In advance of the puck dropping next Thursday with a matchup against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers, The Inquirer sat down with Flyers general manager Danny Brière on Saturday to chat about Matvei Michkov’s second season, the addition of Trevor Zegras, and his message to the fans about the goalies and the team as it is built brick-by-brick.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: You said you go over lines, but when John Tortorella was here, you said that it was pretty much his decision. Is that the same with Rick Tocchet?
A: Yep.
Q: How has it been working with him?
A: It’s been awesome. It’s been great. For coaches, they love talking hockey; that’s their life. So, that’s the fun part. We’ll recap what happened the night before, who has seen what in different games because, if there are 12 games the night before, it’s tough to watch all 12 games. You might have watched one a little deeper than another one, and someone might have seen something else. And it’s sharing ideas, some stuff that they’ve seen from another game — could be system, could be players, could be combinations — and try to come up with a game plan.
Things haven’t changed here with Tocc. He’s the one who will decide. He’s been hired to run the bench and come up with the system that he wants to play and the line combinations.
Q: Tocchet has talked a lot about the crest and how important it is. What do you think when you hear how passionate he is about the Flyers logo? And, there’s always been the criticism of hiring guys, like yourself, who have played here, but do you see that more as a strength than a weakness?
A: Absolutely. At the end of the day, the number one priority is to find ways to win hockey games. But it’s pretty cool to be able to use kind of the city’s vibes. And that’s, to me, what the logo represents. It’s the city, it’s the passionate fans that we have. I think if he can reach some players and instill that in them, I think it’s an advantage. I always say there’s not a lot of teams that can play to the vibes of the city, but the one place that can probably do it more than any other city is here in Philadelphia.
Q: At your news conference before last year’s camp, you said, “My expectations are actually pretty low” for Matvei Michkov in his first year. Safe to assume expectations are no longer pretty low.
A: They’re maybe a little higher than last year. Last year, it was a tough situation for him, coming over, not speaking the language very well, adapting to a new lifestyle, a new country, new teammates, a new way of living and playing hockey basically. I think that the transition will be a little easier going into Year 2 for him. But there’s also always the scare of the sophomore slump that you see from different guys. I’m hopeful that he won’t fall into that because he’s so competitive, but that’s the next worry. At the same time, he definitely did a lot better than I expected in his first season.
Q: And what is your message to the fans as we head into a new season?
A: Patience, patience again. We’re trying to take a step forward but it doesn’t happen overnight. To me, there’s excitement with a lot of the young guys that we’re seeing here in camp. But you have to be patient. You’ve got to give them time. And you see the difference between young guys and veterans when the season starts: Having that experience makes a big difference.
In advance of the puck dropping next Thursday with a matchup against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers, The Inquirer sat down with Flyers general manager Danny Brière on Saturday to chat about Matvei Michkov’s second season, the addition of Trevor Zegras, and his message to the fans about the goalies and the team as it is built brick-by-brick.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: You said you go over lines, but when John Tortorella was here, you said that it was pretty much his decision. Is that the same with Rick Tocchet?
A: Yep.
Q: How has it been working with him?
A: It’s been awesome. It’s been great. For coaches, they love talking hockey; that’s their life. So, that’s the fun part. We’ll recap what happened the night before, who has seen what in different games because, if there are 12 games the night before, it’s tough to watch all 12 games. You might have watched one a little deeper than another one, and someone might have seen something else. And it’s sharing ideas, some stuff that they’ve seen from another game — could be system, could be players, could be combinations — and try to come up with a game plan.
Things haven’t changed here with Tocc. He’s the one who will decide. He’s been hired to run the bench and come up with the system that he wants to play and the line combinations. And that’s the fun part, with [Keith Jones] involved as well, we’ve played the game and we’ll share our vision, our ideas. But at the end of the day, Tocc runs the bench, and he has final say on line combinations.
Q: Tocchet has talked a lot about the crest and how important it is. What do you think when you hear how passionate he is about the Flyers logo? And, there’s always been the criticism of hiring guys, like yourself, who have played here, but do you see that more as a strength than a weakness?
A: Absolutely. At the end of the day, the number one priority is to find ways to win hockey games. But it’s pretty cool to be able to use kind of the city’s vibes. And that’s, to me, what the logo represents. It’s the city, it’s the passionate fans that we have. I think if he can reach some players and instill that in them, I think it’s an advantage. I always say there’s not a lot of teams that can play to the vibes of the city, and but the one place that can probably do it more than any other city is here in Philadelphia.
