Philadelphia Flyers’ Chuck Fletcher Stopped Danny Briere For Success – Hockey Writers – Flyers Management
In the history of the Philadelphia Flyers, there may not be a person hated around the world more than former general manager (GM) Chuck Fletcher, who was with the team from 2018-2023. In retrospect, it seems like he did a great job of setting up the GM that replaced him: the lovely Danny Briere.
Of all the good things the Flyers have in their organization, Fletcher is the least responsible for it. It may seem silly since his shooting was unanimously considered good, but he helped put Briere in a position to succeed. From here on out, the young GM is responsible for taking the Orange and Black to the top.
Fletcher Received High Draft Pick
In Fletcher’s first full season as GM of the Flyers, he helped them finish with the sixth-best record in the NHL in 2019-20 despite missing the playoffs last season. Instead of improving, Philadelphia regressed significantly the following season. Despite their strong start to the shortened 2020-21 campaign, they have been completely missed. Instead of riding the wave of nothingness, he took immediate action.
That he intended the Flyers to be the worst hockey team in 2021-22, they were. They had the fourth-worst record in the NHL, which marked the beginning of the Flyers’ rebuild. They weren’t clearly rebuilding, but Fletcher traded their captain, Claude Giroux, for minor leaguers at the trade deadline—the old era was officially over. He could always do the popular thing and expand one of the franchise’s legends, but he chose against it. Ultimately, it helped Philadelphia draft Cutter Gauthier with the fifth pick in the 2022 class. Even if he is no longer with the team, he is one of the best prospects in the NHL.
In 2022-23, many wanted the Flyers to exit free agency and replace Giroux with a player like Johnny Gaudreau. So far, he’s been the biggest fish in the 2022 free agency class, yet Fletcher refuses to entertain the idea. He made moves to try to help the team at least be more respectable, like trading three picks for defenseman Tony DeAngelo, but he didn’t make any deals that risked finding a quick solution to the loss of their captain. .
Because of this, the Flyers were also not very good in 2022-23. After failing to trade veteran forward James van Riemsdyk at the deadline, who received $7 million in one season (a contract Fletcher did not sign), he was canned on March 10, 2023. However, all the damage had already been done. Philadelphia finished with the seventh-worst record in the league, which allowed them to sign their best prospect in Matvei Michkov.
If Fletcher had worked differently, the Flyers probably wouldn’t have gotten either of these two players. All in all, one of the best things he has done is finding this talent. Briere is in a good position with more options because of the work done by his predecessor.
Fletcher and Flahr Well Designed
Flyers’ assistant GM, Brent Flahr, has the most strategic influence in the organization. Although not perfect, he did a solid job with it. Even though he already has a team and has an important role, he only came because of Fletcher in the first place – they worked together with the Minnesota Wild.
When he and Fletcher were in Philadelphia, they drafted the following players in four draft classes: Cam York, Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster, Emil Andrae, Samu Tuomaala, Alexei Kolosov, Gauthier, and Alex Bump. Functional strength isn’t a perfect science, but these athletes have plenty of it. These players are some of the best young athletes the Flyers have, and they arrived before Briere came on board.
Michkov would make this list even better, but Fletcher didn’t see that pick even though he made it happen. Even without him, players like York, Foerster, Kolosov, and Gauthier could all have amazing futures in the NHL. Love him or hate him, Fletcher had a great record in the draft.
Fletcher’s Trading Helped Accumulate Assets
Fletcher’s trade is what many disliked him for, giving up big assets for players like Rasmus Ristolainen and DeAngelo, and giving away a second-round pick to spend the salary of Shayne Gostisbehere, but those deals weren’t all bad. In fact, he was actually decent at trading.
While the Ristolainen trade, one in which he gave up a first- and second-round pick, was expensive, it has its benefits. First, the draft picks that Fletcher gave up were unsuccessful. The first round pick was 14th in 2021, yet that was one of the weakest draft classes in recent memory. Considering that was the bulk of the deal and the fact that the Flyers also got a player who had a great season in 2023-24, this one hasn’t aged as badly as it could have. They lost the deal on purpose, but not by a significant margin.
The DeAngelo trade was a little less secure, as the Flyers were never in a position to go out and get him. However, Fletcher didn’t give up hope or a first-round pick to get him, so that didn’t have much effect. The Gostisbehere agreement, although not unanimous, falls into this category.
Despite these deals, Fletcher has done a good job with the trade. He got forward Owen Tippett, a first-round pick, and a third-round pick that turned out to be 34-year-old Denver Barkey for Giroux. At the same trade deadline, he dealt Derick Brassard for a fourth-round pick that went on to lead Alex Ciernik. If that wasn’t enough, he dealt veteran defenseman Justin Braun for the third-round pick the Flyers used to select promising goaltender Yegor Zavragin.
Related: 3 Flyer Prospects Who Could Take the Big Step in 2024-25
In contrast to the three works of the eunuch that we talked about earlier, these were wise on his behalf. While Flahr and Briere did a great job picking the aforementioned prospects, the bottom line is that Fletcher’s presence helped set up the Flyers’ current GM for success. These measures undoubtedly did that.
Briere Allowed to Trade Key Players
One of the best things Fletcher did—or, didn’t do—was trade top players. Instead, he left all that for Briere to do. Players like Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Ristolainen, Ivan Provorov, Scott Laughton, DeAngelo, and others are kept on the list. As a result, Briere was able to make some great deals.
Provorov, a player Fletcher extended during his first season with the Orange and Black, was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 6, 2023, by Briere—only because of Fletcher’s restraint in making deals. The same goes for DeAngelo, who was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for tight end prospect Massimo Rizzo and a fifth-round draft pick. The Flyers could have a fun 2024 season as well in part because of Fletcher, as they could get a number of other players mentioned.
Now, we can return to the Gauthier discussion. He didn’t want to play for the Flyers, so that was the situation Briere faced. He got talented young defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick, again thanks to the assets Fletcher collected.
Fletcher was by no means the best GM in the world, but he did a great job of setting Briere up for success. Most of the good things the Flyers have is because of their previous GM and not the current one. With Fletcher now long gone from the Flyers, he can no longer be looked at—all the big decisions fall to Briere.
Source link
