"The Philadelphia Flyers are coming back": Keith Jones, Danny Briere determined to make change

There's much work to be done, but the Flyers' new leadership group is confident in their path forward.

Friday morning's introductory press conference for Keith Jones and Danny Briere was anything but a typical introductory presser.

It was an event.

The floor of Wells Fargo Center was filled with fans, media members, alumni, and active players alike. The enormous 90,000-pound scoreboard hanging from the ceiling of the arena was lowered to ice level with the team's new slogan pasted smack-dab in the middle of it.

"A New Era of Orange."

This was a big day for the future of the Flyers, and the organization wanted everyone to know it.

For the first time, the Flyers' new five-piece leadership group of Jones (president of hockey operations), Briere (general manager), John Tortorella (head coach), Valerie Camillo (president and CEO of Spectacor Sports and Entertainment), and Dan Hilferty (Comcast Spectacor CEO) was available, together, to answer questions from the media.

The two newest members of the quintet — Jones and Briere — were the main attractions.

Jones, in particular, has taken an interesting road to his new role as president of hockey operations. He's not some savvy businessman or inventive hockey trailblazer. In fact, many didn't even view him as a legitimate candidate for the role until less than 24 hours prior to his hiring.

Ray Shero, Doug Wilson, Cammi Granato — those were the names gaining traction as realistic candidates to take over as the Flyers' new PoHO.

But instead, it was Jones who was appointed the role.

On paper, Jones may seem like an odd choice to help lead the Flyers' "New Era of Orange." He's worked in broadcasting since the 2005-06 season, and has no real experience as a hockey executive for any club.

But his unorthodox path to this new role also helped set him apart from other candidates, and it could pay dividends.

"In (broadcasting), I was able to meet everyone. Everyone in the game from general managers to head coaches to presidents and have conversations with them, kind of continuing to learn as I went," said Jones.

"I also had a view from upstairs for many games and watching players perform, and part of that job is to analyze and recognize what certain players do that you like and what certain players do that might not fit into something that you would be looking to build on your team. Having that insight has been really valuable."

Jones had already been connected with some of hockey's more brilliant minds from his playing days. He played in the NHL from 1992 to 2001 (including three seasons with the Flyers, of course) and became familiar with the likes of Joe Sakic and Chris Drury, who are now general managers, plus Rod Brind'Amour and Rick Tocchet, who are now head coaches, among many others.

But working in the broadcast booth helped Jones soak in more information from his colleagues than he ever could have imagined, and he believes the tools he gained as a member of the media will be key as he prepares to launch into his new role.

"I've really been blessed that I've had an opportunity to learn from (my colleagues') character. And they're educating. They're really smart people, and I've really been involved with them for a long time. And from a league perspective, I've gotten to know the commissioner, Gary Bettman, at a different level. He is a tremendously bright man, and I've learned a lot in any discussion I've ever had with him. So I have relationships league-wide, and I think some of those will come in handy in this position."

Having league-wide relationships will be useful, and he'll certainly provide some valuable insight for Briere as he takes on his new role as GM. But hockey decisions will ultimately be Briere's responsibility.

So, what responsibilities will Jones have? According to Hilferty, Jones will be implementing the organizational vision and working jointly with both the business and hockey sides of the club.

But Jones' top priority will be something much more important.

"Bringing everybody together," he said.

"A lot of the messaging that would come back to me was that people felt like this wasn't a great place to be. Whether it was on — whatever side of the building you were on. I want to make sure our people, our teammates, are feeling great about what they're doing. I want them to work together, and I want everybody to come together, and that's gonna feel great when it happens."

Like Jones, Briere is also coming into his new role without much experience. Sure, he served as the president and governor of the ECHL's Maine Mariners, but the ECHL is a totally different animal compared to the NHL. Is he truly ready to turn around a Flyers club that's failed to qualify for the postseason in three consecutive seasons?

Hilferty certainly believes in him. So much so that he knew Briere was destined to be the Flyers' new general manager upon their first meeting.

"I can tell you from the first day that we really interacted, I viewed him as the next GM of the Philadelphia Flyers," said Hilferty.

"The process went on in my head. Conversations with Valerie, just watching how he and Torts interacted, we just felt strongly. There was no need for a process. We had our general manager."

The belief in Briere is palpable. He enrolled at the Wharton School of Business at UPenn, and he truly does understand what it takes to win in the modern NHL — because he's actually played in the modern NHL. He was a key cog during the Flyers' trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, logging 12 goals and 30 points during that 23-game postseason run, and did so as a smaller, more skilled player.

And the Flyers' current roster could certainly use some more of that skill.

Briere will have his fair share of doubters as he takes on his new responsibilities. This is to be expected for a general manager without a track record at the NHL level. But he also won't be doing this alone.

The main word of the day during the introductory presser was "collaboration." Each member of the new leadership must have used it close to a dozen times, and Briere is welcome to all opinions as the new leadership team tries to get the Flyers back on track.

"I don't want people around me that are just yes-men or yes-women. It's including everybody," said Briere. "I want different opinions. I want people to bring their own vision, and we'll come up with the right answer."

Tortorella echoed Briere's request for collaboration. 

"Everybody I think has the personality to voice their opinion and not just agree along the way. I think that's how you solve problems. I think that's what the process is about, and I'm thrilled.

"The time I've spent with Danny, I'm so excited to work with him because I think he's got such a great mind."

Despite their excitement for the road ahead, Briere, Jones, Tortorella, Camillo, and Hilferty all preached patience from the Flyers fan base. After a miserable 75-point campaign, there is no magic bullet that will make the Flyers a Stanley Cup contender overnight. As Briere stated when initially being named interim general manager immediately after the firing of Chuck Fletcher, the Flyers' rebuild will be a multi-year process. Even with better injury luck and the addition (and perhaps subtraction) of certain players, the Flyers likely are not close to realistically competing for a championship.

But with more collaboration, the new leadership group is hoping a Stanley Cup may not be too far in the distance.

"The Philadelphia Flyers are coming back," said Jones after completing his opening remarks.

For a city deprived of meaningful hockey over the last decade-plus, that would be a welcome site.