Normally it’s tough to take a team from a contender and convert it into a dumpster fire, but the now President of the Flyers managed to put his mark on a disgusting roster and spend up to the salary cap with a mangled mess.

Without listing all of Paul Holmgren’s horrendous moves and player evaluations — the Jeff Carter and Mike Richards trades shouldn’t be on that list — it has been quite the site to see develop over the past few years.

For instance, the entire world laughed when at the end of his tenure, Holmgren acquired Steve Mason from Columbus. Thanks to the now-departed Jeff Reese, Mason has gone from being the league’s worst goalie to top-10 in even strength save percentage behind arguably one of the worst defensive units in the league.

It is the recent drafting, asset management and even personnel hires that signal a positive change in Philadelphia. Below is a short list of some of Hextall’s positive moves.

Re-signing Michael Del Zotto, Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier

In due process of trimming the fat on Holmgren’s 540-pound supersized cap hit, Hextall managed to secure a franchise right winger, a top-three defenesman, and a long-term second-line center for the about 21% of the team’s payroll against a rising salary cap in 2016-17. That’a great accomplishment considering what a lot of teams with big pieces already in place are paying.

Michael Del Zotto was given a third chance after falling into Alain Vigneault’s doghouse in New York along with being completely misused in Nashville. A late summer addition to the Flyers in 2014, Del Zotto went on to pot ten goals and 22 helpers on his way to 32 points in 64 games this year, and he is finally starting to look like the player that he projected to be during his draft season.

Additionally, Jakub Voracek has always played like a bigger and stronger version of Patrick Kane. Playing alongside an elite center in Claude Giroux has done wonders for him. Make no mistake, however, after a diet change (eating a ton of protein, leaner foods, and sushi) and work on his skating last year, Voracek was in a race for the Hart Trophy for the duration of the season.

The contract takes him a few years beyond his projected prime into his mid thirties, though Voracek should continue to prove to be an outstanding player.

Couturier has been the center of all sorts of hypotheticals, but he should in theory continue to fill out and help secure Philadelphia’s presence down the middle for years to come. A stalwart in his own end, he managed to nab 36 points last year while starting almost 16% more of his shifts in the defensive zone, along with a positive penalty differential logging around 13 minutes per night.

He’ll have to find more of an offensive game soon, but playing Hakstol’s more well-rounded system will put him in good position to do so.

Hiring Dave Hakstol from the University of North Dakota

Dave Hakstol is a home run in his own right, as his nickname-less North Dakota teams (and nicknamed ones) were quite successful. During his time in Grand Forks, he compiled a 289-141-43 overall record, with his team never failing to qualify for the NCAA postseason. UND has always had a monster presence on the ice, and while (the Sioux) never won the NCAA tournament during his tenure, they came awfully close making the Frozen Four seven times in eleven seasons.

He’ll be better than Craig Berube because there is no way he can be worse.

The 2015 NHL Draft

Watching the Flyers grab defenseman Ivan Provorov from the Brandon Wheat Kings was a special treat for Flyers fans, considering the developments of the aforementioned Del Zotto and Shayne Gostisbehere. This blue line has the potential to be stellar in short order.

When the Flyers took Travis Konecny, it was the icing on the cake. This is a player who can skate at the speed of light and literally blow his way into the zone. After recording 68 points in 60 games as captain of the Ottawa 67’s in 2014-15, it came as a shock that he dropped as far in the draft as he did.

Top it off with the later round picks including late-round steal and Michigan commit Cooper Marody, along with David Kase — Corey Pronman clocked in at 30th overall, Flyers grabbed him at 128 — and the Flyers added players who will undoubtedly help fill out the organizational depth in a big way.

Trading for Sam Gagner and Removing Chris Pronger’s Contract

Sam Gagner wasn’t great last year, nor has he really ever been, but he’ll get a chance to maybe put down some roots in Philadelphia. A player with a high draft stock largely in part due to playing alongside Kane and Sergei Kostitsyn in juniors with the London Knights, Gagner still hasn’t quite fully panned out wherever he’s been, whether it be Edmonton for seven years or Tampa Bay for fifteen minutes.

At best a third liner at this point, he’ll help bring a boost to the bottom of the lineup that at one point included Couturier, RJ Umberger, and a disgruntled Vincent Lecavalier.

To top it all off, the Flyers no longer owe any money to a hall-of-fame inductee in Chris Pronger.

Not Giving Into the Annual Panic Mode Set Off by Ed Snider

It seems that Ed Snider is getting much older and more impatient by the day. Summers have long been interesting with Snider barking down Holmgren’s throat (probably a major reason why some of his moves as GM were genius and others complete garbage), but Hextall has taken the slower and more proper route to building a winner.

His summers at the helm haven’t seen him sign panic moves or bring in players well past their primes a la Holmgren.

Hextall seems to have convinced the impatient media in Philadelphia, along with the fan base and his meddling owner to enjoy the process and wait for the right time to see the finished product. His moves so far have been great, and it’s going to be divine to see how he builds the team in his own image. Slow and steady wins the Cup, or something along those lines.