Flyers exec Bobby Clarke rips Penguins GM Ron Hextall for the job he did in Philadelphia

Here’s some more spice for the Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers rivalry.

As if more needs to be added.

Penguins general manager Ron Hextall is being trashed by his former boss in Philadelphia. That’s Flyers legendary player and team senior vice president Bobby Clarke.

Clarke was on “The Cam & Strick Podcast” recently. It’s hosted by former NHL forward Cam Janssen and Blues reporter Andy Strickland. While making the appearance, Clarke panned the job that Hextall did as general manager while he was in Philly.

The biggest complaint from Clarke was about the 2017 draft.

Bobby Clarke “None of our scouts wanted Nolan Patrick” also says Philly could’ve had Ryan O’Reilly. Full episode avail now. ⁦@CamandStrick⁩ #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/PYA6LFa7wW

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) January 11, 2022

“When Hexy came in, he alienated everybody right away,” Clarke said. “He shut his door, he locked the doors, he was the boss. Nobody else was part of it.”

Clarke’s issue is that Hextall forced the selection of Nolan Patrick with the second pick from the Brandon Wheat Kings instead of defenseman Cale Makar from the Brooks Bandits.

“We have the second pick in the draft and end up picking Nolan Patrick. None of our scouts wanted Nolan Patrick,” Clarke insisted. “I don’t know where Patrick should have gone after his performances in Brandon, he’s a pretty good player. They wanted Makar. Of course, he went next. Now he’s a superstar. Hextall made that choice himself.”

Actually, Makar went fourth to Colorado. The Dallas Stars selected Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen third. But close enough. Please continue, Bob.

“There were other choices that were made at our drafts that we’re paying for,” he continued. “We’ve got two or three first-round picks that are never going to play. That’s why we’re struggling. Hexy made some huge mistakes.”

Patrick struggled with a migraine disorder and other health issues with the Flyers. He’s also topped out at 13 goals and 31 points. Now he plays for the Vegas Golden Knights. Meanwhile, Makar won the Calder trophy after the 2020 season and was a finalist for the Norris Trophy in 2021.

Clarke also ripped Hextall for one trade he made and another that he didn’t.

On draft day 2017, he traded Brayden Schenn to the Blues in exchange for Jori Lehtera, the No. 27 pick in the 2017 draft and a conditional first-round pick in the 2018 draft.

“That was just as bad,” Clarke said of the trade. “Nobody knew it. Hexy made that on his own. All of our scouts were at the draft. Our scouts were so mad at Hexy for doing that. We also had a chance to get (Ryan) O’Reilly from Buffalo, but we didn’t. Obviously that’s the manager’s decision, but it’s another one that the scouts weren’t consulted on.”

O’Reilly had 23 points in 26 games with the Blues, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Schenn has posted career highs and won the Stanley Cup in St. Louis. Lehtera played two seasons for the Flyers then jumped to the KHL. The Flyers drafted Morgan Frost with the No. 27 pick. He has bounced between the taxi squad/AHL and NHL. The Flyers also received the No. 14 pick in the 2018 draft. Joel Farabee came with that selection. He’s become a 20-goal scorer in Philly.

Hextall has yet to respond. We’ll see if he does the next time he’s on his GM show on 105.9 The X. Or maybe Brian Burke will do so on his behalf the next time he sits in with host Josh Getzoff. And, frankly, that may be more entertaining.