VOORHEES, N.J. — Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere spent more than one-quarter of his approximately half-hour-long news conference on Saturday speaking on the team’s hunt for its next head coach.
He wasn’t giving much away.
No, there really isn’t a timeline to hire one, although it will probably be the “first thing” they address. No, a college coach isn’t off the table, “if it’s the right fit and it makes sense.” No, there isn’t a focus on finding someone who is a bit softer than John Tortorella, because, after all, “anyone that would come in would seem a lot milder than Torts, I would expect.” Among the attributes they’re seeking, “communication” and “someone that could come in and teach” are on the checklist. Interim coach Brad Shaw, who took the reins after Tortorella’s firing, “did a really good job coming in.”
In other words, it’s impossible to narrow down the list of candidates even a little bit.
Briere didn’t say so, but the first shoe that might have to drop before the Flyers can move forward is to wait and see what happens with Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet. According to colleague Thomas Drance, there will be “conversations about his future in the days and weeks ahead (between Tocchet and the Canucks). If Tocchet remains in Vancouver, it’s more likely to be on an extended contract.” The fact that the Canucks reportedly hold a team option on Tocchet’s contract for another season may not matter if Tocchet doesn’t want to ink a long-term deal there.
There will inevitably be tidbits of news on the Flyers’ coaching search that trickle out over the next little while. Regardless, when they do land on their guy, it could be just one of a number of headlines this summer as Briere officially pivots toward an attempt to build the club back into a playoff contender.
With that in mind, here’s a closer look at what we learned as the Flyers broke for summer, and what could transpire in offseason ahead.
Briere hoping to add
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention since Tortorella’s firing: Briere wants to turn the corner on the rebuild, and that means attempting to procure more talent this summer. Some of the subtractions from the roster this season, and the rising salary cap, have given the club flexibility that it probably didn’t expect to have a year ago.
“We’re not going to be able to fix every problem, but it would be nice to be able to add a player or two to come in and help on that front if the situation is right,” Briere said.
While he considered the 2023-24 team a group that “overachieved,” he believes the 2024-25 Flyers are “a much better team and much closer than where we finished in the standings.” (That is, last place in the Eastern Conference.)
“There are guys that really took a big step forward. There are a few guys that regressed, but I don’t think we’re that far off,” Briere said. “I think we’re at a stage now where we’re going to shift a little bit from subtracting from the roster into trying to start to add and help the team.”
Adding a big-ticket free agent isn’t likely (and there aren’t that many of them this summer anyway), which means if the Flyers are going to find a true difference-maker — preferably a top-six center — they’re going to have to get creative. That could mean dealing some of their seven combined first- and second-round picks in the 2025 draft for a young player who can grow with the current core, or it could take the form of an offer sheet or two (or at least the threat of one, which could also open some doors).
“It is a tool that we are going to look into,” Briere said of potentially offer-sheeting someone. “It has to make sense, and the thing is, when you go down that route, you have to overpay for a player. I don’t know if we are that flush with money that we can really be all that aggressive, but we are certainly going to take a look at it. If it makes sense, we will consider it.”
Briere expressed optimism that there should be much more internal competition moving forward, too. Prospects such as Oliver Bonk, Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, Nikita Grebenkin and Karsen Dorwart will either challenge for NHL roster spots in training camp or start with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Jett Luchanko could have a big summer and come to camp ready to make the jump full-time. And, the Flyers have those seven picks in the top 50 in the upcoming draft, too.
“That’s the exciting part,” Briere said. “Three or four years ago, we didn’t have a lot of prospects. … Now, we are starting to see guys starting to come in. The following year is going to be even more.”
In the meantime, there’s little doubt that Briere and the Flyers believe they’ve established a strong foundation. That was best reflected by forward Garnet Hathaway, the Ivy League graduate who got a bit philosophical.
“What impedes motion advances motion, (and) action,” Hathaway said. “What we went through this year will help us get to where we want to be. … You learn from it. You take those ups and downs that we had this year — you find yourself in a situation with adversity, with trades, with guys who mean so much to our locker room and to the Flyers organization… That’s the obstacle. Who steps up? Who finds their voice? Who picks the guy up next to them? I think that’s how you look at this year.”
Goaltending upgrade necessary
Yes, something needs to change here after a second straight season of finishing last in the league in save percentage. Briere acknowledged that, leaving the door wide open for the club to attempt to acquire outside help.
“We need some better play,” he said. “Maybe it’s from the outside, but it has to make sense. It’s an area that we need to be better at.”
