until his firing in 2018. Since then Hextall has been an advisor to the Los Angeles Kings, a team that he was previously assistant-GM for from 2006 until 20013. That stint earned him two Stanley Cup rings and a reputation as one of the best talent evaluators in the hockey world.

If and when Hextall gets the gig in Pittsburgh, get ready for some big changes. When Hextall was first hired as GM of the Flyers he performed a top-down tear down of sorts with his roster shipping out veterans like Kimmo Timmonen, Brayden Coburn, Vincent Lecavalier and Chris Pronger. The Pronger move, of course, was a cap flexibility move that ended up giving the team some much needed flexibility. It'll be interesting to see if Hextall takes a similar approach in Pittsburgh. There's no doubt that the Penguins could use a serious jolt.