Wow.
It sure didn’t take long for the axe to fall.
Less than 48 hours after the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention the team fired general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke. The announcement was made in a joint statement issued by Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry and FSG chairman Tom Werner.
Assistant general manager Chris Pryor was also dismissed.
Hextall and Burke were hired in tandem by then-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle on February 9, 2021, to replace Jim Rutherford, who abruptly resigned as the team’s general manager on January 27, 2021.
Since Burke seemed little more than a well-paid figurehead and Pryor played a support role, I’ll focus my attention on Hextall.
Tasked with keeping the team on a short list of Stanley Cup contenders while restocking the team’s badly depleted prospect coffers, Hextall struggled to serve two masters during his brief tenure. In hindsight his measured, patient and methodical approach was probably more suited to building a team through the draft than keeping a fading former champion competitive. A task that, ironically, requires a mover-and-shaker like…well…Rutherford.
On a personal level, I genuinely feel for Hextall. In hindsight, he was a given a near impossible mandate with little margin for error. It’s easy to forget that he inherited a team with significant cap issues from Rutherford. Kind of like being named captain of the RMS Titanic after the ship sideswiped the iceberg.
Unfortunately, he did little to resolve the issues and in some instances made them worse.
Perhaps Hextall’s biggest shortcoming? His failure to surround the Pens’ aging but still productive core with a strong supporting cast.
Affordable and effective role players such as Frederick Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues were allowed to depart through free agency, as well as solid right-shot defenseman Cody Ceci. Determined to protect prized trade deadline acquisition Jeff Carter in the ’21 Expansion Draft, Hextall traded talented but streaky Jared McCann to Toronto for middling prospect Filip Hallander, a former black-and-gold draft pick. McCann blossomed into a 40-goal scorer with Seattle.
Ouch.
Hextall also lost feisty heart-and-soul role player Brandon Tanev to the Kraken, effectively making the Pens the only team to lose two players in the draft. He signed the more affordable but far-less-dynamic Brock McGinn as a plain vanilla replacement.
In an effort to add physicality and change the mix on defense last summer, he signed free agent Jan Rutta and acquired veteran workhorse Jeff Petry and speedy forward Ryan Poehling from Montreal for puck-mover Mike Matheson. He also dealt mobile 25-year-old rearguard John Marino, thought to have plateaued, to New Jersey for Ty Smith.
While Petry and Rutta were adequate, they missed a combined 47 games due to injuries. A salary-cap casualty, Smith impressed with his skating and puckhandling during a brief injury-driven cameo, but spent virtually the entire season toiling in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
On the flip side, Marino’s settled in as a valued and solid citizen for the vastly improved Devils. Matheson emerged as a team leader for a young Montreal squad. We especially missed his ability to transition from defense to offense single-handed with his skating.
Perhaps Hextall’s most onerous move was to sign Carter, an old friend from his time with the Kings, to a two-year extension in January of 2022, almost precisely at the time the big center began to fade. Similarly, he inked RFA Kasperi Kapanen to a two-year extension at his previous rate, despite the fact that Kappy endured a miserable season in ’21-22.
Hextall’s work at this season’s trade deadline was uninspired as well. Surprised by the Pens’ uneven play (he mentioned on several occasions that he liked the team on paper) he remained in a state of inertia while other GMs jumped to improve their clubs. Finally spurred to action, he cleared nearly $6 million in cap space by offloading Kapanen and McGinn, but promptly spent it on deadline acquisitions Nick Bonino, Dmitry Kulikov and pricey Mikael Granlund ($5 million cap hit).
While wretched luck certainly played a part…Bonino and Kulikov were injured shortly after they arrived…the deals only served to make us older and even more brittle.
Under contract for two more seasons, Granlund managed a lone goal and four assists in 21 games. A move that may have ultimately sealed Hextall’s fate.
To be fair, GMRH did have his successes. Waiver pickup Mark Friedman proved to be a feisty, affordable and versatile depth defenseman. Hextall’s deal to acquire Carter at the ’21 trade deadline was initially a boon…the big center scored nine goals in 14 regular-season games with the Pens and four more in the playoffs that spring. He also filled in as our top-line center at the start of the ’21-22 campaign in the wake of injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Extra duty that in hindsight may have hastened Carter’s sudden and precipitous decline.
Hextall struck gold last spring with his deadline acquisition of forward Rickard Rakell from Anaheim. With a strong 28-goal, 60-point season, it’s safe to say Rakell exceeded all reasonable expectations. And Hextall gets high marks for inking pending UFAs and franchise icons Malkin and Kris Letang to new deals at affordable rates, along with Rakell and Bryan Rust.
Unfortunately, the victories were the exception rather than the rule.
A last word.
Blame appears to have been affixed. Don’t be surprised if coach Mike Sullivan, under contract through the ’26-27 season, will have significant input into the way the roster will be reshaped. No doubt in his image.
In other words…we could have at least four more seasons of Sully hockey. A bad thought for those of us hoping for a sea change in playing style and philosophy.
