In the 1992 off-season, Hextall was part of the trade which brought Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindros, who had been picked first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1991 entry draft, had refused to play for Quebec during the 1991–92 season, forcing the club's owner Marcel Aubut to trade him. While negotiating to get the best possible deal, Aubut traded Lindros to both the Flyers and the Rangers, meaning an arbitrator had to rule which club should receive him. During the ten days between the trades being made and the arbitrator's ruling, there was a lot of speculation about which Flyers' and Rangers' players were involved in the potential trades. Hextall was among the players mentioned, something which he was unhappy about. Speaking through his agent, Hextall admitted to being "scared to death" about the possibility of moving with his family to the French-speaking area. On July 30, the arbitrator ruled in favour of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Hextall was traded to Quebec, along with five other players, two first round selections (in 1993 and 1994), and $15,000,000 cash for Lindros.