REPORT: Pittsburgh Penguins apparently plan to FIRE Ron Hextall after failed season
It's been just over two years now since the Pittsburgh Penguins brought in Ron Hextall as General Manager, and well, the Penguins haven't quite had the success they'd hoped for.
Just a few days ago, the Penguins officially were eliminated from the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, ending a historic run, missing the playoffs for the first time since Sidney Crosby's rookie season.
Hextall took over an ageing roster and planned to try and keep it elite while they still had Sidney Crosby, but unfortunately that didn't happen this season.
This past offseason, Hextall locked up fan favourites Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to long-term contracts to remain with the Penguins for awhile.
While for the fans sake, those deals needed to get done, he also made some questionable decisions like trading for Jeff Petry, an older player on the decline, and also failed to address his goaltending situation.
At this years trade deadline, many thought he would go after a goalie for some insurance due to Tristan Jarry's injury history, but instead he brought in Dmitry Kulikov and Mikhail Granlund, who provided very little to the Penguins. And to make matters worse, 31 year old Granlund who scored 1 goal and 5 points in 21 games, is signed for 3 more season at a $5,000,000 cap hit.
The Penguins fans and it sounds like even management are not happy with the job Hextall has done, and according to Penguins columnist Dejan Kovacevic, they are looking to move on from him:
Here in Columbus, and everything I'm hearing both on location and on the drive out is that Ron Hextall will be fired, possibly Brian Burke, too. And very soon. More in @PointParkU Friday Insider later.
Here in Columbus, and everything I'm hearing both on location and on the drive out is that Ron Hextall will be fired, possibly Brian Burke, too. And very soon. More in @PointParkU Friday Insider later.— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) April 13, 2023
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 14 | 65 ANSWERS REPORT: Pittsburgh Penguins apparently plan to FIRE Ron Hextall after failed season Should the Penguins fire Hextalll? | ||
| yes | 58 | 89.2 % |
| no | 7 | 10.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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