Flyers Q&A: Danny Brière on free agency, the player who needs to take a big step, and more
Brière sat down with The Inquirer to discuss what could be on the horizon as free agency begins this week.
“No Sleep Till August” should really be the title of the famous Beastie Boys song. Because, although the NHL draft is now in the rearview mirror with the next crop of Flyers all selected, it’s time to find some guys who can help now.
What is the Flyers’ game plan? General manager Danny Brière has said the plan hasn’t changed with the hiring of Rick Tocchet, but has it? This week will set the tone for the next five years under the new bench boss.
Brière sat down with The Inquirer on June 17 to chat about free agency and what could be on the horizon this week. The conversation has been shortened for clarity and brevity.
Q: Where do things stand with hiring a coach for Lehigh Valley?
A: So we’re starting to dive into it. We’re mixing free agency, the draft, and the NHL coaches. Now we’re going to start diving into the coaching staff in Lehigh a little bit.
Q: What are you looking for, exactly, for that position?
A: Well, development is key for us. Someone who can work with our development team is going to be extremely important. We have so many young guys who are starting to come this year, next year, and the following year with all the picks that we have this summer. So the next three years, four years, will be heavily about the development of the younger guys.
» READ MORE: Grading the Flyers for Day 2 of the NHL draft, when they added some sizable players
Q: Cam York is someone who is a restricted free agent. Where do things stand with him?
A: It’s moving slowly, but there’s no worry there. At this point, I don’t see it being an issue at all.
Q: You brought in a veteran defenseman the last two years in Marc Staal and Erik Johnson. Is that something you’re looking to do this year, too?
A: We’d like to, but that’ll be a little bit more of a discussion to see what happens on July 1, 2, and 3, and then we’ll have a better idea of what we need after that.
Q: Rick Tocchet said at his introductory press conference that the Flyers have untapped talent. Is that Cam York?
A: I think so. Yeah, I think Cam started showing that a couple of years ago, and then last year didn’t take a step forward. There were many reasons for that. He was injured. I agree with that. I think, yeah, there’s a lot more there with Cam York.
Q: You signed Noah Cates for four years at the start of June. Why was it important to have that length of the deal?
A: He was one year away from free agency, so we wanted to buy a couple of years of free agency from him. That was the reason why. He had already signed and played through his bridge deal. So we felt if we wanted to secure him a little longer term, and that’s the number that made the most sense for both sides.
» READ MORE: By prioritizing size throughout the draft, the Rick Tocchet Flyers revealed what kind of team they strive to be
Q: This is your third offseason now as general manager. Are you more comfortable, and are you getting more calls?
A: It’s a good question. I’m probably better prepared and more open to calls as well. You know my first two years, we didn’t have any money, and we were trying to clean up the mess that we were in. Yeah, I think this year, I was probably more available as well to listen to what’s out there.
Q: Are you looking at free agency as an opportunity to get a goalie, or do you feel like you’re comfortable with the three [Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov] that you have in the system right now?
A: No, it’s on the table also. And I told our goalies that we could go out and get someone else to push them. I don’t want to blame [them] — it’s not all on the goalies last year — but that position is an area that we need more out of. ... They’re going to get a look. If we have the chance to improve there, we will try.
Q: Where do things stand with Alexei Kolosov?
A: As far as I know, he’s under contract for another year with us. So, I have seen the rumors. I was told by his agent that there’s no truth to it. As far as I know, he’s going to have to be here for training camp.
Q: Who is the player who needs to take the biggest step next season?
A: All of them. I think Matvei Michkov, at his age [20], has the chance to take a huge step and help us even more. What he did was pretty amazing as a rookie; he has the chance to take it to a different level. I think Owen Tippett has a chance with the talent that he has, the size, the strength, the speed. And we saw it in spurts two years ago. Last year, not as much. I think Owen has the chance to take a big step. We mentioned Cam York. Jamie Drysdale is on his way — there’s another one that could have a big year if he decides to. So, it’s fun.
