Flyertown: Editorials Archive 2

Goodbye, Hextall

5 July 99

First, let me apologize for the long time between editorials. Most of my creative energy regarding this hockey webpage is now devoted to the prospects section, such as my goaltending analysis and my Simon Gagne profile.

The Philadelphia Flyers ended Ron Hextall's 11 year career as a Flyers by placing him on waivers. When the waiver period ended on July 4, no team had put in a claim. The Flyers will now buy out Hextall's contract for 2/3 of his scheduled 1999-2000 salary of 1.2 million dollars. Unless he decides to search for another team, Hextall's NHL career is over.

Hextall was 10-7-4 this season, with a number of memorably poor outings. The Flyers made a sound hockey decision when they waived him; they have four highly regarded goaltending prospects (Brian Boucher, Jean-Marc Pelletier, Maxime Ouellet,and Antero Niittymaki) and it is time for them to promote Boucher to a NHL job. It is shocking, however, to see the joyful reactions of certain Flyer fans to Hextall's departure. We should not let the decline of his later years overly affect our memory of a very fine goaltender.

Hextall has passed Hall of Famer Bernie Parent as the Flyers' all-time leader in games played, wins, and losses. He was the first goaltender to score a goal in an NHL game -- and he did it twice: once in the regular season, once in the playoffs. As a rookie, he backstopped a hardworking Flyers squad to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the seemingly invincible Edmonton Oilers. As a rookie, he won the Vezina trophy. Despite the Flyers eventual defeat, he won the Conn Smythe trophy.

Injuries and a bitter holdout robbed Hextall of his early promise. The great young goaltender became a merely good one, and recently, barely adequate. Yet time did not change his best qualities. Yes, Hextall was always an incredible stick handler, and he once had great balance and quickness. But he was always a true professional. He always stuck up for his teammates. In his fiery early years, this led to his eventually disastrous attack on Chris Chelios for his dirty hit on Brian Propp. In later years, this led him to take more than his fair share of the blame when many others on the team fell short in the playoffs. The playoff disappointments of 95, 96, and 97 were certainly partially his fault, but I would not even go so far as to say they were mostly his fault.

Ron Hextall comes from one of hockey's best families, and someone, along the line, did a great job in teaching him how to play the game. His loyalty to the game, to his teammates, to the Flyers organization, and to the city of Philadelphia are unequalled. In a year when Eric Lindros trusts Ed Snider so little that he is prepared to enter restricted free agency after this season, we should remember and honor a different player -- a player who often bore the blame of Lindros's failures, a player who swallowed his pride and renegotiated his contract last summer, a player who never complained as backup, and a player who may now quietly fade into Flyers history. If that is the case, it would be a tragedy. It is certain that his teammates will remember him with love; it would be fitting that fans should do the same. I hope that Ron Hextall rejoins the Flyers organization -- whether on Comcast, as a scout, or as an assistant coach. The stars of today and tomorrow could learn a lot from this star of the past.

A couple of months ago, I said goodbye to the greatest hockey player in history -- Wayne Gretzky -- and acknowledged his skill and, more importantly, his class. Let's remember Ron Hextall's skill and class as we say goodbye.

Goodbye.

>Return to the main page::Return to top of this page

Flyers Mid-Season Review

13 Jan 99

The Flyers reached the halfway mark of 1997-98 with a record of 22-9-10, owners of a 4 game shutout streak and a 15 game unbeaten streak (10-0-5). They jumped out to a blazing start, but a rash of injuries and poor play combined to temporarily bring them back to earth--and under .500. However, the trade with Colorado swapping Keith Jones and Shjon Podien revitalized the team and the Legion of Doom. Later, the trade with Tampa Bay reaquiring Mikael Renberg in mid-December marked the beginning of the Flyers' run to the top of the Eastern Conference. They have a solid lead on NJ, even considering games in hand, and are on a pace to rack up 108 points. Both LeClair and Lindros are on a pace to break the century mark in points.

ANALYSIS of TRADES

Bob Clarke has made a lot of moves since the Flyers held their training camp in Petersborough, Ontario. They can mostly be categorized as character-for-talent trades yet they have generally been remarkably successful in building locker room unity and chemistry. Some are still incredibly puzzling! For example:

