Bobby Clarke drops a bombshell, revealing that Ron Hextall cost the Flyers Cale Makar
It's been a disappointing year for the Philadelphia Flyers, who have now lost 5 straight, falling to 13-15-7 on the season after losing at home to the San Jose Sharks in overtime on Saturday night. Something has to give for Chuck Fletcher's team, and if they aren't able to right the ship, and fast, the Flyers could be headed towards a full-blown rebuild.
During a recent edition of the Cam and Strick Podcast, Flyers executive Bobby Clarke dropped a bombshell, revealing that long-time GM Ron Hextall had made some major decisions in recent years that went against the advice of scouts, sometimes not informing the staff of moves at all before he made them.
Among the biggest blunders, according to Clarke, was that the Flyers' scouts all wanted to take Cale Makar with the 2nd overall pick in 2017. Hextall went against their recommendations, selecting Nolan Patrick at #2, and while Patrick appeared to be a fine prospect, his persistent health issues in Philly ultimately led to him being moved to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 3-way deal with the Nashville Predators that brought Ryan Ellis to the Flyers.
In addition, Clarke revealed that Hextall had often chosen players other than what the scouts were recommending or consulted on, which is one of the primary reasons for the team's current struggles. At the very least, you need your first round picks to bear fruit. The Flyers simply haven't had that in recent years.
Clarke also revealed that when Hextall had dealth Brayden Schenn to the St. Louis Blues, nobody in the organization even saw it coming and whiffed on a chance to bring in Ryan O'Reilly after the wheels started to fall off in Buffalo.
"Our scouts were so mad at Hexy for doing that - we also had a chance to get O'Reilly from Buffalo, but we didn't.. obviously, that was a manager's decision, but it was another one that the scouts weren't consulted on," Clarke said.
Hextall was fired as Flyers GM back in November of 2018. He was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins back in February of 2021 to replace long-time Pens general manager Jim Rutherford, who had resigned in Pittsburgh for personal reasons.
