For virtually the entire time Chuck Fletcher was the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, the rest of the NHL had no desire to do a deal with them, unless it was:
A. Overly beneficial to them
or
B. Almost totally insignificant.
Looking back through the train wreck of a trade history that Fletcher left in his wake, you can only really identify six trades of any real significance.
- The acquisition of Rasmus Ristolainen
- The acquisition of Anthony Deangelo
- The acquisition of Ryan Ellis
- The swap of Radko Gudas for Matt Niskanen
- The first Justin Braun trade with San Jose.
- The Claude Giroux trade with Florida
I purposefully left out a couple of other moves (Jake Voracek for Cam Atkinson, Shayne Gostisbehere going to Arizona, Wayne Simmonds to Nashville). Primarily because while those trades sound important on paper, all the Flyers really received from those transactions was Ryan Hartman, a fourth round pick that was traded to Anaheim for 22 games of Derek Grant, and Atkinson himself, who is actually quite good when he plays, but did miss the entirety of last season and has an uncertain future.
So these six trades make up the nucleus of Fletcher’s tenure, and in four of them he either vastly overpaid for an asset that now has negative value (Ristolainen, Deangelo), or players who were ruined by injuries (Ellis).
So half of his biggest moves were abject and complete failures, with the Risto deal being one of the worst in Flyers history. In addition, he failed to extract optimal value from Claude Giroux, who is still nearly a point per game player; and overpaid for past his prime Justin Braun. Even if you give Fletcher a pass because Niskanen’s retirement was largely brought on by the pandemic shutdown, that’s still a hit rate of 16% on big moves, and that number would be even lower if some other notable missteps were included.
But perhaps the most frustrating aspect about Fletcher’s legacy may be his reluctance to make moves at all. He missed out on an easy return for James Van Riemsdyk at last year’s trade deadline. He refused to jettison roster pieces for draft picks when it was clear the Flyers were not a contending team. And despite seemingly thinking that all the Flyers needed was a “retool”, he didn’t make a move for Johnny Gaudreau, despite the fact he wanted to be in Philadelphia.
Fletcher’s only real justification for not making the move was that clearing the contracts necessary to accommodate Gaudreau would simply be “extremely hard”.
Enter Daniel Briere, tasked with the unenviable duty of cleaning up the mess made by the past near decade of mismanagement, and a host of bad contracts on the books tied up in players that have had their value depressed on bad teams (or because their coach doesn’t like their vibe). Briere had the opportunity for a grace period; there weren’t huge expectations placed on his first offseason as an NHL GM with little Front Office experience.
But just over a month since having his interim tag removed, Briere has already competed his signature move that Fletcher could not. The trade of Ivan Provorov netted a bigger return for the Flyers than any trade Fletcher made, and finally showcased some proactive decision making.
Provorov had run his race in Philly. He was already unenthused by the possibility of going through yet another rebuild, and between his play, stagnant development, and a notable aversion to rainbow colored uniforms, the fanbase had started to fall out of love with the former #1 defenseman.
Instead of waiting until the next deadline or offseason when Provorov likely demanded a move, Briere flipped him while he still had value. He was then able to grab another first in this year’s strong draft and take Oliver Bonk, as well as grabbing a second rounder next year. In addition he picked up Helge Grans, a former 2nd rounder in 2020 with some promise, and some potential future trade pieces in Sean Walker and Cal Petersen, unafraid to take on their salaries because he seemingly has a long-term plan, that will come to fruition after those contracts are expired.
And while the Kevin Hayes deal was a bitter pill to swallow, Briere simply cannot be blamed for having to eat such a contract when the situation has become so untenable.
But it was the Matvei Michkov selection at 7th overall that cemented the major difference between Briere and his predecessor.
Briere, despite whatever you may think about his moves thus far, is willing to take a risk. He is putting his neck on the line to do what he thinks is best for his franchise. Fletcher consistently backed himself into a corner, to the point where a move became a foregone conclusion, and he just had to get what he could (Giroux), or miss the boat (JVR).
Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes, even if they stayed on the roster to start the year, would have to wanted to leave Philadelphia at some point in the near future. Briere made the call on Provorov that Fletcher failed to make on Hayes.
Briere could have passed on Michkov, just like multiple teams did leading up to pick 7, but he stuck his neck out on the line to acquire the most valuable asset. Fletcher never could.
Danny Briere has showcased that he is ready and willing to make a big decision, and for once, things may actually be looking up in Philly.
