This is correct. A lot of folks want to blame hextall for the current state of affairs and every problem the franchise has had but I think had he been allowed to do a full rebuild or even continue on the path he was in we’d be in a much better place than what happened with fletch. The org got impatient and wanted a quick fix which can’t be done nowadays. Having said this, our draft record over this time was very uneven but I think a lot of teams experience this unless you’re routinely drafting top 5. The Patrick debacle set us back immensely but I don’t think anyone knew what kind of bust that he’d turn out to be. Even those who had concerns, would not have said he’d be out of the league by now. If they do say that now they’re lying. I also don’t know if we’d have picked makar heiskanen if they’d have succeeded here. They may have turned into a provorov?
- Hextall271

Hextall’s plan could have worked had he done a better job drafting and developing. A BIG part of his plan depended on that. Hextall also inherited a decent core to build around…he simply didn’t do great job of bringing in good free agents or drafting high end talent.

Ek with a front page of Alison on waivers haha, not much traffic there
- ClaudeFather

I was thinking the same thing.

lets assume this is true. then you build around them. Ronald was fn clueless. He had a decent core and some young guys. He didn't know what to do.
- hello it's me 2050

You need draft capital or cap space to “ build around” them. He had neither thanks to homer. It took 2 years to clear that up. Even at that with the roster including g Jake simmer the cap wasn’t favorable to build.

These are the facts. Hexy was only given 4 years. Not enough time. I’m not saying if given more time he could’ve pulled it off. But the grade is a simply incomplete

He failed at his job, that’s the bottom line, whether he couldn’t fully rebuild or not, he kept the flyers stuck in the mud and did nothing to help us out of it. Look at his best players drafted, look at that Schenn trade. All of those guys are now established NHL players and we have nothing but complimentary players. and on top of it, he had a legendary whiff at #2 . This excuse of he was in a tough spot is pathetic
- ClaudeFather

You're wrong. When Hextall took over the prospect base was barren and the team had cap issues. He cleared up the cap and built up a nice staple of prospects and young players. The failure in his tenure was not adding any elite players. Calling it a legendary whiff with the Patrick pick is also inaccurate. He was widely considered a consensus top 2 pick and a future #1 NHL center. Nobody could've perceived the migraine issues that derailed his career.