Flyers and the Case of Missing Urgency Danny Briere

The Flyers and the Case of the Missing Urgency

I’ve been putting off more formal reactions to the Flyers’ trade-deadline for a mixture of reasons, some worthwhile and some just rank procrastination. It’s been a few days since Danny Briere ultimately tapped out to “The Allegations” in the 5th round of their metaphorical fight.

It was a fun bit, and we’ll definitely schedule the rematch between Danny and The Allegations for the summer.

But underneath the humor, there’s a mystery afoot. A mystery worthy of my Sherlock Holmes inspired title for this piece.

Why on earth does Danny Briere feel no urgency at all?

It’s three years into his term, and the team is seriously underwhelming. He swore that a “fire sale” wouldn’t be necessary because this team wasn’t that far away.

He swore that the Flyers would take steps this year, and they haven’t. Their goalie has taken steps. Dan Vladar wasn’t even with the organization last year, and he’s the only person here who’s taken any steps at all.

And yet, Danny doesn’t care. Or if he does care, he doesn’t care enough to alter the trajectory.

See, he wants everyone to believe that he cares deeply. He had this quote to offer us in the aftermath of his characteristic failure to close.

Danny Briere telling Flyers fans to be patient

Flyers fans need to be patient for what, exactly?

The team isn’t engaging in a fire sale because they have more than you think. That was the case that Briere made to the fans at the very beginning of his tenure.

So, why exactly do Flyers fans still need to be patient 3 years into Briere’s tenure?

The plausible upside of Danny’s strategy is that the fanbase and ownership wouldn’t need to be as patient as they’d need to be if they opted for a more robust tear-down. And yet, the GM executing the strategy doesn’t even intend to exploit that upside.

Furthermore, Danny… you’re the GM of the Flyers. Stop acting like you’re in my shoes. Stop acting like you and I are in the same boat. We’re not.

I’m waiting for you to get your shit together, and you’re the one failing to get his shit together. That isn’t the same boat. My boat wouldn’t even be in the water if you would do your actual job.

I don’t need Danny Briere to know how I feel. I, for one, have no problems articulating how I feel. I don’t need a therapist. I’m sure some of you will resent that notion, but one thing we can all agree on?

If I did need a therapist, Danny Briere isn’t qualified to serve in that capacity.

He is ostensibly qualified to serve in the capacity of Philadelphia Flyers General Manager. As part of his responsibilities, he can do things to improve either the present or future fortunes of the hockey team. And yet, he lacks the ambition to do that with any particular frequency.

He’ll make his excuses. Often, he will make those excuses through the use of strategic leaks to the media.

And by the way, I don’t blame the media for reporting the strategic leaks. They are reporters at the end of the day. Reporting things is what they do.

There’s Danny for you. Always “in the mix” after the fact. Always having “checked in” only to be summarily dismissed.

And he has no real urgency to change this dynamic.

The trade deadline was an opportunity for Danny to announce his true intentions to the world, and he seized that opportunity with both hands.

He told the world that he has no true intentions whatsoever. He has no idea what the hell he’s doing, not because he lacks the intelligence to make a decision… but because he’s utterly bereft of the courage to stick to his guns.

That he doesn’t lack intelligence is the most frustrating part. At least if we were dealing with genetic limitations, I’d understand. I’d blame the person who recklessly allowed a simpleton to take this job.

But Danny isn’t a simpleton. I’m not going to rail on his lack of intelligence, because he’s a smart guy with clever hockey ideas.

In fact, many of Danny’s ideas are my ideas. He just gets around to them 2 years late.

He announced after the Trevor Zegras trade that he was in on Trevor Zegras from around the time he acquired Jamie Drysdale, as I wrote that he should be.

He announced after acquiring David Jiricek after this deadline that he was in on David Jiricek last year, when I was adamant that he should’ve outbid Minnesota.

I tore him to shreds on an X Spaces after the fact because it was absurd that he would keep Emil Andrae off the table.

People resisted, but lo and behold, Andrae can’t even get consistent minutes, and they acquired Jiricek a year later.

Danny waited for the price to drop even further because he lacks urgency, but here’s the problem with that.

These players don’t have an unlimited runway for development. Time is a factor. Jiricek went for less this time around because he is worth less this time around. Perhaps there was an overcorrection that you seized on. I’m even willing to call that a probability.

But you absolutely lost something by not having that extra year to develop him to your liking.

With Zegras, it’s the same story. That saga even extended nearly 2 years before Danny finally pulled the trigger.

Yes, the price is a lot lower, but Zegras was a riskier asset by the time you made the move.

If Zegras or Jiricek don’t end up being everything you hoped they could be, we could reasonably wonder how things might have changed if Danny Briere had some urgency and pulled the trigger earlier.

For that matter, imagine if you had already pulled that trigger twice and you were already completing a deal for your next Zegras or Jiricek.

Because there will be a next one. There has to be, in order for this plan to work at all. If they aren’t going to tank, and they aren’t going to part with one of Michkov or Martone for a real number 1 center, there’s only one choice left.

Swinging heavy and swinging often on guys like Zegras and Jiricek.

But because Danny lacks urgency, because he thinks time isn’t an appreciable variable, we’re left with a lower probability of success than we need to be left with.

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