New general manager Daniel Breyer said the Philadelphia Flyers are already busy working on trade discussions with other teams. Asked how busy the off-season could be for the club as their new management team, Keith Jones and John Tortorella try to rebuild the roster into contenders, he replied, “I’m in discussions with certain teams. With teams out of the play-offs, there will be more.” and further discussions leading up to the draft.”
As to who Breyer is talking about, that’s unknown, but the speculation is that he’s trying to drop some contracts, get picks and prospects and give the Flyers cover flexibility as the new GM tries to shy away from tearing things apart and starting over again.
Brier asked If he feels he can add pieces to make the Flyers competitive right away, he said he’d rather err on the side of caution and say no. At the same time, a great deal of how quickly the Flyers can turn things around will depend on what deals he can strike in the summer. “I didn’t hide it. We’re going to be younger, maybe even than we were last year. The players will decide, but it will depend on their development.”
In other words, can Brier succeed in moving the contracts of Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, or Rasmus Restolainen? Could he trade James Van Riemsdyk’s rights before the draft? Will he stand a chance of moving Carter Hart for top dollar, should he want to trade the player? Time will tell. He seems to be trying to give himself as many options as possible.
How much turnover can be expected
Things are already busy, Briere said, but when it comes to changing menus, he’s not sure how much there will actually be. He indicated that there will be a lot of discussions with the different teams, and also hinted that there will be personnel changes behind the scenes. Noticing one of the advantages that comes with hiring while indoors is if he has about two years to see what works and what doesn’t.