Archive: As Star Player and Now GM, Briere Has Brought Great Things to Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are currently under the guidance of GM Daniel Briere, but in this cover story from The Hockey News’ Oct. 16, 2007 edition – Vol. 61, Issue 5 – senior writer Mike Brophy penned a deep-dive profile of Briere at the beginning of his time playing for the Flyers.

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At the time the story was published, Briere was in his first season as a Flyer after signing an eight-year, $52-million contract as a UFA. He’d averaged 28 goals per season in his final three seasons as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, and Philadelphia brought him in to be a key driver of their offense. He produced 31 goals and 72 points in 79 games for Philly in 2007-08, and he was lured to the Flyers after talking to good friend and NHL goaltender Martin Biron.

“I thought I was going to stay in Buffalo,” Briere told Brophy. “When I realized things were moving in a different direction…I called Marty (Biron) and tried to get some info on the Flyers. I started looking at some of the other teams and I really liked the direction the Flyers were going in with the young guys…their signing of (Kimmo) Timonen and (Scott) Hartnell and bringing in guys with leadership as well. I asked Marty how he liked it and I talked to Denis Gauthier, too. Everything I was told about the team, the city and the coaches was very positive.”

Although Briere was a baby-faced, calm individual, those who knew him best understood what a fiery competitor he was underneath his physical appearance.

“He’s a very vocal guy in the dressing room, the kind of guy that lets his teammates know what he expects from them,” Biron said of Briere. “He’s one of the most fierce competitors I’ve seen in the league – not just scoring goals, but battling along the boards, taking draws, even playing cards on the plane. He’s a competitor in the truest sense of the word.”

In his six seasons as a Flyer, Briere missed out on the playoffs only one season, and in four of those years, the Flyers made it at least to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds, but his heart was as big as any NHLer, and he’s now carried that energy over to the management side in Philly. The pressure involved with playing in that sports-crazed market never overwhelmed Briere, and that tough mentality continues to this day as he tries to steer the Flyers to Cup glory.

“The pressure was never something I looked at,” Briere told Brophy. “The pressure of playing somewhere in particular wasn’t going to make or break any deal. Pressure doesn’t bother me.

“I grew up in Ottawa cheering for Montreal and reading the papers every day. I know what it’s like, it’s part of the game. It’s all part of us having the chance to live our dream and to earn a very good living. I feel fortunate to be in the position I am in. The pressure doesn’t bother me. Actually it is probably something that will push me to take the next step.”

Vol. 61, No. 5, Oct. 16, 2007

By Mike Brophy

There was a day when, if you didn’t have to duck, your legs weren’t dragging on the ground, you could not play for the Philadelphia Flyers.

They were the NHL’s biggest, meanest and scariest team and would spit out opponents like they were sunflower seeds.

Other teams dreaded playing in Philadelphia. Never mind leaving with a win; they just wanted to make it out alive, period. Former Maple Leafs defenseman Jim McKenney used to joke, “We’d be walking into the Philadelphia Spectrum and when we’d look over our shoulder, our bus would still be shaking.”

It was that scary. Indeed, it was not unusual for some of the game’s meeker players to fall ill with the “Flyer flu” and skip games altogether in Philadelphia.

But times are changing. There’s a new gangster in town, not nearly as mean or menacing. He’s more Richie Cunningham than the Fonz. He goes by the name of Baby Face Briere.

That’s right, the once-feared Flyers are now being led by a guy who, when he plays in the backyard with his three sons, looks more like their older brother than their father. This is a guy who routinely gets asked for ID when he orders a beer.

“Every time,” says Briere with a laugh. “You know, when you are 19 and 20 years old, it’s not funny. It’s pretty frustrating. But as I grow older, it’s something you enjoy more and more, getting older and still getting asked for ID.”

Briere, one of the most sought-after unrestricted free agents on the market this summer, turned 30 Oct. 6, the night his new team played its second game of the season in Edmonton. The leading scorer on the Buffalo Sabres last year with 32 goals and 95 points in 81 games, Briere’s task is to rescue Philadelphia from the depths of hockey hell. The Flyers have not been quick to adapt to the new, faster-paced NHL and consequently finished dead-last in 2006-07 with an appalling 22 wins, their lowest total since 1969-70 when they had just 17.

This is not a position Briere envisioned himself in a few short months ago.

“I’ll be honest, I thought I was going to stay in Buffalo,” he says. “When I realized things were moving in a different direction near the end of June, I called Marty (Biron) and tried to get some info on the Flyers. I started looking at some of the other teams and I really liked the direction the Flyers were going in with the young guys…their signing of (Kimmo) Timonen and (Scott) Hartnell and bringing in guys with leadership as well.

“I asked Marty how he liked it and I talked to Denis Gauthier, too. Everything I was told about the team, the city and the coaches was very positive.”

Coming out of the lockout, the Flyers went against the grain, perhaps not believing the NHL was serious about cracking down on obstruction. While most teams tried to get faster, the Flyers bulked up on the blueline with monster-sized D-men, the likes of Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Chris Therien. It didn’t take long to figure out their strategy was not a sound one.

Bad luck has also played a role in the demise of the Flyers. They acquired superstar center Peter Forsberg, but he was in and out of the lineup with foot issues right up until the time they dealt him to Nashville.

