Montreal, Los Angeles "pass" on Briere inquiries

by Travis Hughes on Jun 16, 2009 10:47 AM EDT in Rumors

According to a report in the Montreal Gazette, the Flyers have contacted the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens about a potential deal involving forward Danny Briere.

From the Gazette...

The folks in Philly have talked to the Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings, but neither team was interested. There also is a report that they have talked to the Phoenix Coyotes, although you have to wonder whether anyone has the authority to talk on behalf of the team that may or may not be bankrupt and/or on the way to Hamilton.

Montreal passed on Brière because, despite their previous interest, the last thing they need is a small centre with a cap hit of $6.5 million for each of the next six seasons.

There are two things of interest in here. First off, if this account is true, the Flyers are apparently actively shopping Briere in an attempt to clear cap space before the free agency period. Also, though, of course, Montreal is one of the teams that you could quickly imagine Briere waiving his no-movement clause to play for, and the fact that they are turning him down is striking in that sense.

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Well...

Can you blame them? His contact is huge and he was hampered by injuries all last season. He’s still a weapon, but it was a bad deal and everyone knows it. At the time, there was no way to know that Richards and Carter would mature so quickly, but that’s how it goes, I guess. The Flyers have a history of overspending and IMO seem to forget that we now are living in the era of the salary cap.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the Flyers need a capologist like the Eagles have.

So, sorry Flyers faithful. Find something to like about Briere, cause he ain’t goin’ nowhere. Maybe he can at least mentor Giroux—they’re from the same town—and Claude has said before he grew up idolizing him. w/e

by doubleh on Jun 16, 2009 12:46 PM EDT reply actions

I wonder how Briere feels about this. Hopefully it is a wake up call in that the Flyers think they can win and be a contender without him. I know sports are a business but at the same time this kind of thing has to be a bit insulting.

Whatever, you pay for your mistakes. Maybe Briere can prove he deserves the amount of money he is making and just have an incredible season. Wishful thinking, but he has the potential especially if he and Claudy really click.

I mean, we got to remember how well he played for us during the 07-08 playoffs even if it was just the first round against Washington. He stays healthy and you know our powerplay will be lethal again.

I figure doubleh is right. He ain’t going anywhere. Might as well look at the positives of having a Danny Briere. He is made to be able to succeed in this league. Now he just needs to do it – consistently.

by Mitchell Green on Jun 16, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions

I think he’s also suffered from a case of “Zito-itis”—i.e. finally getting his ginourmous contract and suffocating under the weight of its demands. He even admitted as much last season that he was trying too hard. Perhaps having so many other talented players on the team now, and hearing about how the team wanted to move him and there were no takers will inspire him like earlier in his career when he was constantly told he’d never make it because of his size, etc. A chip on the shoulder is what some players need to distract them from the bigger stuff.

by doubleh on Jun 16, 2009 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s not like the guy completely sucks. It would be nice to get rid of him, but we have other pieces we should move too. It’s a tough thing balancing a team under the cap.

Honestly Briere’s contract isn’t the whole problem, it’s all the moves made after already knowing they had such a big number like his. Giving Jones his money, trading for Carle, giving Lupul such a big raise, all pretty careless cap moves.

by SJPhillyVT on Jun 16, 2009 3:10 PM EDT reply actions

I guess all we can do is hope, his contract hurts us more than anything. Some room to maneuver with would be a great thing for this team. It’s killing us defensively and with the goal tending also.

www.bestoutofseven.com

by ayydamn on Jun 16, 2009 3:54 PM EDT reply actions

The guy is still a point a game player. I understand his contract is ridiculous, but it’s not like he’s a scrub or something. I’m more than willing to have him next season healthy and seeing what happens.

by eac on Jun 16, 2009 5:29 PM EDT reply actions

I’m with you. I keep reading blog posts on him that say “his injury-riddled” seasons with the Flyers, when in fact, he only had one bad season. He’s not going to play any defense for you, but I don’t see much defense coming out of many of the pure shooters in the league (the Crosbys, Ovechkins, what have you—not that I’m comparing him to their level of talent, of course).

