Did Ron Hextall Do the Penguins a Solid in the Draft?
As a rule, giving credit to former general manager Ron Hextall in any way, shape or form isn’t the way to make friends or influence people in these parts. Nor will it win you any popularity contests among the black-and-gold faithful.
Indeed, the former Philly GM is generally regarded by Penguins Nation as a villain or worse…the man responsible for expediting the end of our glorious postseason run through a combination of bungled trades and poor personnel decisions.
Public Enemy No. 1.
Truth be told, Hextall was given an uber-challenging (and unreasonable) mandate to keep the team competitive while restocking our barren prospect pool. In hindsight, a near impossible task.
However, when all is said and done, could Hexy have done us a solid or two at the draft table?
The answer just might be yes.
Keep in mind he had very little to work with thanks to his predecessor Jim Rutherford. Indeed, GMJR peddled draft picks in a scorched-earth fashion with little apparent thought to the long-term consequences. Perhaps it was his plan all along to skedaddle when the well ran dry.