Less than a decade after his outstanding 13-year career as an NHL goaltender concluded, Ron Hextall was standing at center ice at the then-Wachovia Center for his Flyers Hall of Fame induction ceremony.



On Feb. 7, 2008, in the first intermission of a game between the Flyers and Capitals, Hextall seized the microphone to address the crowd. After thanking his friends and family, at times pausing to collect himself, Hextall then succinctly summarized what it meant to him to spend the great majority of his playing days in orange and black.



“I was able to follow my passion with a team, an organization, and a city that defines the meaning of passion. A team, an organization, and a city, where excellence is expected — where the love of winning is secondary, only to the hatred of losing,” Hextall said.



Where the love of winning is secondary, only to the hatred of losing. He might as well have been describing himself with those...