Nick Piccone
Last week, in what probably could be the most overlooked story of the summer, Ron Hextall was able to re-sign winger Jake Voracek to an eight-year, $66 million deal. That’ll keep Voracek and Giroux together for the foreseeable future, which is a good thing.
What may have gone a long way in Voracek’s decision to re-sign may not have been just the money, but the fact that his new coach, Dave Hakstol, went the extra 4,000 miles to get to know him. [Philly.com]
“I talked to him over the phone and he told me that he would like to see me in the middle of June,” Voracek said Thursday on a media conference call. “I was like, ‘Yeah that’s perfect, but I’ll be still in Czech.’ He was like, ‘Yeah I know, I’m just going to fly to Czech to have dinner with you.’
So, Hakstol made the trek in June to meet with the Flyers’ leading scorer from 2014-15. Their meeting came well before contract talks between the Flyers and Voracek’s agent, Petr Svoboda, had started to heat up, but Voracek was an obvious piece of the Flyers’ future.
The two talked briefly about the upcoming season and what the coach was expecting from Voracek and the other players on the roster. And then Hakstol flew back westward the next morning.
“When he came down, I asked him what was his next plan, if he’s staying for the week or going somewhere else,” Voracek said. “He was like, ‘No, no. I’m flying back tomorrow morning.’ I told him that’s a long trip for one dinner, but it meant a lot to me and it was great to talk to him eye-to-eye.”
I’m not sure Chip Kelly would ever walk down the street to have dinner with one of his players, much less fly 4,000 miles. But that’s a story for another day.
Love this move by Hakstol. That’s the thing that hopefully will change the culture of this city’s hockey team.