Daniel Briere general manager of Philadelphia Flyers declared that he would shortly be retiring

VOORHEES, New Jersey — The original plan for Flyers general manager Daniel Briere’s Wednesday morning meeting with the local media was to talk about the team at this midpoint in the regular season: what’s gone well, what could be improved, and how Briere might have approached the impending trade deadline differently given that his overachieving team is currently in a playoff spot. That kind of thing.

However, throughout the last 18 hours, recent headlines altered all of that.

The Flyers announced in a statement shortly before Tuesday’s home game against Tampa Bay that goalkeeper Carter Hart would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Thus, Briere began his brief media appearance on Wednesday by citing a story from Toronto’s The Globe and Mail that stated five players from Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team had been instructed to turn themselves in to London, Ontario, police so they could face accusations of sexual assault.

“The press reports from this morning regarding a very severe subject are known to us. When the investigation’s findings are made public, we will react suitably,” Briere stated. “The NHL has made it very apparent that teams have to direct all inquiries pertaining to investigations to them. Members of the organization, including the Flyers players, will refrain from making any more comments in the interim. We are limited to saying that at this time.

Briere declined to address any further inquiries on Hart in-depth. He did, however, touch on the Flyers’ goalkeeper dilemma.

“Cal Petersen and Sam Ersson will be our two goalies at this time, this week,” he stated.

The 25-year-old Hart, who is playing in his sixth NHL season and has only played 26 games with the Flyers, is 12-9-3 with a.906 save percentage and 2.80 goals-against average.

Briere stated, “Carter Hart was having a very strong season up until this moment.”

Despite the fact that Ersson, 24, appears to be having a breakthrough season and is pushing Hart even before this week’s events, Briere voiced confidence in his ability to handle a heavier workload while simultaneously issuing a warning against piling too much on his plate.

Ersson has a record of 16-10-4, a.921 save percentage, and a 2.08 goals-against average since November 18. Among goalies who have played in at least 10 games this season, his save % and goals-against average rank fourth in the league.

“Sam Ersson has made significant progress,” Briere remarked. “We must do all in our power to keep him safe. He’s still growing, a decent young goalie, and he keeps getting better. We’ll need to exercise caution, but we’re thrilled about his performance and his ability to keep us going as we learn more about Carter’s circumstances.

Since his summer introduction as the permanent general manager, Briere has been unwavering in his commitment to the future. Although he acknowledged that nothing has changed, he did acknowledge that the Flyers have so far pleasantly surprised him.

With 56 points (25-17-6) going into Wednesday night’s games, the Flyers are second in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference in terms of point percentage. They definitely have a postseason berth in sight.

“I would be lying if I told you that I thought we would be in the postseason 48 games into the season,” he stated. If you had told me that prior to the season, I would have been overjoyed. However, I also didn’t trust the reports or the expert projections that said we would finish among the NHL’s worst three.

Does that change the way he thinks about the trade deadline of March 8?

Not at all. We’re still considering the future,” he remarked. “What’s going on now is fantastic, as our young lads are getting a ton of experience and getting to participate in some pretty important games.” It will continue for the next few months at the very least. This is a wonderful opportunity. I’m very happy with that. However, we continue to look toward the future. We have stated from the start that our goal was to assemble a club that will challenge for the Stanley Cup for many years to come, as opposed to the current practice of one in, one out, one in, one out. The future is still in focus.

Naturally, this implies that the Flyers won’t be offering their expensive assets for rent.

Briere declared, “The one thing I won’t be doing is trading prime assets just to make a run.” “I refuse to exchange first- or second-round picks. You might remark to me in return, “You traded Cutter Gauthier.” That was a distinct circumstance. We believed that in Jamie Drysdale, we were getting a fantastic player in exchange. In the event that we believe a hockey transaction may improve our position in the future, However, we won’t exchange assets in order to qualify for the playoffs.

On the other hand, Briere does have some trade chips available. These include players like Rasmus Ristolainen or Morgan Frost, who have also been included on various trade boards, and defensemen Sean Walker and Nick Seeler, both of whom might be pursued by clubs searching for more depth on the blue line.

However, it doesn’t appear that he is in a rush from his current position, as Briere said he is still unsure of the market for specific players that he could be prepared to sell before the deadline.

He stated, “A lot of it will depend on the marketplace.” We won’t engage in transactions purely for the sake of doing so. We will give anything serious consideration if we believe it would improve us going forward.