You feel it with the Eagles, you feel it with the Phillies — Eagles just won and Phillies are starting the postseason — and that’s where we want to get to as well, because I lived it as a player. It’s pretty magical playing here in the playoffs. And if he can use the crest or just the attachment with the city and how this passionate fan base can bring it and get it out of the players, I think it would be awesome. So, yes, I’m all for it, and I hope he can make the players feel it.
Q: Last year, you said at your end-of-training-camp news conference that you weren’t happy with some of the veterans. What’s been your general take of training camp thus far, and what was your message to the team this year?
A: Yeah, the message was very similar. I warned the vets, once again, to not take anything for granted. And last year, starting the way we started — and I know it was a tough schedule but everybody has a tough schedule, though — we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We have to be better than the way we started last year, and especially with starting nine of the first 12 at home, we have to have a better start to give ourselves a chance. And you know what? The first week of camp, I was really happy with how the veterans led the way on the ice. So to me, that’s a good sign. That’s something that I liked seeing.
Q: At your news conference before last year’s camp, you said, “My expectations are actually pretty low” for Matvei Michkov in his first year. Safe to assume expectations are no longer pretty low.
A: They’re maybe a little higher than last year. Last year, it was a tough situation for him, coming over, not speaking the language very well, adapting to a new lifestyle, a new country, new teammates, a new way of living and playing hockey basically. I think that the transition will be a little easier going into Year 2 for him. But there’s also always the scare of the sophomore slump that you see from different guys. I’m hopeful that he won’t fall into that because he’s so competitive, but that’s the next worry. At the same time, he definitely did a lot better than I expected in his first season.
Q: Obviously, he had a great year and led the league goals by a rookie. At the end of the season, he came to you with a list of everything he wanted to achieve. Have you seen that shift in him, and what would you say your expectations are for him?
A: I honestly haven’t spent a lot of time [with him]. We’ve been focusing a little bit more on the younger players this year. Last year, he was one of the younger players that we were all watching. This year, we shifted; I guess we’re not quite as worried about him. But his maturity level, just last year — throughout the year — kind of increased as the season went on.
So, yeah, I expect more from him. I expect him to be a little bit more of a leader. Not the big rah-rah guy, but I know he’s learned a lot from his first year, and I expect him to be one of the guys that Tocc is going to lean on and put in the spotlight, to say this is how we do things. And I expect Matvei to kind of lead the way offensively, and then, hopefully get the young guys to follow suit and to get them, the Bumps, the Luchankos, the Grebenkins, now he becomes an example for them.
Q: It looks like he’s developing a relationship with Trevor Zegras. But Zegras is a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Where do things stand with him in terms of his contract, and what are you hoping to see from him?
A: We’re not worried about the contract at this time. We want to see if he can get back to the player that he was and take another step. For whatever reason, whatever happened in Anaheim, that’s behind him. Now we’re looking for him to be one of those offensive leaders that we need to create offense in Tocc’s scheme. So that’s where we are with him. The contract will take care of itself later in the season when we figure out where he’s at and how he plays and all that. But, it’s exciting, it’s exciting to watch him practice, hopefully develop chemistry with Matvei, whoever it is. But you watch the skill level, it’s really impressive, and you hope it translates into the game for him the way it did his first two years in the NHL.
Q: And what is your message to the fans as we head into a new season?
A: Patience, patience again. We’re trying to take a step forward but it doesn’t happen overnight. To me, there’s excitement with a lot of the young guys that we’re seeing here in camp. But you have to be patient. You’ve got to give them time. And you see the difference between young guys and veterans when the season starts: Having that experience makes a big difference.
Look, we were patient with Tyson Foerster, it’s paid off. We were patient with Noah Cates, it’s finally paying off. We were patient with Bobby Brink, it’s starting to pay off. So those are just a few examples. Cam York. So, we’re going in the right direction, it feels, but there’s growing pains to go through with a young team, unfortunately.
They say “life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall,” and while the weather may still be a bit sweltering outside, the Flyers are getting ready to open a new season.
In advance of the puck dropping next Thursday with a matchup against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers, The Inquirer sat down with general manager Danny Brière on Saturday to chat about Matvei Michkov’s second season, the addition of Trevor Zegras and his message to the fans about the goalies and the team as it is built brick-by-brick.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: You’re heading into your third year as GM. Where’s your comfort level now?
A: I think I have a better grasp of my role and what I need to do on a daily basis. But I don’t think it’s a role that you ever get super comfortable in. Every day is something new. Every day, you’re cringing, depending on how the team plays, on injuries; there’s always something that you’re hoping not to happen. But that’s the fun part. It’s certainly not boring, and there’s always, always something to do, someone to call, and explore different options. And that’s probably the one thing that the public doesn’t see is there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff happening. There are different talks, there’s constant exploring of options, and maybe 1% of those things ever happen, if not even less. So that’s why it’s a yes and no answer.