Lacroix-for-Zelepukin: Daniel Lacroix was a fun guy in the lockerroom and his cartoons were well-loved by his teammates. However, he was a fourth line player and a fighter in a league where fighting is becoming increasing less common. He was also a close friend of Eric Lindros. Valeri Zelepukin, a Flyers foe from his days with the New Jersey Devils, is a bona-fide second or third line winger who can play both sides comfortably. While he has lost some of his scoring touch after an eye injury diminished his depth perception, "Zelly" showed a touch for timely goals on the Flyers west coast road trip and is playing a key role in helping young rookie Dmitri Tertyshny adjust to life in the States. Lacroix's departure marks the end of the last remnant of the old "Dan Line."
Klatt-for-draft pick:One of Bob Clarke's more mystifying movies, Trent Klatt was a victim of the numbers game and sent to Vancouver for a draft pick. I don't think Clarke got equal value, and Klatt was popular in the locker room, but this doesn't look too bad for the Flyers.
Podien-for-Jones: Shjon Podien was popular with both the media and fans for his hard working play on the now defunct "Minneasota Line" (another line which is completely gone). But Podien was a third-line player while Keith Jones has played with people like Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. Jones revitalized the play of Eric Lindros and John LeClair, adding a new chippy dimension to their play, and helped pull the Flyers from the depths of an abysmal winless streak. Podien was another doomed NHLPA rep.(following Mark Recchi, Gary Galley, and Trent Klatt). The players are so superstitious about the position that they had a drawing to decide on Klatt's replacement. The (un)lucky winner? Alex Daigle.
Maneluk-for-Vopat: Jones's arrival made Mike Maneluk expendable. The hero of the AHL Phantoms Calder Cup run, Maneluk was considered too small to play on a non-scoring line. He had put up some ok numbers on the top line, but Clarke sent him to Chicago for a crash-and-bang winger named Roman Vopat, who had already endured more than his fair share of trades in the young season. Vopat gives the Flyers a checking winger who can also fight, although he has done next to nill offensively. A little puzzling...perhaps the best thing for Maneluk after he was knocked off the Lindros line.
Gratton/Sillinger-for-Renberg/Langkow: Here comes the blockbuster that changed the complexion of the Flyers season. Chris Gratton was probably the biggest bust in Philly in a long time. Although the boy could play well, he was not playing well with Flyers stalwart Rod Brind'Amour and a major disruption in the locker room, where many vets resented the absence of Renberg and Gratton's huge contract. Mike Sillinger had been surprising bad offensively this season and was losing ice time to new arrivals on the third and fourth lines. Mikael Renberg's arrival immediately cheered up his old friends in Philly (fans and players alike). He was injured shortly after his return, but he has given the Flyers something that resembles..oh my gosh, it is!...a second line! Renberg played well with Brind'Amour during his rookie season and allows Brind'Amour to play his preferred position, center. An authority none other than Wayne Gretzky called Daymond Langkow the sleeper in this deal. Another first round disappointment (we do tend to collect those!), he showed remarkable versatility during the west coast road trip, particularly when Lindros was out with a concussion. The Flyers haven't lost a game since this trade.
Svoboda-for-Dykhuis: The only trade I really dislike. Petr Svoboda was a major leader in the locker room, and we all know what Karl Dykhuis is like from his previous, undistinguished tenure here. Why? Why? Why? It hasn't hurt us so far, but Dykhuis is a little to unreliable for my taste. He will be a lot healthier than Svoboda, however.

OVERVIEW by POSITION

The most obvious needs for the Flyers position-wise was a puck-carrying defenseman and another scoring winger. The Flyers have enjoyed remarkable scoring balance since their west coast road trip; it seems like Renberg and Jones have filled the need for the winger while youngsters like Colin Forbes and Dainius Zubrus are finally adding another dimension to their game. Dykhuis and rookie Tertyshny both bring a puck-carrying element to the Flyers that they lacked last season, but Dykhuis is too unsteady and Tertyshny is a rookie defenseman who still makes rookie mistakes. The Flyers addressed their long standing goaltending problems during the offseason by signing John Vanbiesbrouck. Vanbiesbrouck played poorly for a spell during the Flyers slump and the media began talking about another goaltending contreversy as Ron Hextall was playing rather well. However, the Beezer has essentially silenced those critics with his fine play since the middle of December. He's been playing amazing hockey and now owns the league's 2nd best GAA. He was absolutely robbed of an All-Star berth.

INTANGIBLES

Many observers noted that the Flyers lacked cohesiveness as a team last season when they were ousted from the playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres. Was this due to the locker room chaos resulting from the Gratton signing? Was this due to Wayne Cashman's poor coaching? Was this due to a lack of leadership from the captains? Whatever the case, the Flyers are playing better as a team as they have since the early rounds of the 97 playoffs. Some players point to Eric Lindros's inspired play as a cause. The players also seem fond of Neilson and are actually playing his system. Not bad, not bad at all.

PLAYER NOTES

Here are some comments and grades for individual players.