Some of the young guys might come in and really impress us, kind of like Jett Luchanko did last year at camp. So, really, it’s up to them. And if I were a player in this organization, I’d be so excited seeing all the opportunities that are there for the taking. And really, it’s up to them.
Q: You played in the NHL, and I’m sure you dealt with first-year coaches within an organization. What is the mindset with it? Do you really look at it as a clean slate?
A: Yeah, because every coach has different things that they like and focus on. Some of the guys will have to fight to keep some of those responsibilities that they’ve had over the last few years. And for some other guys, yeah, it’s a wide-open door to get in there and take it and have more responsibility, more ice time, more special-team time. It’s a young team and a new coaching staff, so there are so many opportunities. If I were a player on a team like that, I’d be champing at the bit and trying to position myself to be in the best possible shape I can be [in] and be ready to go from Day 1 of training camp.
» READ MORE: What they’re saying about Flyers first-round picks Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt
Q: Where do you see Jamie Drysdale’s development, and do you like him moving into this rover position?
A: Well, that’ll be a question for Rick Tocchet and how he sees him. I think John Tortorella and Brad Shaw last year did a really good job helping Jamie add a new dimension to his game. And, I mean, he improved. He took big steps forward for a young defenseman. The key is always to be patient with young defenseman. We saw it with Travis Sanheim; now he’s the best example for anybody around and for our guys. Be patient, keep working at your game, and the credit goes to Travis for that. The way he was able to — when he realized how good he was — to take that step.
I hope some of our young guys see that and kind of take the same approach that he did. And I hope that a guy like Jamie does that with his game. But we’re happy that he took a step forward. He was bolder last year in his game; it helped him, and hopefully, he’s able to take another step.
Q: Do you have conversations with him? Because with Jamie, he’s dealt with so much in his career already, with injuries and whatnot, that it sometimes looks like, especially under Tortorella, that he might overthink things.
A: I have had many conversations. I’m not the only one, and we have a lot of help down there. But I mean, he’s not any different than most guys. I’ve been through it — I was like that. It’s a tough profession, and it’s a cool one, especially when things are great and you’re on top of the world. When things are tough and you get called out by your coaches, by the fans, it’s tough also the other way around. So that’s all part of the experience. As you get experience, you get better at being more even-keeled and I know it took me a long time to get there.
Q: This camp will be the first one where you’ll have the majority of the guys that have been drafted with you as GM, like Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey, Jett Luchanko, and Alex Bump. How exciting is it for you to see these guys take that next step?
A: Yeah, they’ve got to take it, and they already have. They’ve put themselves in this position because, you don’t know, especially the Barkeys, the Bumps, later picks like that, Hunter McDonald, who are kind of coming through now. They’ve already taken a step forward, and that’s really exciting to see. Hopefully, we can help them take the next step to become NHL regulars.
Q: You’ve said previously that offer sheets could be a weapon. Do you still consider that an option?
A: It is. It is an option. And then also it will depend on where we’re at on July 2, July 3. How much money do we have left? If we have any success with free agents or not? So it’s not off the table, but it will depend on what happens leading up to it. And don’t forget, in an offer sheet, you need a guy who’s not signed, and you need someone who wants to come sign with you. And then you’ve got to agree to a number, and that number’s got to be a number that the other team can’t match. So there are a lot of steps to get there, so it’s probably unlikely, but it’s definitely on the table.
» READ MORE: Flyers draft: Grading the Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt picks
Q: And there is compensation that goes the other way. How much does that play into it?
A: It does. It’s something you have [to think about]. How much is that player that you’re signing, do you feel is going to help you enough that those picks are rendered a little less or with less value versus not having them on the team? So that’s all part of the equation that we’re trying to figure out.
Q: The Ryan Johansen contract situation. Where does that stand?
A: Still waiting on an arbitrator’s decision.
Q: His contract is done, but could that money impact this season?
A: That’s all part of it. That’s all part of the arbitrator’s decision negotiation. NHL, NHLPA, the player, us, the arbitrator. There are a lot of moving parts.