Briere retiring to focus on three sons

Danny Briere thought briefly about playing another year and even kicked around the idea of trying to finish his career as a fourth-liner with the Flyers.

But in the end, the diminutive center decided it was more important to spend quality time with his three teenage sons before they head to college in a few years.

Briere, 37, announced Monday that he was retiring after a 17-year NHL career. He held an emotional farewell news conference at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Tuesday while his three sons Caelan, Carson, and Cameron watched from the back of the room.

The boys "have been my inspiration all those years, the reason I kept going, I kept fighting, kept pushing, kept staying on the ice for more, going to the gym, to be able to keep playing," said Briere, who spent six seasons with the Flyers. "Thank you, boys, for all of your patience and being there without me the last couple years."

In the coming weeks, Briere will meet with Flyers president Paul Holmgren about a possible job in the organization. He's not sure about whether to pursue broadcasting - many think he would be a natural - or work in some capacity for the team.

"I'm a big fan of the game, and in the future I hope to stay involved somehow in the hockey world," he said.

His boys attend St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J., and Briere plans to help with their hockey team at the Atlantic County school.

"There's many things I'd like to do moving forward," said Briere, who lives in Haddonfield and plans to marry his fiancee, Misha, next summer. "First and foremost the priority is going to be the boys and the family. . . .  The boys are all in high school, they don't have a lot of time left at home, and I don't want to miss any more time with them.  I want to be there to watch them grow up, watch them play their sports, hockey and lacrosse or whatever they decide to join."

The Flyers used a compliance buyout on Briere two years ago, and they still owe him a total of nearly $1.7 million, ending after 2016-17.

Briere said the highlight of his career was the Flyers' stunning run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, a run he keyed with 30 points in 23 playoff games.

As for his career, the 5-foot-8 Briere said he was jolted by comments made by NHL executives who watched him play junior hockey and said he was too small to make an impact. Briere kept those newspaper clippings in a box in his bedroom.

"That was kind of my motivation at the time to prove them wrong," he said.

@BroadStBull