With his hands in his suit pockets, former Flyers star goalie Ron Hextall paced the floor of Prudential Center in Newark at last month’s NHL Entry Draft.

His contract as assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Kings was about to expire and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren was looking to make a move. A day prior, Holmgren met with Vinny Lecavalier, the former Tampa Bay Lightning center, whom he eventually signed.

That weekend, there was another acquisition he had in mind.

After a quick chat with the Flyers’ GM at the draft and a couple weeks to think about it, Hextall, 49, agreed to join the Flyers again.

He will become an assistant general manager, along with salary-cap guru Barry Hanrahan, effective August 1. He also will be the director of hockey operations, a title previously held by Chris Pryor, whose duties will remain the same, but title will change to director of scouting.

“I don’t have anything earth-shattering other than to say it was a gut feeling and that’s what I went with,” Hextall said in a conference callMonday night. “My family is out East. I have a history with the Flyers. There were a lot of things that factored into my decision.”

In Holmgren’s eyes, it may have been his best move of the offseason to get the former goalie back in Philadelphia on what he would only call a “multi-year deal.”

“He's probably the most highly-thought-of guy who is not a GM,” Holmgren said in a conference call Monday night.

“To add him to our staff is huge.”

(Click here to continue reading)

 

Dave Isaac covers the Flyers for 97.3 ESPN and The Courier Post.  Reach Dave Isaac at disaac@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @davegisaac.

More From 97.3 ESPN