Unless he’s part of some sort of offseason blockbuster, Samuel Ersson will be back. While Ersson’s numbers (both traditional and underlying) were rough, and he admitted to dealing with a lingering groin injury for much of the season, he still did something that his two backups did not — win as many games as he lost. Ersson’s 22-17-5 mark, compared with the combined 11-22-5 mark of Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, reflected his ability, during some stretches, to make important saves at key times. That’s something that neither Fedotov nor Kolosov showed any ability to do (particularly Kolosov.)
“Maybe some of the games I’m most proud looking back is, you’re not playing at 100 percent but you still find a way to make the big saves at the right time to help the team win,” Ersson said. “I think that’s obviously something that you have to be able to do, too, especially if you play a lot of games. You’ve got to find a way to win your bad ones, as well.”
Briere wouldn’t get into what went on with Kolosov all season, but it’s evident that the way the goalie was handled didn’t help the organization or the player. It’s difficult to envision him playing for the Flyers at any point next season if he still won’t spend significant time in the AHL. It proved to be an error in judgment to bring him over in the first place.
They’re stuck with Fedotov, as he’s signed through next season at a $3.275 salary cap hit. He seemed caught off-guard by a question about whether he’d be willing to play on the Phantoms next season.
“I have one-way contract. If they make a decision like that, we’ll see,” Fedotov said. “Honestly, I didn’t think about that yet. … I don’t think about that. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I look forward, and actually I don’t think about that.”
More power play struggles
Somewhat surprisingly, Briere pushed back against a suggestion that the power play was nearly as terrible this season as it has been in recent years. He pointed out that it went from 12.2 percent in 2023-24 — last in the NHL — to 15.0 percent this season, even if it only got them to 30th in the league.
“Is it good enough? Absolutely not,” he said. “But, that’s baby steps. … I know you want it to get in the top 15 right away, but it’s not gonna happen that way.”
Perhaps it was Briere’s way of defending associate coach Rocky Thompson, who has earned the ire of the fan base after three seasons of power play ineffectiveness. Briere quickly pointed out that he was “really excited to see our guys think outside the box at the end when they went with five forwards,” something they did shortly after Tortorella was fired. And, it’s worth mentioning that the power play went 6-for-24 in the nine games after the coaching change — not a huge sample size, but still eighth in the NHL over that span.
“Everyone that’s on the power play, Rocky, everyone who’s involved is trying their best,” Travis Konecny said.” I’m sure if one of us had the answer and just flip the switch, we would have definitely spoke up and had something change. … There’s a lot of frustration around it, because guys care.”
Perhaps the most confounding aspect of the Flyers’ power play, other than the constant rotation of who was quarterbacking it, was the way they used Matvei Michkov. The rookie started out on the right half-wall and immediately had some early-season success — four of Michkov’s first seven goals were on the power play — but as the season went along, the strategy shifted and Michkov was moved from his strong side to his weak side at times.
Briere defended that approach, though.
“Michkov coming in helped, but Matvei has so much to learn on how to run a power play,” Briere said.
Wouldn’t this season have been a good time for that?
Cates, Foerster due extensions as core pieces
The Flyers have four key pending restricted free agents: Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Cam York and Jakob Pelletier. Briere said the club has “has some talks along the way throughout the season” about extending the four of them, without getting into further details.
Cates confirmed there were some talks earlier in the season that “kind of slowed down a little bit. Not worried about anything. Obviously, very exciting that they’re talking about it and that process is going. … I’m very excited for my future and the future of this team.”
The club’s affection for Cates was reinforced after other team leaders were dealt. It seems evident that they envision him with the club for a long time.
“He’s been involved in some leadership group meetings and is embracing that role,” captain Sean Couturier said. “He’s more of a quiet guy, but the way he leads by example and gets himself ready for games, practices … he can rub off on some younger guys the way he goes about his business.”
Cates, of course, was the driving force behind the Flyers’ most consistent line, with Foerster and Bobby Brink. In fact, according to Moneypuck, the line posted the fourth-best expected-goals share among the 33 lines in the league that played at least 300 minutes together.
There was a bond between the three of them, to be sure.
“We’re all super close. We’d always go to dinner together. If a guy messes up, we’re not going to b—- at each other,” Foerster said. “We’re just going to say, ‘All right, we’ll do it better next shift.’ I think we have confidence in each other, and we work well.”
Foerster, like Cates, would welcome a long-term deal.
“If they want to do that, I’d love to be here forever,” he said. “I love it here. It’s great to play here and the guys are here. I just want to get better every day. It could be a short-term (deal), it could be a long-term, but I’m happy to be here.”
(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)