“Making trades is hard,” the classic battle cry from the Chuck Fletcher-era, and largely encompasses the last 15 years of Flyers hockey in general. Unfortunately, nobody ever told every other general managers in the league that trades have to be difficult.
So when Friday night rolled around and the Colorado Avalanche dealt their star forward Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal that also saw Taylor Hall end up with the Canes, it put the league on notice that blockbuster trades can still occur in the NHL.
The Flyers were never in on Rantanen. There’s no way the Flyers could’ve even acquired him even if they wanted to (something some fans are quick to use as a “gotcha” without realizing it’s not a positive thing that the entire Flyers organization is so starved for talent there’s no combination of picks or players they could pair together to make a trade for a single player.)
So why did this random trade that didn’t involve the Flyers in any way kick the beehive for fans?
Because it shatters the illusion that other GMs are as intimidated of the trade landscape as Danny Briere is.
All three of Briere, Hextall and Fletcher didn’t do much when it came to adding outside talent. Hextall was vehemently against it, Fletcher was too dumb to make it happen for most of his tenure, and while the current Briere regime’s messaging has been all over the place, they still haven’t shown the initiative to look outside the organization for anything more than depth help.
The last even semi-notable addition was Kevin Hayes, which was nearly six years ago already. Then James Van Riemsdyk seven years ago. Then nothing. Probably have to go back to the Richards/Carter trades in 2011 or Chris Pronger in 2009. Needless to say, it’s been a while since fans got to experience the rush of a blockbuster trade.
The pro-Briere contingent has dwindled quite a bit since the 2024 offseason thanks to another .500 season and a few missed trade opportunities, but the ones that remain are steadfast to the idea that he can do no wrong, despite the mounting evidence against him.
As for the rest of the fanbase that is a little more willing to be critical of Briere, the Rantanen deal was the most recent example of that Squidward meme of him sitting inside while everyone else is outside having fun.
There was some growing pressure on Briere heading into the trade deadline regardless of whether or not the Rantanen trade happened. The Flyers’ continued mediocrity of not quite being a playoff team but not quite being bad enough for a top five pick is an act that is getting old real quick. With the standings in the East in a dead heat in late-January, every team except the Sabres are within a 10 point window from the wildcard spots.
The glaring holes on the Flyers’ roster, particularly at center, goaltending and power play scoring, are pretty glaring, and in the case of center and the PP, have been for quite some time. Briere acknowledged weaknesses during his mid-season presser, but then was noncommittal at best when it came to promising to attempt to address them.
Some fans want to go down with the Briere ship, putting him on a pedestal above the greater good of the team. And more power to ya, I suppose. But for the rest of us, watching a nearly identical product year after year when other teams are out there doing big things is beyond frustrating at this point. And when this Rantanen deal happened, it just highlighted all the inadequacies of the “woe is me” story Briere tries to weave.
There’s five more weeks until the trade deadline. If the March 7 date comes and goes without a worthwhile addition (or subtraction) especially if the Flyers just end up missing the playoffs anyway, Briere will have some explaining to do. And regardless of the deadline, the 2025 offseason cannot pass with the Flyers walking away empty handed like they did in 2024.
It’s actually impressive how much good grace the Briere regime burned through in a short time. His former-Flyer status along with the return of peripherally things like the double center ice logos and Van Halen goal song made him a popular character right off the bat, especially picking up the pieces from Chuck Fletcher, one of the most hated villains in recent history. But unfortunately for Briere, his own cowardice compacting with the last decade of overall disaster has upped the pressure on himself just as he’s getting ready to celebrate his second anniversary at the helm.
Breire still holds the power to save himself, but the question right now is will he?
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 