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Meltzer's Musings: Briere

June 21, 2013, 7:46 AM ET [547 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There was no surprise in the Flyers' decision to buy out the remaining two seasons of Danny Briere's contract. His $6.5 million cap hit, mounting injuries, advancing age, and relatively modest remaining salaries in the final two-years of his frontloaded contract made him the team's most obvious buyout candidate despite his history of clutch-scoring heroics, especially in the playoffs and overtimes.

That it was an economic necessity with the decrease in the salary cap ceiling did not make it any easier. As a business decision, using a compliance buyout on Briere was a virtual no-brainer. Even so, anyone who has ever been around the man or the Flyers locker room knows that Briere will be missed in a lot of ways.

Briere has brought a lot of good things to the organization on and off the ice during his six years with the team. Apart from the goals he's scored, he is an eminently considerate and likeable person who goes out of his way to be a good teammate and a good human being.

I will also say in Briere's defense this past season that he's played much of the season out of his customary and preferred center position. His year was set back at the start by what turned out to be a pretty significant hand injury and, later, by a concussion.

It is no secret that Briere is a subpar defensive player. While Briere may have been the most noticeably overmatched forward, the Flyers have quite a few other forwards on the top end of their lineup who aren't exactly Selke Trophy candidates. Apart from becoming more consistent offensively than the team was in 2013, the club needs to prioritize better team defense.

Hockey is a tough, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. Loyalty is rarely a two-way street. Officially announcing the Briere buyout early was a way for the Flyers to publicly thank him for all he's done and to let Briere and agent Pat Brisson shift gears.

Briere will be missed. Many fans see only what happens on the ice. But everyone around the team will miss guy who sets a positive, upbeat example every single day. The coaches will miss a veteran player who is one of the first to come to the rink and one of the last to leave (long after the on-ice training is done). The young players will miss a guy who willingly took them into his home and made them feel like they belong in the NHL.

Teammates will also miss a guy who takes media heat off of less talkative teammates by patiently answering both mundane and oft-repeated questions or tough and pointed ones when the team has not been winning. The writers who cover the team will miss his availability and the respectful, thoughtful way he answered questions.

Flyers management will miss a player who gives up his already limited free time to represent the team off the ice whenever asked to do so, especially when charitable causes are involved. He does it cheerfully and with a healthy dose of perspective. Briere realizes that the game has given him a lot and enabled him to provide a good life to his children. The least he can do is to give of his time for those who support his team and his sport, especially those who are less fortunate in life.

Everyone who knows Briere even casually has come to respect him as someone who has successfully juggled being a devoted father and a deeply committed member of the team who has played an important role in the team's biggest successes since his arrival in 2007. In a highly competitive environment, Briere is unanimously liked and respected. That won't change, no matter what uniform he wears for the rest of his career.

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