Philadelphia Flyers fire GM and president of hockey operations Chuck Fletcher

The Philadelphia Flyers have fired president of hockey operations and general manager Chuck Fletcher.

The move comes less than a week after the trade deadline which saw numerous fans voice their displeasure with how it was handled, and it appeared to the last straw. Fletcher joined the Flyers organization in Dec. 2018. Under his command, the club went 141-145-48. In 2019-20, the Flyers put up a 41-21-7 record and were one game away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final. But also under Fletcher’s command, the team went on a franchise-worst 13-game losing streak. 

“The Philadelphia Flyers organization has always been defined by grit, determination, and a standard of excellence,” said Dave Scott, chairman of Comcast Spectacor and governor of the Flyers, in a statement to The Inquirer. “Over the past several seasons, our team simply has not lived up to that standard, so today, we will begin to chart a new path forward under a new leadership structure for Hockey Operations.”

“This morning, we released Chuck Fletcher from his president and general manager responsibilities. We are grateful for his hard work and dedication to this organization, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

During his tenure with the Flyers, Fletcher made trades to acquire Tony DeAngelo, Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Ellis. At this year’s trade deadline, Fletcher claimed the Flyers were “sellers” and the club was looking at trading pending unrestricted free agent James van Riemsdyk, and other Flyers players.   

“Flyers fans deserve a better team than what they’ve seen on the ice over the past few seasons, and a clear plan to return this team to Stanley Cup contention,” Scott said. “We know that this will be a multi-year process, and we are committed to doing it right because we want to put this franchise on a path toward winning the Stanley Cup, period.”

Fletcher’s first draft with the Flyers saw him select Cam York 14th overall in the 2019 Draft. York made his NHL debut this season and has 13 points in 37 games. His most recent draft selection was Cutter Gauthier at fifth overall in 2022, he leads Boston College with 37 points in 31 games. 

Meanwhile, the Flyers have announced that Daniel Briere will be the interim general manager. Briere is a veteran of 17 NHL seasons, which included six as a member of the Flyers. Briere has also had a role on the Flyers staff prior to this; he joined the Flyers in 2015-16 as Special Assistant to GM, and he served in that role for two years before being named the Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Briere rejoined the Flyers in 2021-22 as a Team Consultant before moving back into his old role as a special assistant. He most recently was assistant general manager for Team Canada’s Spengler Cup team.