The Philadelphia Flyers officially announced that the organization had named Keith Jones as the new President of Hockey Operations and Daniel Breyer was officially named the team’s new General Manager with the temporary tag removed. The news confirms that the Flyers have essentially stayed at home as the franchise progresses into its future. Jones has been a Flyers broadcaster for years and Brier was already working in management for the team.
The team is facing some criticism of the decision, but NHL.com’s Brian Smith noted in a statement about the hires: “There is criticism that the Flyers have once again hired former players to run their hockey operations.” When it comes to business connections to the Flyers’ hockey operations in the past, they’re few for Brier and non-existent for Jones except for anecdotal connections.”
Briere was already with the team and while he had never been a full-time general manager before, and Jones had never served as president of any NHL organization, the Flyers go to Briere for all major hockey decisions and that Jones was the right guy to support that vision and give his opinion.
It will be interesting to see how the management structure will fit together, but early reports suggest this will be an unconventional arrangement. The idea here is that everyone in their executive roles will collaborate in exchange for serving as people with seniority over the others. In other words, Jones wouldn’t necessarily be Briere’s boss. Instead, it would be more egalitarian, with Briere having a lot of power in all hockey operations decisions. The Flyers also announced that head coach John Tortorella “will provide input on various management topics.”
The question people will now be asking is whether this is a good idea. Is it wise for a team that has struggled over the past few seasons to have such inexperienced captains? Jones had never been in such a role before. Briere is responsible for turning this list around and is the new GM. Tortorella is emotional, at the best of times. Is this the best new command structure for pilots going forward?
Jones has spent the past 23 years as an analyst on Flyers broadcasts for various outlets, most recently with TNT. He is well-liked and has a plethora of connections, including within Flyers alumni, having played for the Flyers during his NHL career. He is the type to listen when he expresses an opinion. But, how much power does it actually produce? Jones said he was honored and excited about the opportunity. is withoutsaid, “I consider the Philadelphia Flyers organization the gold standard for the NHL and professional sports. I’ve seen how this city and these fans can rally around their team and nothing can compare to that feeling.”
Is it possible to share power between three people?
Can all three people work together to steer the Flyers ship in the right direction? Sure, the Airmen are relieved to know that they have three names with previous ties to the organization running things, but will they have to make decisions with a grain of salt? Who makes the final decision and who is the final decision maker here? In other words, who reports to whom?
The Flyers will hold a press conference on Friday to explain the decision.
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