Best and Worst of the Ron Hextall Era for the Penguins
The best and worst decisions of Ron Hextall's tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins cut ties with general manager Ron Hextall after three seasons at the helm. No doubt missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006 played a factor in Hextall's dismissal. However, his entire tenure in Pittsburgh was always a mixture of positive and negative decisions, mainly negative.
One of the biggest misses for the former Penguins GM was keeping the same goaltending tandem in place last offseason. The Penguins previous two seasons had ended prematurely in the first round of the playoffs due to a lack of goaltending.
In 2021, Tristan Jarry had one of the worst playoff series performances in team history against the New York Islanders. The following season, both Jarry and Casey DeSmith, were injured, leaving Louie Domingue as the Penguins starter. Hextall believed in his tandem heading into 2022-23. It is one reason he no longer has a job.
The initial trade for Jeff Carter in 2021 was a shrewd piece of business by Hextall. He traded away two third-round picks for the veteran forward, and Carter rewarded him by scoring nine goals in 14 games to close out that season. He added four goals in the series against the Islanders.
Carter's performance dipped the following season, but most weren't too concerned as his contract was about to expire at the end of the season. Hextall's decision to then extend Carter for two more seasons at $3.125 million with a no-movement clause is considered by some as his worst move as Penguins GM.
Carter finished the 2022-23 season with 13 goals in 79 games and struggled to keep up with opposing players on all areas of the ice.
The acquisition and extension of Rickard Rakell remain the best pieces of business Hextall made when sitting in the big chair for the Penguins. Hextall traded Dom Simon, Zach Aston-Reese, Calle Clang, and a 2nd Round Pick for Rakell at the 2022 NHL trade deadline.
Since then, Rakell has become an integral part of the Penguins top six and top power-play unit. He finished the 2022-23 season with 60 points (28G - 32A) and excelled in every situation. The Penguins have Rakell signed for the next five seasons at a bargain price which is certainly nothing to scoff at when considering Hextall's best moves.
Ron Hextall's handling of the 2021 Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft is a contender, but his performance at this year's trade deadline remains his Mona Lise of screw-ups. Hextall cleared out almost $6 million of salary cap space by shedding Kasperi Kapanen and Brock McGinn's contracts, contracts he signed.
Then, Hextall practically burned that free cap space by trading for Mikael Granlund. Granlund's $5 million salary cap hit is currently fifth among Penguins forwards under contract for next season, but his performance since the deadline ranks as one of the worst on the team.
Granlund finished the season by scoring one goal and four assists in 21 games since being acquired by Pittsburgh. That would put him on pace for four goals and 20 points in an 82-game season. Let's also not forget that he is signed for two more seasons.
The Ron Hextall era was not fruitful for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and while he is no longer with the organization, the stench of his horrific decision-making remains.
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