Flyers Name Hextall GM

Report From PhiladelphiaFlyers.com

The Philadelphia Flyers today named Paul Holmgren President and Ron Hextall General Manager.

In his new role, Holmgren will oversee both the business and hockey operations of the Flyers and will report directly to Flyers Chairman Ed Snider. Hextall will become responsible for the day-to-day management of the Flyers’ hockey operations and will report to Holmgren. Both appointments are effective immediately.
“Over the past eight seasons, Paul has done an outstanding job,” said Snider.  “He picked up the pieces of our disastrous season in 2006 and immediately made changes that took us to the Conference Finals the very next year, and we have consistently been in contention ever since.   He’s been a Flyer for 35 years and has earned the opportunity to run our entire organization.

“Ron is one of the league’s bright young stars on the management side, and we’re very fortunate to have him.  He’s had success in Los Angeles and will now put that experience to work for us as General Manager.   We all remember the enthusiasm, work ethic and personality he had as a player, and we’re excited to watch him bring those qualities to building a team that will contend for the Stanley Cup.”

Holmgren, 58 (12/2/1955) played for the Flyers from 1976-84 and became an assistant coach in 1985.  He was named the head coach of the Flyers on June 1, 1988, becoming the first former player to be named head coach of the team, and served in that position until December 4, 1991.

After four seasons with the Hartford Whalers organization, Holmgren returned to the Flyers as a scout on November 6, 1995.  He was promoted to Director of Pro Scouting in 1997 and then Assistant General Manager in 1999.

“I am very excited to get started in this new role and would like to thank Mr. Snider for this opportunity,” Holmgren said.  “I look forward to working closely with Mr. Snider, (Comcast-Spectacor President) Dave Scott, (Comcast-Spectacor Chief Financial Officer) Gary Rostick and (Flyers Chief Operating Officer) Shawn Tilger, as well as Ron, in unifying the business side with the hockey side and pushing the Flyers to new levels both on the ice and off.”

Hextall, 50 (5/3/1964), returned to the Flyers organization last summer when he was named Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations on July 15, 2013.  He had spent the previous seven seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, where he held the title of Vice President and Assistant General Manager.  He assisted in all facets of the Kings’ hockey operations department while helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2012. Hextall was also the general manager of the Manchester Monarchs, LA’s American Hockey League affiliate. The Monarchs made the playoffs in six of their seven seasons under Hextall’s watch, including a division title in 2007 and two trips to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Hextall played 11 years for the Flyers (1986-92 & 1994-99) and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a goaltender (489) and wins (240).  Upon his retirement, Hextall moved into the Flyers’ front office, where he spent three years as a pro scout and four as Director of Pro Player Personnel before joining the Kings in 2006.

“I’m extremely excited about this new opportunity to manage the Philadelphia Flyers,” Hextall said.  “I look forward to working closely with Paul in our new hockey structure and working towards our ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”