The Philadelphia Flyers have new(ish) people in charge and a new statement to go along with it.
On Thursday morning, the Flyers released a brief statement that served more as a motto heading into what should be a transformative summer for the hockey club on and off the ice.
Welcome to A New Era of Orange. pic.twitter.com/Oplfwf7u7v
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 11, 2023
By reading this, you would think that the Flyers are nowhere close to tearing things down, trading away key players, and focusing on the future. Yes, the word “future” was mentioned but the overall sentiment was geared towards winning and it just felt like they were thinking more short-term with this “new era of orange.”
Thankfully, we got a different message minutes later.
Shortly after releasing that bold declaration of intent, the Flyers officially announced the hiring of Keith Jones as president of hockey operations and the removal of the “interim” label, making Daniel Briere the general manager.
Jones spent the last 23 years as an analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia and TNT during their NHL broadcasts, and just so happened to have played 131 of his 491 career games with the Flyers, from the 1998-99 season to the 2000-01 season.
“Today marks a new era for the Philadelphia Flyers,” Comcast CEO and governor of the Flyers, Dan Hilferty said in the team’s release. “This is a storied franchise with the most passionate fans in the National Hockey League. Our ultimate goal is to deliver them a championship. Achieving that goal will take time. We intend to honor the incredible history of the Orange and Black while paving a fresh path forward. That starts by creating a winning culture throughout the organization.
“With this new Flyers leadership in place, we are committed to a collaborative approach on and off the ice,” Hilferty continued. “The five leaders of the business and hockey operations will work in lockstep across all areas to restore the winning tradition of Flyers Hockey.
“Danny Briere brings a fresh perspective and intense drive to the General Manager role. Danny is enthusiastic about rebuilding the franchise he knows so well, having spent eight seasons in our front office and six seasons as a player. After an impressive 17-year NHL career, he understands today’s game, today’s player, and how to make smart hockey decisions as we navigate the future of both. Danny has proven without a doubt that he is the right person for this job and what we are trying to accomplish.
“I have full confidence that both Keith and Danny – together with Coach Tortorella, Valerie and me – are the right leadership team to guide the Philadelphia Flyers. We are unanimously committed to rebuilding and sustaining a winning culture – and doing it the right way.”
What stands out from this statement from Hilferty is just how many times he uses the word “rebuild.” We know that now, the Flyers aren’t afraid to use that word, but we will just have to wait and see if their actions actually support what they are saying.
As of right now, they appear to be hitting the right buttons and pulling the right levers to make us believe this is going to be something different, but the actions (and maybe the inactions of not adding more veteran players to this roster in the offseason) should be the real story.
