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Briere’s first hundred days will shape the future of the franchise

Photo Credit: Heather Barry

Let’s talk about politics.

Wait, wait, wait, don’t leave. I don’t totally mean that.

But I do want to talk about the meaning of a political concept, the first hundred days. Literally, this is the first hundred days for an elected official, but it is viewed as the time when politicians are done playing to voters and transition into enacting policy. We see their priorities, what’s truly important to them, and, most importantly, how effective they are implementing their vision.

As you may have heard, the Flyers named their new regime last month. And after months of Danny Briere telling us that the team needs a rebuild, we’re going to learn about his mettle in his first hundred days.

The hundred days that follow Briere’s promotion to full-time general manager will include the draft and free agency. Basically, this is when teams around the league have the most roster and salary cap flexibility. So, we’re going to learn Briere’s plan in the very near future.

Briere could take a liberal approach to reworking this roster. Basically, go scorched earth with the acknowledgement that this team is so far away that everyone’s value is what they can give this team in five years, whether that’s with their own play or what they bring back in a trade return. With every day that passes, valuable assets like Travis Konecny and Carter Hart are one day older and one day closer to free agency. If the Flyers are really going to blow this up, now is the time to maximize their value. There’s no telling how long this process is going to take. Konecny and Hart are young enough they could conceivably be a part of the next great Flyers team, but could just as easily be past their primes by that point, with added risk considering Konecny is two years away from unrestricted free agency and Hart is a restricted free agent next summer.

Chuck Fletcher did not leave this team a well-regarded prospect pool or many mid-round draft picks over the next few years. Trading either would supercharge a rebuild and restock the cupboard with future assets, but it would likely push back the team’s timeline of contention. This would tell us a lot about Briere’s timeline and how much he thinks of what’s in place.

If he’s slightly more bullish on the roster maybe he takes a moderate approach, looking to move some real pros who may have value but probably won’t change the course of the franchise whether they’re here or elsewhere. Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim were supposed to be key pieces of this team’s defense core. Provorov was playing like a No. 1 defenseman before the Covid shutdown, but he has not found that level since, though he still carries a cap hit just shy of $7 million. Sanheim produced impressive puck-moving numbers on the team’s second pair and cashed in with an eight-year extension prior to last season that keeps him under contract through – oh god that’s not a real year – 2031. Sanheim was a massive disappointment last year. Trading either would show that Briere thinks this team needs some real changes, even if he doesn’t believe in going scorched earth.

The last option is a conservative offseason. Maybe Briere believes the key to turning the franchise around is to simply make some good picks, develop those players, and wait for them to join the core and prospects already in place to form a quality team. Maybe he only moves some aging and expensive veterans like Kevin Hayes or Cam Atkinson, who almost certainly won’t be here by the time this team is ready to win, but Briere could believe there’s enough promise in some of the younger players and value in the players in their primes to bide time until some top-10 picks come through and provide the finishing touches on a competitive roster.

Regardless of the level of rebuild Briere chooses, we’re going to see his first draft picks, trades, and signings. What does he value? He is an old hockey guy, but he was a small, skilled forward hardly known for his two-way play. What kind of players will he value? Does he actually make analytically-supported decisions? Where does he think this organization’s strengths and weaknesses are? Briere does not have much front-office experience, so we really don’t have any idea what he values.

This is a crucial moment for this franchise. The team is committing to a rebuild and has to determine its form. Briere’s first hundred days will tell us what he thinks about this organization, how long he wants this to take, and the team he is trying to build. If he chooses wisely, the Flyers could ice a competitive lineup in just a few years. If this doesn’t work, someone else might be starting their term in four years.

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