Flyers' Ron Hextall talks about Dave Hakstol, Dale Weise, scoring woes and more
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, whose inconsistent team is seven points out of a playoff spot with 11 games left, met with reporters on Monday. Some highlights:
On center Sean Couturier, who had three assists in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win over Carolina: "When he's playing the way he's capable of playing, he's a big power forward. Last night, was one of those moments when you go, 'That's it.' "
On whether he feels most of his players have under-achieved this season: "I don't know if that's fair to say."
On the Flyers' scoring woes this season: "We're getting to the net. I think our net-front presence is good. We're there for rebounds and doing a lot of things we should do. There are some nights it seems like it's puck luck, but you can't look at the whole year and say it's puck luck."
On the team's slim playoff chances: "Obviously, we need a lot of help here, but we're going to focus on doing our part."
On captain Claude Giroux saying he didn't feel like himself until the last few weeks, that his hip and abdominal surgery took a long time to heal: "The player knows how the player feels. The player is truly the only one who can say whether he's had issues with that or not….I know G is playing real well right now. He looks real dialed in."
On whether he got the best value in off-season signings: "We signed Dale Weise to a four-year deal. If you're evaluating right now, you'd probably say he hasn't put up the type of numbers that we hoped. He's playing pretty well lately. He's certainly a better player than he's shown over the course of the year. I think at the time we added depth to our lineup and we expected 12 to 15 goals and he's nowhere near there. In a nutshell, we all know Dale can play better."
On second-year coach Dave Hakstol's performance this season: "Dave's done a good job. I have no issue with the job he's done. Are we having a great year? No. But it's not over. We'll sit down at the end of the year and we'll evaluate our personnel and free agents and restricted free agents and make decisions at an appropriate time. Right now, we're focused on the season, particularly tomorrow night" in Winnipeg.
On grading himself as a general manager: "I'll let other people talk about stuff like that. At the end of the year, I'll look at everybody, including myself."