Dave Babych: Dull as ever, still a bit slow, but not unreliable. He's split time with Tertyshny. Bast or Lank from the Phantoms could probably do his job, but Babych does have the benefit of experience...lots and lots of it. Still...7th dman B-/C+
Rod Brind'Amour: Now the NHL's current iron-man, Roddy has been busy showing that he would be a first-line center on any other team in the NHL. A
Marc Bureau: Bureau has done a solid job checking, and peole seem to have forgiven him for his vicious hit on Svoboda a couple of years ago. He's chipped in a couple of goals. I still think he's overpaid, but I can't say he hasn't done his job. B/B-
Alex Daigle: He has shown no life since scoring the Flyers first goal of the season. He hasn't fought to get back in the lineup...he almost seems resigned to failure. He needs to turn his game around or risk getting traded...he might get traded even if he does get his game turned around. D-
Eric Desjardins: "Rico" is still the cornerstone of the Flyers defense; without him, nothing goes right (as his brief absence showed). He is scoring more than he did last year, particularly on the west coast road trip, and that is true of many of the Flyers dmen. A
Colin Forbes: He has played with a broken nose -- twice -- and suddenly discovered a bit of a scoring touch. If he became a checker who could chip in 20 goals a year -- not at all out of reacher -- he's be a treasure. Most of his goals are garbage goals, but they're also game winners. B
Ron Hextall: Hexy has played the good soldier to a tee, and hasn't complained a bit about playing time or being a backup. He's still one of the classiest athletes in Philly. Hextall is still victimized by the Devils again and again, but overall his play has been good (especially if you overlook those two Ottawa games). B+
Jody Hull: I don't think he's been that exciting, but he's done a great job checking. His absolute distaste for offense is a bit disturbing, but its not his job. B-/B
Keith Jones: What an attitude! I love it. He's one of those players who are intensely annoying to play against...and great to have on your team. I love how he perked up 88 and 10. He had a bit of a goal scoring drought which was disturbing, so I'm cutting his grade a bit. A-/B+
Daymond Langkow: He looked good on the Flyers' roadtrip, especially in showing his versatility as Neilson shuffles lines. Could be a steal. Some more offense would be nice... B
John LeClair: LeClair's goal scoring pace has slowed down considerably as of late but he is still as reliable as they come. He's still my fav Flyer. A
Eric Lindros: He has been the captain in every way this season and I have more respect for him than I have at any other time as a Flyer fan. He is among the league leaders in scoring (55pts)and has shown up in every game. Thank you, Eric. A+
Daniel McGillis: I'm giving McGillis a higher grade than Therien on basis of his significant improvement from last year. He took a power skating course this summer and the results are showing. He hasn't been bad on the power play, either. A-
Mikael Renberg and Karl Dykhuis: I haven't seen enough to give a grade yet!
Luke Richardson: I'm not going to hide the fact that I think Richardson's signing was a big waste of money. Neilson defends him to the press, but other than blocking shots, he has been a disappointment. He's made some pretty embarressing gaffes too (remember when he fell down and coughed up the puck in the last seconds of a game...leading to a loss?). Play with a sneer, Luke, and the force will be with you. But for now: C+/B-
Chris Therien: "Bundy" has played pretty well this year and it hasn't taken him quite as long as it did last year to score his first goal! If he played like he does against Jaromir Jagr, he would be a perennial all-star. Steady, but not amazing. More consistent effort needed. B
Dmitri Tertyshny: The rookie with a sweet skating and nearly unpronounceable name has had an up and down rookie campaign, but he was recently promoted to the second defensive pairing with Dan McGillis. He still makes a bad mistakes from time to time, causing two-on-ones, but he has not been a complete failure by any means. A little more offense would be nice. But I'll give him a break..he's only 22 and can hardly speak English! B
John Vanbiesbrouck: I trusted him to completely kill any goalie contreversy in Philly, and he actually inspired one with lackluster play for a certain stretch in the season. Of late, his play has been more than solid, despite the Flyers' penchant for relinquishing 2 goal leads. Over the streak, he's been a solid A. Over the first half of the season, I'd give him a B+.
Roman Vopat: Not much to talk about here..he fights a bit, plays a bit, doesn't score at all. Needs to hit more. I think Maneluk was worth more in trade value than this. C+
Valeri Zelepukin: A solid acquisition who has been working nicely with Rod Brind'Amour on the second line. It took him a while to get started offensively. Overall at the mid-season: B
Dainius Zubrus: Beginning to show a little life out there, Zubrus is still an enigma in a number 9 jersey. The former first round draft pick (in '96), he sometimes shows Jagr-like moves and has a good defensive conscience. He still tries to be too fancy sometimes. Compare him to Colin Forbes. There's no reason he shouldn't have left Forbes in the statistical dust, but he hasn't. If he hadn't played well when Lindros was out, his grade would be lower. C+

OVERALL

Overall, I'm feeling better about the Flyers than I have for quite a while. It's a nice change of pace to be able to say that with confidence, and I think they really can make a decent run at the cup this season (whereas last season it was clear they were doomed). It will be interesting how the players react to the shuffling that will occur when Renberg returns. However, I feel like these guys are a team now, not merely a collection of players. Isn't it nice to be able to think that? Let's see how much longer the Flyers streaks will last in the second half of the season.