Q: Can you take us through your day, then on a game day?
A: I think the first thing that I do when I get in is I go over the reports that were filed overnight from our scouts, pro scouts, amateur scouts, overseas and here in North America. And then it’s a check-in with the staff, the assistant GMs, the direct reports, basically, the advisers. I start making my way down to the locker room, check on injury reports, and then trainers to see what’s going on, our marketing team, and then the coaching staff. And then with the coaching staff, we go over the plan for the day on game day — the lineups, the different things that are going on, the plan for practice, for lines, and kind of exchange that way.
Then you’ll have practice and usually after practice, that’s when the outside world kind of comes in — the check-ins with agents, with GMs, all that stuff that’s usually done in the afternoon, and then you have the game. Once in a while, if I have a chance, I’ll get in a quick workout. But the mind is mostly on the game on game day.
Q: You said you go over lines, but when John Tortorella was here, you said that it was pretty much his decision. Is that the same with Rick Tocchet?
A: Yep.
Q: How has it been working with him?
A: It’s been awesome. It’s been great. For coaches, they love talking hockey; that’s their life. So, that’s the fun part. We’ll recap what happened the night before, who has seen what in different games because, if there are 12 games the night before, it’s tough to watch all 12 games. You might have watched one a little deeper than another one, and someone might have seen something else. And it’s sharing ideas, some stuff that they’ve seen from another game — could be system, could be players, could be combinations — and try to come up with a game plan.
Things haven’t changed here with Tocc. He’s the one who will decide. He’s been hired to run the bench and come up with the system that he wants to play and the line combinations. And that’s the fun part, with [Keith Jones] involved as well, we’ve played the game and we’ll share our vision, our ideas. But at the end of the day, Tocc runs the bench, and he has final say on line combinations.
Q: Tocchet has talked a lot about the crest and how important it is. What do you think when you hear how passionate he is about the Flyers logo? And, there’s always been the criticism of hiring guys, like yourself, who have played here, but do you see that more as a strength than a weakness?
A: Absolutely. At the end of the day, the number one priority is to find ways to win hockey games. But it’s pretty cool to be able to use kind of the city’s vibes. And that’s, to me, what the logo represents. It’s the city, it’s the passionate fans that we have. I think if he can reach some players and instill that in them, I think it’s an advantage. I always say there’s not a lot of teams that can play to the vibes of the city, but the one place that can probably do it more than any other city is here in Philadelphia.
» READ MORE: Spend a day in the life of a Flyers beat reporter
You feel it with the Eagles, you feel it with the Phillies — Eagles just won and Phillies are starting the postseason — and that’s where we want to get to as well, because I lived it as a player. It’s pretty magical playing here in the playoffs. And if he can use the crest or just the attachment with the city and how this passionate fan base can bring it and get it out of the players, I think it would be awesome. So, yes, I’m all for it, and I hope he can make the players feel it.
Q: Last year, you said at your end-of-training-camp news conference that you weren’t happy with some of the veterans. What’s been your general take of training camp thus far, and what was your message to the team this year?
A: Yeah, the message was very similar. I warned the vets, once again, to not take anything for granted. And last year, starting the way we started — and I know it was a tough schedule but everybody has a tough schedule — we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We have to be better than the way we started last year, and especially with starting nine of the first 12 at home, we have to have a better start to give ourselves a chance. And you know what? The first week of camp, I was really happy with how the veterans led the way on the ice. So to me, that’s a good sign. That’s something that I liked seeing.
Q: At your news conference before last year’s camp, you said, “My expectations are actually pretty low” for Matvei Michkov in his first year. Safe to assume expectations are no longer pretty low.
A: They’re maybe a little higher than last year. Last year, it was a tough situation for him, coming over, not speaking the language very well, adapting to a new lifestyle, a new country, new teammates, a new way of living and playing hockey basically. I think that the transition will be a little easier going into Year 2 for him. But there’s also always the scare of the sophomore slump that you see from different guys. I’m hopeful that he won’t fall into that because he’s so competitive, but that’s the next worry. At the same time, he definitely did a lot better than I expected in his first season.
Q: Obviously, he had a great year and led the league goals by a rookie. At the end of the season, he came to you with a list of everything he wanted to achieve. Have you seen that shift in him, and what would you say your expectations are for him?
