Chuck Fletcher was the easiest move to make in terms of firing. He accumulated a record of 141-144-52 as General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, when he began his tenure on December 3, 2018. It’s just not good enough for a General Manager that was marred by tons of injuries, Covid, just being unlucky, and not being able to add high-end talent. In the same token, he wasn’t creative enough with trades to acquire top-end talent, rather he used cheaper Band-Aids to stop the bleeding.
Flyers fans deserved better, and they can be thanked for the ousting of Fletcher earlier than expected. As I stated in a previous article earlier in the week, it was very unlikely Fletcher was going to make it unscathed after a dismal trade deadline. This move comes earlier than expected, and that is mainly due to not only the lackluster trade deadline, but persistent Flyers fans being very unhappy and expressing their thoughts at the Town Hall last weekend, to include a protest that is scheduled this past Saturday in terms of “Firing Fletcher and Selling the team.”
There are four senior advisors for the Flyers: Dean Lombardi, Bobby Clarke, Paul Holmgren, and Bill Barber. It’s been widely reported, and I have been told that Fletcher would consult with these advisors before making some decisions. There are just “Too many hands in the cookie jar.” Unfortunately, as in life, the more people you involve or take advice in situations, the worse it can be in most cases. It appears Fletcher became somewhat of a yes man, and unfortunately he was a puppet for the trade deadline, the town hall meeting, and taking heat throughout the fallout of the trade deadline. What this did was buy him time to continue being the President and General Manager of this Hockey club. He did everything he was told to do. Unfortunately, this limited his creativitiness, and ultimately he was giving his final fate. I received credible information that he was supposed to be dismissed in December, thus I wrote that in my mail bags in December, but the team started to win and things changed from there.
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On Friday March 3, 2023, while being present for Chuck Fletcher’s trade deadline presser, Barber was seen leaving the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, NJ shortly there after 3:00 pm. Immediately, I knew the Flyers did not have a trade in the works, with a pending trade call to the league. I do not know who is the final shot caller, or even if that was Fletcher in most cases, but Fletcher would indeed meet with these voices for advice on how to proceed forward. The trade deadline would have been no different as all advisors presumably were present in the “War” Room.” If one can remember former General Manager Ron Hextall took heat for barring some of the Aumni from being directly (Direct contact on and off ice) around his team in such a way, and one can ponder if this is one of those reasons why.
More changes will come within the Flyers Hockey Operations Department. The Flyers appear to be restructuring that with no timeline. It will not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow, but it will happen sooner rather than later. But if the Flyers want to do this “Rebuild” right, then these four advisors should be relieved of whatever duties they entailed on this team. Clarke, Holmgren, and Barber should strictly go back to being alumni, and should not be consulted about any moves or pending trades that may come down the pike. They should strictly be just alumni, or ambassadors to the team like Brian Propp.
“I don’t know at this point. I am not sure. What I can tell you is I have a lot of respect for, I assume you’re talking about Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, and Paul Holmgren. I have a lot of respect for those guys for what they’ve accomplished in their career, both on and off the ice. Lots of respect. I’ve been in this position for 48 hours. I’ve had a quick chat with them. At this point, that’s all that’s happened. We’ll see moving forward with what happens there.” – Interim General Manager Danny Briere
Most notably Clarke, Holmgren, and Barber have done a lot for this organization as players, and Holmgren on the business side when the Flyers needed it. He was recently inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, as well. They should enjoy themselves as alumni, get back to enjoying the fans and appreciate the fruits of life. Let somebody else handle those roles.
Interim General Manager Danny Briere shall be given leeway for the rest of the season, and whomever the next General Manager is should be able to call their own shots without consulting anybody other than the team President and their Assistant General Manager. They should be able to make their own decisions, that’s why they are trusted in this role. It’s time to get rid of the “Too many hands in the cookie jar”.
“I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m okay with it,” Briere said. “I don’t have a problem with the interim tag. I like that Dave and his staff are going to take the proper time to evaluate who should be full time in that position. You know, I see myself staying here and being part of the future. I hope they believe in me as well. It feels that way. I honestly don’t have a problem with the tag. We’ll see what happens next. Like I said, I’m honored to be here and to be in this position. I want to do everything possible to help put this this franchise on the right track at this point.”
“I believe it’s needed. We have to be careful, and I want to make sure that rebuild doesn’t mean fire sale,” Briere said. “There’s a big difference between the two. I want to make that clear. We’re not going to get rid of everybody. We have some good players here. Some players that are in certain roles that we’re going to keep as well. We’re going to look at every possible option out there to improve the team. I don’t think this is a quick fix. That’s my belief and that’s why I’m not afraid to use the word rebuild. As long as you all understand, those little asterix, that it’s not a fire sale.”
It’s refreshing to hear the word “Rebuild” being coined from someone in the upper echelon of the Flyers organization. That was a word that was afraid to be used under the past regime. However, to do this rebuild properly, these four advisors have to be taken out of their roles, to which they are no longer allowed to make decisions or seek input about pending moves or trades. Let’s see what happens, as the shuffling will begin in the Hockey Ops Department shortly.
