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Can Danny Briere Duplicate Howie Roseman’s Success?
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Being on the “right path” is great, but it’s only a start for the Philadelphia Flyers. Howie Roseman guided the Eagles to the “right path” and they’ve been on that path for a sustained period of time, winning two of their three Super Bowl appearances since 2018.
The right path is a road less traveled in Philadelphia sports throughout my 53+ years on this planet. My generation endured a 25-year title drought from 1983, when the Sixers were NBA champs, to the Phillies beating the Rays in 2008. During that period we saw the Phillies get back to a World Series in 1993, the Sixers get back to an NBA Finals in 2001, the Eagles go to a Super Bowl in February of 2005, and the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1985, 1987, 1997 and 2010.
The Flyers also went to the finals six times since winning back-to-back Cups in 1974 and 1975:
- 1976: swept by the Montreal Canadiens, who won 4 straight Cups
- 1980: lost to the Islanders, who won 4 straight Cups
- 1985 and 1987: lost to the Oilers, who won 4 in 5 years and 5 Cups in 7 years
- 1997: swept by the Red Wings, who won 3 Cups in 6 years
- 2010: lost to the Blackhawks, who won 3 Cups in 6 years
So what’s the path to Howie Roseman status for a general manager in Philadelphia? The four major sports are all different in what’s required to manage and run a successful franchise. In the NHL, you don’t have to be flawless, but you do need to be pretty darn close. That’s the task for Briere. No pressure, though.
Briere is off to a good start. First with the drafting and early arrival of Matvei Michkov, who appears to be a budding superstar. It won’t happen immediately for Michkov, and will take some time to earn that status, although some will heap that point-per-game expectation on him as early as this season, which, in my view, is unfair. Take, for example, one of the top 5 players in today’s NHL in Nikita Kucherov. In Kucherov’s age 20 and 21 seasons, he had 18 points in 52 games and then 65 points in 82 games. In his 3rd NHL season, at 22 years old, he had 66 points in 77 games. The explosion in point totals followed with 85, 100, and 128 after that and has continued with 113, 144, and 121 points in the last three seasons.
Briere also turned over a ton of the roster he inherited. There’s about $6.7 million owed to Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, and Scott Laughton, then all three come off the books at the end of this season, leaving $0 in buyout and retained salary. There’s the drafting of Porter Martone, who is headed to the NCAA at Michigan State this season, and, by most accounts, a very solid 2025 draft in general, to lay the future foundation.
Now comes the hardest part, finding that 1C via draft, free agency, or trade. Landing that 1D the same way. Next year Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Kirill Kaprizov may hit the free agent market. Could Briere take a HUGE swing? I would think so, and that may be what it takes to be a legit Cup contender. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So back to the original question –
How does a GM achieve Howie status? That’s how, for the Flyers and Briere. It’s landing one of the biggest names in the game and then having huge success as a result. Moving the Flyers forward this season to help make them more attractive to top players is a must this season under Rick Tocchett. Will it happen? Time will tell.
I think, for the first time in a while, Flyers fans feel like the team is on the right path. The Flyers communicated the plan and have stuck to it, unlike some previous general managers, and fans are ready for the Flyers to get back to being a winner.