A: I honestly haven’t spent a lot of time [with him]. We’ve been focusing a little bit more on the younger players this year. Last year, he was one of the younger players that we were all watching. This year, we shifted; I guess we’re not quite as worried about him. But his maturity level, just last year — throughout the year — kind of increased as the season went on.
So, yeah, I expect more from him. I expect him to be a little bit more of a leader. Not the big rah-rah guy, but I know he’s learned a lot from his first year, and I expect him to be one of the guys that Tocc is going to lean on and put in the spotlight, to say this is how we do things. And I expect Matvei to kind of lead the way offensively, and then, hopefully get the young guys to follow suit and to get them, the Bumps, the Luchankos, the Grebenkins, now he becomes an example for them.
Q: It looks like he’s developing a relationship with Trevor Zegras. But Zegras is a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Where do things stand with him in terms of his contract, and what are you hoping to see from him?
A: We’re not worried about the contract at this time. We want to see if he can get back to the player that he was and take another step. For whatever reason, whatever happened in Anaheim, that’s behind him. Now we’re looking for him to be one of those offensive leaders that we need to create offense in Tocc’s scheme. So that’s where we are with him. The contract will take care of itself later in the season when we figure out where he’s at and how he plays and all that. But, it’s exciting, it’s exciting to watch him practice, hopefully develop chemistry with Matvei, whoever it is. But you watch the skill level, it’s really impressive, and you hope it translates into the game for him the way it did his first two years in the NHL.
» READ MORE: Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, and Christian Dvorak are connecting seamlessly on the Flyers’ line
Q: Aside from Zegras, here are quite a few other pending restricted free agents in the organization, including Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale. Have contract talks started with any of them?
A: Not yet.
Q: Some GMs like to do contracts over the summer, but it seems like you are you more along the lines of let it play out and when it happens, it happens.
A: I’m not someone that has a hard line in the sand that says “season starts, I’m not negotiating” or anything like that. There’s different cases. There are always exceptions. There are different things. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t limit it to just the offseason, because sometimes you might agree, you might have the same vision for a player that their agent has. And if it makes sense, yeah, we’ll do it. But there’s nothing going on at this moment.
(Editor’s note: This interview was conducted on Saturday before Jack Nesbitt and Spencer Gill were assigned to their junior teams and the Flyers lost, 4-3, to the Boston Bruins.)
Q: Who has been the biggest surprise for you at camp so far?
A: We’ve liked how Rodrigo Ābols and Jacob Gaucher have played. I think Adam Ginning on defense has played really well. Those are guys that have really — we knew what they could do, but we hadn’t seen them take that step at this level. And it’s a reason why they’re playing [Saturday]. It’s no secret that they’ve been playing well, and that’s why they’re in the lineup for tonight’s game.
Q: What about the young guys like Jack Nesbitt, Jett Luchanko, Alex Bump, and Nikita Grebenkin?
A: I think on that front, Bump and Grebenkin have had a solid, solid camp in my mind. Nesbitt has been really impressive for an 18-year-old. Same with Gill. Those two guys, at their age, to be able to do what they’re doing … we’re not going to keep them around for the regular season, but to gain some experience and to be able to show us what they are all about was really impressive already at 18, 19 years old.
Q: The goaltending numbers haven’t been great, but both you and Keith Jones have said you believe in Sam Ersson. What is your message to the fans on the goaltending?
A: Sam Ersson, we wanted to give him a little bit of protection. That’s why we got Dan Vladař. Sam was really good with Carter Hart a couple of years ago, when they were both fighting back and forth for time. Yeah, we still believe in Sam, but there’s no doubt that it’s a big year for him. I’m hoping he’ll be better protected; the system change from John Tortorella to Tocc, hopefully helps them as well. But time will tell things.
Sometimes we forget that Sam Ersson is young in goalie age [25], so we’ve got to give him time. And the exciting part is we’re still developing, with Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason trailing in the minors. And then Egor Zavragin developing in Russia. I think we’re in a good spot there.
Q: And what is your message to the fans as we head into a new season?
A: Patience, patience again. We’re trying to take a step forward but it doesn’t happen overnight. To me, there’s excitement with a lot of the young guys that we’re seeing here in camp. But you have to be patient. You’ve got to give them time. And you see the difference between young guys and veterans when the season starts: Having that experience makes a big difference.
Look, we were patient with Tyson Foerster, it’s paid off. We were patient with Noah Cates, it’s finally paying off. We were patient with Bobby Brink, it’s starting to pay off. So those are just a few examples. Cam York. So, we’re going in the right direction, it feels, but there’s growing pains to go through with a young team, unfortunately.
