The demise of Ron Hextall...

[jf-laflaire]

Case study (I guess)...

What are your opinions on Ron Hextall's decline as a goalie?

He was considered to have a shot at being the greatest goalie of all time after his first 3 seasons and also in Juniors. I read something that Johnny Bower went to see him when he played for the Wheat Kings and thought that if he were to make it, it would be on heart and not talent. I thought he had a ton of talent...

Was it...

(a) Injuries
(b) Style changes (obsolete)
(c) Other

My thoughts.

I felt his injuries got to him. He's always been one of my favorites. You can't argue against the fact that he revolutionized the position like no other. We saw goalies shoot the puck and handle it but not to the magnitude he did.

[sloth2946]

He injured his groin in the early 90's while in his last season or two with the Floppers the first time around and tried to come back too early. He never healed properly and was never able to perform at that high level again.

[rayn30]

May not of been the best puck stopper. But could he shoot and handle the puck. He has influenced the goaltending world forever....................... Unless they go ahead with the new rules and no let us touch the puck behind the net.

[leaferguy]

The groin, at the least, significantly affected him. He always had to dedicate a lot of time to stretching. I remember that he used to stretch in between faceoffs to prevent it from getting bad.

[Berg]

I read an interview he did a few years back. He said that he believed he was stretching so much and be came over-flexible, and his body just couldn't handle it resulting in the first, then repeated groin injuries. He never really healed completely from the first one.

He's still one of my favorite goaltenders of all time. No one else had the heart and passion between the pipes as he brought to the game.

[sloth2946]

Originally Posted by Berg

He's still one of my favorite goaltenders of all time. No one else had the heart and passion between the pipes as he brought to the game.

*cough* Billy *cough* Smith *cough*

[leaferguy]

Berg, I'll give the nod to almost anyone who played without a mask when it comes to passion to play

[teamgoalie]

Ron Hextall was my favorite goalie as a kid growing up and I have paterned a lot of my game away from the actual stopping of the puck after him. His sense of the "team concept" is what I think actually helped him decided to leave the game, he was only 32, when clearly he could have went to an expansion team (Columbus, Nashville) and probably been helpful for younger goalies (ie. Denis).

That being said there is no greater example of Hexy's faults as a netminder than the 1993 playoff series vs Montreal (when he was with Quebec). Once the Canadiens figured out that low shots while Hextall was moving laterally (see Muller's game winner in game 5....first 2 goals in Game 6) gave him trouble, both with allowing the goal and stopping his momentum while overchallenging and thus having trouble with rebounds (see game 4). because he developed his style during the early mid 80's out West, he wasn't exposed to the b'fly until his late 20's early 30's and by then was unable to adapt to the new style NHL (where all the goals where, and for the most part still are, scored from 10 feet or less in front of the net.

I think had he been able to have been trained as a b'fly goalie, he would have had great success with the technique due to his size (6'3 200 lbs.) and his athletism, which despite his size actually made him quite mobile and quick.

I was truly saddened when he retired and actually get quite pissed off when people don't give him the credit he deserves for his contribution to the form of the modern goaltender. It was nice to see Martin Brodeur acknowledge him in the current edition of the Hockey News. I think that if the NHL continued to allow goalies to play the puck without restrictions then Hextall deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (maybe in the builders category) for what he has brought to the game.




Jeff

[masksbyoldbear]

[quote=Berg]I read an interview he did a few years back. He said that he believed he was stretching so much and be came over-flexible, and his body just couldn't handle it resulting in the first, then repeated groin injuries. He never really healed completely from the first one.

There is a need for both flexibility and strength in sports. I may very well be that his range of motion developed to an extreme, while his strength was not up to the level it needed to be. Such an imbalance could lead to a decline in performance, and possibly further injury.

You could equate this to the example of a door in a house. It is able to swing through it's full range with out any problems. But try to use the door to push a very heavy weight along the floor as it swings. The door itself may flex or even break. Replace the hollow house door with a solid steel door, and the job is much easier, with no reduction in available range of motion.

[sloth2946]

Originally Posted by teamgoalie

I think that if the NHL continued to allow goalies to play the puck without restrictions then Hextall deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (maybe in the builders category) for what he has brought to the game.

He won 275 games with a Conn Smythe and Vezina. He might get there on merit as he was at one point one of the most dominating goalies in the game. I would not be opposed to seeing him enshrined.

[jf-laflaire]

Would anyone disagree (or agree with this analogy...)

Ron Hextall is to 80's goaltending style as Brodeur is to 90's goaltending style.

I didn't say 00's b/c he's not a pure butterfly goalie.


I think Hextall deserved much more then what happened. He was an exceptional athlete. Hextall reminds me of Bill Smith in the way that they control the front of the net with their sticks too. I think that's a lost art in today's game.

[teamgoalie]

JF.....


Hextall controlled his crease because he was a tough as nails old school throw-back kind of player. He didn't want his defensmen to come to his rescue, he'd get his own hands dirty.

Nowadays I find too many goalies, in all kinds of places from pro to beer league, who think they're tough because they have a lot of grear on, but when you get face to face with them (in between periods (switching ends), after a game shaking hands, or even upstairs at the rinks' bar.....all of the sudden Mr.I'm-going-to-kill-you shocking has nothing to say and infact can't even look you in the eyes.....

Sorry....personal story from last week there.....


My point being Hexy was bad because he was....not because he was trying to be.



Jeff

[Weirdo]

Originally Posted by rayn30

May not of been the best puck stopper.

Tell that to his accomplishements:
NHL All-Rookie Team (1987)
NHL First All-Star Team (1987)
Vezina Trophy (1987)
Conn Smythe Trophy (1987)

[Clyde]

Originally Posted by jf-laflaire

Hextall reminds me of Bill Smith in the way that they control the front of the net with their sticks too. I think that's a lost art in today's game.

Depends on where you play I guess.

[chakal]

Simple for Hextall, other teams were watching videos of him and they found his big flaws. That's what Montreal did in 93 after game 2 (quebec led 2-0 vs Montreal in the first round of playoffs). Hextal wasn't patient and wasn't in a stable stence when he was moving lateraly.

Then, they just made him move lateraly before shooting. Also, what makes Hextall look badder, was that other goalies around, especialy the new ones, were better and better.

It's easier to look good when your #2 behind you is Ken Wregget than when it's Roberto Luongo. Butterfly goalies made Hextall looks bad. That didn't help too.