New GM Paul Holmgren, however, has done a remarkable job remolding the team in a very short time span. It started when he moved Forsberg to the Predators for Scottie Upshall and hot prospect Ryan Parent, plus first- and third- round draft picks. He also obtained veteran goalie Martin Biron, who had lost his No. 1 status in Buffalo to Ryan Miller.

Then, when the Predators held a fire sale, Holmgren rolled the dice on impending UFAs Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell and got them both signed before free agent season kicked off. And Holmgren didn’t stop there. He also nabbed veteran blueliner Jason Smith, the Flyers’ new captain, from Edmonton. Joffrey Lupul, who may or may not help the team, also arrived in that deal.

Holmgren’s boldest move, though, was signing Briere. At 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds, he does not strike fear into the opposition the way Dave Schultz, Don Saleski, Moose Dupont or even Kate Smith once did. Heck, at the height of his teenybopper success, Donny Osmond looked more menacing than Briere.

But don’t let his childlike looks fool you – Briere means business.

“He’s a guy who, when he came to Buffalo, along with Chris Drury, he brought a new attitude and a new sense of where the team and organization needed to go,” says Biron, a longtime pal. “He’s a very vocal guy in the dressing room, the kind of guy that lets his teammates know what he expects from them.

“He’s one of the most fierce competitors I’ve seen in the league – not just scoring goals, but battling along the boards, taking draws, even playing cards on the plane. He’s a competitor in the truest sense of the word.”

Although Briere was a natural point producer all through his minor and junior hockey days, there was a fear he might not be able to compete at the NHL level because of his size. So it was no surprise he wasn’t chosen until 24th overall in the 1996 draft, even though he led the QMJHL with 63 goals and 163 points that season. This was the old clutch-and-grab NHL when smaller players were at a distinct disadvantage. He finished second in team scoring with Phoenix in 2001-02, but was traded away the following season for biggie-sized center Chris Gratton, a deal the Coyotes surely regret.

Briere blossomed in Buffalo, so it was a shock when the Sabres, who won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, didn’t make a greater effort to keep Briere, Drury, or both. Biron, who was Briere’s roommate prior to being dealt to the Flyers, worked on his friend a bit when last season ended.

“I talked to him around the middle of June,” says the personable Biron. “We were in Buffalo working out together and we kind of joked around about him joining the Flyers. I told him what the situation was in Philly. We talked about some of the moves the Flyers had already made and about the players who were there before.

“In a way I was able to compare the Flyers to where the Sabres were, two teams with a lot of young guys coming up. Danny is a very quiet, unassuming guy who likes to keep his thoughts private. He never really told me which way he was leaning.”

In fact, when Biron tried to phone Briere the week before July 1, the message he received on Briere’s cell phone indicated he wasn’t taking calls from anybody.

“Everybody wanted to know where I was going…friends, family and reporters,” Briere says. “I had no clue myself, that was the funny thing. I didn’t really know where I’d end up. You have a feeling for certain teams and you have a feeling certain teams might be interested in you, but it wasn’t decided. I would say about 10 days before July 1, I realized the Sabres were moving in a different direction.”

It remains to be seen whether the Sabres showed good judgment in allowing their co-captains to get away with nothing in return. At first blush it certainly seems like bad business. The Flyers, meanwhile, believe they now have the personnel to shake the cobwebs.

“I think we certainly have more depth,” Holmgren says. “Our group arrived in tremendous shape and the work ethic through training camp was real good. We’re a real together team now. We lived through a very difficult year last year. It just went from bad to worse as it went on. We had a lot of issues, most of them stemming from our own goal, our goaltending and our defense.

“Martin Biron solidifies our goaltending. From the time he came here you could sense a real confidence level change for our team. Moving forward I felt we needed an upgrade in goal and on defense, you not only need guys who can get back for the puck, but can move it, too.”

Briere and his wife, Sylvie, are settling nicely in their new surroundings with their three boys, Caelan, 9, Carson, 8, and Cameron, 6.

“We had them really young, a little earlier than we expected, so it forced us to mature a little quicker than perhaps we expected to,” Briere says. “But it has been pretty cool, my boys having the chance to be around me at the rink. They are at an age where they’re really starting to understand what it is going on. It’s a cool feeling to bring them into the room with me and show them how it is to play in the NHL.”

There is inherent pressure playing professionally in Philadelphia. When you win, there are no bigger supporters in the world. When you lose, they can be merciless.

“The pressure was never something I looked at,” he says. “The pressure of playing somewhere in particular wasn’t going to make or break any deal. Pressure doesn’t bother me.

“I grew up in Ottawa cheering for Montreal and reading the papers every day. I know what it’s like, it’s part of the game. It’s all part of us having the chance to live our dream and to earn a very good living. I feel fortunate to be in the position I am in. The pressure doesn’t bother me. Actually it is probably something that will push me to take the next step.”

The next step, of course, is getting back to the playoffs.

The thing about the Flyers is, on paper you might think it’s a lock. But it has been that way for a few years and the end results have been dismal. What you see is not always what you get.

“We expect to be playing meaningful games in March,” Holmgren says. “I think we’re in a very difficult conference (and) an extremely difficult division…If we can get to a point in March where our games mean something in the standings I think that is a huge step.

“And then we’ll take our chances.”