It’s that time of year in the NHL, with an active waiver wire as teams make their cuts and those decisions hit home for players who didn’t see it coming.
Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere has been there as a player. And now on the other side of it.
Just a few games into the 2000-01 season, Briere, the No. 24 pick in the 1996 NHL Draft, was placed on waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes. I asked him about that memory Tuesday on our Got Yer Back podcast. It wasn’t just that he was placed on waivers, he said, but that he went unclaimed. That absolutely fueled the rest of his career.
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“It was a wake-up call,” said Briere, who just seven years later would become the big prize on July 1 when he signed an eight-year, $52 million contract with the Flyers. “I knew there was a chance that the Coyotes would put me on waivers. But in my mind, I thought for sure I’d be claimed and I’d have to go play somewhere else. I didn’t want to leave Phoenix at the time, but I thought if they put me on waivers, someone would give me a shot.
Read more: When NHL players get sent down, it’s like going from steak to chicken fingers
“The next day when I got the call telling me that I had cleared and I was going to (AHL) Springfield, back to the minors, I couldn’t believe it. It was tough on the ego. You’re looking around and you’re seeing other teammates, some friends, other players that you played against for a long time being claimed, and you’re not. … I remember being down for probably a day or two — and then it was time to pick myself back up and realize that there was something missing in my game and I had to adjust.
“For me, it was probably the best thing that happened, clearing waivers. It really forced me to look at my game a little deeper.”
Many thanks to Flyers GM Daniel Briere for joining us this week on @GotYerBackPod ⤵️ https://t.co/9Hyync5FNW
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 3, 2023
The experience also helps him better appreciate his job today.
When he’s communicating tough news to a player as a GM, he knows how they feel because he’s lived it.
“It’s probably the part that I could skip if there was a possibility, but it needs to be done,” Briere told my co-host on Got Yer Back, Ryan Rishaug. “I try to put myself in their shoes when I call them in. I try to be very honest with them. Some discussions are a little easier than others. There’s guys that have had a great camp and they’re knocking on the door and now they’ve elevated their stock — those are easier decisions or conversations.
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“The ones that are tougher is when guys haven’t had a good camp and you have to tell them. I’d rather be honest and not lie to them, because as a player that’s what I wanted.”
And, again, after his own waiver experience, Briere rebounded with a vengeance. Playing at 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds in an era still focused on Big Boy hockey, which to be sure played into his being waived, he eventually became a big-time offensive player with an edge and knack for playoff performance (116 points in 124 career postseason games).
Briere also played on the top line for Canada in back-to-back world championships in 2003 and 2004, winning gold both times. Those tournaments helped elevate his game, as well, which is a lesson he can pass along to younger players today. It seems harder every spring for USA Hockey and Hockey Canada to convince players to go to that tournament.
“It kind of made me realize that I could play with some of the best players,” he said. “I was now a player that was expected to make a difference, that’s how I saw myself coming back. … What it did for my career was huge.”
Briere can share that experience when the world championships come calling next year for his players in Philadelphia, where he was named interim GM in March and took over full-time in May.
Whether it’s that type of advice, waivers decisions or trades, Briere isn’t taking things slowly with the Flyers. The trade he couldn’t quite pull off this summer stands out as an early learning experience. Briere tried to get Blues defenseman Torey Krug back as part of a package for Kevin Hayes, and the teams agreed to the deal, but Krug decided not to waive his no-move clause. Briere would end up moving Hayes to St. Louis in a smaller deal. I asked him about going through that as a young GM.
“Doug Armstrong is a real pro,” Briere said, referring to the veteran Blues GM. “He’s been super helpful as far as guiding me and helping me navigate through this world that we’re in now. … That’s probably what I take (from it). One thing that I’ve been amazed (at) is how helpful all these guys are. I’ve had a few comments from a few other GMs, ‘Look, there’s only 32 of us, so we try to help each other. Don’t be afraid to ask.’
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“I expected the guys to come in and all be against each other. Obviously, we all want to win and we’re all ultra-competitive, but I was amazed by how helpful all the guys are with each other.”
To which, Rishaug playfully suggested maybe the veteran GMs were being helpful with a “wink and a smile, and, ‘Here you go, take my boat anchor?'”
“Maybe a little bit,” laughed Briere. “I’ve got to be careful.”
In the meantime, the work ahead is daunting: a rebuild while still wanting to be competitive. That’s a tall order, and Rishaug asked Briere how he sets the tone for it.
“Look, we want to win. We want to win every single game,” Briere said. “I was very clear with the players on that and the coaching staff, that we’re not tanking. We want to win as many games as we can. But at the same time, we’re going to be smart. We’re going to do what’s best for the organization — not just for the week or month or even year, but we’re also looking at three, five, seven years down the road.
“We’re going to make decisions that are going to keep that in consideration.”
In the meantime, the Flyers, like many teams, await the NHL’s decisions following its investigation into the 2018 Canadian world-juniors team. Flyers goalie Carter Hart was part of that roster. I asked Briere what it’s like for him as a GM, waiting for that news.
“We don’t know much. We’re at the mercy of the NHL conducting its investigation, and they told us they would get back to us,” Briere said. “At this point, we don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. So we’re moving ahead as status quo for now, and they’ll tell us when it’s time when they have more to share with us.”
And finally, a good question from Rishaug on head coach John Tortorella, the fiery veteran who has to find a way to be effective in today’s modern world. How does Briere see that working, now that he’s got to know him a little?
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“One thing I can tell you is that the perception of John Tortorella out there in the media is not the same as what we’re dealing with on a daily basis,” Briere said. “The way he interacts with the people he works with is amazing. He’s blown us all away — the way he treats people. As far as his players, he has a knack to let them know that he cares about them. And it’s not fake. It’s genuine. He really loves his players. He really cares about his players. He’s just demanding. He’s tough on them because he knows what he can get out of them.
“But I think more and more of the players are understanding that part of him. … That’s really what has surprised me with John, the way that he’s able to connect with the players. It’s a special bond that he has with them, even though on the outside people think all the players hate him.”
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
