After a prolonged absence, with our utmost apologies to our draft partners,
Team He Shoots.......He Scooooores!!! select as our
backup goaltender,
Ron Hextall.
Hexy brings a fiery competitiveness and will to win, matched only by his willingness to do the work to earn his breaks. Plus it never hurts to have some more scoring from the backend....
From Wiki:
Ron Hextall (born
May 3, 1964 in
Brandon,
Manitoba) is a retired Canadian professional
ice hockey goaltender most often associated with the
Philadelphia Flyers of the
National Hockey League.
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 and
Jacques Plante are considered responsible for revolutionizing 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,
[1] which Hextall did from 1986-1989.
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. In his post-game interview Hextall quipped,
“Now before you guys get started I want you to know I was aiming for that corner.”
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.
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. By losing in game seven to both the Oilers and the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs the following year, Hextall earned a reputation for losing in the most important games. 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.
Awards
Stats
NHL Reg Season:
608GP 296W 214L 69T 23SO 2.98GAA .895Sv% 1G 32A 714PIMs
NHL Playoffs:
93GP 47W 43L 2SO 3.03GAA .897Sv% 1G 4A 115PIMs
YouTube Goodies:
Hextall's 1st Goal:
Hextall takes out Chelios:
Interviewed by Bill Clement after scoring in the playoffs:
(Be glad I'm not posting the naked interview here!!! LOL)