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If anybody deserves more flack for the team put together by Hextall, Pryor and Burke... it's Burke. He literally did nothing but collect pay while watching the team get dismantled. Maybe if he spent more time doing his job babysitting Hextall instead of pandering to the lgbtqlmnop, we may have been able to build something. Pryors son should should have also been shown the door. The NHL is full of good ol boys that will keep regurgitating and reusing the same dinosaurs.
Hi Rick!
Well, It was bitter (and sour) until the end. Losing against Chicago and Columbus was the last straw! I couldn't believe how bad the Pens were. I didn't see any passion and pride through the eyes of many players in this team. Truth be told, I gave up on the Pens 10 games before the end of the season. This roster wasn't build for the gritty and speedy NHL. The word "lackluster" comes to mind.
I was happy to know that Hextall and Burke finally packed their sh***t (aka Mike Commodore). They literally de constructed this team. Very ill-advised decisions, out-of-nowhere strategies and most of all, a lack of clear vision about the team's future. Hextall wasn't even able to provide FSG with a written version of his plan!
But the most disappointing thing about yesterday's announcement is that Sully stays on board (for now). Just the thought of seeing him again next season sends shivers down my spine! He never seems responsible for the team's debacle, throws some of his players under the bus (remember the infamous "They don't listen to me" when they lost the qualifying round against the Habs), narcissistically refuses to look himself in the mirror and doesn't know how to spell the word "accountable". His "play the right way" mantra sounds like a broken record.
The only positive note this season was to see Crosby and Malkin play their best hockey. I really feel for them. Two veterans in their mid 30s with respectively 93 and 82 points is a pretty good indication that prospects are not ready to take over anytime soon.
To conclude, thank you Rick (and TOR as well) for your insightful and interesting articles. It is always a pleasure to read them. Have a nice summer and see you around the corner soon.
Rick, amazing. Great stuff. I'm not with you 100%,(Maybe 93%) I'm sure you remember that is why we started this and why we are still here. As one of the few BL (before Lemieux) guys left, even your comments here are indicative of a past group that actually cared more about the players than just the name "Penguins". I see Caleb posting on Reddit (awesome, my favorite place) on reddit there are places that posts about which team deserves the next generational player and how people think Pittsburgh has already gotten two generational players and they don't deserve another. I think, wow who was responsible for how Lemieux brought Crosby up? Was it Lemieux? Was it Johnston? Patrick? Why did Lemieux take Crosby under his wing? Did we get two generational talents or and did Lemieux start something here with the Penguins where we care more about the players than the name "Penguins". Jagr also idolizes Lemieux. That being said + therefore and henceforth... have the players given just a little bit extra because of that? Will Crosby pass on the gift that Lemieux gave him?
Hats off to an Amazing playoff run. Go players that consider themselves Pittsburgh Penguins!
Hey Phil
yeeaaaaa, Reddit annoys me but drives good traffic, the Penguins sub Reddit over there usually has the worst takes. TOR calls them the Kool-Aid drinkers and said they were in for a rude awakening....how right he was, now all of a sudden everyone over there wants to call for the firing of the front office.
Secondly to your point, I think Lemieux did start something, but I think it's more in the vein of everyone wants to play here because of how they treat the players, toppled on the fact that the Penguins have pedigree. I don't think Sidney Crosby has as much say with the roster as people think, he does to a extent but he did get vetoed eventually with that atrocity on his line "Dominik Simon" (A shutter went down TOR spine just now) I think has to much pull, maybe that's the culture here but not enough to that'd personally think that's a main problem.
I'm hoping for as many generational players as possible haha, Reddit can shove it. They wouldn't care if all these other franchises who've had stacked rosters (Redwings) got another one, would they?
Haters, gonna hate...
Hey all,
It’s really easy to forget there’s a human side to all this.
An episode of Inside Penguins Hockey titled “Meet the Hextalls” aired a short time after Ron was hired in 2021. His dad, Bryan, played for the Pens in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, so Ron actually spent a few years of his childhood here and even got to hang out with his predecessor, Jim Rutherford, the Pens’ goalie at the time. A really nice story.
Too bad things didn’t work out. Here’s the html to the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WPkroxhMqY
Rick
Hey Rick!
Great article
Some points of contention if I may haha.
As for the human side, boo hoo, he's rich and over payed he'll be okay, he stunk in every way and I believe It's safe to say at this point he's the worst GM in Penguins history.
Like I said, kept waiting for the announcement of his firing, had a bottle of champagne ready in hand! A celebration with me, myself and I.
So to start off....
He surrounded an aging core, with aging players, we needed to get faster, younger, and stronger and he did the complete opposite. From what I hear some upper management had way too much influence on his ear and he diverted from his original plan....how pathetic. Can't imagine his original plan was very good considering his past GM track record.
