Bill Zito Owes Ron Hextall A Thank You Letter
Sports, man. You just never know. The Chinese farmer is real and you will respect him. I have no idea what lucky horseshoe Bill Zito has up his pooper but he should be thanking his lucky stars. Better yet, has he written Ron Hextall a thank you letter yet? If not, Zito should really consider doing so in order to keep the karma gods on his side.
The Florida Panthers looked dead three weeks ago. They were about to miss the playoffs after winning the President’s trophy the year before. The sad part is it was completely their fault. Matthew Tkachuk is a great player but they destroyed their incredible team in order to make it happen. We talked about it plenty. Again, Tkachuk is an awesome player. I would have moved mountains to make him happen and he wouldn’t be playing for the Panthers if I was running a team. We have the proof.
Nevertheless, I’m not running a team, yet, so we can only analyze what’s going on from the outside. The truth of the matter is Zito really botched the trade. Weegar was the only real defenseman that team had. Huberdeau was also the magic elixir for the best offense in the NHL. Florida regressed in everything. Tkachuk has just decided to do the impossible and has basically been the single best player in the NHL this postseason.
They also wouldn’t even be here if Ron Hextall wasn’t a total dope. Yes, it’s not something that we can forget. Of course, Pittsburgh missed the postseason for the first time in 16 years. Pittsburgh missed the playoffs by one point. I want you to think about the things that happened to allow Florida to even make the postseason.
- April 11th lost 5-2 to Chicago. A team that just landed Connor Bedard and owns the number one overall pick.
- April 13th overtime loss to Columbus. A win in either game or an OT loss to Chicago gets Pittsburgh in. Here is the schedule for Pittsburgh if you want to take a look at it. The Penguins literally lost to the two worst teams in the league to blow a playoff spot.
Oh, I’m not done. Keep in mind the Penguins missed the playoffs by one point. Here are all the bad trades by Hextall that likely prevented the Penguins from getting the extra wins they needed to get in. Again, we’re talking about a team that had made the playoffs 16 years in a row that blew it. This is a good post that also details every move made by Hextall but I’m going to list them out for you here.
April 11, 2021
Penguins acquire: Forward Jeff Carter
Los Angeles Kings acquire: 2022 third-round pick (conditional), a 2023 fourth-round pick
Carter is literally trash. Didn’t used to be but is now. Carter, 38, put up 29 points in 79 games and was a -16 this year. Carter was also signed to a stupid extension but we don’t need to beat a dead horse.
July 17, 2021
Penguins: Forward Filip Hallander, 2023 seventh-round pick
Toronto Maple Leafs: Jared McCann
Jared McCann scored 40 goals this year for Seattle. I’m not even joking.
July 21, 2021
Penguins: Lost forward Brandon Tanev to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen were both protected. Just totally mind-boggling.
Jan. 5, 2022
Penguins: Forward Alex Nylander
Chicago Blackhawks: Forward Sam Lafferty
Alex Nylander is an AHL player and Chicago got a serious draft pick compensation from Toronto for Lafferty who helped their bottom 6.
July 16, 2022
Penguins: Defenseman Ty Smith, 2023 third-round pick in 2023 NHL Draft.
New Jersey Devils: Defenseman John Marino
Tye Smith played nine games for the Penguins and has mostly proven to be an AHL player. John Marino was a +21 for New Jersey in 64 games and provided tremendous value on the Devils’ blue line. Doesn’t have the most offensive juice in the tank but really solid puck moving defender.
March 1, 2023
Penguins: Forward Mikael Granlund
Nashville Predators: A 2023 second-round pick
The $5 million AAV for Granlund is gross. He also put up 5 points in 21 games and is considered a terrible defensive player.
There are more but I don’t need to even get into them. If Hextall literally makes one less terrible move, the Penguins are in.
Want to hear the more insane part? Bill Zito is a finalist for GM of the year. No, I am not joking. GM of the year for guiding an 8 seed into the playoffs by one point.
Does Bill Zito understand how lucky he is? If Hextall was marginally more intelligent, Zito is likely fired and never gets a job again. Talk about the margins. I don’t know what Zito did to deserve these good graces but he should be thanking his lucky stars. Zito owes Hextall a thank you letter. That only seems fair.
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