The press release came out of left field.

No one was expecting it. No reporter had a scoop on it. Most of the people in the industry who should have been acutely aware this was coming, were caught off guard. Out of nowhere, it came into our inboxes like a valentine from a secret admirer:

DANIEL J. HILFERTY JOINS COMCAST SPECTACOR AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DAVE SCOTT TO CONTINUE AS CHAIRMAN

If you recognize the name, you should. Hilferty, 66, is one of Philadelphia’s biggest business power players. He was the President and CEO of Independence Blue Cross for 10 years, and also held identical titles with AmeriHealth Caritas and was the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Mercy Health Corp.

Most recently, Hilferty successfully led the charge to bring the World Cup to Philadelphia in 2026, and remains Chairman of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia Soccer 2026.

Hilferty starts as CEO of Comcast Spectacor immediately. Scott remains in place as Chairman of the Flyers and Valerie Camillo remains in her recently-upgraded position of President and CEO of Comcast Spectacor Sports and Entertainment.

While it’s easy to think these titles sort of bleed into one another a little bit – and at first glance they do – sometimes it’s easy to forget that Comcast Spectacor is a very large company with a lot of tentacles, only one of which is the Flyers.

Still, this didn’t stop the immediate overreaction by Flyers fans who feel like this is the first shoe to drop in a potential front office re-design. And honestly, you can’t blame them.

Not only is such an overhaul sorely needed, but the press release included a quote from Hilferty, who grew up in South Jersey and now lives in Ardmore, that likely fueled their premature elation:

“It’s an honor to have this opportunity to be a part of Comcast Spectacor,” said Hilferty.  “As a longtime Philadelphian who has admired the company for decades and is a tenacious Flyers fan, I’m excited about Comcast Spectacor and its future.  I look forward to working with Dave and Valerie and the many other talented leaders of this storied organization.”

That prompted fan responses like this:

I could go on… but the tenor of all the tweets  in the Flyers Twitterverse are the same. But here’s the thing… for the Flyers, as far as a hockey operation, I’m sorry to say, it’s going to continue to be business as usual.

This isn’t about Hilferty coming in here to do a job that Scott couldn’t or wouldn’t. Not at all. In fact, I’m told that Scott was intimately involved with bringing Hilferty’s hire to fruition.

In fact, I spoke to three industry sources about this hire, and they all agreed to the same thing – Hilferty is here to be a mover and shaker on the business front.

One source indicated that Hilferty’s deep ties and great respect within the Philadelphia business community will be a boon for Spectacor as far as reconnecting, rebuilding or forging new partnerships.

Another source said Hilferty has such gravitas and makes things happen in Philadelphia, that he will be able to help Comcast Spectacor strategically in many avenues, not the least of which is negotiating the choppy waters surrounding the 76ers lease, and all the smoke and fire about them potentially building their own arena away from the South Philly complex.

The same source indicated that Comcast Spectacor is now re-committed to growing and developing an entire Sports and entertainment district in the several blocks surrounding the three stadiums – which was the original plan more than a decade ago when the company announced it was razing the Spectrum and building Xfinity Live.

Those plans were greatly curtailed after the city, dealing with constant financial strife, balked on much of its partnership. But now, with Hilferty having the ear of the most powerful people not only in the city but also the state, those plans can and will be resuscitated.

A third source indicated Hilferty will be very good for the business side of Comcast Spectacor, but warned that no matter how “tenacious” a Flyers fan he is, that his impact will really only be felt in areas that don’t concern the fans – namely, not the team on the ice.

From a hockey perspective “this is more of the same,” the source said. “He’s a nice guy who will do good for the company, but he has no hockey experience. (The people running the Flyers) should care about winning first, not shaking hands and kissing babies. This is no different than the old Country Club Phillies, only it’s gone corporate. (Comcast) has no respect for the game.”

The reference was to an era of Phillies baseball where the team was perennially bad (Think 1985-1999 minus the lightning in a bottle season of 1993). The team was stuck in the mud and not good, but the owners and investors in the organization were doing well enough, and as long as they were making money, they lacked the passion and desire to win year-in and year-out. It was so bad that former principal owner Bill Gilles once called the Phillies a “small market team.”

Not to mention, Scott staying on as Chairman of the Flyers shows that, for better or for worse, he’s committed himself to seeing the dream of a Flyers renaissance come to fruition.

Whether he’s capable of overseeing such a tall task, or he’s Don Quixote tilting at windmills remains to be seen, but the fact remains, Hilferty wasn’t brought in to take Scott’s job, but rather to manage other parts of it while Scott is focusing more on the Flyers specifically.

Regardless of that, purely from a business perspective, this is a big win for Spectacor. They now have two big time power brokers at the top in Hilferty and Camillo.

There are no plans currently for any kind of press conference to introduce Hilferty. I’m also told that like Scott, he’s not going to be regularly out there publicly for Comcast Spectacor as far as media exposure – at least for now. Camillo has taken that ball and run with it.

Val’s makeover has been impressive to this point. She went from one of the most disliked executives in Philadelphia sports, to a much more likable public face of the business in a little more than a calendar year – all by taking the time to understand Philadelphia and connecting with it herself, while internationally ingratiating herself with the NHL as one of the few female executives in a sport that has been dominated by old white men more than any other.

Combine that with Hilferty’s roots here and the great relationships and partnerships he’s developed in the city, and it’s only a plus for a company with a spotty, but improving, recent track record in the market.

Just don’t expect this to result in immediate changes with la nostra cosa arancione.

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