General manager (GM) Danny Briere has seen himself emerge as a fan-favorite for the Philadelphia Flyers, being the first GM in decades to openly use the word “rebuild,” referring to his team-building process. Since being named the full-time GM on May 11, 2023, has he actually lived up to that? If you really look into it, not really.
When looking at Briere’s moves and the lack thereof, it is arguable that he and the Flyers have not done enough. In reality, they haven’t done much of anything to indicate that they are truly in a rebuild—will that change?
Briere’s 2023 Offseason Wasn’t a Rebuild
After finishing 29th (2021-22) and 26th (2022-23) in the NHL standings with former GM Chuck Fletcher, who never stated he was rebuilding and didn’t make the big changes to start that kind of process, Briere took over and made just three trades in the 2023 offseason despite having countless veterans with trade value. If that wasn’t enough, all three of those trades were sort of designed to make the Flyers better, not worse—his addition-by-subtraction method worked like a charm.
The big move was when Briere sent Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a huge return including Sean Walker, Cal Petersen, Helge Grans, a 2023 first-round pick, and two 2024 second-round picks. This was an excellent deal, don’t get it twisted. But it was also made to make the Flyers better—the Blue Jackets simply had no idea of what they were working with.
At that point, Provorov was damaged goods. From 2020-21 through his final season in 2022-23, the Flyers were better without him on the ice than with him actually out there. In that time, he had an expected goals percentage (xGF%) of 46.1 and an expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) of 2.82 at even strength. When he wasn’t out there, the Flyers held a 47.8 xGF% and 2.76 xGA/60 at even strength. It’s marginally better, sure, but they were nonetheless a better hockey team without him.
As a significantly below-average first-pairing defenseman, Briere didn’t really have a choice in trading Provorov. Again, he did an excellent job, but trading a liability off of your roster does not prove that you are in a rebuild. If anything, it does the opposite.
In some lower-end moves, the Flyers traded Kevin Hayes for a sixth-round pick and bought out Tony DeAngelo, which triggered a compensatory trade of sorts between Philadelphia and the Carolina Hurricanes—Briere traded away David Kase for prospect Massimo Rizzo and a fifth-round pick.
In total, Briere traded two legitimate roster players from his 2022-23 team and bought one out. Considering all three of those players were defensive liabilities on a team that was actually pretty good defensively, the Flyers arguably got better in theory—they did so in practice, too. With the Flyers adding veterans Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Poehling, Garnet Hathaway, Marc Staal, and Walker to their roster the following season versus the previous one, it’s really not all that shocking that their record improved in 2023-24.
Related: Flyers Offseason Roster Management Driving Their Success
In the 2023 offseason, there were a bunch of names thrown around. Players like Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Travis Sanheim were all names that arose as trade bait, yet none of them left. Had they done so, it might have actually proven that Briere was rebuilding, and would have also served to maximize those players’ trade value. Now, Konecny only has one season left on his contract, Laughton struggled immensely in 2023-24, and Sanheim now has a no-trade clause (NTC)—the ship has all but sailed.
Alas, Briere kept those players and the team finished 21st in the standings, not good or bad—they were mediocre, which is what plagued them in the 2010s. Seemingly, this was done by design.
Are the Flyers Losing Sight of Their “Rebuild”?
Since that offseason, things have not gotten more clear on the rebuilding front. While it’s true that they were sellers at the trade deadline and gave away a big piece like Walker, so did the Pittsburgh Penguins—they have never once indicated that they are in a rebuild, yet traded an even better player, Jake Guentzel.
What the Flyers did do were a few things. It’s not all that notable, but they traded a fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for 36-year-old defenseman Erik Johnson, who Briere might actually extend. Around the same time, they gave a four-year extension to 31-year-old defenseman Nick Seeler—do these sound like rebuilding moves?
Most notably, the Flyers traded one of the NHL’s best prospects, Cutter Gauthier, to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. Even five months later, we don’t know everything about the story, but the consensus is that the 20-year-old forward didn’t want to play for the Orange and Black and forced his way out—Briere’s hands were somewhat tied in this situation.
However, “somewhat tied,” does not mean that Briere didn’t have some wiggle room. At the time of the trade, the Flyers had a 20-13-6 record, sitting in a playoff spot but needing some offensive creativity—that’s exactly what Drysdale provided, but he was unusable defensively. Instead of going for a legitimate prospect or some draft picks, Philadelphia went out and got a young roster player.
Now, Briere’s trade for Drysdale seems to mostly be in good faith. He has a superstar ceiling, plays a position (right-handed defense) where the Flyers are weak prospect-wise, and is still just 22 years old. At the same time, it is also true that this move likely served as one to make Philadelphia better in the short term. It definitely wasn’t the main reason, but the motivation for doing so seems clear. Wondering why the Flyers didn’t go for a high-end draft pick or a younger prospect, assuming that was in the cards, is very reasonable.
Today, the Flyers have yet to indicate that they want to trade any roster players and still have not made any moves. They’re likely taking it slow for now, but they also made their first splash on June 6 in Briere’s first season—that date passed a while ago.
Instead, the speculation is that the Flyers could extend Konecny, who becomes a free agent in 2025, to what is likely to be a long-term contract that will kick in when he is 28. Giving a non-superstar player that kind of deal goes against everything that a rebuilder stands for. Seeing as there is a legitimate concern that he could be a shell of himself once he nears his mid-30s, this would be a historically unprecedented move—you’d be hard-pressed to find an openly rebuilding team that would even toy with this sort of idea. Just maybe, that’s because the Flyers were never rebuilding in the first place.
How Briere Can Turn Things Around
Things really don’t have to be this doom and gloom, though. Briere can turn things around very quickly if he chooses to part ways with players like Konecny and Laughton, explores the market on younger forwards like Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, etc. In a flash, he can both improve the roster in the long term by acquiring another early first-round pick in a stacked 2024 class and simultaneously show that he is serious about rebuilding.
Until that happens, though, there isn’t conclusive evidence that the Flyers are rebuilding other than the fact that they have said it explicitly. At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words—the Orange and Black have done a lot of talking, yet not a lot of acting. They have “rebuilt,” the only way they know how to this point: taking shortcuts that ultimately limit their upside—they’ve been doing this for decades.
Briere is a legend in Flyers lore, so it would be a shame if he repeated the sins that even his GM committed when he was with the Orange and Black. If he is serious about a rebuild, he needs to start acting like it. Otherwise, their 49-year Stanley Cup drought might continue to grow to unfathomable heights.