Daniel Briere announces retirement from NHL after 17 seasons
At a news conference in Philadelphia, he reflects on his six seasons as a Flyer, where he endeared himself with his clutch play.
WHEN IT CAME time for Daniel Briere to decide in 2007 where his future in hockey would continue, the Quebec native was at a crossroads.
The diminutive forward who many thought was too small and fragile to play in the National Hockey League was coming off a career-high 95-point season with Buffalo. The Sabres had the most wins in the league in the 2006-07 season and fell in the conference finals for the second straight season.
But the one-year, $5 million contract awarded to him in arbitration the prior offseason had expired, and it was time for him to decide his future.
He could have gone home to Montreal or stayed in Buffalo, among plenty of other options.
Instead, he joined a team coming off its lowest win total since 1970. The Flyers were a league-worst 22-48-12, but Briere saw a future and a chance to win, signing an eight-year, $52 million contract on the first day (July 1) of free agency.
"It was probably the biggest decision of my career when I decided to join the Flyers, the biggest and the toughest as well, but one that I certainly don't regret," Briere said.
The Flyers certainly don't regret it, either.
"We were high-fiving pretty much that day once we got word Danny was heading our way," said Flyers president Paul Holmgren, then general manager. "To get him that day - I remember when he came in a few days later, he sat in my office and he thanked me, and I think I said no, thank you for coming."
Yesterday, a little more than eight years later, with Holmgren sitting at his side, Briere announced his retirement after playing 17 seasons in the NHL for five organizations - Phoenix, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Montreal and Colorado.
"It's been a great ride and I've been very fortunate to play for so many wonderful organizations," Briere said. "But unfortunately it's the end of the road for my playing days."
Briere, 37, spent six years in Philadelphia and paid big dividends from his first season onward.
"I think signing Danny that day back in 2007 kind of turned things around for us almost immediately heading into that next season," Holmgren said. "It was a huge day."
The Flyers made the conference finals in Briere's first season. Two years later, after making the 2009-10 playoffs in a shootout in the final game of the season, Briere helped lead the Flyers to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1997. His 30 points in the playoffs led the league and is a Flyers record.
Briere scored a nifty wraparound goal in Game 7 of the conference semifinals against Boston to knot the score at 3-3 in the second period, completing a comeback after starting the game down 3-0 in the first period. A period and a half later, the Flyers were celebrating the first 3-0 series comeback in the NHL since 1975. After dispatching Montreal in the conference finals, the Flyers fell to Chicago two games short of winning their first Cup since 1975.
Briere said that two-month playoff stretch was his most memorable time as a pro.
Briere, who had his contract bought out by the Flyers following the shortened 2013 season, leaves the sport 27 games shy of reaching 1,000 games played. He tallied 696 career points, 283 for the Flyers.
The player whom Flyers broadcaster Jim Jackson dubbed "Mr. Playoffs" recorded 72 points in 68 playoff games in Philadelphia, good for sixth in club history.
"I know when the game was on the line, I wanted to be the guy who was going to make the play," Briere said. "I wanted to have the puck, I wanted to find a way to make it happen."
The Flyers will honor Briere with a ceremony before their Oct. 27 game, fittingly against Buffalo, where he played for parts of four seasons.
Briere, who struggled in Colorado last season with 12 points in 57 games, will remain local, staying in Haddonfield, N.J., for the near future. Both Holmgren and Briere said there's a possibility Briere will be a part of the Flyers organization in some capacity in the future, but Briere's focus right now is on his family.
He choked up a little when talking about his three sons - Caelan, Cameron and Carson - who all attend St. Augustine Prep.
The boys, all in their teens, were a big reason Briere decided to hang up his skates.
"[They] 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," Briere said.
Briere was asked why he chose Philadelphia to have this retirement press conference, after playing for five organizations?
"It was a huge decision when I decided to join," he said. "I've always felt like it was the right decision. I felt at home all this time here. The relationship with the organization, the staff, my teammates, the fans here, has been amazing.
"It's home to our family."