According to noted NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Penguins ownership “was beginning to put the wheels in motion for a compete change in Penguins leadership.”
That would include the team’s president of hockey operations Brian Burke and General Manager Ron Hextall.
As Seravalli points out, Hextall’s record in Pittsburgh and other places “is abysmal.”
Team’s under his watch have never won a playoff series and four seasons of his team’s making the playoffs out of seven years as a GM.
Signing Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov were all bad moves and may have actually prevented the team from making the playoffs.
Granlund is under contract to the Penguins through 2025 and is making $5 million a year, just an awful deal.
The worst part of Hextall’s disaster is Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had very good seasons.
Along with Kris Letang, the older “big three” is the reason the Penguins were even in playoff contention until the last game of the year.
There are a lot of issues the Penguins need to fix before they’re considered Stanley Cup contenders again including a starting goalie in Tristian Jarry, who is unproven and when he gets an opportunity, he’s injury.
While there are numerous issues, getting rid of Hextall would big a giant leap in the right direction.
According to The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi, Hextall has one more year left on his deal.
If the Fenway Sports Group retains him, expect to hear the crowds at PPG Paints Arena chanting, “fire Hextall” on the regular in 2023-24.