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Ron Hextall
File:Ron Hextall.gif
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Height
Weight
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Teams WHL
 Brandon Wheat Kings
IHL
 Kalamazoo Wings
AHL
 Hershey Bears
NHL
 Philadelphia Flyers
 Quebec Nordiques
 New York Islanders
Nationality Canadian
Born May 3, 1964,
Brandon, MB
NHL Draft 119th overall, 1982
Philadelphia Flyers
Pro Career 1984 – 1999

Ron Hextall (born May 3, 1964 in Brandon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian professional goaltender most often associated with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. He is the grandson of Hall-of-Famer Bryan Hextall, the son of former NHL player Bryan Hextall Jr. and nephew of former NHL player Dennis Hextall. He's also known for his temper, racking a total of 584 PIM. In the Summer of 2014, Hextall was named the new General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career

Hershey Bears

Prior to playing in the NHL, Hextall won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award in 1986 as the top rookie of the American Hockey League, while playing for the Hershey Bears.

Philadelphia years

Hextall played the bulk of his career in two stints with the Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87 to 1991–92, and 1994–95 to 1998–99). He helped revolutionize the position of goaltender, leaving the goal mouth regularly to play the puck with their sticks.

Hextall was known for his aggressive play, something which made him a fan-favorite in Philadelphia. He holds the record for most penalty minutes by a goaltender in one season with 113 in 1988–89. A notable incident illustrating his aggressiveness occurred in Game 6 of that year's Wales Conference Finals series, in which the Flyers faced the Montreal Canadiens. With his team trailing 3-2 in the series and 4-2 on the scoreboard in the game's final minutes, Hextall left the crease and slammed Montreal defenseman Chris Chelios into the boards, apparently in retaliation for Chelios' illegal yet unpenalized hit on Philadelphia's Brian Propp in Game 1 that left the latter with a concussion. After Chelios crumpled to the ice, Hextall continued to pummel him until the referees pulled the Flyer goalie off. For his actions, Hextall received a five-minute major and a match penalty, and was suspended for the first 12 games of the 1989–90 season.

Hextall is one of only two goaltenders, along with Henrik Lundqvist, to record at least 30 wins in his first three NHL seasons, which Hextall did from 1986–1989. Lundqvist is the first goaltender to record at least 30 wins in his first four NHL seasons, acheving that on March 12, 2009.

The goals

On December 8, 1987, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Hextall became the first goaltender in NHL history to score a goal by actually shooting the puck into an open net with the opposing goaltender pulled for an extra attacker (an achievement Hextall foreshadowed in 1986). In his post-game interview Hextall quipped,

Now before you guys get started I want you to know I was aiming for that corner.

(Because of hockey's score keeping rule that credits a goal to the last offensive player to touch the puck, on November 28, 1979, Billy Smith of the New York Islanders was the first NHL goalie to be credited with a goal; Smith was awarded the goal during a game against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies' goaltender left the ice for an extra skater after a delayed penalty was called on the Islanders. During the ensuing play, Smith made a save, then a Rockies player passed the puck to a vacant point, and it traveled the length of the ice into the empty net). Hextall replicated the feat in the playoffs on April 11, 1989 against the Washington Capitals, thus becoming the first goalie to score a goal in a playoff game. This was later tied with Martin Brodeur.

Ron Hextall was also the winner of the Vezina Trophy (NHL's Best Goaltender) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (NHL Playoff MVP), as well as being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1987 as a rookie for the Philadelphia Flyers, as the Flyers lost to the powerful Edmonton Oilers in seven games during the Stanley Cup Finals. The Calder Trophy was the only honor that eluded Hextall that year as he finished second behind Luc Robitaille. He was also remembered for a slash on Edmonton's Kent Nilsson in the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals; any Oiler player that approached the Flyers' net would receive welts on their legs from Hextall's stick.

Quebec, Long Island, and back to Philadelphia

On June 30th 1992, Hextall was traded to the Quebec Nordiques along with Peter Forsberg, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, a 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, a 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994, and $15,000,000 cash for Eric Lindros. He spent the 1992–93 NHL season there, helping the Nordiques to make the playoffs for the first time in several years. Hextall then moved on to the New York Islanders for the 1993–94 NHL season, where he also appeared in the playoffs. The Flyers reacquired him in 1994 and he helped them reach the finals in 1997, although they were quickly swept aside by the Detroit Red Wings in 4 games. He finished out his career with the Flyers in 1999.

