Briere says Flyers are willing to eat cap hits - for a price
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With the Philadelphia Flyers visiting the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere joined TSN1200 on Friday to discuss the rebuilding process as well as the possibility the Flyers could provide cap relief to other teams through trades.
The Flyers currently have less than a million in cap space, but could open significant room by using long-term injured reserve. The ability to take on large contracts from cash-strapped teams is something Briere is ready to use in order to help his team compete down the line.
"There's decisions that are going to be made that will look at the future, but at the same time we're not trying to lose on purpose," said Briere.
General manager Pierre Dorion and the Senators are among those teams looking for cap relief as they work on signing restricted free agent Shane Pinto, and Briere hinted that there may be something in the works with Ottawa.
"I've talked to many teams, and I've let them know there's a possibility for us to help them (clear up cap space) if they're able to help us on the back end with some younger guys," he said.
"Teams are very well aware of the position that we're in and hopefully we can work together to make something happen but... the future will tell."
Briere looks to build Flyers back to glory
Briere joined the Flyers head office during the 2021-22 season, when he was named special assistant to the general manager. He was promoted to GM on May 11, 2023.
From 1994-95 to 2011-12, the Flyers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs every season but one (2006-07), while advancing to the Conference Finals five separate times, and the Stanley Cup Finals twice.
In the past 11 seasons, however, the Flyers have qualified for the playoffs just four times, and have only won a single playoff round (2019-20).
This prompted Briere to commit to a full tear-down of the roster with a goal of building a contender down the road.
"If you look at the last 10 years in the Flyers organization, they've been kind of swimming in the middle of the standings: one year making the playoffs, next year missing, back and forth," said Briere. "Never good enough to make a deep playoff run."
"You look at teams, the way they're built - it takes time. We have to do this the right way. There's no more cutting corners or trying to do some patchwork."
The focus on looking forward manifested in the selection of talented Russian centre Matvei Michkov with the seventh selection in this year's NHL Entry Draft, despite the fact he was signed for three years to play hockey in the KHL.
"We would love to have [Michkov], we would love if he was available earlier, but we're going through a rebuild and we can afford to wait for him," said Briere. "He looks like a special player."
This new philosophy was also showcased in a three-team trade in June, where the Flyers sent Ivan Provorov, Kevin Connauton and Hayden Hodgson away in exchange a first-round and two second-round draft picks. Philadelphia also received a number of players from the Los Angeles Kings, including Cal Petersen - who is signed to a $5 million AAV contract.
The Flyers opened their season with 4-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, and they square off against the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday.