Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking All 32 NHL General Managers
By Jeff Borsuk
The 24th Ranked GM – Ron Hextall (Pittsburgh Penguins)
In January this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided they needed to make a change. After six years under Jim Rutherford, ownership wanted a new general manager. Enter Ron Hextall who took the job in February. It is now his second stint as an NHL GM after spending four and a half years in the role with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Good – There isn’t much to judge Hextall on since he’s only been the Penguins GM for five months. As such, we can only base his body of work on what was done in Philadelphia. In 2015, Hextall had an important decision to make at the draft. Picking seventh overall, the fifth-ranked prospect by NHL Central Scouting, Lawson Crouse, was still on the board. Instead, Hextall decided to take Ivan Provorov. Looking back, it was a great decision.
It gets better for Hextall in that draft. He wisely traded up thanks to the help of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They moved their first round pick at slot number 24 for Hextall’s 29th and 61st overall picks. The Flyers ended up with Travis Konecny and the Leafs got Gabriel Carlsson and Jeremy Bracco.
The Bad – As a former goalie himself, it’s strange that making decisions on them appears to be Hextall’s weakness. He swung a deal in 2018 for Petr Mrazek. It only cost Hextall a third-round pick but Mrazek was a downgrade in net, which really made no sense at the time.
The Ugly – Once again, goaltenders are Hextall’s undoing. In 2017, a year prior to making a mistake on Mrazek, Hextall made a pair of errors. That’s because in the span of four months he handed out two lucrative contracts to stoppers. Hextall gave Michal Neuvirth a two-year extension worth $5M. It carries a $2.5-million AAV. After completing those two seasons, Neuvirth called it a career. He wasn’t great in either season but he must have been happy. Afterall, Hextall helped him cash in.
The other played Hextall signed was Brian Elliott. Elliott also signed for two years but for slightly more money. Hextall handed him a $2.75-million AAV. He too wasn’t impressive but at least Elliott has remained with the franchise since inking that deal.