Ron Hextall's past trades that are still harming the Penguins

Kyle Dubas has caught a lot of flack in his first year as general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but many of the team's problems he inherited from previous GM, Ron Hextall.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made big swings last year to change their leadership after missing a chance at the playoffs. This included firing former goaltender and general manager Ron Hextall last April, who preceded Dubas.






Yet, with another chance at post-season long gone and a 14th overall draft pick, it is abundantly clear that the Penguins will need a longer time to recover from their previous leaders' mistakes. Among the greatest of these poor choices was the infamous trade that brought Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round draft pick from the New Jersey Devils to Pittsburgh in exchange for John Marino.




Many fans were upset by this trade deal at the time, and with how events unfolded, their criticisms largely proved correct. John Marino had a solid defensive presence with New Jersey, while Ty Smith got into a sophomore slump and could not get effectively utilized.






Additionally, Hextall made a trade deal that got Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling for Mike Matheson, thus totally dismantling their defensive core. Matheson has outperformed both of them since, and has ultimately been a better deal for Montreal.




With only one year under his belt, Kyle Dubas still has some time to work on remolding the Pittsburgh Penguins and ending their cup drought. Hopefully, he can move beyond the mistakes of the previous team leadership in the seasons to come.

Source - The Hockey News
Ron Hextall Trades Still Dragging Penguins Down