That Jeff Carter protection and signing was absolute buddy favoritism and unacceptable, he didn't even need to protect that bum because nobody wanted his goober ass anyway. (The name Jeff Carter now infuriates me)
He got Ty Smith and didn't play him because of his fumbling of the cap, he also went out and got Rutta when there was no point in getting him in the first place. As for Petry, he's a bum I'm sorry, he didn't do okay, he's almost as washed as Carter, the Canadians new it and they passed that buck to us. He made the wrong play every time, he was hurt to much, and he's paid to much. He should of kept Matheson, he ended the season at a 0.77 pts, and at least he can freaking skate.
As for all those goofy trades and waiver drops before and at the deadline, he was making cap space so they could squeeze in JT Millers monster contract, but as I said in my JT article, they couldn't find a third party in time to take Zucker becasue Zucker had Canucks on his NMC (Because he's smart unlike Hextall). Yikes, so one of our best players at the time with the most spark, playing his heart out to get re-signed, and Hex-ass is trying to move him to fit in his shiny new 30-year old toy....talk about disrespect. Not to mention we would be stuck with JT Millers NMC until he's 37 years old and ready for the retirement home.
So in desperation he makes the worst move possible and signs Mikael Granlund? I mean, what the actual F***. A player I actually like but is declining hard based on his underlying stats, and he makes absolutely no sense on this roster, NONE, NATTA, NOPE. I also hear that other GM's couldn't believe that not only did Hextall trade for him and nobody wanted him, but he also gave up a second and kept all his salary. Anybody else want to smack their head against the wall? Just me? Okay.
Okay enough about Ron Hex-ass before my brain explodes from fury, last two points I want to make.
#1 Sully won't have any say with the roster with the new GM, I guarantee you that, Fenway doesn't work like that, they will make drastic changes, they said as much to the press today and Sully is on a short leash 1000%
#2 As I said in comments on previous posts, Carter, Granlund, Petry, POJ, Rutta and Jarry are the absolute cancer of this team and they have to goooo at all costs. I'm saying it now they KILLED this team, Carter is absolutely washed up and pathetic garbage, and Granlund had 1 goal in freaking 20 games with the Pens,and Petry is a joke out there, as I said he makes the wrong play constantly and he can't skate for anything, he's a bumbling goof out there most of the time.
And as for Tristan "Civ" Jarry, all I can think about is my brother kept texting me every big game when Jarry lets in a goal is "He's allowed to make a save" Sure, when the pressures off, Jarry is elite, when it's on in the big moment.
HE. NEVER. MAKES. A. DAMN. SAVE. EVER.
The big save we need is always the big choke, winning goalies make the save, Jarry is a losing goalie, he dosen't make the save, winning goalies, WIN! Jarry loser goalie, he LOSE! See I did it neanderthal so Jarry can understand. Let him walk.
Especially after he embarrassed himself trying to say he was dealing with injuries, then he was asked if it could be fixed with surgery and the goofball realized he looked like an idiot and said no. If you have a lingering injury, why the hell did you play vs Columbus in a meaningless game? Yea nice try at a skape goat buddy, you just stink buddy....YOU STINK.
I don't care how you get rid of any guys I mentioned, retain their salary until someone takes them, buy some of them out, and just play Wilkes guys on the cheap I don't care but ALL of those guys CANNOT play next season. None of them.
And for the record, depending on the offer, I'd have no problem shipping Guentzel or Rust. Gentzey is great but we could get a good return, he's a bit weak physically and he's 29, And Rust is 30, get some youth. I probably wouldn't trade both, only one, and just see what the offers are.
Anyway Rick, I'm done blowing a gasket haha!
So if Mike gets a hand in picking the new GM??? Next year will be the same old Penguins.... small, slow and if any rookies or younger players get 4-5 minutes a game.
Should have cleaned house...GM and President all the way down..coaches, plauer development...scouts ??
I'm with ya, Pens4ever,
Hextall certainly had his share of screw-ups, especially since last summer. But to pin this completely on him is incredibly short-sighted. I think Sullivan needs to go to. In all my years of watching hockey, I don't think I've ever seen a team more consistently make the same mistakes, over and over and over.
That falls on the coach. In fact I think a lot of it is due to Sullivan's insistence on trying to force players to fit his system instead of adjusting his system to fit the talent on hand.
Rick
Rick
I listened to Sullivan after the Columbus game and if I can take him for his word he's
not changing the way we play. He kept saying that when the Pen's were locked in
they had success but the inconsistancies in their game are what hurt them in the
long run. So basically he's standing by his system / playing style.
This means another 3 or 4 years if midget hockey.
I hear ya, Mike.
All we can hope is that FSG hires a GM who has enough leverage to insist on hiring his own coach. Frankly, I thought Sullivan did an awful job this season. The team kept making the same mistakes...partly due to his system...and he was never able to find an answer for them or correct them.
He's the ultimate one-trick pony. Yet he's got everyone buffaloed into thinking he's a genius. And the way he imposes limits on roster construction. No wonder this team has no real heart or passion or guts. Anybody who remotely displays those attributes get filtered out.
I sure hope I'm reading the tea leaves wrong. But I think FSG sees him as part of the solution rather than a (big) part of the problem. I'm afraid the team's going to be remade in his image.
Rick