He’s also put up good numbers in the playoffs over his career. He helped the Flyers single-handedly win the Caps series in 2008. It’s not his fault the Flyers were stupid and overpaid him.

by doubleh on Jun 16, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I Forgive You Danny

It took me some time, I have to admit, but all is forgiven. We came a long way through a frustrating season of ups and downs. Each game was a true ride and you felt like the bummer friend who I invited to the amusement park and paid for to get in only to let me know you won’t ride the rollercoasters. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun, and Powe was cool and all, but he only bummed a hot dog off me, so I didn’t feel like I wasted my money. By the end of the day, you seemed to be coming around.

So I’ve got another ticket to the amusement park and its yours, for now.

Briere was a necessity at the time he was signed, if nothing else than to show that the Flyers organization was trying to make better on a bad situation and provide some immediate offense, despite the cost. No one would have been satisfied after the season they had hearing that we had some prospects in the AHL that will help us in the future. After the worst season in their history, they needed a face to get behind. They signed a talented first line center long term and it was worth it at the time.

Free agency is typically a loss overall. When you dabble in that market, you are most likely overpaying.

Had Briere finished last season with 82 games and the stats he put up last season were calculated over those games, he’d have put up 31 goals and 39 assists for 70 points and his shooting percentage was .204, well above Carter or Richards. That considering he played a majority of last season injured, in poor conditioning, and on the third and fourth line which shuffled around pretty consistently.

No one is attracted to Briere’s contract and the Flyers can consider themselves doubly robbed if they trade him now, off an injury prone year. We aren’t the only people that see Briere as a hinderance on our cap. Dumping him off now offers no solution. No one is going to scoop up a 6.5 million dollar long term contract on a player at or just past the pinnacle of his career. Not now anyway.

Give Briere until the trade deadline. If he is healthy then and the decision is still to let him go (I think its best long term), deal him to a team that wants to shore up some offense for the playoffs. There is still no guarantee that there will be takers for his contract at that time, but at least his value could rise. Some teams will grow desperate for offense as the playoffs close in and he has shown even through his injury plagued season that he is capable of providing that.

by beatniche on Jun 16, 2009 6:43 PM EDT reply actions

Well said . . .

These are some great points. I think that Briere is gonna rebound well and have a solid year. That way we can all ride the rollercoasters together! Looking forward to it :)

by Mitchell Green on Jun 16, 2009 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions

There is only one way the Flyers are going to get rid of Briere right now: They find a team dumber than they are to take on his enormous contract. Given that he spent most of last year injured, no one in their right mind is going to take that risk. I agree with beatniche here- wait until the trade deadline and see what happens and what their needs are at that point. If they are going to make a serious run they will need someone at the deadline to fix any holes for a Cup run. That will give Briere a season to put up some serious numbers and see how he plays without his buddy Biron, and the number of interested teams will no doubt be higher with the playoffs approaching again. Danny can put up points, he’s a good guy, he just messed up our team’s chemistry when he came back but even that’s not his fault. It is what it is. And remember, for all we know the same thing could happen to him that happened with Carter. I believe he was being shopped around and was it Montreal that declined the final offer before we got stuck with him before he turned into a scoring monster? Sometimes being stuck with players isn’t so bad when it turns out like that. Briere has that potential too, and with all the talk about fans wanting to get rid of him (you know he has to know about this) it might just turn to our advantage because now he’s got something to prove.

by Kanayd on Jun 18, 2009 2:09 AM EDT reply actions

There is only one way the Flyers are going to get rid of Briere right now: They find a team dumber than they are to take on his enormous contract.

The Atlanta Thrashers!

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Jun 18, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions

One thing I’m holding on to is he’ll accept getting traded to wherever Biron signs, so hopefully wherever that is has cap room.

by SJPhillyVT on Jun 18, 2009 10:18 AM EDT reply actions

well...

even if montreal and L.A. turned them down, its now a public matter that Briere is up for a possible move, so maybe some teams we weren’t aware of might have an interest and make a move for him….again the contract and possibility of injury hurt his trade value for us but never know. Still have few months til it really matters and the puck drops for next season.

by PhillyPhan85 on Jun 20, 2009 10:56 AM EDT reply actions