“If there is a trade that makes sense, then we’re open for business” Flyers’ GM Daniel Briere speaks on offseason plans
Despite the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2023-24 season not going as intended, general manager Daniel Briere isn’t planning on straying from the plan.
Briere spoke with the media during the Flyers’ exit interviews on Friday, and he confirmed that while the team’s competitiveness for most of the season won’t cause them to change the long-term goals of the team, he will at least be open to making trades for the betterment of the team right now.
“The timeline that we put in place will still be in effect,” said Briere, “but if there is a trade, a hockey trade that makes sense, then we are open for business.”
For a team that went into the season with the intention of rebuilding, the 2023-24 season went about as horribly as it possibly could. While the Flyers being competitive and holding a playoff spot wasn’t part of that plan, it was still a great opportunity for the players to gain experience. However, losses in 9 of their final 11 games resulted in them missing out on the playoffs by four points, so not only did they not make the playoffs, but their 38-33-11 record has them with only the 12th-best lottery odds. That means that they have an 85.7% chance of drafting 12th, a 9.1% chance of drafting 13th or 14th, and only a 5.3% chance of drafting 2nd, 3rd or 4th, and no chance at all of drafting first overall.
However, Briere’s words on Friday have more or less aligned with what he has intended for the team to do since he took over as GM last May, and has followed along with most of the moves he’s made since then. Last offseason saw him sign stopgap veterans like Marc Staal and Garnet Hathaway to help out the younger players on the team and also move on from center Kevin Hayes and his contract.
The only other trade of significance last summer saw the Flyers move out Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and in return acquire a 1st and 2nd round pick from Columbus and defenseman Sean Walker, prospect Helge Grans, goaltender Cal Petersen and a 2nd-round pick, likely for taking on Petersen’s contract. That was a deal that not only gave them several picks and prospects and an arguable upgrade on defense, but it also gave them another first round pick when they moved Walker to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline.
The Flyers did also still make some moves designed to improve the team at the deadline, acquiring Erik Johnson and Denis Gurianov while only giving up a 4th round pick and Wade Allison in those deals. They also acquired a fifth-round pick by retaining some salary in the Noah Hanifin trade, so it’s safe to say that Briere knows how to be active and make moves that improve his team in the short term and the long term.
The Flyers will enter this offseason with only a projected $3.8 million in cap space, but they also have very few players to re-sign, with only restricted free agent Yegor Zamula and unrestricted free agents Gurianov, Staal, Johnson and Ivan Fedotov on their NHL roster.