Photo Credit: Zack Hill
Danny Briere, a business man, is now a Special Assistant General Manager to Chuck Fletcher. He joins the ranks of Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr into the same tier as the upper management brass for the Flyers, “I think it’s going to be scouting, evaluating, maybe some player development,” Briere said of his job duties. “I know the organization pretty deeply from all my time and years here. It’s probably over the years, or the next few years going to increase. I’m not sure yet at this point how deep it’s going to go, but from what I was told, I expect to be more and more involved as time goes on.”
Briere means business and it will start at the trade deadline, “For us with the situation we’re in and unfortunately with the way the season has gone, the focus coming up will be what we decide to do the trade deadline,” Briere said. “That will be the first focus coming up shortly. A re-shift maybe towards the amateur draft coming and the position we’re in. Again, it’s unfortunate right now but it might be an opportunity that we have to take advantage of. We have to be prepared for that. That will probably be the next step after the trade deadline.”
A veteran in the Flyers organization like Danny Briere knows the importance of nailing this trade deadline, to further aide the Flyers capital wise for the upcoming NHL Draft. Some of these important assets he speaks of are Rasmus Ristolainen, Claude Giroux, Justin Braun, Derick Brassard, Keith Yandle, Nick Seeler, and Martin Jones. Simply put, anyone that is healthy that has an expiring contract. Moreover, Travis Konecny comes to mind with gaining assets and capital, no one should be safe asides from Carter Hart, Ivan Provorov, Cam Atkinson, and some prospects (Most Notably) Cam York.
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Flyers fans…I hate to say it, but a bit more patience is required, “It’s tough to tell how long it could take for that turnaround,” Briere said. “Obviously, we would love to see the turnaround starting tonight. Being realistic, it might be next year or the following year. Who knows? I think there’s a lot that comes into play. Let’s say we don’t make a push here to make the playoffs and we become sellers. Well, it becomes who’s available to sell at the deadline, and it also depends on what’s available on the other side of the table. When you get a draft pick, it might take a little longer. If you get guys who are coming to the lineup right away to help you out, that might rush it a little bit more. It’s tough to tell at this point.”
Briere continued, “One thing I know is there’s a lot of good players and I don’t think we’re a team that’s as bad as what the standings are showing at this point. You just look at the beginning of the year. We were supposed to have Couturier, Hayes, Brassard and Brown as our number 1 through 4 centermen, but how many games have these guys played? I mean we pretty much lost our top four centermen to start the year. That puts us in a tough position. That’s where I believe we’re definitely not as bad as what it’s showing on paper.”
This trade deadline for the orange and black is the biggest one in a period of time. They have the assets to rebuild on the fly, without tearing down the walls. Danny Briere will guide Fletcher and Flahr, hopefully it turns out to work in the Flyers favor.
