For me, the Hextall clock starts ticking the day after the Cup is won. He has to make the transition from Ron the Rebuilder to the roster shaper, and the new focus must be evident in the off-season moves. Patience is good because there is every reason to believe that the answers to this team's failures are already in-house. As I have posted before, though, Hextall has wealth of talent at pretty much every position that could be used if a sweetheart deal presents itself. Hextall has the benefit of not being obliged to swing deals and can drive as hard a bargain as he wants with his more desperate colleagues.
I would still like to see one move -- not a knee-jerk but a BIG move that makes long-term success -- to shout that what fans have seen in this series is unacceptable for this franchise. We discussed Doughty -- and I'm still very interested in this scenario -- but arguably the biggest black hole in the short-term roster is the goaltender who can get this franchise from the submediocrity at present to (hopefully) Hart / Sandstrom as starter. Going back to the Flyers West theme, Quick has 5 years left at $5.8 million. It's more term than I would like but if the stars align and he could be had for a reasonable return, that gives a couple of years of Hart in the AHL and then 1-2 years as backup. In 4ish years, Quick can transition to backup, get dealt, or waived when the next lockout produces a Get Out of Jail Free card. In 2020-21 his actual pay goes from $7 million to $3.5 million and then down by $500,000 in each of the last 2 years.
Like Doughty / Karlsson discussions, it is all predicated on how much it would cost the Flyers. Quick just turned 32 so age will start to be a factor in a couple of years. Imagine the plus to the young roster -- I'm thinking of you, Sanheim -- when not every mistake ends up in the back of the net. Plus, it would be fun to put to rest the "goalie graveyard" albatross around this team's neck.
Being objective, the Flyers are in an enviable position of having their top 6 and top pairing all but squared away for next season, and some piece in place to fill the remaining slots as flotsam and jetsam are allowed to drift away. A big splash in goal, while not flushing the future, would be huge as the skaters win their spots.