Post-retirement

In June 2006, the Los Angeles Kings named Ron Hextall as Assistant General Manager. In addition, Hextall will serve as the General Manager of the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary affiliate.

On February 6, 2008, Hextall became the 19th member inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Honored members Flyers Hall of Fame in a ceremony during a game vs the Washington Capitals.

Ron's son, center Brett Hextall (Currently playing his freshman year at the University of North Dakota) was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the sixth round (159th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry draft With that selection, the Hextalls have a chance to become the first family to have four generations play in the NHL.  On May 7, 2014, Hextall was named the new General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Awards


Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% G A PIM
1981–82 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 30 12 11 0 1398 133 0 5.71 .864 0 0 0
1982–83 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 44 13 30 0 2589 249 0 5.77 0 4 66
1983–84 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 46 29 13 2 2670 190 0 4.27 .883 0 8 117
1984–85 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 19 6 11 1 0 4.35 0 2 18
1984–85 Hershey Bears AHL 11 4 6 0 555 34 0 3.68 .888 0 2 4
1985–86 Hershey Bears AHL 53 30 19 2 3061 174 5 3.41 .894 0 2 54
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 66 37 21 6 3799 174 1 3.00 .894 0 6 104
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 62 30 22 7 3560 208 0 3.51 .885 1 6 104
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 64 30 28 6 3756 202 0 3.23 .891 0 8 113
1989–90 Hershey Bears AHL 1 1 0 0 49 3 0 3.67 .880 0 0 2
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 8 4 2 1 419 29 0 3.67 .880 0 0 14
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 36 13 16 5 2035 106 0 3.13 .892 0 1 10
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 45 16 21 6 2668 151 3 3.40 .883 0 3 35
1992–93 Quebec Nordiques NHL 54 29 16 5 2988 172 0 3.45 .888 0 2 56
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 65 27 26 6 3581 184 5 3.08 .898 0 3 52
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 31 17 9 4 1824 88 1 2.89 .890 0 0 13
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 53 31 13 7 3102 112 4 2.17 .913 0 1 28
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 31 16 5 3094 132 5 2.56 .897 0 0 43
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 46 21 17 7 2688 97 4 2.17 .911 0 0 10
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 23 10 7 4 1235 52 0 2.53 .888 0 2 2
NHL totals 608 296 214 69 34749 1723 23 2.98 .895 1 32 714

Post season

Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% Goals Assists PIM
1981–82 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 3 0 2 103 16 0 9.32 - - - -
1983–84 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 10 5 5 592 37 0 3.75 - 0 1 8
1985–86 Hershey Bears AHL 13 5 7 780 42 1 4.27 - 0 1 37
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 26 15 11 1540 71 2 2.77 .908 0 1 43
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 7 2 4 379 30 0 4.75 .847 0 2 30
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 15 8 7 886 49 0 3.32 .890 1 0 28
1992–93 Quebec Nordiques NHL 6 2 4 372 18 0 2.90 .915 0 0 0
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 3 0 3 158 16 0 6.08 .800 0 0 4
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 15 10 5 897 42 0 2.81 .904 0 1 4
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 12 6 6 761 27 0 2.13 .915 0 0 6
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 8 4 3 443 22 0 2.97 .892 0 0 0
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .875 0 0 0
NHL totals 93 47 43 5456 276 2 3.03 .897 1 4 115

International play

Season Team League GP W L T SO GAA
1986–87 NHL All-Stars RV-87 - - - - - -
1987–88 Canada CC - - - - - -
1991–92 Canada WCh 5 1 2 1 0 2.86



Preceded by
John Vanbiesbrouck
Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1987
Succeeded by
Grant Fuhr
Preceded by
Mark Howe
Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
19871989
Succeeded by
Rick Tocchet
Preceded by
Patrick Roy
Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1987
Succeeded by
Wayne Gretzky


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Ron Hextall. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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